News and Notices 2005-6
I am sorry to have to let you know that John Gleave, who coached 28 winning LMBC crews over the period 1973-1992, has died. A memorial service will take place in Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge on 21 October at 3.00pm. His widow has asked me to say that friends from the LMBC are very welcome to attend and that blazers are encouraged. Please spread the word.
Catherine Twilley
LMBC Senior Treasurer
The LMBC is delighted to be able to announce that Ms Raf Wyatt has been appointed Boat Club Manager. Raf has a wealth of experience in rowing and in running boat clubs and has previously been a National Women's Coach for Switzerland and a National Development Coach for New Zealand. She will be joining the Club on Monday 4 September and we are very much looking forward to working with her.
A **provisional** timetable has been published, which has us racing at 3.05pm on Wednesday. See the HRR website (www.hrr.co.uk) nearer the time for confirmation.
I'm delighted to be able to tell you that the 1st VIII qualified for the Temple Challenge Cup for the first time in four years. We will be racing Pangbourne College in the 1st round this coming Wednesday, and it would be great to see lots of red along the course. Racing happens between 9am and 7.30pm, and our exact race time will be decided only on Tuesday (see www.hrr.co.uk for more details).
Starting with the good news this time, the second women bumped Emmanuel II to win their blades. Many congratulations to them.
The only other bump of the day went to the 3rd men, who bumped Clare 2 to reverse their bad start to the week and finish down 1. The 3rd women and 4th, 5th and 6th men were all bumped again, as were the 2nd men, taken out by Kings 1 very late in the course. The first women, however, finished the week on a positive note with a strong rowover in front of Churchill. The first men also put in a strong rowover to hold 3rd on the river, holding station with the crews ahead and improving on yesterday by staying comfortably clear of Queens for most of the race.
Friday didn't start well for LMBC, with the 6th, 5th and 4th men and then the 3rd women all getting bumped, and the first women were later bumped by Downing. Fortunately there was some slightly better news in the other races... The 3rd men managed to halt their slide down the division with a rowover, holding on for long enough until everybody bumped out around them, and the second men also rowed over, coming close to bumping Peterhouse 1 at Ditton but not quite able to finish them off. The first men finally managed to make it safely round Grassy, but a lack of confidence round the corners cost them a lot of distance and they were forced to defend hard to fight off the chasing Queens' crew to secure a rowover. Oblivious to the problems of the rest of the club, the 2nd women continued their upward progress with a bump on Pembroke 2, and will chase Emmanuel 2 for their blades on Saturday.
Good luck to all our crews on Saturday, especially the 2nd women as they row for their blades.
Starting with the good news, the 2nd women continued their upwards progress with a bump on Caius 2, while the 2nd men halted their fall with a hard-fought rowover in front of CCAT 1. The 3rd women and the fellows also rowed over. The bad news is that the 1st women and the 6th, 4th and 3rd men were all bumped, while the 1st men again failed to take Grassy and didn't get away with it this time, falling to a hugely stacked Catz crew who had shown no real threat up to that point. Let's hope for some better results on Friday...
It's always said that you should start as you mean to go on, and unfortunately the 6th men set the tone for the men's boat club for the day by getting bumped early on, a trend later followed by the 3rd and the 2nd men. The fellows (5th men) bucked the trend with a bump on Downing 4, despite crashing on Grassy (another theme for the day) while taking evasive action around a stationary crew. The 4th men rowed over, uneventfully as far as I know. The 1st men started their campaign in interesting fashion, closing on Caius off the start and down the gut before parking hard on the outside of Grassy, fortunately managing to push out ahead of the chasing crews but eliminating any possibility of bumping up. Better news in part from the women's side of the club, with the 2nd and 3rd eights bumping Robinson 1 and New Hall 2 respectively. The 1st women, however, were disappointed to be bumped by Trinity Hall outside the Plough, and will be hoping to turn it around and make some upwards progress later in the week...
Since leaving London in January the three of us - Dave Wilson, Chris Taylor and George Wallis - have cycled over 10,000km and travelled
through 18 countries as part of our bicycle expedition from London
to Beijing. Swathes of Iranian bureaucracy, the minor complication of overstaying a visa and the dramatic distintegration of
Dave's wheel have failed to halt our progress and we are now well over
half way through the trip.
