Event & Results Summary E.U.B.C. 1960 And
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Event & Results summary, E.U.B.C. 1960 – 1961 Scans of articles & images from the South Westerner, the students' broadsheet, & some comments. 1 Article 05 October, 1960: 'The Gates are Open Wide' LH column: 'Clubs Seeking New Blood', including the boat club. Exeter sports clubs all need new members! RH 'Visions of Henley': image of E.U.B.C.'s 1959/60 1st VIII (foreground) & 2nd VIII, & columns calling for new members, with or without previous rowing experience. 2 LH article: 'Promising Start for E.U.B.C., Two Victories' (date: 07 Dec. 1960) st Accounts of the 1 VIII first race against Seale Hayne (the Agricultural College then at st Newton Abbot), winning by 1⅟2 lengths, and then the 1 VIII's second race, the first of the season against R.N.E.C. (the Royal Naval [Engineering] College, Plymouth), also winning by 1⅟2 lengths, but in 33 secs. less time. Account of all E.U.B.C.'s three VIIIs' races against the University of Bristol Boat Club. (U.B.B.C. was ranked higher than E.U.B.C., so E.U.B.C.'s 1st VIII competed against B.U.B.C.'s 2nd VIII, etc.) rd th The E.U.B.C.'s 3 (Freshers) VIII, defeated U.B.B.C.'s 4 VIII, by 'nearly 2 lengths' st nd The E.U.B.C.'s 1 VIII, although closing fast, lost to U.B.B.C.'s 2 VIII by just ⅟4 length The E.U.B.C.'s 2nd VIII lost to U.B.B.C.'s 3rd VIII by 2 lengths. RH article: 'Double Revenge': The Avon Head of the River Race The E.U.B.C.'s 1st VIII's revenge against both U.B.B.C.'s 2nd VIII and Bristol Ariel, coming second only to U.B.B.C.'s 1st VIII (by 21 secs.) and pushing Clifton Coll. 1 down to 3rd place (by 13 secs.), out of the 10 crews starting. Race over 3⅟2 miles. 3 Bottom RH article: 'E.U.B.C. Excel' E.U.B.C. 1st VIII's second victory over R.N.E.C., this time by 4 lengths and breaking the course record in 4 mins. 47 secs. Top LH image & article: 'Disappointing Display' Account of losses by all three E.U.B.C.VIIIs to Southampton University Boat Club. st The E.U.B.C. 1 VIII lost, though closing fast, by st ⅟3 length. (Last year's E.U.B.C. 1 VIII had lost to S.U.B.C. 1st VIII by 10 lengths!) The E.U.B.C. 2nd & 3rd VIIIs lost by five and seven lengths respectively. 4 Top image, 01 March, 1961. The part-headline HOCKEY overlooks the title 'One Over the Eight' above the image of the E.U.B.C. 1St & 2nd VIIIs 'well on their way' to the Reading and London Heads. Bottom 2 entries: 08 March, the 1st giving details of 'More Boats' for E.U.B.C. 'at long last', with the help of Mr Bill Phelps (UL boatman), with more goodies to come; the 2nd simply stating that the '1st VIII beat Seale Hayne by 4 lengths'. 5 Article and image under the headline 'Exe Marks The Spot', 03 May, 1961. The spring vacation delayed the accounts of the Reading & London Heads which were the rowing highlights of the year, and the club's principal goal. The article starts with what was really the back end of the season when the just-formed 1st IV sank in the Head of the Exe race, and the Exeter RC IV rowed past to win! Our 'faster' university shell boat was well in front on the calmer estuary but began to take on board choppy wave-tops as we turned broad-side on to the open sea, to follow the course to the finish. The boat settled deeper into the water, blades became immovable, and we just had to sit there, awash! The E.U.B.C. 2nd IV, in the sturdier clinker boat, literally riding high, also rowed past, to the inexplicable amusement of its crew, to come in second! A new 'Captain's (my) wrong decision', this one about boat choices! The visionary 'X' will for ever mark the spot where the E.U.B.C. 1st IV sank on the Exe estuary, to be ignominiously rescued by the Marshall's launch! Luckily there was no damage to the boat, which just needed a good wash. The image is of the E.U.B.C. 1st VIII (no. 55) at the Reading Head, in March, 1961 The paragraph 'Heads or Tails' describes the row and results: E.U.B.C. 1st VIII starting at 55 and finishing at 45 out of the 120 crews in the race, the 2nd VIII finishing at a creditable 87, and the 3rd VIII 'bringing up the rear'. Not all bad, but it could have been better! The paragraph 'The Other Race' describes the most important row of the year for E.U.B.C., the London Head of the River Race. The 1st VIII started at 130 out of the 'more than 300' crews racing, and finished at 66, moving up 71 places on the previous year. The 2nd VIII moved up 15 places to finish at 85, and the 3rd VIII beat 21 crews to finish at 277. Probably the best overall results for the club in its history under this name, having presumably become 'E.U.B.C.' only in 1955, when Exeter University was established by royal charter. 