Rowing at University in Cambridge

Fresher's Guide to Rowing

Rowing is by far the most popular participation sport in Cambridge; well over 1500 students compete for their college every year. Trinity's boat club is called First and Third and, like the college, is the biggest and one of the most successful. Each year we teach dozens of people to row from scratch, many of whom go on to represent the college and in some cases the university at the highest level. In Michaelmas term we put out as many novice crews as possible, last year we had 4 men's and 3 women's novice eights. These boats take part in novice regattas during the term but are integrated with senior crews as quickly as possible, and many novices go on to represent top college boats in their first year: last year the 1st May VIII contained one ex-novice and the 2nd May VIII contained three.

The Lent bumps headship Plate in Trinity hands again - 2000

Rowing is an excellent sport to take up if you would like to try something new, and this is the best - perhaps the only - opportunity you will have in your life to have a go. Rowing is a very technical sport and particularly with novice boats it is the crews with the superior technique which move faster and not the tallest, biggest or strongest. Consequently, we would urge you to try the sport, whatever shape or size you are and however 'unfit' you consider yourself to be!

The role of a cox in a boat is often under-estimated, as is the difficulty of the tasks involved which include steering, commanding the crew and coaching on technical faults. In fact, the challenge is such that to become a very good cox requires a great deal of dedication, and as such good coxes gain a lot of respect from their crews. The club currently has fewer senior coxes than it needs and so there will be opportunities for novices to cox top college boats later in the year.

The social side of rowing is also very important: Formal Halls with crews of the opposite sex from other colleges are frequently arranged, as are cocktail parties, curries and other events such as barbecues and football matches. Rowing is a terrific way to meet other people from all years and all colleges, and in particular your fellow freshers, many of whom you would never even get to meet otherwise.

Membership of First and Third is absolutely free - no initial commitment is required. If you want to have a go, get in touch with the lower boats' captains (see below) and they will get you involved as soon as possible.

If you want to find out more about First and Third then look at the Club section, or find out more about rowing in general, such as some of the myths or the jargon explained. Find out about all the other clubs that row in Cambridge in the Cam clubs section.

If you are an aspiring cox, or wish to learn more about the basics of rowing from a cox's perspective, take a look at our extensive 'Guide to Coxing.'

The highlight of rowing in Cambridge is without a doubt the Lent and May bumps races, in which students of all abilities compete to promote their college in a league table stretching back through the history of Cambridge rowing. Learn how they work here. Forget every kind of racing you may have seen before, the bumps are the real reason for rowing while in Cambridge, a uniquely Oxbridge experience that should not be missed.

First and Third Trinity Boat Club - Lower Boats' Captains 2003-4
lbcs@firstandthird.org