Limited by a short visa, we were forced to race across Iran in 20
days, battling against the heat of the desert and often relentless
headwinds to average over 90 miles a day. Still, we had time to
appreciate the many offers of hospitality in Iran and visit the
magical city of Esfahan. Although the Islamic state of Iran was a
stark contrast to secular Turkey, it in no way reflects the media
coverage it receives in the West. The towns are more modern and
better presented than in parts of Turkey and people would go well out
of their way to help us. However, beneath the surface the people seem
frustrated with how they feel they are portrayed in the West and with
a regime that prevents change and liberalisation of their country.
From Iran, we headed northwards through Turkmenistan. As a former
Soviet state, this country is still trying to carve out a niche for
itself since the break up of the USSR and the removal of Russian
subsidies. It does so under the guidance of an amusing figurehead -
President Turkmenbashi "the father of all Turkmen". He has built up a
personality cult across the country, so that the centre of towns are
dedicted to statues and posters of him in assorted poses. If only he
spent as much time investing in signposts then our journey would have
been far more straightforward!
In Turkmenistan we cycled through long stretches of desert - at times
we could go for 70km without seeing a settlement - so it was in
someways a relief to travel through the fertile (irrigated) plains of
Uzbekistan and hop between the well restored silk road cities of
Bukhara and Samarqand. Although their countless mud brick domes and
ornately decorated mosques have made them the most touristy places
we've seen since Istanbul, they are in no way overwhelmed and we have
enjoyed relaxing with a 20 pence pint in their quiet streets.
Cycle touring is never that relaxing for long, and from the flats of
Uzbekistan we will soon head towards mountainous Kyrgzstan and ascend
the 3600m Irkeshtam pass on notoriously bad dirt track roads. From
there, we will enter China where we anticipate having to contend with
the 40C heat of the Taklamakan desert. Luckily, the Lady Margaret
zephyr is an ideal garament to protect against the midday sun and so
this shouldn't prevent us from achieving our final target of cycling
into Tiananmen square at the end of August. Hopefully Mr Gary Olney
will be waiting there with a cold crate of Tsingtao ready for some
celebrations. To follow our progress as we continue visit
www.chinacycle.co.uk where there are regular journal entries and photo
updates and where you can post support, admiration or abuse!
In the meantime, we hope that Chinese censorship does not prevent us
from being able to access the bumps results and we wish all crews the
best of luck. Viva laeta.
The AGM of the Boat Club will be held Wednesday 14 June, at 8:30pm at 69 Bridge Street. At the AGM there will be the elections for the rest of the positions on the committee for next year. Anyone may attend the AGM, but, as with the Captains’ Elections, only members of the top three men’s and women’s boats this term, members of the Committee, and past First May colours present at the meeting may vote. As usual voting by proxy is not allowed.
Nominations are now open for the following positions on the committee: Men’s Vice Captain, Women’s Vice Captain, Men’s Lower Boats’ Captain, Women’s Lower Boats’ Captain, Secretary, Chief Cox, Social Secretary, Junior Treasurer and Sponsorship and Publicity Officer. Nominations will close at 6pm on Tuesday 13 June. Anyone wishing to stand for a position should email me before then with the names of a proposer and seconder.
Being on the Committee is a great way of getting involved in the running of the Club, without having to do that much work. Anyone interested in any of the above positions might want to get in touch with the current holder to see what the role’s about. Names and email addresses are on the website.
Hope to see lots of people at the AGM, it’s the Wednesday of Bumps, so there’s no excuse for being anywhere else.
Congratulations to Gemma Sykes and Jan Trnka, who tonight won the elections for Women's and Men's Captain respectively. Jan was also elected Overall Captain.
This is probably a good time to let everyone know about the boat club AGM, which will be held on the evening of the Wednesday of Bumps (14 June). At the AGM there will be elections for all the other committee roles for next year. If you're interested in being involved in the running of the club, now might be a good time to get in touch with the current holder of the position you're interested in, to get an idea of what the job entails. Names and email addresses of all the committee members are on the website if you're not sure who does what.
