Now in its fourth year, the Row to London raises significant funds for charity, and towards supporting students from all backgrounds to participate in rowing in College. The club’s chosen charity for 2025 is Reducing the Risk of Domestic Abuse, a charitable organisation which works with Oxfordshire services dedicated to the safety of adults and children at risk of domestic abuse, and to the empowerment of the professionals and volunteers who support them.
Members of the JCBC take a break during the 2024 Row to London.
This year’s trip will begin at the Boathouse on Friday 5th September and ends at Putney Bridge on Sunday 7th September. Current and past members of JCBC will be taking part. JCBC Captain Emma Walker says, “We’re excited and ready to take on the Thames once more. As well as supporting our chosen charity, the funds we raise will help Jesus students from all backgrounds to get involved in and enjoy rowing, whether as experienced rowers or complete beginners, and provide essential equipment and kit to keep JCBC a competitive college club.”
The club has set up a JustGiving page and would welcome any support towards their fundraising efforts. To find out more, and give your support, click here. Money raised will be split 50/50 between the charity and the JCBC.
For four hot, sunny days in late May, the JCBC battled it out on the Isis during Summer Eights 2023. The excellent weather was matched by the thrilling spectacle of bumps racing on the water as four Jesus crews competed in the year’s biggest regatta.
It was a successful campaign for the women’s crews, achieving the feat of going un-bumped all week. The Women’s 2nd Eight put in a spellbinding display on Day 1, holding St Edmund’s Hall II a mere ‘canvas’ (ie. less than 1 metre) off their stern from Donnington Bridge all the way to the finish. Their resilience and assured commitment was subsequently rewarded with quick bumps on each of the next three days of the competition. Meanwhile, the Women’s 1st Eight bumped New College on Day 1 before comfortable row overs on all other days to finish 10th on the river, continuing their recent steady climb to the crew’s highest position since 1997.
The Men’s 2nd Eight found themselves in a tricky position in the start order on Day 1, with St Hilda’s and Regents Park’s 1st Eights behind them, as well as strong 2nd boats from St Catherine’s and Magdalen. The crew gave it their all, including cameos from Ruedi Baumann (DACC and JCBC Senior Member) and the Principal himself, but ultimately were bumped everyday. Earning spoons, they ended down five at 11th in Division IV.
Having raced a ‘double campaign’ as the sandwich boat between Division II and Division I in 2022, the Men’s 1st Eight was prepared for a challenging week. A strong Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) crew bumped them on Day 1, then sending down Trinity from Division I. From Day 2, JCBC fought back. Trinity was swiftly bumped to return Jesus to the sandwich crew position. Following a calm row over at the top of Division II, on Day 3 they closed strongly on LMH at the bottom of Division I but LMH bumped St Catherine’s and escaped. The drama only intensified on Saturday. New College gave a spirited chase in the Division II race but skilful coxing (crossing greenbanks early to move away from New College and draw them into the stream) and the cheers from the College boathouse brought about a successful row over. An even closer race followed at the bottom of Division I, the gap between Jesus and St Catherine’s ebbing and flowing between a canvas and a length the entire way down the course; overlap was not far off as they crossed the finish line. Jesus retained the Division II headship and will return to attempt to punch out of the sandwich boat position and up into Division I next season.
The JCBC Mens 1st Boat racing to victory.
The week marked a fitting culmination to a busy and successful year for JCBC. As well the usual calendar of Oxford regattas, including victory for the M1 in Autumn Fours, crews have raced on the Cam for JCBC Cambridge’s Fairburns Cup, on the Ouse for Bedford Head, and on the Tideway at Chiswick Amateur Regatta, where both sides reached the final – the M1 winning pots. The year also saw Varsity Boat Race representation from Molly Cressey-Rodgers (Maths 2021, Lightweight Blue Boat) and Sarah Marshall (History & Economics 2021, Blue Boat). It was also a delight to see alumnus David Ambler (Social Science of the Internet 2021, Men’s 1st Eight 2022, Blue Boat 2022) win Gold in the GB 4 at the European rowing championships during the same week.
