Dear SABC,
Your Hilary term update is here! We are thrilled to share three major successes for the club: our TorpHeads results, the 24-hour Ergathon, and our intensive Gloucester training camp. Looking forward, we have an exciting three months ahead featuring Trinity Term rowing, Summer Eights, and external regattas.
Stash
We have an alumnae stash drop! Any proceeds go towards subsidising additional coaching time in the run-up to Summer Eights. https://sabc-store.square.site/shop/alumnae-stash/DYE7TMLKTB3LJN453PASCV5C
Saturday of Eights BBQ | 30th May
SABC warmly invites all alumnae to join us for a celebratory Boat Club Barbeque on the College Quad on the final evening of Summer Eights. Think blazers, photographs, drinks, a proper dinner, and — if the racing goes to plan — plenty of bumps-related celebrations.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/summer-eights-bbq-2026-tickets-1986208226272?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Your Hilary term update is here! We are thrilled to share three major successes for the club: our TorpHeads results, the 24-hour Ergathon, and our intensive Gloucester training camp. Looking forward, we have an exciting three months ahead featuring Trinity Term rowing, Summer Eights, and external regattas.
Stash
We have an alumnae stash drop! Any proceeds go towards subsidising additional coaching time in the run-up to Summer Eights. https://sabc-store.square.site/shop/alumnae-stash/DYE7TMLKTB3LJN453PASCV5C
Saturday of Eights BBQ | 30th May
SABC warmly invites all alumnae to join us for a celebratory Boat Club Barbeque on the College Quad on the final evening of Summer Eights. Think blazers, photographs, drinks, a proper dinner, and — if the racing goes to plan — plenty of bumps-related celebrations.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/summer-eights-bbq-2026-tickets-1986208226272?aff=oddtdtcreator.
TorpHeads - Captain Ben Silvester Ratcliffe
This year, Torpids (the annual bumps competition in Hilary term) was cancelled and replaced with a head race for safety reasons. SABC had an incredibly successful “Torpheads”, with both crews demonstrating the large volume of land training completed despite “red flags” all term.
On the women’s side, we placed 15th out of 34 crews - despite being in the lowest division E. This meant we won our division by 2 seconds from Wadham 2.
On the men’s side, we placed 12th out of 35 crews. Again, this was from being in Division E! The M1 also won their division, this time by 7 seconds from Univ 2. Both M1 and W1 have benefitted from structured training plans, tanks, and group coached sessions. The W1 arranged a Sunday trip to Gloucester to access water prior to Torpheads and were able to compensate with some 20km of rowing.
College land training has been considerably bolstered by way of now having 8 Concept2 machines in the Gym, an initiative funded by the generosity of alumnae. We think we are one of about 5 College Boat Clubs that has access to a full set of Ergs on main site so we are very grateful it has been made possible!
Overall it was a fantastic set of results from both our first eights and puts them in a great position ahead of a busy Trinity term of rowing, headlined by Summer Eights during Week 5! Unfortunately, for safety and logistical reasons almost all lower boats from College boat clubs were unable to race this Torpids but will be returning to Trinity Term with a point to prove.
This year, Torpids (the annual bumps competition in Hilary term) was cancelled and replaced with a head race for safety reasons. SABC had an incredibly successful “Torpheads”, with both crews demonstrating the large volume of land training completed despite “red flags” all term.
On the women’s side, we placed 15th out of 34 crews - despite being in the lowest division E. This meant we won our division by 2 seconds from Wadham 2.
On the men’s side, we placed 12th out of 35 crews. Again, this was from being in Division E! The M1 also won their division, this time by 7 seconds from Univ 2. Both M1 and W1 have benefitted from structured training plans, tanks, and group coached sessions. The W1 arranged a Sunday trip to Gloucester to access water prior to Torpheads and were able to compensate with some 20km of rowing.
College land training has been considerably bolstered by way of now having 8 Concept2 machines in the Gym, an initiative funded by the generosity of alumnae. We think we are one of about 5 College Boat Clubs that has access to a full set of Ergs on main site so we are very grateful it has been made possible!
Overall it was a fantastic set of results from both our first eights and puts them in a great position ahead of a busy Trinity term of rowing, headlined by Summer Eights during Week 5! Unfortunately, for safety and logistical reasons almost all lower boats from College boat clubs were unable to race this Torpids but will be returning to Trinity Term with a point to prove.
24-hour Ergathon - Ottilie Brazier-Pethick
There are rumours of a 13-day continuous Erg world-record attempt sometime in the future… but for now we tested one day, to celebrate St Anne’s Community and Giving week.
Our 24-hour ergathon started off strong in the company of Principal Helen King and mascot Beaver on Monday the 9th of March, and went on to involve a whopping 37 participants! A few brave soldiers rowed through the night, while others squeezed sessions in between contact hours and assignments. The entire ergathon went smoothly, with only a few subs needed, and the flywheel stayed spinning the whole way through. Finally, dedicated members of SABC arrived to see Ben O’Donnell finish the ergathon at 12:45 on Tuesday the 10th. Massive watts were sustained throughout the whole 24-hour period, with an average split of 2:21 … yeah Anne’s!
A massive thank you to all those that rowed or supported the club through donations!
There are rumours of a 13-day continuous Erg world-record attempt sometime in the future… but for now we tested one day, to celebrate St Anne’s Community and Giving week.
