St Hugh's Boat Club

St Hugh's College Boat Club (SHBC) is a rowing club for members of St Hugh's College, Oxford.[1][2] It is based on the Isis at Boathouse Island, Christ Church Meadow, Oxford, Oxford. The President for 2023/24 is Sascha Frey and the College Boats Fellow is Horst Eidenmüller. The boat club blazer is blue with white and yellow trim on the cuffs and lapels.[3]

St Hugh's College Boat Club
Image showing the rowing club's blade colours
Boathouse (centre) (building shared with Wadham & St Anne's)
MottoPer Ardua Ad Alta
LocationBoathouse Island, Christ Church Meadow, Oxford, Oxford
Coordinates51.744008°N 1.250652°W / 51.744008; -1.250652
Home waterThe Isis
Founded1886
UniversityUniversity of Oxford
AffiliationsBritish Rowing (boat code SHG)
Clare Boat Club (Sister college)
Websitewww.sthughsboatclub.co.uk

History

Founding and early years

The St Hugh's College Boat Club (SHBC) has a long and rich history, with notable contributions towards the development and establishment of women's rowing at Oxford. The establishment of the Boat Club occurred a few years after the college (originally St Hugh's Hall) itself was founded, with the year 1891[4] being the first record of a boat being owned by the club. The boat was stored at the River Cherwell and only students "who can swim 50 feet" were permitted to use it.[4] Almost 20 years later, the boatclub was able to buy and acquire its first boathouse - the Middle Cherwell Boat House.[4]

1952-1955

After three to four decades of building and gathering much needed infrastructure, the quality of training provided by the club improved significantly. This resulted in the Boat Club winning the Inter-College Fresher's fours,[5] which signified the potential of the club. However, the next year, due to unforeseen and unknown circumstances, the Boat Club came into financial trouble,[6] unable to operate. It resulted in a temporary lapse in outings as Boat Club members deliberated with the JCR and College on how best to rectify the situation. A solution was reached in 1953, where it was agreed that as long as "half a dozen" of members are active and pay a termly subscription of 15s (75p), then the Boat Club would receive full support from the college.[6] This issue was officially "settled" with the Club restarting its activities in Michaelmas Term of 1953, after acquiring a new boat.[7] Unfortunately, this bout of luck was short-lived as the Boat Club suddenly came into "desperate straits" due to the loss of their only race-worthy boat, before the annual Boat Race[8] against Cambridge. There is not mention of the St Hugh's Boat Club after the 1954-55 issue of the St Hugh's Chronicle, leading to the assumption that the Boat Club was unable to recover from the loss of their boat.

1973-1979

It is only after one and a half decades later that the Boat club is mentioned again, with its refounding occurring in 1973,[9] thanks to the enthusiasm of Julia Winterbottom, Jennifer Greenwood and Judy Bartley. The newly rejuvenated club boasted 16 members coached by the members of the Brasenose College Boat Club with regular outings scheduled and a growing squad of Blues rowers, aiming to win. This was swiftly proven true two years later, in 1975 where the St Hugh's Women's First VIII bumped Magdalen M4.[10] The St Hugh's W1 became the first and only women's boat to successfully bump a men's crew, a truly outstanding achievement. This event was the catalyst for the creation of the Women's divisions for Summer Eight's since 1976, where St Hugh's was a strong contender. It was only fours year later in 1979, where St Hugh's W1 was able to finally win the Boat Club's first Headship.[11][12] Unfortunately, the crew was unable to hold onto headship and tumbled down the order during 1980-81.

1982-1985

After two years of slipping down the order, the Boat Club was able to pick itself back up again by putting together a highly-talented and trained squad made up of many Blues rowers. This women's crew was able to rapidly climb up the ranks, and finally restored the Boat Club to its former glory by winning Headship back again in 1982.[13] This was continued by a string of dominant performances, with the Boat Club retaining Summer Eight's headship until 1984.[13][14] The Boat Club was also able to win Torpids Headship in the Women's division in 1986.[15]

Honours

Summer Eights
Year Result
1979[14][11][12] Women's Headship
1982[14][13][16] Women's Headship
1983[14][13][17] Women's Headship
1984[14][13][18] Women's Headship

Torpids
Year Result
1986[15] Women's Headship

Internal and External Regattas
Year Regatta Result
1978[4][19][20] Christchurch Novice Regatta Winner of Regatta
1984[4][17] Christchurch Novice Regatta Winner of Regatta
1988[21] Henley Women's Regatta Winner of College Eights (Div B)
2012[4] Shrewsbury Regatta M1 win M.NOV 4+ division
2014[4] Oxford City Regatta W1 rower Janita wins W.IM3.1x
2014[22] Thames Ditton Regatta W1 win W.NOV 8+ division
2022[4] Linacre Novice Regatta Winner of Regatta

Notable Alumni

SHBC alumni include American Olympic rower Anders Weiss[23][24][25] who competed in The Boat Race 2018. SHBC member Oskar Zorrilla coxed Oxford to victory in The Boat Race 2013.[26][27] In The Boat Race 1982, SHBC member Boris Rankov won a record number of boat races competing as a rower which was recognised by Guinness World Records[28] and which led to the so-called 'Rankov Rule'.[29]

References
  1. "St Hughs BC". British Rowing. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. Wood, Tessa (22 June 2021). "St Hugh's Men's First Boat creates history at Summer Torpids". St Hugh's College. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  3. "St Hugh's Boat Club added a new... - St Hugh's Boat Club". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  4. "Sutori". www.sutori.com. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  5. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1951-1952 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  6. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1952-1953 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  7. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1953-1954 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  8. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1954-1955 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  9. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1973-1974 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  10. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1975-1976 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  11. "1970s Oxford Rowing - WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE". thames.me.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  12. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1979-1980 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  13. "1980s Oxford Rowing - WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE". thames.me.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  14. "shug Women's Eights". eodg.atm.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  15. "shug Women's Torpids". eodg.atm.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  16. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1982-1983 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  17. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1983-1984 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  18. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1984-1985 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  19. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1977-1978 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  20. "St Hugh's College, Oxford - Chronicle 1978-1979 by St Hugh's College, Oxford - Issuu". issuu.com. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  21. "Results All Years". Henley Women's Regatta. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  22. "2014 Results". Thames Ditton Regatta. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  23. Goodbody, John (14 August 2023). "Anders Weiss looking to make Olympic experience count for Oxford". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  24. ElectricStudio (13 March 2018). "Good luck to Anders Weiss!". St Hugh's College. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  25. "Anders Weiss - St Hugh's". The American. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  26. Marsden, Sam (1 April 2013). "Zorrilla in the red mist: Oxford cox turns air blue at Boat Race". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  27. Dennis, Charlie (25 April 2013). "BBC investigated for coxing up coverage of swearing swain". The Oxford Student. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  28. "University Boat Race - Most winning boats rowed in". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  29. "Rowing: Rankov to rule again". www.telegraph.co.uk. 26 February 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
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