News

Michaelmas 2002

Easter 2002

* New Committee Elected for '02-'03	(Sun 9th Jun)
* Emma Brooke Elected as CUCBC Coxing Representative	(Sun 9th Jun)
* CCBC names its new Men's VIII 'Baron Charles Claoué de Gohr'	(Sat 4th May)
* Molesey Training Camp	(Easter '02)
* The Boat Races	(Sat 30th Mar)

Lent 2002

*1st Day of Lent Bumps Cancelled!	(February 26th 2002)
*Easter Training Camp	(Easter Vacation 2002)
*Men's 3rd Get On!	(February 22nd 2002)

Michaelmas 2001

* Michaelmas Newsletter
* Boat Club names its new Women's VIII 'Sweet Katie'	(December 1st 2001)
* Churchill hold their first ever 2K ergo competition	(November 24th & 25th 2001)
* 2nd day of sculling camp goes without a hitch	(November 17th 2001)
* CCBC go to London for the Head Of River IV's	(November 10th 2001)
* Sculling Camp comes to a premature end	(October 20th 2001)
* Flooded again!	(October 2001)
* CCBC go to Bedford Small Boats Head	(October 14th 2001)
* CCBC New Sponsor Announced	(October 1st 2001)

Summer Break 2001

* Churchill Success in Boston Rowing Marathon

(August 2001)

Easter 2001

* New Committee Elected

(June 2001)

News archives

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Michaelmas Term 2002

Autumn Head Results

Mens 1st VIII come in 8th overall, and the second fastest college crew, losing only to Caius, whilst the ladies 1st IV is beaten into second place by Jesus. Excellent performances all round.

 

Easter Term 2002

New Committee Elected for 2002-2003(Sun. June 9th '02)

The new committee is.....

Overall captain: Andy Kimber
Men's captain: Dave Thornalley
Women's captain: Helen Russell
Men's vice-captain: Francois Leesch
Women's vice-captain: Janis Ferns
Men's lower boats captain: Noel Smith
Junior treasurer: Becky Hughes
Equipment and safety officer: Dave Anderton
Website and communications manager, and social secretary: Richard Mathias and Cecilly Barber

Contact details for the New Committee can be found here. The New committee will take over from the old one at the end of the '01- '02 academic year.

As nobody stood for the position of secretary the new committee will either share the responsibilities, or hold another election.

Here are the Manifestos of Successful Candidates for Committee Posts 2002-2003

Andrew Kimber - for Overall Captain
David Thornalley - for Men's Captain
Helen Russell - for Women's Captain
Janis Ferns - for Women's Vice Captain
Francois Leesch - for Men's Vice Captain
Stephen McLaren - for Men's Lower Boats Captain
Becky Hughes - for Junior Treasurer
Dave Anderton - for Equipments and Safety Officer

 

Andrew Kimber's manifesto for Overall Captain. Proposed by Brian McGee, Seconded by Dave Thornalley

For those of you that don't know me I'm Andrew Kimber, 3rd Year Natural Scientist and long term Mens 2nd VIII rower!

I am standing for overall captain because I would like to continue the work I have done as sponsorship officer and to do a bit more work behind the scenes away from rowing. Outlined below is a very brief summary of my aims for the boatclub over the coming years, but I feel that the most important objective is to strive to get Churchill back up into the top few clubs on the river. As overall captain I hope I can assist in this aim by helping to maintain the club's strong financial position and to let the captains get on with the rowing without having to worry about this kind of thing!

- SPONSORSHIP: I am hoping that with a little persuasion Charles Claoue will continue his generous sponsorship into next year but I am already seeking other possible sources of sponsorship to ensure we are able to continue to improve equipment next year.

- LONG TERM SPENDING: Helen and Will have been working with Dr. T. to reorganise our finances and try and organise a future spending plan. Hopefully we will be able to strengthen our fleet of small boats over the next few years.

