The Year Ahead...

The last two years of Summer Eights have left Keble rowing well acquainted with those twin imposters, triumph and disaster. I am nevertheless proud of the courage, commitment and bloody-minded determination of the crews of last summer to push themselves past the pain barrier, especially when confronted with much larger crews on either side. Such determination is all to no avail, however, if it can’t be translated into pure speed on race day. In order for Keble College Boat Club to regain its rightful place at the Head of the River, we need to back up our ambition with the best rowing set-up on the river. This is what this year will be all about. The Keble Rowing Society have yet again stepped forward enabling us to employ a Director of Rowing. We were fortunate enough over the summer to secure the services of arguably the best coach in Oxford. Employing such a high-calibre coach would leave us nowhere if we did not have facilities for him to coach from. To this end, we are also indebted to Professor William Scott-Jackson for his very generous gift of our new launch Erigo. Erigo was built to the same model as those launches that recently marshalled the Olympic Regatta at Beijing. As well as having the best coaching and launch on the river, we would finally like to express our gratitude to Neptune Investment Management for their gift of a men’s first eight to be unveiled for Summer 2009.

It is ultimately, of course, the rowers that propel the boat. Unfortunately, this season we are entirely without returning Blues, although recognition and no little respect must go to Alec Dent, who is trialling with the Boat Race squad this year. As of the time of writing, Alec is still one of the 24-man OUBC squad. This is no mean achievement in a post-Olympic year, especially given that Alec is not only still a second-year undergraduate, but also a former triallist with Oxford University Lightweights. As for the men’s senior squad, I am confident that dedication will triumph over the relative lack of experience among our returning rowers. We are currently putting in the hard yards, both on the water and in the gym. Our weekly schedule comprises no fewer than 60 kilometres on the water, 24 kilometres on the ergo and 10 kilometres of running. I am confident that such a punishing schedule will pay dividends, and perhaps sooner than one might envision – a half marathon is being held out at Woodstock this December and I am keen to see an impressive entry from KCBC putting their summer running to good use.

With this combination of coaching, equipment and training, I see no reason why Keble should not aim for the very top: Head of the River in both Eights and Torpids, an appearance at Henley Royal Regatta and a top-120 placing in the Head of the River Race. This past year saw the emergence of Keble as a force to be reckoned with in external competition. Our Head of the River crew, comprising six of the Torpids 1st VIII and a couple of willing volunteers from St Anne’s and Lady Margaret Hall, put in their best row of the season on the Tideway. This followed a week of dedicated rowing after the end of Hilary term; a week which undoubtedly paid off. Keble stormed (or rather, finessed) to a superb time, beating dozens of University and Club 1st VIIIs and, rather more importantly, Oriel. I was particularly impressed by the way Keble held off the highly prestigious Münster Ruderverein under Hammersmith Bridge, whose members are a perennial feature of German international eights.


Here’s to a successful season!


Julian Bubb-Humfryes
Men's Captain