New College Boat Club
New College Boat Club (NCBC) is the rowing club for members of New College, Oxford. The club's existence can be dated to 1840 when it first raced on The Isis in Oxford.[1]
 Shield | ||||||||||||
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 New College Boathouse (right half) and rowing blade | ||||||||||||
| Location | Boathouse Island | |||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 51.74290°N 1.24910°W | |||||||||||
| Home water | River Thames (known in Oxford as the Isis) | |||||||||||
| Founded | 1840[1] | |||||||||||
Key people |
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| Head of the River |
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| University | University of Oxford | |||||||||||
| Colours | ||||||||||||
| Affiliations | British Rowing (boat code NEC) King's College BC (Sister college) | |||||||||||
| Website | www | |||||||||||
The club shares a boathouse on The Isis (part of the Thames) with Balliol College Boat Club, as well as using boat racks at Godstow for the Men's and Women's first boats.
History
The first record of a New College eight is in 1840, with another appearance in 1852. Only from 1868 did the college start to fully represent itself on the river. In these early years New achieved 'Head of the River' in the Eights in 1887, 1896-1899, 1901, 1903-04 (inclusive). In Torpids the club was 'Head of the River' in 1882, 1896, 1900-04.[1]
The 1912 Stockholm Olympics
The New College Boat Club represented Great Britain at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm and won the Silver medal in the men's eight.[2]
The two British crews - New College, and a Leander Club boat largely drawn from Magdalen College, Oxford - were the favourites for gold so started at opposite ends of the draw. They both worked up through the competition to make the final.
According to New College records, the final featured controversy over lane choice. The course in Stockholm was not straight, and one of the two lanes was clearly favoured, the other requiring the cox to steer around a protruding boathouse and then back under a bridge. Before the final, the two British captains met to toss for lanes. New College won the toss and following gentlemanly tradition offered the choice of lanes to their opponents, who would - in a gentlemanly fashion - refuse this offer. However the Leander/Magdalen College captain accepted this offer and chose the better lane. Leander went on to win the gold medal, leaving New College with the silver.[3]
According to New College tradition, King Gustav V of Sweden was so disheartened by this display of ungentlemanly conduct that, as a consolation, he presented his colours to New College; ever since then, New College have raced in purple and gold, the colours of the royal house of Sweden. A further tradition has been the adoption of the toast: 'God Damn Bloody Magdalen!', the supposed words of the New College stroke Robert Bourne as they crossed the line. The abbreviation GDBM has been used commonly ever since, and is still on bottom of the NCBC letterhead.[3]
Henley Royal Regatta
The club has won four events at Henley Royal Regatta in its history.
| Event | Win | 2nd |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Challenge Cup | 1897 | 1889, 1895, 1904 |
| Ladies' Challenge Plate | 1900, 1950 | 1908 |
| Stewards' Challenge Cup | 1912, 1913 | 1894, 1897, 1898 |
| Visitors' Challenge Cup | 1894, 1898 | 1899, 1939, 1946, 1948 |
Recent form
Christ Church Regatta
In 2019, the Men's Gold Boat won the Christ Church Indoor Regatta, beating Christ Church in the final in their own boathouse.
In 2021, the Women's Purple Boat won the Christ Church Regatta, competing against all the novice boats from other colleges.
Eights
In 2023, the Men's 1st VIII started 15th (3rd Div 2) and finished 14th, the 2nd VIII started 39th (3rd Div 4) and finished 35th. The Women's 1st VIII started 10th and finished 14th, the 2nd VIII started 49th (1st Div 5) and finished 53rd.[4]
Blues
A number of members of New College have gone on to row for the University.[1]
| Year | Oxford University Boat Club |
|---|---|
| 1853-55 | W.F. Short |
| 1856 | G. Bennett |
| 1877-79 | F.M. Beaumont (cox) |
| 1882-83 | G.C. Bourne |
| 1884-87 | Douglas McLean (President '84-85) |
| 1885-57 | Hector McLean (President '87) |
| 1888 | S.R. Fothergill, A. Steward (cox) |
| 1889 | F.C. Drake |
| 1889-91 | Lord Ampthill (President 1890) |
| 1889-92 | J.P. Heywood-Londsdale (cox) |
| 1890 | C.H. Hornby |
| 1892-95 | C.M. Pitman (President 1894-95) |
| 1893-94 | J.A. Morrison |
| 1894-97 | W.E. Crum (President 1895-96) |
| 1894-85 | T.H.E. Stretch |
| 1895-98 | C.K. Philips (President '97) |
| 1895 | C.P. Serocold (cox) |
| 1896-1897 | J.J.J. de Knoop |
| 1897-98 | G.O.C. Edwards |
| 1898-99 | R.O. Pitman |
| 1899-1900 | C.E. Johnston |
| 1900-01 | R. Culme-Seymour |
| 1901 | A. de L. Long, James Younger |
| 1951 | Stokes, L.A.F., Hawkes, M.J., Turner, C.G., Hayes,J. |
| 1952 | Stokes, L.A.F. |
| 1953 | Byatt, R.A. |
| 1967-68 | D. Topolski |
| 1981 | R.P. Yonge |
| 1982 | R.C. Clay, R.P. Yonge, Sarah Talbot |
| 1983 | G.R.D. Jones, R.P. Yonge |
| 1984 | R.C. Clay, G.R.D Jones |
| 1988 | S. Joshua Lewis |
| 1993 | Alison Cox (nee Palmer) |
| 1994 | Alison Cox (nee Palmer, President '94) |
| 2000 | Stephanie Frackowiak |
| 2015-16 | Samuel Collier (cox) |
| 2016 | Joanneke Jansen |
| 2017 | Rebecca Esselstein |
| 2022 | Erin Reelick |
References
- Rashdall, Hastings & Rait, Robert S. (1901). New College. London: F. E. Robinson.
- Swedish Olympic Committee (1913). Erik Bergvall (ed.). The Official Report of the Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 (PDF). Stockholm: Wahlstrom and Widstrand. p. 667. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2008.
- Fishburn, Victoria (30 July 2012). "Stockholm 1912 – London 2012: An Olympic Centenary, Part 1". Hear the Boat Sing.
- "Eights 2023". Oxford Bumps Charts. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
External links
Rowing at the University of Oxford | ||
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| University |  | |
| College Boat Clubs |
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| Events | ||