Second Trinity Challenge Sculls

History of the STCS

The Second Trinity Challenge Sculls was formed in the late 1950s to provide a new sculling race, below the level of the Colquohoun Silver Sculls. A member of the University felt that such a race would encourage the development of sculling within the College clubs at a time when internal clubs' races were falling out of fashion. The CUBC asked First and Third Trinity Boat Club to found the race, which was to take the form of a head race. The club used an old Second Trinity BC cup in their possession as the trophy for the new race, hence the name.

The cup they chose to use was the Baines Cup. This had been given to Second Trinity in the late 1850s, probably by Lazarus Threfall Baines, who matriculated at Trinity in November 1853, and graduated LLB in 1859 and LLM in 1863. He received the Chancellors medal and a 1st class degree. Second Trinity awarded the cup to the winner of an annual sculling race for their members. When Second Trinity was dissolved in 1876, the club gave this trophy to First Trinity. They also gave a pair of Silver Oars, the Doddington Oars, which they had used for a similar pair oared race. First Trinity used both prizes to form new races, below the level of their existing sculling and pair oared races (the MacNaugten Sculls and the Wyatt Pairs). Previous winners were prevented from entering. The races formed part of the complex training and social elements of the club. Both the First Trinity races continued to be run until the early 1950s when they fell out of fashion. The Baines Cup was then reused and the name of Second Trinity and one of its older members preserved.