St. Peter’s College Boat Club Michaelmas 2019 Newsletter A Word from the President 3rd January 2020 Dear Friends, I hope you all are having a pleasant start to the year. The rainy Au- tumn made this past Michaelmas term challenging for the Boat Club, with quick streams preventing us from training much on the Isis. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a successful recruitment of new, en- thusiastic rowers and coxes, who got their first taste of a rowing competition at Christ Church ‘Ergatta’. Our seniors ventured to the other place for Cambridge Winter Head, posting competitive times and gaining valuable racing experience. These positive results bode well for our upcoming bumps campaigns, and I look forward to seeing the novices join the seniors in preparing for these events. We hope to see you cheering on the Boat Club at Torpids or Sum- mer Eights, and we would be delighted if you could join us for the Eights Week Dinner, where we will be celebrating 40 years of women at St. Peter’s. Dates for your diary are all included at the end of this newsletter. However, if you are in Oxford another time, don’t hesitate to let us know. I would be happy to meet you to hear about your rowing experiences and to share with you our latest updates. Thank you for your support, and we wish you a happy, healthy new year. Sincerely, Marcus Spiegel St. Peter’s College Boat Club President 2019/2020 St Peter’s Alumni Boat Race 2019 The cause for celebration at the 2019 St Peter‘s Alumni Boat Race was threefold: not only did it mark both the college‘s 90th birthday and a reunion the 1969 and 1970s men‘s crews, it also saw the gifting and christening of a new 8+ donated by generous alumni, the so-called: The Spirit of the Seventies. Peterites came from as far afield as Canada for the occasion, held on those leafy green banks of the Isis, which, if you can cast your minds back that far, were basking in the late-summer sun at that time. After a welcome from the Master and a toast to the new boat, two alumni 8+s and a mixed student 8+ took to the water and raced what proved to be an eventful side-by- side contest which ran from Longbridges to Univ Boathouse. A near miss with a pleasure steamer introduced an interesting twist to the fixture, the result of which seems to remain inconclusive. Important, however, were not the results of this paddle, but the memories it evoked, those it created, and the demonstration and proof of a love for a sport spanning decades, continents, backgrounds, and academic subjects. We thank the alumni for the unfailing thought, generosity, and attention they continually display towards their younger, fellow athletes and look forward to many future meetings. St Peter’s Alumni Boat Race 2019 Recruitment The beginning of term was marked by a success- ful round of recruitment on both sides of the club: 12 novices joined the women and the men gained 25 new rowers, all of whom were wel- comed into the Peter’s rowing family alongside a handful of enthusiastic novice coxes at both our Freshers’ Fair and Boat Club Barbecue. Whilst we encourage new rowers to sign up regardless of their course, background, experience and gen- der, we shall be running an additional women’s taster session early in Hilary term to mark the 40th anniversary of co-education at St Peter’s. Dillon Somia tells us about his experience as a novice rower in his first term at Peter’s Having no previous experience of rowing before arriving at St Peter’s, I was looking forward to getting stuck into it. Term kicked off with the boat club barbeque, an introduction session for Freshers where we were treated to great food and a chat with other boat club members. After this came the outings, our first proper experience on the river. Whilst the number of outings we had was reduced due to poor weather conditions, we managed to get out on the river a couple of times during the first few weeks of term which was great. Much credit has to be given to the returners brave enough to row in a boat with a bunch of novices who would have probably capsized had it not been for their much-needed guidance and calm. Up until this point rowing seemed like a great sport to get involved with at Oxford, a few outings in the glorious sunrise and the odd crew-date every fortnight. Then came the dreaded ergs… I can’t say they are the most enthralling part of rowing at Oxford, but they are useful; erging in the run-up to Christchurch Ergatta definitely improved my technique and thanks must go to Coach Will for his unfailing patience. My highlights of rowing this term came on the Saturday of 7th week. Starting the day with the much antici- pated Ergatta (a replacement for Christ Church Regatta due to the abysmal weather) was great fun, and even though we failed to win our race it was a great team bonding session. Following this was the termly boat club dinner: fantastic food and great company and best of all - eating pudding without any hands! Overall, we novices had a great introductory term of rowing and the fact that we still enjoyed it so much despite the weather is testament to the work and organisation that our captains, Nils and Iain, were will- ing to put in. The novices and I can’t wait for what the next term of rowing holds for us, and hopefully the weather clears up so we can get out on the water more - I can’t wait for the 6:30 starts! Competitions On the 16th of November, seventeen Peter- ites headed to the other place to take part in Cambridge Winter Head. After a very early start (and some naps on the four-hour train journey), the teams reassembled their 8+s and headed out onto the icy and muddy wa- ters of the Cam. Both the men’s and women’s boats were met with the river traffic jams that are to be expected at a 234-boat event, but once under way, the two teams per- formed superbly. The women placed 17th out of 31 boats in their division with a time of 11:15.4. The men placed 17th out of 34 in their respective division with a time of 09:36.5. After the rowing, the crews descend- ed on Cambridge town centre for a much needed cre pe and a hard earned drink! As you will no doubt have already been made aware, our term was a rather rainy one. High water levels and a dangerous flow rate left OURCs no choice but to call off the Novice Christ Church Regatta. Luckily, the organisers realised that if you swap a few letters around, you can put on an Ergatta instead! One Peter’s women’s novice boat and two men’s novice boats took part in a series of gruelling 8x500m relays on the rowing machines in Christchurch boathouse. Whilst the women put up an admirable fight against Teddy Hall, their chances of advanc- ing were dashed in the first round. One men’s boat advanced to secure a place in the quarterfinals, but they unfortunately met their matches in Christ Church. Dates for your diary Hilary Term: Torpids - February 26th—29th Oxford—Cambridge Boat Race (this year with for- mer Peterite Judith Packer umpiring the women’s boat race) - March 29th Trinity Term: Summer VIIIs - May 27th—30th SPCBC Eights Week Dinner - May 30th 40th Anniversary of St. Peter’s Women Boat Race - May 31st (TBC) Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. We would be thrilled if you would like to get in contact with us, be that for further information or to arrange a visit if you’re in town. Please send an email to the Boat Club Secretary, Sam Hey- wood, at: [email protected] and/or Marcus Spiegel at: [email protected]. ********** Should you wish to make a donation, we kindly ask you to fol- low this hyperlink through to our sponsorship page. .