- ALUMNI ASSOCIATION: I aim to continue Will's work with setting up the alumni association and hope that it may eventually provide us with a new source of income! I would like more alumni to come to boat club dinners and maybe even stick a crew out in a few races on Cam.

- TRAINING CAMPS: After a very successful training camp to Molesey this year I hope that we can have at least one training camp off cam next year and a camp at the start of lent term with the aim of accelerating the novices to 2nd and 1st boat standard.

- LINKS WITH OTHER COLLEGES: I'd like to strengthen our links with other college boat clubs maybe with a view to having joint ents etc. I feel that I'm approachable and well organised and hope that if elected I will be able to continue Will and Zoe's good work this year. I'm probably going to be up in Cambridge all summer so hopefully I can get to work on organising some of the things outlined above! I'll be living out next year but only 2mins from the boat house as Andy P will testify!

If you have any questions then please email me (ark28@cam.ac.uk)
Thank you for reading.

Andy Kimber

 

David Thornalley's manifesto for Men's Captain. Proposed by Will Courtenay, Seconded by Andy Kimber

Hi,
I hope you all know who I am by now and that is one of the main reasons why I feel I should be Mens Captain. I have been Vice-Captain for the past year and therefore have got to know all members of the boatclub. I would wish to continue to help out at all levels of the boatclub, and for both the women and men.

My main role would be in the running of the 1st boat. I am yet to finalise my plans but I am looking at trying to introduce consistency in crews. This would involve 2km trials at the end of Michaelmas and trials at the beginning of Lent term after a training camp (hopefully at Molesey again). I would then select a squad of 10 rowers (5 on each side!) who would row together for the first 4 weeks of Lent before a final cut was made 3 weeks before bumps. This crew would then hopefully stay together for May term.

I want to install a professional attitude in 1st boat. I want people to realise that training for bumps would involve a yearly commitment and I would organise a training plan for this. I would ensure that people know what is expected of them and would try to encourage them to have individual goals. I have competed at swimming and running at a national level since I was very young and understand what is involved in the daily training regime: the need to remain focused, to keep a record of your training and to commit to every training session.

As Mens Captain I would promise to ensure the happiness (in a rowing sense!) of all the rowers by undertaking fair trials, understanding the pressures of work and that we row for our enjoyment. Being a top boatclub does not involve 2 outings a day, every day, but involves having a structured training plan and ensuring quality training sessions, not quantity. Above all, I would want people to realise that rowing is a fitness sport and that this therefore involves being fit!

Email me (djrt2@cam.ac.uk) with any questions, I am open to any ideas. Cheers, David Thornalley

 

Helen Russell's manifesto for Women's Captain. Proposed by Jenny Shaw, Seconded by Zoe Jones

Who am I? My name is Helen Russell. I am a 2nd year mathematician and have rowed ever since novicing two years ago. I have rowed in 1st boat for over a year and am currently Junior Treasurer of the boat club.

Why do I want to be Women's Captain, and why should you vote for me? I am really enthusiastic about rowing, and want to make Churchill crews as competitive and fun to be in as possible. I feel that I could contribute a lot to the boat club and am prepared to put in lots of time and effort to strengthen and improve it.

If I am elected Women's Captain I will:

- organise coaches for 1st boat (and other women's senior boats in Michaelmas) well in advance. Having rowed in 1st boat I know most of the coaches and will work with them, and the crew, to plan the outings and the training schedules that will work best for the crew. This includes persuading people to train over the holidays wherever possible in order to maintain fitness.

- be approachable and open to suggestions from members of the crews and coaches.

- help to plan and run a successful novice day (along with the vice-captains). The more people we can convince to novice, the stronger the boat club will be in the future. I will persuade senior rowers to help with coaching, possibly putting some senior rowers in novice boats for one or two outings (it is easier to learn if you can actually see what you should be doing, rather than being told from the bank). This might also help the novices to feel more a part of the boat club as a whole.

