About the Club
Club Traditions: Awards
The Lard Trophy
The Trophy was awarded originally by the Junior Treasurer at the end of each term to the member of the boatclub who has consumed the most items of boatclub lard during the term. Competition is often fierce - and Graham Fisher holds the all-time record for number of items consumed and number of consecutive terms holding the award.
At some point after 2003 the trophy itself was lost to the sands of time, however this mighty tradition was revived by Csongor Beke for the 2024 Fairbairns Dinner and will be carried forward by future Logistics Officers.
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| The original lard trophy | The new lard trophy |
Past Winners
| Mich 1996 | J. Leake |
| Lent 1997 | R. Dewire |
| May 1997 | D. Wilde |
| Mich 1997 | G. Fisher |
| Lent 1998 | G. Fisher |
| May 1998 | G. Fisher |
| Mich 1998 | G. Fisher |
| Lent 1999 | G. Fisher |
| May 1999 | R. Spencer |
| Mich 1999 | J. Earl |
| Lent 2000 | J. Earl |
| May 2000 | J. Earl |
| Mich 2000 | J. Glass |
| Mich 2002 | J. Davies |
| Lent 2003 | J. Davies |
| May 2003 | J. Davies |
| Mich 2024 | G. Moger-Taylor |
The History of Lard, by the Lard King, Graham Fisher
The Lard King competition was instigated in the Michaelmas term of 1996, when Dan Wilde was Junior Treasurer. That term it was won by James Leake, with Rich Dewire taking the novice version of the award. The following term, Rich fulfilled that early promise, moving up to take the senior title. The trophy changed hands again the May term, Mr Wilde presenting first prize to himself.
I had been eating lard at a reasonable rate that first year, but I was hampered by having many fewer outings than the leading competitors. In the 97/98 academic year, I hit the ground running with an easy win in Mich term, then went on to retain the trophy for a total of five terms. In the May term of 1999, with the 2nd May VIII looking like a serious prospect, I declined to compete and Richard Spencer scooped top spot.
Since then, John Earl has repeatedly been the Lard King - but how will he prosper under the new system? Until now, the Lard King has been crowned based purely on the total number of items, but the computerisation of the cupboard will allow for a more accurately lardy set of criteria to be used. Personally, I think this is a good thing, as I was often aware that many of my rivals were rising up the charts purely on the basis of cans of drink, NutriGrain bars and suchlike.
Runners-up awards, "Lard Queen" and novice prizes have been variously awarded down the ages, often taking the form of blocks of lard (or beef dripping) or cans of Economy dog food. As yet, the main award has always been won by one of the senior men, but it is open to all members of the boat club - so who knows what the future holds?
Further History of Lard
In 2024 we are now in a new era of the club, things are looking up again and this can only be attributed to the recreation of the lard trophy. We abandoned computerised lard purchasing when we discovered it promoted theft and now back to good old pen and paper, the lard is going stronger than ever.
