New College Boat Club (NCBC) is the rowing club for members of

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. The club's existence can be dated to 1840 when it first raced on The Isis in Oxford. The club shares a 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 ...

(part of the Thames) with

Balliol College Boat Club Balliol College Boat Club (BCBC) is the rowing club for members of Balliol College, Oxford, England. It is one of the college boat clubs at the University of Oxford. Balliol College Boat Club competes in rowing regattas organised by Oxford Uni ...

, as well as using boat racks at

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 ...

for the Men's and Women's first boats.

History

The first record of a New College eight is in 1840, with another appearance in 1852. Only from 1868 did the college start to fully represent itself on the river. In these early years New achieved 'Head of the River' in the Eights in 1887, 1896-1899, 1901, 1903-04 (inclusive). 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 ...

the club was 'Head of the River' in 1882, 1896, 1900-04.

The 1912 Stockholm Olympics

The New College Boat Club represented Great Britain at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

in Stockholm and won the Silver medal in the men's eight. The two British crews were the favourites for gold so started at opposite ends of the draw. They both worked up through the competition to make the final. The course in Stockholm was not straight, and one of the two lanes was clearly favoured, the other requiring the cox to steer around a protruding boathouse and then back under a bridge. Before the final, the two British captains met to toss for lanes. New College won the toss and following gentlemanly tradition offered the choice of lanes to their opponents, who would - in a gentlemanly fashion - refuse this offer. However the

Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Le ...

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

captain accepted this offer and chose the better lane. Leander went on to win the gold medal, leaving New College with the silver. King Gustav V of Sweden was so disheartened by this display of ungentlemanly conduct that, as a consolation, he presented his colours to New College. Ever since then, New College have raced in purple and gold, the colours of the royal house of Sweden. A further tradition has been the adoption of the toast: 'God Damn Bloody Magdalen!', the supposed words of the New College stroke Robert Bourne as they crossed the line. The abbreviation GDBM has been used commonly ever since, and is still on bottom of the NCBC letterhead.

Henley Royal Regatta

The club has won four events at

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 ...

in its history.

Recent form

Christ Church Regatta

In 2019, the Men's Gold Boat won the Christ Church Indoor Regatta, beating Christ Church in the final in their own boathouse. In 2021, the Women's Purple Boat won the Christ Church Regatta, competing against all the novice boats from other colleges. New college torpids 2008 sat

Eights

In 2012, the Men's 1st VIII started 14th (1st Div 2) and finished 17th, the 2nd VIII started 30th (5th Div 3) and finished 31st. The Women's 1st VIII started 12th and finished 15th, the 2nd VIII started 57th (6th Div 4) and finished 51st.

Blues

A number of members of New College have gone on to row for the University.

References

External links

New College Boat Club WebsiteOxford 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 ...

Sports clubs established in 1840 1840 establishments in England Rowing clubs in Oxfordshire Rowing clubs of the River Thames