- make sure our coxes receive more coaching. It is obviously important that novice coxes receive plenty of coaching but senior coxes should also be getting feedback and suggestions from coaches and crews.

- help with other aspects of running the boat club whenever needed.

Thanks for reading. If you have any questions please contact me (hlr24@cam.ac.uk). Helen Russell

 

Janis Fern's manifesto for Women's Vice Captain. Proposed by Amanda Colabella, Seconded by Pip Mason.

Who am I? A 2nd year medic - been involved in the boatclub since the first term of being at Churchill. Having rowed every term since Lent 2001 I feel that I have quite a good idea of the running and workings of the boatclub.

Why Me? Am enthusiastic about rowing, approachable and friendly. Was Netball captain for college this last year- involved a lot of organisation, emailing, co-ordinating and adapting to unforeseen circumstances!

Future plans? Stability in terms of coaching worked well this year for novices- hope to implement that again. Similar initial stability for lower crews is the aim. Currently rowing in 2nd Womens boat - so have first hand experience of what works/what doesn't.

Email me on jmf43@cam.ac.uk if you have any questions. Cheers. Janis.

 

Francois Leesch's manifesto for Men's Vice Captain. Proposed by Dave Thornalley, Seconded by Brian McGee

Who am I?
I'm a second year geographer and I've rowed since I came to Churchill back in 2000, starting out in Novice B, with time since in Men's Second and First Boats. I've also done Novice coaching this Michaelmas term.

Why am I standing for vice captain?
My two roles would be the organisation of novice rowing in Michaelmas and the running of the second boat in the remainder of the year.
With respect to novice rowing, I believe that the recruitment and training of novices is essential for the continued success of the boat club. Working along with the Lower Boats Captain, I aim to make novicing at Churchill a rewarding and memorable experience, ensuring that many of our novices continue rowing in the future.

I also believe that Men's second boat is an important part of a college boat club. The standard of our second boat is an indicator for the future strength of our first VIII. I want to keep the Second boat as a development squad of potential first VIII rowers who are highly committed and want to row at a high standard. Churchill Men's Second Boat deserves a place in the middle of the second Lent and May Bumps division. I want to help put them back there.

How will I achieve this?
Novice Term
- I will organise as many coaches as possible before the start of Michaelmas term. In conjunction with the lower boats captain I'll select crews based not on a single 500 m erg test, but on physical suitability, commitment and discipline. The first week on the river can be run as trials.
- I want to get people on the river as soon as possible.
- Novicing is mainly about fun, so with help from the social secretary I'll get the crews out on exchanges with ladies from other colleges, and on crew curries etc. The boat club should cater for the serious and non-serious side by side.
- Afternoon outings! They are possible, and a great number of people miss out on rowing because they think it's all done at 5am...I plan to have a once a week "lay-about art student" boat for people without lectures.
- A successful novice term will make my job easier, by giving me loads of well-trained rowers for 2nd boat. So it's in my best interest to do a really good job.

Second boat
- I will assure that a strong dialogue is maintained between the crew and myself. I will check the progress of the crew and consider on what bits the crew needs to work most.
- In the first week of the term ergo sessions will take the form of a coached technical ergo session to sort out individual technical points.
- I will establish a decent fitness plan by consulting coaches and experienced college rowers.
- I will note down individual ergo times as well as technical points and I will hold a database of rowers. This will allow me to follow the progress of any given rower.
- I will assure that first boat and second boat use each other to improve. For example, there could be a couple of outings per week where both crews go out at the same time so that they can race each other.
- I will maintain a strong dialogue with each week's coach and will take his/her suggestions into account.
- I will assure that second boat gets a reasonable number of races per term.
- I will encourage the crew to develop a strong team spirit. This can for example be achieved by socials such as formal halls and curry evenings.

Am I the person for the job?
I've been the captain of the University second Korfball team. I was captain of my local Tennis club and I represented the players' interests in the committee meetings. I am also in the committee of the Luxembourg Student Society. This experience should be useful for a vice-captain post in a college boat club.