Our 24-hour ergathon started off strong in the company of Principal Helen King and mascot Beaver on Monday the 9th of March, and went on to involve a whopping 37 participants! A few brave soldiers rowed through the night, while others squeezed sessions in between contact hours and assignments. The entire ergathon went smoothly, with only a few subs needed, and the flywheel stayed spinning the whole way through. Finally, dedicated members of SABC arrived to see Ben O’Donnell finish the ergathon at 12:45 on Tuesday the 10th. Massive watts were sustained throughout the whole 24-hour period, with an average split of 2:21 … yeah Anne’s!
A massive thank you to all those that rowed or supported the club through donations!
Gloucester Training Camp - Ottilie Brazier Pethick
Stepping off the train in the urban centre of Gloucester, it was not immediately obvious where one might row. But a short, excited walk later, we arrived at the relative wilderness of the Gloucester Canal — and the next five days were nothing short of brilliant.
The five days of training camp were so sunny and warm that we had no excuse not to spend up to 9 hours a day rowing! From meditative pairs and single skulls to novice-coxed fours and high-intensity eights, we spent the camp rowing our legs-bodies-arms off, concluding with one final men vs women race (which the women championed). In the evenings, we all banded together to cook delicious meals in our lovely accommodation, before a lovely, exhausted sleep. I only wish the camp had lasted longer, even if my legs and blisters were glad for it to be over! We finished the week with 25 SABC members each spending 40 hours on the water, with 8 new novice coxes and with all rowers limping away with massive technical feedback and a taste of that elusive “boat feel”.
The trip would not have been possible without coaching subsidies that was afforded through minimal costs during Hilary term. Looking to the future, we would love to be able to fundraise a “hardship” fund to ensure access to all members regardless of financial position, and to be able again to subsidise the cost of coaching and racking so that the barriers to participation are are minimised.
Stepping off the train in the urban centre of Gloucester, it was not immediately obvious where one might row. But a short, excited walk later, we arrived at the relative wilderness of the Gloucester Canal — and the next five days were nothing short of brilliant.
The five days of training camp were so sunny and warm that we had no excuse not to spend up to 9 hours a day rowing! From meditative pairs and single skulls to novice-coxed fours and high-intensity eights, we spent the camp rowing our legs-bodies-arms off, concluding with one final men vs women race (which the women championed). In the evenings, we all banded together to cook delicious meals in our lovely accommodation, before a lovely, exhausted sleep. I only wish the camp had lasted longer, even if my legs and blisters were glad for it to be over! We finished the week with 25 SABC members each spending 40 hours on the water, with 8 new novice coxes and with all rowers limping away with massive technical feedback and a taste of that elusive “boat feel”.
The trip would not have been possible without coaching subsidies that was afforded through minimal costs during Hilary term. Looking to the future, we would love to be able to fundraise a “hardship” fund to ensure access to all members regardless of financial position, and to be able again to subsidise the cost of coaching and racking so that the barriers to participation are are minimised.
Trinity Term
It is with great pleasure that SABC invites all alumnae to spectate and support at Summer Eights! We are very optimistic for success across all crews (and we are hoping for 6 crews!). The 4 days of racing are detailed below.
Day 1 : Wednesday 27th May : Racing from 11am to 5pm
Day 2 : Thursday 28th May : Racing from 11am to 5pm
Day 3 : Friday 29th May : Racing from 11am to 5pm
Day 4 : Saturday 30th May : Racing from 10am to 5pm. Drinks, photos, dinner on the College Quad from 6:30pm
Spot us at these Externals!
We will be migrating across the South for several external regattas this term. Please feel free to say hello if you might already be at any of the following:
Wallingford Regatta - 3rd May
Bedford Regatta - 9th May
Reading Amateur Regatta - 13th June
Club history
We are currently researching and writing an informal history of the Boat Club and rowing at St Anne’s. It will capture early Boat Race representation, the early origins of the Boat Club, and the march of progress to where it is now. If you have any photographs, newspaper clippings, letters, reports or memories to share, please reach out!
Funding a Head Coach
The Boat Club is looking to appoint a more permanent position to oversee the coaching of rowing and coxing at St Anne’s! This individual would hold the role for multiple continuous years and organise the development of excellent rowing and training through their own program and with the help of assistant coaches.
We anticipate this will cost an additional £5,000 per year on top of our current coaching costs and are looking for ways to reliably fund this for several years. We have been guided by our newly formed SABC Alumnae Volunteer Group and been working with the College treasury (acknowledging the other demands on College budgets) and see the most promising avenue for fundraising being through small regular donations from the alumnae community.
A regular gift to the Boat Club ensures we can stabilise the performance of the club over many years, as a head coach would mitigate against yearly fluctuations in activity. The club is in a healthy position (full of talent and enthusiasm!) and we would love to capitalise on the momentum.
We are keen to thank our donors and have various means of gratitude, such as thank you postcards, pin badges, boat–naming rights and seat-naming rights. Above all, we hope the generosity of our donors is rewarded in the sense of community that they continue to help support.
Thank you to those of you who have already supported. If you are in a position to support the Boat Club through a regular donation, you can find the link here:
https://www.campaign.ox.ac.uk/mag?chid=8&id=1ee551ce-e946-4c8b-8c18-38de65f28446
Thank you for reading this report!
Best wishes and happy rowing,
Ben O'Donnell
SABC President 25/26
