Keble College Boat Club (KCBC) is the rowing club of

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

, in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The boat club is based in its boathouse on

the Isis "The Isis" () is an alternative name for the River Thames, used from its source in the Cotswolds until it is joined by the Thame at Dorchester in Oxfordshire. It derives from the ancient name for the Thames, ''Tamesis'', which in the Middle ...

, which is shared with Jesus College. Most of the year is spent training at the boat club's second facility at the

Godstow Godstow is about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It lies on the banks of the River Thames between the villages of Wolvercote to the east and Wytham to the west. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as Godstow Nunnery, are here. A bridge s ...

stretch to the North.

History

Summer Eights Eights Week, also known as Summer Eights, is a four-day regatta of bumps races which constitutes the University of Oxford's main intercollegiate rowing event of the year. The regatta takes place in May of each year, from the Wednesday to the ...

the Men's and Women's first VIII crews have consistently raced in the top division. The men have held the Headship on eight occasions, most recently in 2018, and are currently in third position on the river. The women's boat is now eighth position on the river, after reaching a peak of fifth on the river in 2017. The second and third boats regularly achieve blades in lower divisions. In

Torpids Torpids is one of two series of bumping races, a type of rowing race, held yearly at Oxford University; the other is Eights Week. Over 130 men's and women's crews race for their colleges in six men's divisions and five women's; almost 1,200 pa ...

, while Keble has not yet achieved the Men's or the Women's headship, both first boats have enjoyed periods of success, especially in recent years. The women's first Torpid is currently fifth on the River, having peaked at fourth on the river in 2019. The highest position the Men have held was second on the river, last held in 1988, before dropping to 33rd on the river, the position they occupied at the end of 2013 racing. Since then, they have risen 26 places to sixth on the river, achieving blades in five of their last eight Torpids campaigns. The Women's first Torpid represented Oxford at the

Henley Boat Races The Henley Boat Races were a series of annual rowing races between various crews representing the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The event included the Lightweight Men's Boat Race from 1975 to 2018, the Women's Boat ...

inter-collegiate race in 2017, where they defeated

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 ...

. They were also selected to represent Oxford in 2018, but the race was unfortunately cancelled. Three Keblites occupied boat race crews in the 2017 Cancer Research UK Boat Race crews. Olympic gold medallist

Ed Coode Edward Coode, MBE (born 19 June 1975) is a British rower, twice World Champion and Olympic Gold medalist. Early life Born in Cornwall in 1975, Coode boarded at Papplewick School and Eton College. He studied marine biology at University of N ...

rowed for the college 1st VIII during his time at Keble in the late 1990s. Keble M1 at Summer Eights

Training, equipment, and fleet

In addition to the water training, the boat club uses the college gym and its own erg room. KCBC is sponsored by Child Bereavement UK.

Coaching

Several high-class coaches are looking after both senior boats and novice rowers. Recent coaches include among others Harry Brightmore and Freddie Davidson, as well as

Tim Foster Timothy James Carrington Foster, MBE (born 19 January 1970) is an English rower who won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Career He began rowing at Bedford Modern School and competed in the World Rowing Junior Ch ...

, who also rowed for Keble.

Fleet

There are also a number of fours,

pairs Concentration, also known as Memory, Shinkei-suijaku (Japanese meaning "nervous breakdown"), Matching Pairs, Match Match, Match Up, Pelmanism, Pexeso or simply Pairs, is a card game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and tw ...

, doubles, and

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

available to students, who routinely train and enter fours and small boats into regattas in

Michaelmas term Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Micha ...

Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

References

External links

Keble College Boat ClubOxford University Rowing ClubsOxford Bumps Charts
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Rowing clubs of the University of Oxford

Boat Club A boat club is a sports club serving boat owners, particularly those interested in rowing and yachting, but also kayaking, canoeing, motor boats and other small boats. See also *Rowing club *Yacht club A yacht club is a sports club specif ...

1870 establishments in England Sports clubs and teams established in the 1870s Rowing clubs in Oxfordshire Rowing clubs of the River Thames