Thank you for reading this far. François (ferl2@cam.ac.uk)

 

Becky Hughes' manifesto for Junior Treasurer. Proposed by Helen Russell, Seconded by Becca Martin.

Name: Becky Hughes
Subject: Nat Sci

I am fairly new to this rowing lark, as I noviced at the beginning of this year but have been rowing pretty much continually ever since, as I rowed first boat in both Lent and May terms. I plan to continue rowing next year because I love everything about it and not only for the range of funky accessories available! Basically I have been impressed with the way that the boatclub has been run this year and want to get involved and help it to carry on that way.

Why vote for me? Good question really, well anyone that knows me will say that I am always very, er realistic about my own abilities but I really think that I could do this. I have a reasonable grasp of maths and experience of a similar post. I was treasurer for my brownie pack at home for a few years, (which means that I am also good at crafts and riot control). I believe that I am organised enough to keep day to day finances in order (my revision timetable IS colour coded). I am also very much aware that there has been some discussion over the increasing price of boatclub dinner and that alternative venues have been considered. I would work hard to ensure that wherever we have boatclub dinner represents the best solution for the boatclub, whilst continuing price negotiations with college. Any other reasons? I am almost terminally enthusiastic once I get going and always try really hard, oh and I must have a sense of humour, I mean have you seen our Lycra?

So in summary:
· I can keep accounts
· I always give 100%
· I am totally committed to the boatclub
· Any questions don't hesitate to email me (rmh39@cam.ac.uk)

Thanks for reading, Becky

 

Dave Anderton's manifesto for Equipments and Safety Officer

Hi,
You might be asking yourself why i want to stand for Equipments and Safety Officer for the Churchill BC. The simple answer is i'm a caring engineer...

Safety on the water is one of the most important things with rowing, especially on the Cam when there can be hundreds of inexperienced rowers and coxes trying not to plough into each other. In particular coxes need to be well informed and know absolutely NOT to take risks. But it doesn't stop there, the boathouse and other training facilities are also full of potentially dangerous situations and these need to be recognised. In the past Churchill has been very good in teaching safe methods, and i want to continue this practice and make sure that they are not deviated from for any reason, so we are not putting the health of members and safety/usablility of kit at risk.

As far as the equipments bit goes, i've been rowing for 2 years now (for those who don't know me), and have got to use a lot of the kit Churchill has (ok, so i haven't coxed - think i'm a bit heavy, so haven't used a cox box :-) but hey). I have to admit it is all in pretty good nick, but who's to say its going to stay that way..?

I feel i have the required drive to ensure anything that gets broke gets fixed fast. There is nothing more annoying than doing a 2k and having the erg batteries die on you half way through! I think its the little things that count, making sure there is tissue to clean the ergs after use, making sure that the megaphones are in a usable state so we can hear the coaches from the bank, making sure that there is a stereo lead for the pav stereo, and has anyone seen its radio aerial, being an engineer mebee I can design a reinforced one!! hmmm. give it a few years perhaps.. but the whole engineer thing does mean i'm more than happy to take the ergs apart (i promise i'll put them back together again and not so it makes it easier to get good times :-) honest!) and of course give them a clean in the process.

Right, i'm rambling, i'll stop - thank you for reading, if anyone has any questions or suggestions please get in contact. David Anderton (dra25@cam.ac.uk)

 

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Emma Brooke Elected as CUCBC Coxing Representative (Sun. June 9th '02)

Congratulations to Emma Brooke (cox of our Women's 2nd Boat), who was elected onto the CUCBC Executive Committee as the Coxing Representative. Emma is a student at Anglia Polytechnic University but has been an active member of CCBC, rowing and coxing for 2 years in the ladies boat club.

