Dear SABC-past,
SABC-present sends its festive greetings! We wanted to reach out with a roundup of Michaelmas 2025, which proved to be a superb term for the Boat Club. We had record numbers of novices recruited, surpassing 65 subs-paying members. We are now fielding crew depth to an W3 and M3, which presents lots of momentum for the bumps campaigns ahead.
The year so far has also seen the purchase of a single, the acquisition of two more ergs (taking our College total to seven) and the formation of an Alumnae Volunteer Group - a group of SABC alum from across the generations to help support the club and enhance the long-term sustainability and success of the club. If you would like to be part of the group, please get in contact with me at [email protected]. Many of these developments would not have been possible without the generous support of alumnae – so we thank you tremendously.
We will be holding a 24-hour Ergathon on Monday 10th March to raise funds towards new oars for W1, constituting an upgrade towards C2 Skinny blades and primarily yielding the old W1 blades for use by the W2, which will help our growing squads continue to race without equipment clashes.
It would be our pleasure to invite associate members to row with an associate boat for Summer Eights! More details are contained within this interest form. In addition, we will be extending an open invite to the Boathouse for the weeks of Torpids (4th to 7th March) and Eights (27th to 30th May). An invite to join the Boat Club Dinner of Eights Saturday will also be extended in due course.
To summarise the term, we have three keen novices outlining their experiences and enthusiasm for the term ahead. Hopefully their accounts are testament to the positive impact SABC has had on their Oxford experience so far. There are also 360° GoPro recordings available for your viewing pleasure…. Make sure to scroll around the screen to see all of the action!
SAVE THE DATES
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
As a club we are seeking to increase participation and improve our performance. Coaching, equipment, time on the water are all valuable to us. We are also reliant on our alumnae networks to help with advice, introductions as we seek to professionalise SABC to create a sustainable boat club for future generations.
If you would like to support the Boat Club financially you can do so here.
We are floating the idea of associate boats for Summer Eights! Please indicate if you would be interested via this form: https://forms.gle/Z17hZQvnaB1rG11i7. More details are contained within the form.
Happy rowing!
Ben O’Donnell
SABC President, 2025-2026
SABC-present sends its festive greetings! We wanted to reach out with a roundup of Michaelmas 2025, which proved to be a superb term for the Boat Club. We had record numbers of novices recruited, surpassing 65 subs-paying members. We are now fielding crew depth to an W3 and M3, which presents lots of momentum for the bumps campaigns ahead.
The year so far has also seen the purchase of a single, the acquisition of two more ergs (taking our College total to seven) and the formation of an Alumnae Volunteer Group - a group of SABC alum from across the generations to help support the club and enhance the long-term sustainability and success of the club. If you would like to be part of the group, please get in contact with me at [email protected]. Many of these developments would not have been possible without the generous support of alumnae – so we thank you tremendously.
We will be holding a 24-hour Ergathon on Monday 10th March to raise funds towards new oars for W1, constituting an upgrade towards C2 Skinny blades and primarily yielding the old W1 blades for use by the W2, which will help our growing squads continue to race without equipment clashes.
It would be our pleasure to invite associate members to row with an associate boat for Summer Eights! More details are contained within this interest form. In addition, we will be extending an open invite to the Boathouse for the weeks of Torpids (4th to 7th March) and Eights (27th to 30th May). An invite to join the Boat Club Dinner of Eights Saturday will also be extended in due course.
To summarise the term, we have three keen novices outlining their experiences and enthusiasm for the term ahead. Hopefully their accounts are testament to the positive impact SABC has had on their Oxford experience so far. There are also 360° GoPro recordings available for your viewing pleasure…. Make sure to scroll around the screen to see all of the action!
SAVE THE DATES
- Sponsored Ergathon: 10th March
- Open boathouse: Torpids Days I, II, III, IV: 4th - 7th March
- Open boathouse: Summer Eights Days I, II, III, IV: 27th – 30th May
- Eights Boat Club Dinner 30th May
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
As a club we are seeking to increase participation and improve our performance. Coaching, equipment, time on the water are all valuable to us. We are also reliant on our alumnae networks to help with advice, introductions as we seek to professionalise SABC to create a sustainable boat club for future generations.
If you would like to support the Boat Club financially you can do so here.
We are floating the idea of associate boats for Summer Eights! Please indicate if you would be interested via this form: https://forms.gle/Z17hZQvnaB1rG11i7. More details are contained within the form.
Happy rowing!
