University of Leicester
Boat Club

The second year of our merger with LRC has proved to be a successful one, with more novices and past talent having joined than in recent years. This increased interest in the club allowed us to get back to a pre pandemic feel to the club with many people taking part in all initiatives no matter how small. Larger, annual activities such as Ergathon and Camp were run smoothly and have been highlights of the year alongside a win for the club at Varsity against DMU.

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The system of novices learning and racing as the university, then moving up to LRC proved to be successful for both our clubs. Our senior members have seen much success at a number of local events such as Peterborough, Northampton, Nottingham and more, with one current senior and another one of last year’s alumni members even racing at Womens Henley. Our novices have also been getting thoroughly into the sport with the help of our committee. A mention to the President, Ben Barker, has to be made here due to his contribution toward the club this year. Difficulties arose surrounding the storage of our boats but with the help of our members who are keen to aid the club, we have worked through these setbacks.

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All in all the 2024/25 period has been a step forward for the club and hopefully sets up a strong future for success and growth.

This year has brought some important changes and developments for the club.

Following a merger with Leicester Rowing Club, we moved from our previous base at the National Watersports Centre back to the Mile Straight on the River Soar. This relocation has provided our members with improved access to local facilities and training opportunities.

The integration with Leicester Rowing Club has allowed us to strengthen our coaching provision and improve the structure of our training programmes. The collaboration has also contributed to stronger performances at races, including a notable win of the Small Club Pennant at Head of the River Race 2024.

We’ve also welcomed a large number of novice rowers this year, who have quickly become a valued part of the club and contributed to a positive and productive environment.

We’re grateful for the continued support of our members, coaches, and partners, and we look forward to continuing our progress in the coming year.

2022/23 was a period of resilience and adaptation for our club.

Financial constraints and a lack of institutional knowledge within our newly formed committee posed significant hurdles for the club. Despite these obstacles, our members exhibited unwavering dedication and commitment to sustaining our rowing community through these turbulent times.

Amidst these challenges, a beacon of hope emerged. Recognising the need for decisive action, Erin Flood, Suzie Cronk and Lucy Blase spearheaded a bold initiative to explore avenues for collaboration and sustainability. Together, they devised a plan with Alex Wellings (LRC Captain) to merge with Leicester Rowing Club, leveraging their combined resources and expertise to secure the future of our club.

The merger proposal represented a pivotal moment in our club's history, promising to address our financial issues and bridge the knowledge gap within our leadership. With meticulous planning and unwavering determination, they navigated the intricacies of the merger process, paving the way for a new era of growth and opportunity.

This decision to merge with Leicester Rowing Club marked a transformative step forward, offering our members access to enhanced resources, coaching, and support.

Looking ahead, we eagerly anticipate the trial year of this partnership, confident that it will usher in a new chapter of success and sustainability for our club. 

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The 2019/20 year started with uncertainty, with the home of the senior squads under question as to whether there was space at HPP. Overcoming this the training got off to a good start with a healthy intake of novices and competitive senior squads. We succesfully hosted BUCS indoors with a large turnout of over 200 contestants in the Danielle Brown Sports Hall. However, the weather turned and with one of the worst winters in the recent history for rowing HPP was flooded multiple times and the river Soar was constantly rising and falling, limiting the training of all squads. In spite of the unfortunate lack of water time the club buckled down with extra land training to try and compensate. BUCS Head was deemed too dangerous to transport boats to but later the Senior Men would prepare to enter HORR 2020 with one of the first LEU/DMU composites for the time. As the history books will be telling for years to come this year will be most noted by the effects of the COVID-19 virus. After it spread to Europe all BR events were cancelled and the season effectively called off.

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If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

'On the morning of the 27 June, the University of Leicester Boat Club were preparing themselves for the biggest race of their lives at the Henley Royal Regatta 2012. The most prestigious rowing competition in the world, the Henley Regatta saw teams from all over the world attend; hungry for a win, ULBC were no different. In the qualifying team were James Arscott, Mark Jeacock, Martin Brozman, Frank Campbell, David Forrest, Alec Whitehead, Jack Stevens and Ben Tanner, with Kathryn Hanna as their coxswain.

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ULBC men’s 8 achieved what no other ULBC 8 crew have in nine years by qualifying for the Regatta. John Bull, treasurer for ULBC, sees this achievement as particularly significant as “the men’s 8 race is viewed as the Formula 1 event of the rowing world.”

The crew qualified for the Temple Challenge Cup with 11 other teams, including Eton College, Leeds University, UCL and Manchester University. Their opponent for the race was Southampton University, who ULBC managed to keep ahead of throughout the race, losing their lead in the last stretch. Commentary described the race as one the closest races of the day, with “neither crew ready to concede to the other” and ULBC “throwing everything at Southampton”.

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ULBC have had a tremendous year, doing well throughout the season as well as holding a 24 Hour Rowing Marathon, raising over £1,500 for the Ewings Sarcoma Research Trust. Along with other students and staff, the club rowed a huge 1,220km, roughly the same distance from Leicester to Geneva. And we beat DMU in the annual Varsity Boat Race.

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The team are eager to achieve bigger and better next year, hopefully that includes another showing at Henley.

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ULBC's Jack Stevens has written an excellent report on the season for the Rowing Journal website. Some of the jargon might be alien to non-rowers but it's a marvellously evocative piece, as well it should be from a final year student in our School of English.

"It also meant that Oli pushed us harder still, the depths of training darkness acting in strange juxtaposition to the sunshine that squeezed the sweat from our pores on a daily basis. Exams were over, and the senior men were thrown a gauntlet each of us snatched at. We wanted qualification."

Jack Stevens'

- University of Leicester News Archive

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk

If you would like to contribute to this section please contact

su-rowing@le.ac.uk