Emma's role as CUCBC coxing representative is to raise the profile of and improve the standard of coxing on the Cam. So if you have any good ideas about coxing, please get in touch with her (meryl_sheep@yahoo.co.uk).

 

CCBC Names its New Men's VIII ' Baron Charles Claoué de Gohr '
(Sat. May 4th '02)

CCBC were lucky to get a sunny day to christen the new men's VIII Baron Charles Claoué de Gohr - named after the boat clubs sponsor. There was an impressive turnout as everyone wanted to see the fantastic new PINK boat on show for the first time. An unusual sight on the Cam it caused several outbursts from passing crews and numerous people did double takes as they rowed past and couldn't quite believe their eyes!

Popping the Champagne!

 

Christening 'The Baron'

 

Men's 1st Getting Acquainted With 'The Baron'

 

Dr. Jack Miller, the Boat Club President and Men's 1st before 'The Baron's' 1st outing

 

"Have I drunk too much or is that boat PINK ??!?!?"
Men's 1st in 'The Baron' passing the Pike and Eel

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Molesey Training Camp (Easter Vacation '02)

CCBC took a trip to London to stay at Molesey Rowing Club on the Thames for 3 days of rowing fun. With excellent facilities at the Club and fantastic weather for the duration of the Camp, CCBC were spoilt rotten and had an excellent and productive time.

Go to the Gallery for photo's of all activities undertaken during the Camp!!!

The Boat Races (Mar. 30th '02)

We wont talk about this too much, but here are the results: OURC bt CURC (1/2 L) OULRC bt CULRC (2L) OUWBC bt CUWBC (2L) OUWLRC bt CUWBC lwts (4L) Osiris bt Blondie (1 3/4L) Nephthys bt Granta (2L). Fantastic performances by all crews involved. Commiserations to Cambridge, no-one deserves to lose.

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Lent Term 2002

1st Day of Lent Bumps Cancelled! (Feb. 26th '02)

Announcement from Pete Convey:

"Unfortunately the winds are still too strong, and gusting heavily. Therefore, in the interests of safety, we have no option but to cancel today's [the first day of Bumps] races. Assuming the weather improves, racing will continue as planned tomorrow (ie those divisions that were due to race today will only have a total of three races). The sandwich boats for M1 and W1 tomorrow will be the current first crews in the respective second divisions."

It has been decided that it is not feasible to run todays races on the same day as another day of Bumps (ie. crews race twice) and it is not possible to run this days racing on another day due to university rules not permitting races on more than a certain number of lecture days. It would also be impossible to book all the St John's Ambulance staff and other groups of people essential for the smooth and safe running of Bumps, for an extra day att such short notice. Therefore the most sensible decision was taken - that today was cancelled and crews that should have raced gain technical row-overs.

See also the Lent Bumps 2002 page

Easter Training Camp (Easter Vacation 2002)

The annual Churchill Easter training camp will be between Mon 15th and Fri 19th April (the week before the start of next term). The first two days will be on the Cam, and the final three will hopefully be off-Cam, probably in London. The training camp is for all standards and is great preparation for May term rowing - particularly those hoping to row in the top crews. (It's also a good laugh, youth hostelling and the like...) Contact the boat club captain for more details.

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Michaelmas Term 2001

Michaelmas Newsletter

All the information in the Michaelmas Newsletter is on this web site but for an easily accessible summary of the Michaelmas term and captains and vice captain comments, download a word file (985 Kb)of the The Michaelmas Newsletter here. A free viewer for Word 97 files is available from Microsoft.

 

Boat Club names its new women's VIII 'Sweet Katie' (December 1st 2001)

In honour of the Boat Club's new sponsor Mr Charles Claoué's wife, Mrs Kate Claoué , CCBC's new women's VIII has been named 'Sweet Katie'. It is to be CCBC's new women's 2nd boat and we hope it will be with us for a long time and enjoy many races and outings with the boat club!

