University College Boat Club (UCBC) is the rowing club of

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

in north-east

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, with over 100 members, a large

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

and a fleet of boats. UCBC has a long history of racing success, winning the Grand Challenge Cup at Durham Regatta more than any other College (though the majority of wins were in the 19th Century) and qualifying for

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 thr ...

several times, most recently in 2001. Founded in 1834, UCBC is the oldest society in Durham and is the oldest Boat Club in the North of England. The club celebrated its 175th anniversary at Durham Regatta in 2009. The Alumni organisation is ''Floreat Castellum'' Boat Club (FCBC).

Boathouse and fleet

UCBC uses University College boathouse on the

River Wear The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through ...

just below

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

and a short walk from the Castle. It is at one end of the rowable stretch of river in Durham, on the Bailey, downstream of

Prebends Bridge Prebends Bridge, along with Framwellgate and Elvet bridges, is one of three stone-arch bridges in the centre of Durham, England, that cross the River Wear. History Prebends Bridge was designed by George Nicholson and built from 1772 to 17 ...

but upstream of the weir. The boathouse is shared by St Aidan's College Boat Club (SACBC). It was constructed in the 1880s and used to have a bar and baths. These have since been removed to allow additional racking space. The club shares a landing stage with

St Leonard's School St Leonards School is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leo ...

Durham who occupy the adjacent boathouse. The original College landing stage was too close to the weir and has been abandoned for many decades. UCBC owns 3 VIIIs, 8

IVs Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutrie ...

, and numerous smaller boats. These were manufactured by

Vespoli Vespoli USA is a manufacturer of rowing shells. It was founded by former Georgetown University rower and Olympian Mike Vespoli in 1980. History The company’s origins date back to the late 1970s when Mike Vespoli was the freshman rowing c ...

, Stampfli, Janousek, Sims and Browns Boathouse and the oars were produced by Concept2 or Croker. The club used to own a minibus to travel to races. However it was sold in 2002 and trailer space is now provided by

Durham Amateur Rowing Club Durham Amateur Rowing Club is a rowing club on the River Wear, based at City Boathouse, Green Lane, Old Elvet, Durham, County Durham. History The club was founded in 1860 and is affiliated to British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the ...

or Durham University Boat Club.

Races

UCBC competes in many races and regattas both in the North East and the rest of the United Kingdom. Below are some of the events UCBC has competed in over the last few years: National events *

*The Head of the River Race * Women's Head of the River Race *

Heineken Roeivierkamp 300px, The 'men 8' are getting ready for the start of the Roeivierkamp on the Amstel at the New Amstel Bridge 300px, Rowing center Berlagebrug on the Weesperzijde (opposite ASR Nereus) is one of the main bases during the Roeivierkamp Amsterdam T ...

(

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

) * Head of the River Fours * BUCS Regatta (

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

) * Head of the Trent (

) Regional events * Durham Regatta *Durham City Regatta *Durham SBH *Hexham Regatta *Rutherford Head *Tees SBH *Tyne Regatta *Tyne Head *York Regatta *York SBH College events * Novice Cup * Senate Cup * Hayward Cup * Pennant Short Course * Admirals Regatta A 24-hour indoor rowing marathon is held annually against rival

Hatfield College Boat Club , motto_English = Either the first or with the first , scarf = , named_for = Thomas Hatfield , established = , senior_tutor = , master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–) , undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18) , postgradu ...

. The charity event is jointly run by both clubs in Epiphany term.

Club structure

Any member of University College JCR, MCR or SCR can join UCBC as an ordinary member and any other student of Durham University may join with the President's permission. The club is run by a nine-person executive committee selected annually. These are the President, Men's Captain, Women's Captain, Secretary, Treasurer, Freshwomens Captain, Freshmens Captain, Social Secretary and Boatman. There are also non-executive roles such as Captain of Coxes and Vice Captains. As a tradition, the handover occurs when the 1st VIII crosses the finish line in the race against FCBC at Durham Regatta. All club members are able to join the club's alumni organisation ''Floreat Castellum'' Boat Club. This organises an annual dinner in London as well as an invitational race at Durham Regatta against the current UCBC 1st VIII. All members of FCBC are treated as life members of UCBC. UCBC holds its own annual Ball each year in Epiphany term. Previous locations include Durham Town Hall, The Royal County Hotel in Durham, The Three Tuns Hotel in Durham and the Assembly Rooms Newcastle.

Club colours

The club blades are

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

with a white chevron, cardinal being the colour of University College. The club racing kit is defined for all-in-ones as "black with cardinal side strip" or the club Zephyrs as "White with Cardinal Trim". For winter racing, the club tech tops are "black with cardinal trim". Members of the 1st VIII's are eligible to wear different tech tops; "white with cardinal trim and 1st VIII on the collar". The club blazer is "white with cardinal trim". 1 or 2 stripes on the sleeves indicate current or past membership of the second or first VIII respectively. This can be worn at all club socials and some college events.

References

External links