The Captains-elect and the new committee formally take over at the end of the club's involvement at Henley Royal Regatta (effectively some point in late June).
Nominations for the Captains' Elections have now closed. The following nominations have been received:
Women's Captain:
- Clare Harvey (proposed by Hannah Stratford, seconded by Elizabeth Smee)
Gemma Sykes (proposed by Megan Daniel, seconded by Izzie Kaufeler)
Men's Captain:
- Hugo Cartwright (proposed by Greg Lowden, seconded by Kat Saklatvala)
- Jan Trnka (proposed by Mark Brand, seconded by Ben Russell)
The following intend to stand for Overall Captain, should they win their respective club's elections:
- Clare Harvey (proposed by Hannah Stratford, seconded by Jack Westwood)
Jan Trnka (proposed by Ed Russell, seconded by Henry Addison)
Remember that anyone can attend the meeting and those entitled to vote are: members of the men's and women's top three boats this term, members of the Junior Committee, and any past First May colours. The meeting is in the Boys Smith Room at 8pm tomorrow (Saturday).
The elections for next year's Captains will be held in the Boys Smith Room (Fisher Building), at 8pm, on Saturday 27 May.
Nominations for the positions of Men’s and Women’s Captains are now open; those wishing to stand should email me, including the names of a proposer and seconder. They should also indicate whether they are intending to stand for the position of Overall Captain, in addition to their respective club’s captaincy. Nominations will close at 6pm on Friday 26 May, after which they will be posted on this website.
If you’re thinking of standing, I’d strongly recommend you have a chat with Susan or Gerald, and as many former Captains as you can get your hands on.
Please do come along the elections meeting – I know it’s exam term and all but it shouldn’t take too long and it’s obviously an extremely important decision for the Club as a whole to make.
The following outlines how the elections are run (including who is entitled to vote):
The elections use a transferable vote system, with the option to re-open nominations available in each election. The entitlement to vote is held by those who in this term are members of the first three men’s and women’s boats, plus Officers on the Junior Committee and any past first May colours present at the meeting. This does not preclude others from attending the meeting, but clearly they may not vote. Only members of the Men’s Boat Club may vote on the position of Men’s Captain, and only members of the Women’s Club may vote for the Women’s Captain (for the purposes of elections, coxes are members of the club for which they usually cox). Voting by proxy is not permitted.
The usual format of the elections is for each candidate to give a short (3 minutes max) speech, followed by a short period of questions from the assembled members. Usually the elections for Women’s Captain are first, then the Men’s, then the Overall Captain. Only the two new Captains-elect will be eligible to stand for Overall Captain, although they are not obliged to. Candidates for Overall Captain should give an additional short speech and expect to face another round of questions.
Nobody should propose or second more than one candidate in each election, though candidates can use the same proposers and seconders for the Overall Captaincy as they did for their Men's/Women's Captain candidacy if they so wish.
The 2006 Colquhoun Sculls will take place between Monday 24th to Wednesday 26th April, exact date(s) to be confirmed once the number of entries is known.
The races are run in the usual knockout format, with two-boat heats from Little Bridge to the Railway Bridge. We’d like to see as many scullers as possible enter so we can get plenty of racing for everyone.
If you’d like to enter please send the following to me, the details can be emailed to tjm40, with a cheque sent later;
Name
Club
Email address
Cheque for £8 payable to Lady Margaret BC
If you have a massive problem with one of the days let me know and I’ll do my best to avoid it. Entries will be open until Thursday 20th April. Any other questions please ask.
Tom Marriott,
LMBC Men’s Vice Captain,
St. John’s College,
CB2 1TP
Congratulations to LMBC member John Davey on being selected to row in the Cambridge University Lightweight blue boat, which will race against Oxford in the Henley Boat Races on Saturday 1st April. More details available on the CULRC website.
A slightly delayed roundup of Saturday's results...