Zoe Jones (women's captain) Christens the new women's VIII 'Sweet Katie'

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First ever CCBC 2k ergo competition (November 24th &25th 2001)

The men's and women's captains- Will and Zoe- decided that it was time to hold an ergo competition to test the metal of the novices and seniors in the boat club. A 2k ergo was thought to be a suitable test, with the added advantage that the times obtained in the competition can be used to help with crew selection next term.
Competition was strong but friendly with plenty of encouragement given to 'ergoers' by spectators and waiting competitors.

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Sculling Camp Completion (November 17th 2001)

With the normal dry and cold weather having returned to Cambridge, the '2nd day' of the sculling camp went smoothly. The men's senior rowers got the chance to test their nerve and balance in a scull and all came away unscathed, dry and enthusiastic to try sculling again!

CCBC would like to thank Rob Roy Boat Club for the loan of their beginner sculls and in particular to Rob Oeffner for his help in organizing the sculling camp and for his excellent coaching during the camp. CCBC would also like to thank Darren Murray

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CCBC go to London for the Head of the River Fours (November 10th 2001)

2 CCBC senior men's IVs and 2 CCBC senior women's IV's travelled to London to race the 4 mile Mortlake to Putney (reverse of varsity boat race course) Head of the River Fours race. The weather was ideal without too much wind to make the water choppy and without rain to chill the rowers before they raced. All the crews put in strong performances and their results can be found here.

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Sculling Camp comes to a premature end (October 20th 2001)

After a very successful first day to the Sculling Camp the rain came and stopped play. Rowers expecting to get a first try in a scull on Sunday watched miserably as the rain poured incessantly down all day. It is hoped that the 2nd day can be run some time in the near future but for those who did get to have a go there was some good progress made - see the scullers in action here. Only one rower got had an early bath and we wouldn't want to say who that was would we? Mark Ashdown? :)

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Flooded again! (October 2001)

Churchill's Boat House suffered its worst flooding in years after one months rain fell in one day. The Boat House was inaccessible for 3 days in which fears for the boats safety grew. Photos of the Boat House seen on the CUCBC web site only served to heighten these fears as boats that were normally on trestles outside the Boat House were nowhere to be seen! After the floods had abated the clean up operation went into full swing with inches of mud to be washed out of the boat house before it could be used again. The 'missing' boats were found propped against a trailer in a rather sorry state. Fingers crossed that the rain stays away and doesn't come again -well at least for a few days anyway! - and that Churchill rowers can get out on the river and get some practice in before this terms races begin.

Summer Break 2001

Former Churchill rower Niko Loening won the novice single sculls at the Boston Rowing Marathon

Niko, competing for Cambridge Blue Boat Club, completed the 50 kilometer (!) course in 3:57'21". Here's what Niko said about his excellent achievement:
"The conditions this year were ideal, a good tailwind and partly cloudy skies, which were in stark contrast to the rain and strong headwind that I faced two years ago when I competed in a Free Press quad scull. The first two thirds of the race went really well, but somewhere around the 39th kilometer I hit "the wall" and felt my performance drop off. I kept at it, and found a little something to pick things up for the last (49th) kilometer. Earlier in the race, I had realized that there was a chance for me to break four hours, and it was that goal (as well as not wanting to be beaten by Sue Brown!) that kept me motivated to keep things moving along, especially in those last 10 kilometers. I'd like to thank Chris Boswell and Debbie Lloyd for their professional support as the "ground crew" for the race."

Niko powering along early in his marathon
(for more excellent rowing photo's see the Jet web site)

Niko currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at the MIT/Harvard Center for Magnetic Resonance in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Also competing at the Boston Marathon were two Churchill coaches, Sue Brown and Chris Lloyd. Both of them won in their categories, and set course records as well!

 

So a HUGE congratulations to all!

Easter Term 2001

New Committee Elected

The New CCBC committee was elected at a meeting overflowing with excellent campaign speechs and jokes! Contact information for the new committee can be found here

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Lent Term News 2001