Ben O’Donnell
SABC President, 2025-2026
Eliiot, Men's Novice
Ella, Women's Novice
Ottilie , Men's Novice
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Overview – Elliot (novice) Safe to say when I arrived at St Anne’s I never thought I would spend more time in a boat than in the lecture hall. However, as I look back on my first Michaelmas in Oxford, I am so grateful for the wonderful community and opportunities that the St Anne’s Boat Club has provided. Rowing seems to be a unique Oxford experience, in that its history attracts a huge variety of people - in course, character, experience and background – that other societies simply do not. Indeed, the firmest friendships I have made in college have been through the shared experience of rowing. The shared experience of 6:20am meet times, 2km erg tests and -2-degree outings creates a bond like no other. Personally, the term has been incredibly successful. The highlights have been a strong 4th place finish for the M1 novices in the Novice Regatta, involving a particularly enjoyable victory over St John’s. The diversity of the boat (including 3 visiting students) made the experience particularly enjoyable. Successful entries in Isis Winter League (IWL) A+B were also exciting, with a particular highlight being the M1 race on the last Sunday of term (in the Empacher!!!). There have been some exciting moments, including a lost bow ball and some flirtation with banks and houseboats – all happy memories and character development opportunities… in hindsight. I’m incredibly excited for Hilary term, including training for the summer races and a training camp in Gloucester. I have also been persuaded to try my hand at the cox’s seat, so other crews better watch out! The new novices and I must express our thanks to all the coaches, coxes and seniors who have made this term so successful – and of course to Pete the Boatman. There is an inescapable atmosphere of fun, improvement and friendliness around the boathouse that is infectious, and I can’t wait to play my part in bringing home some silverware! Onto the next… Women’s Side – Ella (novice) Hello! My name is Ella, and I’m studying Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences at St. Anne’s College. Before coming to Oxford, I hadn’t the faintest idea what rowing was, and had no intention of rowing at Anne’s. I wasn’t even planning on attending the open taster session until my friend convinced me that it would be a good way to try something new, but once I got into a boat for the first time, I was hooked! Over Michaelmas term, I was fortunate to participate in a fair amount of racing, which I know is rare given the persistent rain Oxford experiences during this time of year. The SABC novice women's crew first debuted in the Inaugural Chough Regatta, easily beating Queen’s and Hertford in the first two heats, only to lose by a length to a very impressive Magdalen crew, who managed to win the whole regatta later that day. Despite the loss, we were definitely having the most fun on the Isis – we were even dubbed the ‘loud and loose’ crew after everyone on the bank heard our cheers during the race. The following week, we geared up for the Tamesis Novice Regatta. Our impressive performance at the Chough Regatta must have been a topic of discussion throughout college rowing, as both our opponents for the first two heats (Christchurch and Pembroke) scratched their crews before we even took to the water! We, naturally, still rowed the course to show everyone that we would have won anyway. On the final day of racing, we had a close race against a strong St Hugh’s crew (some WASH boathouse drama!), but tragically, we caught a boat-stopping crab in the last 200 meters of the race. Even though we came away with a loss, we had a great deal of fun racing together and were all proud of our performance and the progress we had made after learning to row only a few weeks prior. Plus, the Hughes crew ended up winning the whole regatta (which essentially puts us in second place?)! Even more importantly, we came off the Novice Regatta fired up for Hilary and Trinity term… we are all training hard to come back even stronger for Torpids and Summer Eights! Men’s Side – Ottilie (novice) There’s nothing more thrilling than competing in something you love to do, and the regattas this term have been no exception. After only a few sessions at rate and a few practice starts, our novice teams were launched into the Chough regatta, going head to head with friends and enemies at other colleges. After the chaos of borrowing a St Hugh’s bow-rigged boat for our first race (and somehow still winning in spite of numerous crabs), our second race was far more technical – a closely fought battle that was a spectacle to behold (even if we narrowly lost). A couple of weeks later, our steadily improving men’s novice boats entered the novice regatta - a few pesky crabs were the downfall of our M2 boat, but our M1 boat glided into a very respectable fourth place. We were inches off coming third, but a fatal crab in the final 20 metres against Queen's sent us flirting into a houseboat, slightly grazing (completely obliterating) Reddington’s bowball (looks as good as new now, thanks to Boatman Pete). All in all, both regattas were an absolute blast, and I can’t wait to compete more next term! WATCH THE RACES in 360° M1 at Lion Regatta: https://youtu.be/BSu1iTS0AL0?si=Xw4VNE51hWywq7GD W1Nov at Nov Regatta: https://youtu.be/WVo4kvf4va0?si=9w6Abom3pztqrJXk M1Nov at Nov Regatta: https://youtu.be/_dhiYgxKuv8?si=Y6UxT2yJX3z8G04A M1Nov at Chough Regatta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lWnL9R5-Rg (Recordings of W1 were lost to technical difficulties unfortunately ☹) CONTACT If you are interested in keeping tabs on or reconnecting with SABC, please reach out! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stannesbc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StAnnesBC Email: [email protected] Website: https://stannesboatclub.weebly.com/ |