The 4th men unfortunately missed out on their blades due to a collision and were forced to settle for a rowover, but still finish an impressive up 3 for the week. The 3rd men also rowed over, although in their case to avoid their spoons, ending the week down 3. The 2nd men, looking to secure a place in the first division, started the day with a confident rowover at the head of the second division, chased the whole way by Magdalene 1 but holding them at a safe distance throughout, then completed the job with a scrappy but nevertheless very swift bump on St Catharine's 1 as sandwich boat in the first division, finishing up 4 for the week and winning their blades in the process. The first women finished with a gutsy rowover, about half a length ahead of Trinity Hall at the finish, to end the week down 2. The first men ended the week as they began it, being bumped by Jesus to finish down 1 overall.
Full results and race reports available through the bumps pages. Photos to follow soon...
Today was a day of mixed fortunes for our crews. Starting with the good news, the 1st men were able to put the mishaps of the last two days behind them to bump Jesus back in the Reach, and the 2nd men hit Magdalene going into Ditton to take them top of the second division, although they will have to wait for tomorrow to secure a place in the first division after everyone bumped out quickly in front of them as sandwich boat. The first women had a strong rowover behind Newnham, holding them on station for the first half of the race, but were unable to threaten them in the Reach. On the down side, the 3rd men were bumped by 1st and 3rd III in the Gut, and the 2nd women's charge was halted by a pile-up which left them with a technical rowover.
Two crews still on for blades tomorrow, with the 2nd and 4th men both up 3 so far, so good luck to them and to all our crews on the final day. Let's finish on a high note...
After yesterday's disappointing result, the 1st men had a much better row today, managing a solid rowover despite an accidental parking manoeuvre on the outside of Grassy, without which they might even have threatened to bump Jesus back. The first women were unfortunate to fall again to a very strong Newnham crew, and will be hoping to regroup today for a better finish to the week. The 2nd men had a tough race against Caius 2, grinding them down gradually and eventually bumping just before the railway bridge to take the 2nd boat headship. The 2nd women bumped Magdalene 1, but since they keep resisting all my attempts to get them to post race reports, that's all I know about that race! The 4th men continued their upward march with another bump before first post corner, this time on Hughes Hall 1.
Good luck to all our crews today!
More details as ever on the bumps pages.
Not such a successful day, with the 1st men bumped by Jesus, the 1st women by 1st and 3rd, and the 3rd men by Christ's 2. Fortunately the 4th men kept the flag flying with a bump on Kings 2, despite breaking a blade on the first stroke of the start.
Good luck to all crews racing today.
Today saw a largely successful start to the bumps campaign for most of our crews, with bumps for the 2nd women (Darwin 1), 2nd men (Girton 1) and 4th men (Wolfson 2). The 3rd men were unfortunately bumped by Selwyn 2 after the crews in front bumped out leaving them nothing to chase.
The 1st men and women race for the first time tomorrow while the 2nd boats have a day off, so good luck to them.
More details and race reports available through the bumps pages.
Good luck to all our crews racing this week. Follow the Bumps link on the menu for race times, live results and race reports.
Congratulations to Hannah Stratford and Philippa Rock on being selected for the Cambridge University Women's reserve crew, Blondie. They will race against Oxford in the Henley Boat Races on Saturday 1st April 2006. More details available on the CUW website.
Several changes to the general site layout, including reorganising the menus, with the subbing/contacts list, small boats booking and a few other things moved to the new members' area. I've also made some changes the way the pages are displayed, which should (for the moment at least) make almost no difference to most pages for most people, but could make everything go horribly wrong for a few... If you're one of the unlucky few, then first try refreshing the page, and if that doesn't help, or if you find particular pages that don't work, please email webmaster@lmbc.net to report the problem.
For those who don't already know, Dave, George and Chris will be setting off on their charity cycle ride to Beijing (see below) at 10am on Sunday 15th January from Trafalgar Square (London), so go along and join the crowds to give them a good send-off.
Also, don't forget to visit www.chinacycle.co.uk to check the latest news, post your messages of support and donate to their chosen charities.
Good luck to the three of them!
Good luck to all our novices in Clare Novice Regatta, which starts today. Racing is side-by-side (knockout) on the Reach, and always maes entertaining viewing, so go and give them some support if you have the time. Full details of division times are at www.clareboatclub.org, but in summary:
Thursday 2pm onwards: Men's plate - featuring the 3rd, 4th and 5th novice men
Friday 2pm onwards: Women's plate - featuring the 3rd and 4th novice women
Saturday all day: Men's and Women's cup - featuring the 1st and 2nd novice men and 2nd novice women - plus the later rounds of the plate competitions.
