Jesus College Boat Club (often abbreviated to JCBC) is the

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

club for members of

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. It is the most successful Cambridge college boat club, holding the most headships between both sides of the club in both the

May bumps The May Bumps (also May Races, Mays) are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge, England. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start of M ...

and the Lent bumps. It has also had numerous successes at other races (such as

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

) and notable alumni, such as

Steve Fairbairn Stephen Fairbairn (25 August 1862 – 16 May 1938) was a rower and an influential rowing coach at Jesus College Boat Club, Cambridge University, Thames Rowing Club and London Rowing Club in the early decades of the 20th century, and founded the ...

. Jesus men have been head of the

Lent Bumps The Lent Bumps (also Lent Races, Lents) are a set of rowing races held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge. They began in 1887, after separating from the May Bumps, which are bumping races held in mid-June. Prior to the separation there had be ...

on 39 occasions (finishing Head on 159 days) and head of the

May Bumps The May Bumps (also May Races, Mays) are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge, England. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start of M ...

on 24 occasions (finishing Head on 98 days) - more than any other boat club, although Jesus men have not been head in either event since 1974. Jesus also held the headship of the early races (before the Lent and May bumps became separate events) for 11 consecutive years between 1875 and 1886 - a feat which has never been equalled. Jesus Women have been head of the

on 5 occasions, and again head of the

on 5 occasions, ranking themselves very highly amongst the Cambridge colleges. In recent years they have been very successful, being head of the Lents 2016–present and head of the Mays in 2005, 2007 and 2017–present. Jesus also run the

Fairbairn Cup Fairbairn is a surname of Scottish origin which means "a handsome child." Notable people with the surname include: *Andrew Fairbairn (disambiguation), several people *Bill Fairbairn (born 1947), Canadian ice hockey player *Bruce Fairbairn (1949� ...

, the biggest race on the Cam (other than bumps), and is named after the alumnus

History

The club appeared in the first six-oared bumps race in 1827 but performed indifferently. During the early years it rose on occasion to be second and achieved Head of the River in 1841, but remained a minor force until the late 1860s. By 1875 it held Headship again and continued to for eleven years (until 1886) - a record not since equalled. In this time they refurbished the boathouse including the addition of a weathervane and, some years later, a clock tower. Both of which were transferred to the current boathouse. After this period the club's success declined with

Trinity Hall Boat Club Trinity Hall Boat Club (THBC) is the rowing club of Trinity Hall, a college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1827 it is amongst the oldest college boat clubs in Cambridge, England. Historically, it is the most successful Cambridge c ...

and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

having an almost monopoly of the Headship, until Jesus recovered it in 1909 and 1912-14. During the inter-war years the club was coached by

and held Headship on twelve occasions in the Lents and occupied a top three position for the entire period. In the women's bumps, Jesus fielded crews in the 1980s, and took the headship of the

in 1985, 1986, 1987, and 2016–2018, and headship of the

in 1988, 1993, 1994, 2005, 2007, 2017, and 2018.

Performances at Henley Royal Regatta

JCBC are also one of the historically successful Cambridge colleges at the

, winning the ''

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing cl ...

'', the most prestigious event at the regatta, on 3 occasions; 1879, 1885 and in 1947. Jesus also won the ''

Ladies' Challenge Plate The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standard ...

'' on 13 occasions between 1872 and 1958, the ''

Visitors' Challenge Cup The Visitors Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs and has similar qualifying rules t ...

'' on 5 occasions between 1877 and 1936, the ''

Wyfold Challenge Cup The Wyfold Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from a single rowing club. Boat clubs from any university, college ...

'' on 2 occasions (1882 and 1921), the ''

Stewards' Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs. Two or more clubs may combine t ...

'' in 1879 and the ''

Thames Challenge Cup The Thames Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's eights at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from a single rowing club A rowing club is a club for people interest ...

'' in 1892.http://www.bfronline.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74&Itemid=9 The JCBC & Thames Challenge Cup (1892) at BFRonline.biz

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless pairs at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing club A rowing club ...

has been won by

Humphrey Playford Humphrey Blake Playford (8 February 1896 – 1981) was an English rower distinguished by rowing in three successful races against Oxford University and rowing Head of the River for Jesus College, Cambridge in the same three years. Birth, Parentag ...

and John Campbell in 1921 and Thomas Cree and David Burnford in 1935. Jesus therefore have a grand total of 25 Henley wins, although the club has not managed an event win since 1958.

Events

JCBC runs two events of note. The first is the Fairbairn Cup Races, named after the famous Jesus oarsman and Coach who began the event in the 1920s,

. In 1929 Fairbairn donated a cup and the races have continued ever since in their current form, a long distance headrace. Historically, this is raced on the Thursday and Friday after the end of Michaelmas term, Thursday being the novice races and Friday being the senior races. The course has changed over years due to closures for bridge repairs and

extreme weather Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a locat ...

conditions, but in 1990 the start line was made to be Jesus Boathouse Flagpole with the finish at the Little Bridge, some 4.3 km downstream (although the novices race a shorter race, finishing at the railings). The Fairbairn Cup title is awarded to the fastest finishing college men's eight (the cup itself is now again presented, having been lost for a period but found again in 2015). There are also divisions for fours (3.4 km) and novice eights (2.7 km). The race is also entered by other local clubs and university crews, notably the

Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC) was the University rowing club for lightweight male oarsmen at the University of Cambridge, principally to race against Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC) annually in the Lightw ...

(CULRC) normally enters, but recent years have also seen entries from the

Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC) is the university rowing club for lightweight men at the University of Oxford which selects crews to race against Cambridge University Boat Club in the Lightweight Boat Races at the end of H ...

(OULRC) and occasionally the

Cambridge University Boat Club The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily ...

(CUBC) itself. JCBC has also run the Henley Spare Pairs Race on the day before

. This event runs from the barrier to the regatta finish and is open to spare pairs of registered regatta entries.

Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

:¹ This is now a club-only event.

References

External links

Jesus College Boat Club
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Rowing clubs of the University of Cambridge

Boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

Sports clubs established in 1827 1827 establishments in England Rowing clubs in Cambridgeshire Rowing clubs in England Rowing clubs of the River Cam