6 Two articles towards the end of the summer term, 1961 RH article, Another Promising Result: account of E.U.B.C. 1st IV's races at Stratford Regatta, losing to a IV from Southampton University Boat Club, in the final by ⅟2 length. (No accounts of the regattas and their mixed results at Chester, Monmouth & Marlow appeared in the South Westerner, and there had been no mention of races against St Luke's Teacher's Training College, Exeter, then separate, all of which E.U.B.C. had won.) LH article, Boat Club Enter New Sphere: summary of the E.U.B.C. Year, 1960 – 61. The 1st VIII's pretty successful season was rewarded by the crew receiving team colours thereby, according to the South Westerner, marking 'the entry of the Boat Club into the sphere of national rowing.' This crew made a time apparently 30 secs. faster at the London Head than that made by any previous E.U.B.C. 1st VIII. (The South Westerner's sports writers must have always obtained factual details from the Secretary or members of E.U.B.C., but quite often presented or interpreted them in their own way!) Race times on the Thames are, however, very hard to compare, in the same race with over 300 crews competing, or from season to season, and year to year, due to the state of the tides and currents as well as the weather conditions at the time. The coxes' & crews' knowledge and experience is also crucial. The South Westerner's statement above is perhaps a bit premature! To compare various crews' times etc. see: www.horr.co.uk (archives). The article also mentions additions to boats and equipment, and the great help of the EU Administration in acquiring these, together with plans for future purchases. The final E.U.B.C. races of the year were the Inter-Hall Fours, not unexpectedly won by Bradninch 'A' crew. Bradninch not only had many more students than the other Halls, but also more than its share of members from the E.U.B.C. 1st VIII, in fact 5 of them! The popularity of rowing in the UK and the multiplication of clubs following British successes in a sequence of Olympics, and the steady influx of top crews from overseas, has led to massive changes in the London Head of the River race and its results over recent decades. Participation is now not open to all comers, but by selection on results, crews are categorised into appropriate groups, and times are recorded to hundredths of a second. There have also been huge developments in boats and blades, improved materials and design leading to much lighter weights and achieving better performance. The lists of 'our' E.U.B.C. 'haves' and 'wants' must read to current club members like a papyrus from pre- history! There has also been great progress in methods and the science of crew selection, training programmes, fitness equipment and physical & mental regimes, including diet management. [It might be said, though, that even in our day, the EU Boat Club was always mercifully way below par compared with some other sports Clubs in terms of the number and regularity of 'pints' consumed before, sometimes it was even hinted 'during', or after events!] Finally, with the various stages leading to the establishment of BUCS in 2008, British Universities and Colleges now have a rowing structure and calendar more compatible with the academic year, enabling like-for-like crews to compete at various levels and in the whole range of boats from single sculls through to eights, for men or women, but on a level playing field. That is mixing the metaphors, but tides, waves & winds on the Thames and certain other rivers and estuaries can still not be avoided! Nevertheless, for all of us back then it was, and au fond still is, the same sport – Rowing! There can be few things more exhilarating than being in a strong, fit, fast, crew, with a fine sense of balance, crisp blade entries, snappy exits, intelligently responsive, and working flat- out almost as a single entity - indeed all but flying! 'What can possibly go wrong .....?' My three years spent in E.U.B.C., (1958 – 1961), and having been so involved at this stage of its growth, formed an important part of my life, and is still much appreciated today! David Hale E.U.B.C.