Over the last 12 months, Trevelyan College Boat Club has been on an upward trajectory unlike any other boat club in the university. Both the men and women’s crews have enjoyed success: the men’s first eight won the Small Academic Pennant at Head of the River last March and won their band at Tyne New Year’s Head in January.

Furthermore, the first eight became the first Trevs boat to row at BUCS Head, beating 18 crews in their band, including several university crews such as the DU 3^rd boat. The men’s crew were awarded Team of the Year at the DCR awards, with Tom Brown and Alex Ludlow also securing individual hardware. Not to be outdone, the women’s crew have also become a real force to be reckoned with, with the Women’s eight enjoying victory at Durham Regatta in June and seeing both the First Four and the Novice Four reach the final of their respective competitions.

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So, how has TCBC transformed from a humble boat club to become one of the most feared names on the waterways of Great Britain?

To answer this question, I talked to several members of this year’s boat club Exec. According to those who know the club best, TCBC’s meteoric rise is down to 3 main factors: the overwhelmingly positive environment in the club, the outstanding levels of commitment demonstrated by multiple years of Execs and the wider club, and a strong Novice program that has a clear path of progression through representation across both the women’s and men’s first eights.

The men’s four rowing at Durham Regatta last June

Tom Brown and Will Long, this year’s TCBC presidents, put the success of the boat club first and foremost down to a “friendly but competitive, enthusiastic and supportive” atmosphere around the club, something that manifests itself not only in results on the water, but also in the club’s strong social scene, one of the most active in Trevs. The heights of the social scene are epitomised by the Bash on the Bish boat party (open to all Trevs students) in June, which is one of the highlights of the Easter Term. Tom sees a direct link between socials, club atmosphere and performance, as “everyone gets on beyond the boat, making people want to be in boats with each other”.

“The atmosphere of TCBC is friendly but competitive, enthusiastic and supportive.”

Tom Brown and Will Long, Club Presidents

This is a shared opinion across the club, as women’s captains Isabella Chiarotti and Harriet Fraser describe how friendships off the water “strengthen the desire to do well for one another, not just yourself”. As someone with coxing experience myself, the element of team cohesion is not to be underappreciated, as from the outside it can be easy to forget that in rowing, you live and die by your team. Long views the combination of fun, club spirit and hard work as contributing to a “big positive feedback loop”, that he sees as fundamental to TCBC’s successes.

“Friendships off the water strengthen the desire to do well for one another, not just yourself.”

Isabella Chiarotti and Harriet Fraser, Women’s Captains

The “strong squad camaraderie” as Novice Captain James Robinson puts it, has been a consequence of the hard work undertaken both by successive Boat Club Execs, and the wider club. For Harriet and Isabella, the “dedication and enthusiasm” of successive Boat Club Presidents (namely Ed Jex, Tom Brown, and Will Long), has pushed both other members of the Exec and the wider club to greater heights. Tom credits the role of the wider squad in this, as he sees squad members who “share the enthusiasm and passion of the Exec” as being fundamental to TCBC’s success story. From my own experiences of the Boat Club, there are few societies, be it in Trevs or in the wider University, in which the Exec are more committed and more passionate about the jobs they do, and thus a great deal of TCBC’s successes should be attributed to these people.

The women’s first four at York Small Boats Head in November

The atmosphere around the boat club has undoubtedly influenced the success of the Novice programme, which must be considered as one of the best, if not the best, in the university. TCBC Novices begin their time learning techniques on the ergs, before building up on the water towards Novice Head, which took place last weekend. In that competition, TCBC boats placed 4^th in the Women’s 4+, and 2^nd in the Men’s 4+, epitomising the hard work of both the novices themselves as the Novice Captains. James Robinson, one of this year’s novice captains, began his rowing career at TCBC, and he credits the “many amazing people” who have taught him rowing technique and how to train, culminating in him being a key member of both the men’s First Eight and the men’s First Four, and being able to pass on that knowledge to the next generation of TCBC rowers. For James, this progression epitomises what TCBC does differently to other college boat clubs, as there is “high potential to move up through the club and compete at the top level if you work for it”. In addition, TCBC has no selection tests for getting involved, therefore, if you want to get in a boat, there is very much a place for you.

“There is high potential to move up through the club and compete at the top level if you work for it”

James Robinson, Novice Captain

It must be said, however, that the high cost of rowing, and its all-too-familiar reputation as a posh sport can often provide a barrier to participation to those who haven’t had previous rowing experience. This is endemic across the university, with many college crews highly populated with ex-schoolboy and schoolgirl rowers. While TCBC has its fair share of schoolboy and schoolgirl rowers, 3 members of Trevs’ BUCS crew (namely James Robinson, Ed Jex and Ed Cleeve) all began their rowing careers in TCBC’s novice programme. As Isabella puts it, “the club wouldn’t function without cohesion between those that have rowed before and those that are new to the sport”, something even better advertised by the women’s crew, with a majority of the crew learning to row while at university.

Thus, as TCBC looks forward to WEHORR and HORR in March, and regatta season beyond that, the boat club could not be in a stronger position, and I for one, will be very excited to see what further heights the friendly, passionate and committed people of TCBC can go on to attain.

My thanks to Club Presidents Tom Brown and Will Long, Women’s Captains Isabella Chiarotti and Harriet Fraser, and Novice Captain James Robinson for their time.

Image Credits: TCBC via James Gowers and James Robinson