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 a ...

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, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

. It is one of the oldest boat clubs in the world, having been founded in 1827. They also represent

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mast ...

History

In 1837, the club represented

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

in a race against

Lady Margaret Boat Club The Lady Margaret Boat Club (abbreviated to "LMBC" and known as "Maggie") is the Sport rowing, rowing club for members of St John's College, Cambridge, England. The club is named after Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, Lady Mar ...

, representing

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, and won. This event, held on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

, is credited with leading to support from the town for the establishment of the

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

. 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. More than 130 men's and women's crews race for their colleges in twelve divisions: six each of men's and women' ...

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 Colleges of the University of Oxford, intercollegiate Sport rowing, rowing event of the year. The regatta takes ...

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 record by rising 6 places in a single bumps campaign. Their success was followed by achieving 'blades' a second time in their Summer VIIIs campaign. Once again breaking another record by securing double blades in a year, a first for the women’s side in the boat club’s history.

References

External links

* 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 boat club specifi ...

Sports clubs and teams established in 1827 Rowing clubs in Oxfordshire Rowing clubs of the River Thames {{England-sport-team-stub