The Queen's College Boat Club (abbreviated QCBC) 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 ...

club for members of

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

. It is one of the oldest boat clubs in the world, being founded in 1827.

History

In 1837, the Club represented Oxford in a race against

Lady Margaret Boat Club The Lady Margaret Boat Club (abbreviated to "LMBC" and known as "Maggie") is the rowing club for members of St John's College, Cambridge, England. The club is named after Lady Margaret Beaufort, founder of the College. History LMBC was found ...

, representing Cambridge, and won. This event, held on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

at Henley-on-Thames, is credited with leading to support from the town for the establishment of the Henley Royal Regatta. The club was last Head of the River in Eights in 1957, and 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 ...

in 1958. A women's boat first competed in 1981 after admission of women to the college. It has since risen to as high as 2nd on the river during the 2006

competition, and 10th on the river during

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 ...

2005. In recent years the men's first and second boats have risen steadily through the rankings of

with the first eight now positioned at 16th on the river and second eight at 52nd as of 2023. Notably, both boats achieved 'blades' (bumping on each day of the competition) in both the 2015 and 2017 regattas. The Women's first boat recently achieved blades in Torpids 2023, breaking the QCBC Women's Side record by bumping up 6 positions in one campaign.

References

External links

Official website
1827 establishments in England 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 1827 Rowing clubs in Oxfordshire Rowing clubs of the River Thames {{Rowing-club-stub