I am delighted to be able to officially announce that Bank of America have signed a contract to sponsor the club over the next three years.
For more information on Bank of America, please see their website, http://www.bankofamerica.com/.
Thanks to Naomi, our Sponsorship Officer, Tim, our Junior Treasurer, and Cath, our Senior Treasurer, who have worked extremely hard to sort out the details of the deal.
Dave Wilson (1st Mays 2005) writes:
As you may be aware George (Wallis), Chris (Taylor) and myself have decided that jobs
are jolly tedious and that cycling to Beijing might be fun. Therefore on the 16th January we will set off from
Trafalgar Square and head east for 10,000 miles. Our route takes us
through Croatia, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan,
Turdistan, China and Belgium, giving the Czech Republic as wide a
berth as possible. It should take us around 8 months unless Wallis
gets into trouble in Iran, although the illegality of alcohol might work in his favour.
To counter the damage done to International relations we are raising
money for two very worthwhile causes: Medecins Sans Frontieres and The
Oxford Children's Hospital Campaign. We are aiming to raise £30,000
so any contribution will be greatly appreciated.
Visit our website at www.chinacycle.co.uk to follow our progress, see our pictures, declare your admiration for us on the forum and donate wads of cash!
Hope all is well and the boatclub is finding new legends to fill the
void. See you in the boiler room.
Viva Laeta,
Chris, George and Dave
Congratulations to the first men and the third men for winning the men's upper and lower divisions in Queens Ergs this evening. Well done also to the 1st women who came 3rd in the women's upper division and the 2nd men and women who qualified for their respective first division finals. Race reports to follow...
Queens Ergs 2005 is this evening, Tuesday 1st November. All nine of our novice crews will be racing, so let's have as much support there for them as possible:
- Women's Upper Division
- W1 - 5.30pm, W2 - 6pm, Final - 10pm
- Men's Upper Division
- M1 - 7pm, M2 - 7.30pm, Final - 10.30pm
- Women's Lower Division
- W3 and W4 - 8.30pm
- Men's Lower Division
- M5 - 8.30pm, M4 and M5 - 9.30pm
The full draw is available on the QCBC website.
The CUCBC University IV's races start today and run until Friday this week, with racing every afternoon from 2pm (3pm on Friday). Supporters very welcome - check with people in the crews when they're racing because I don't have an up to date version of the timetable...
Good luck to all our crews!
Fours Desserts is now confirmed as Sunday 6th November, for all those involved in Uni IVs. As always, we'll be going to hall beforehand, so buy yourself a hall ticket now!
Hi-
Just in case any of you were trusting the message below over the information given out by the JCRC, the Freshers' Fair is on WEDNESDAY 11-1, not tuesday.
Hope to see you there,
Izzie (Acting Women's Lower Boats Captain)
The online tub booking system is back again for the next few weeks - either click the link above or follow the link on the menu bar. The system should be fairly easy to use, but if you have any problems please email webmaster@lmbc.net.
Hi,
and welcome to LMBC (The Lady Margaret Boat Club). You've probably heard of The Boat Race, but rowing in Cambridge is very active at the College level too. College rowing is open to anyone, regardless of previous rowing or sporting ability and experience- we are a large and succesful boat club, but most of our rowers hadn't rowed before they came to university. If you have rowed before, you will be integrated with the Senior rowers, but if you haven't, there is an entire programme of training and competition this term specifically for Novices just like you! Novicing is great fun, mixing training, (winning) competitions, and socials, and brings a huge sense of achievement due to the rapid progress you make in the course of the short 8 week term.
Last year, over half of all the Freshers at 'John's tried rowing, and with your participation we hope to equal or better that this year!
If you're interested in rowing, come and visit our stall at the Freshers' Fair, 11-1, Tuesday 4th October. In the mean time, feel free to browse the rest of the website and get in contact with us if you have any questions.
Hope to see you soon,
Mark Curling- Men's Lower Boats Captain (menslowerboats@lmbc.net)
Izzie Kaufeler- Acting Women's Lower Boats Captain (womenslowerboats@lmbc.net)
