The Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club is looking for oarsmen and coxes to race and beat Cambridge in the Lightweight Boat Race at Henley in March 2011.
The club will also be running the reserve boat, Nephthys, who despite no longer being on the programme at the Henley Boat Races, are still a core part of the club and will have the opportunity to race at several other events throughout the season alongside the Blue Boat.
The only initial requirements are:
- Rowers:
- at least a year's rowing experience
- an eagerness to learn, improve, and commit to a demanding training program
- the ability to weigh <72.5kg on race day next March while at full strength. This usually equates to weighing <85kg now and <80kg in September.
- Coxes:
- you must consider yourself capable of coxing at least your college 1st VIII
- an eagerness to learn, improve and commit to the same demanding training program as the rowers themselves (although you don't have to get sweaty!)
- the ability to weigh 55kg on race day next March
A surprisingly wide range of people with different backgrounds meet these criteria. To give an example of 3 members of this years squad:
John Harfield, 2 in Nephthys, is a second year Chemist and came to the squad from one year of rowing at St. John's.
Matthew Neve, 6 in the Blue Boat, is a 4th year student of Russian and Philosophy. Matt learnt to row at Westminster School and rowed at Brasenose College before trialling for OULRC.
Martin Henstridge, Bow in the Blue Boat, is a 1st year D.Phil student in electro-chemistry. Martin learned to row as an undergraduate at St. John's college, where he rowed until choosing to trial as a graduate.
If you are interested in trialling next year, please get in touch (e-mail president-elect [at] oulrc [dot] org) with as much about your rowing history/test scores etc. as you can.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I would also encourage you to speak to members of your colleges who have trialled and get their view on what it is like.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Paul Crewe
President-elect, OULRC