As always we are incredibly grateful for all those who supported us during the week, whether amongst the crowds at the boathouse, or from afar.
Summer Eights also saw the inaugural racing use of our freshly-painted 1st boat blades, returned from the plain white used for Torpids to Jesus Green with the Draig Goch on the spoon. You can keep up with and support the fundraising effort to meet the cost of the new blades, including the 24-hour ergathon on 20-21 June 2023 at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/back-our-blades-jcbc
Ahead of the start of Torpids on Wednesday 22nd February Jesus College Boat CLub (JCBC) President, James Perkins, provides an update on the Club’s hard winter training programme, recent racing successes and how you can get involved.
For the crews of JCBC, nearly two terms of training reaches its culmination with Torpids this week (Wed 22nd -Sat 26th Feb). The Hilary term bumps racing will see four Jesus crews battle it out on the Isis in pursuit of other colleges. They will be hoping to ‘bump’ on each day (ie. make contact with or gain concession from the boat ahead) in order to win much coveted painted-blades and chalk murals in the College quads.
The W1 celebrate bumping into Division I in 2022. They will set out to defend their position this year.
The Club has been training hard all through the year, and all are excited for the prospect of a thrilling week of racing. A large number of novice rowers joined JCBC in MT22 and spent the term getting to grips with rowing – proving their ability and enthusiasm with strong performances from both men’s and women’s crews in the Michaelmas Novice Regatta in late November 2022. Meanwhile, the first boats have been busy putting in the hard yards on both land and water to improve technique, build strength and power, and develop set and gelled crews. Along the way they have posted impressive times in the Isis Winter League head races, competed in Nepthys Regatta, travelled to JCBC Cambridge for the Fairburns Cup, and, for the men’s side, won Autumn Fours on the Isis.
In January 2023, twenty JCBC members kicked off their year with a week’s training camp on the Tideway in London. This was generously facilitated and supported by members of the Cadwallader Club, JCBC’s alumni group. Nearly 100km of training was racked up as the crews took advantage of the unique tideway conditions and long paddling stretches to build fitness and fine-tune their skills. Given poor weather conditions that prevented training on the Isis for several weeks at the beginning of term, this was an invaluable opportunity and fantastic foundation for the Torpids campaign. All four boats (M1, W1, M2, W2) have been putting the finishing touches to their preparations over the past week, working on maximising speed off the start and their high-rate pieces. As some final race preparation, the first crews competed in Bedford head on 12 February, gaining valuable race experience from the sprint 1700m course.
The 2023 campaign has already got underway with the W2 successfully ‘Rowing-On’ (ie. qualifying for their division place, other crews are in ‘fixed’ divisions) on Friday 17 February. Bumps racing in earnest begins on Wednesday, with Jesus crews in action throughout the afternoons through to Saturday. Do come down to the banks or boathouse and cheer the crews on if you are able. The W2 start on bungline 12 in Division VI, the M2 on bungline 10 in Division IV, the M1 on bungline 3 in Division II, and the W1 at bungline 9 in Division I.
Spectators will also be able to see the club’s new blades in action for the first time on the Isis. These high-end blades are an important investment for the club’s future, with existing sets having served the club for several decades. The purchase has been generously supported by the David Rhys Foundation and the Cadwallader Trust. Some funds remain to be raised, and so the club asks you to #backourblades and contribute at https://gofund.me/c7c3f526 if you are able. Currently, the blades are plain white, having arrived just in time for Torpids, but will subsequently be painted in the traditional Jesus green with the JCBC dragon emblem on the front of the spoons.
JCBC are excited for the week ahead and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible by the river. Racing begins at 11.45am each day.
You can follow all the action on twitter at https://twitter.com/jesusboatclub and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jesusboatclub/
Please contact the Cadwallader Club Secretary at jcbc.cadwallader@gmail.com if you are interested in being involved with the Club.
Bleed Green!
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