University of Birmingham Boat Club

The University of Birmingham Boat Club (UBBC) is the rowing club of the University of Birmingham in the UK. It currently has more than 80 members.

The University of Birmingham Boat Club has been competing in national competitions since the 1950s, however, it is only in the past 8 years that the club has started to expand. An ambitious 5-year-plan was launched in 1998 to rapidly expand the club's fleet, increase success, and enhance the reputation of the University at sporting events. This initiative culminated in a gold medal winning VIII at the 2003 BUSA Head race, and a bronze medal winning VIII at the 2003 BUSA Regatta event.

The club aims to cater for all rowers, with or without previous rowing experience. This is achieved by splitting the club into two main sections, which are the Senior Squad and the Development Squad. The Senior Squad comprises athletes with previous rowing (or sculling) experience. This may have come from rowing at school, rowing for a home club, or from progression through the University's boat club. The Development Squad consists of rowers who have had very little, or no, rowing experience prior to University. Each section has both men and women members, and also their own dedicated coaching staff. The Senior Squad have a paid part-time coach, whereas the Development Squad rely on unpaid volunteers, usually former members of the Senior Squad. The club's coxswains can work with any crew, however, it is usual practice for coxes to be assigned to a certain section of the club, for example the Senior Women, or the Development Squad Men. This helps to build a stronger relationship between cox and crew.

The club also has strong links with the World Class Start program, a program aimed at earmarking rowers with the potential to become members of the Great Britain squad. 8 members of the boat club have been part of this program over the last 2 years.

Races

The boat club competes at a number of regattas and head races throughout the academic year (September - August). Prior to Christmas, the club sends its "Development Squad" to the Bristol Head race and the BUSA Splash and Dash. These events provide the development crews with a first taste of racing. Senior crews compete at the Fours Head of the River, held on the Tideway in November. The club also sends its top athletes to the National Indoor Rowing Championships, an event which the Boat Club also helps to staff.

After Christmas, the club enters a number of events during the "head season". These include Stourport Head, Head of the Trent, Women's Head of the River, the Head of the River Race, and most importantly, the BUSA Head race, held on the River Trent. The University has an impressive recent record at the BUSA Head event, winning silver medals in both men's and women's intake VIIIs in 2005. These performances were improved upon in 2006 as the Boat Club won gold medals in both intake categories. 2007 saw the club win silver in the Women's Novice VIIIs category.

The summer semester coincides with the "regatta season". The first regatta, and most important to the University, is BUSA Regatta, which occurs at the start of May at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. In 2006, the Boat Club finished as the 10th highest point-scoring University in the Victor Ludorum, their highest ever finish up until then. Their performance included a number of appearances in finals, the most notable of which were the medal-winning performances of the women's lightweight pair and the men's lightweight IV. This ensured that the University gained it's first-ever representation at the EUSA Regatta event. In 2007, the club greatly improved it's medal tally, winning 10 medals, including the first ever gold medals which were won in the Women's Novice IVs event over both 2K and over the 500m sprints. The University also finished 3rd placed overall in the Victor Ludorum. There is also the possibility of multiple crews being entered into the EUSA Championships. Following the BUSA Regatta, a number of crews will begin to focus on qualification for Henley Women's Regatta or Henley Royal Regatta. This involves intensive training, as well as racing at a number of regattas including: Marlow, Met, Peterborough, Reading, and Loughborough. In 2006, two crews qualified for Henley Women's Regatta, one of which finished as runners up in the Intermediate Eights event. In addition to this one crew qualified for Henley Royal Regatta.

2006 saw the inaugural Varsity Boat Race staged on the River Severn in Worcester. This event pitted the University of Birmingham Boat Club up against the University of Warwick Boat Club in a number of head-to-head races. In 2007, the venue is scheduled to be moved to the National Watersports Centre, Holme Pierrepont, with the competition now set to include Loughborough Students Boat Club. It is due to be held on June 10th.

ocial Events

As well as a serious sporting side, the club has a vibrant social side. The club is always in attendance at the "Sports Night" events held on Wednesday evenings at the Guild of Students (Student Union). These evenings provide an opportunity for all the sports clubs of the University of Birmingham to socialise together. Often these nights are themed to provide an extra added twist to the night's fun, and are held fortnightly. The boat club also attends the "Water Ball" events, also held at the Guild of Students. These events are similar in format to the Sports Night event, however, only watersports such as water polo, rowing, swimming and surfing are permitted to attend. In addition to these events, the boat club has 3 formal events each year.

* The Snow Ball takes place at the end of the first semester. It is usually held at a Greek restaurant, and provides members with a final chance to say their good-byes to the rest of the squad before the Christmas holiday.
* The Spring Ball occurs towards the end of the second semester. For 3 of the past 4 years, the event has been staged at Villa Park, home to Aston Villa football club. In 2007, the event was held at Edgbaston Cricket Ground. A number of alumni also attend the event, as well as a guest speaker. The most notable guest speaker of recent times has been Peter Haining MBE, assistant coach at Oxford Brookes University Boat Club, the most successful university boat club in the UK. Board members from our club's sponsors are also invited to the Spring Ball, as is the Vice-Chancellor of the University.
*The Pimm's Party is the boat club's summer event. This event takes place during June, and is the most popular of the 3 formal events. The day begins with a coach drive to Worcester in the afternoon, followed by Pimm's, strawberries and cream, and lots of socialising. This is followed by an evenings cruising up and down the River Severn on a boat.

Club Facilities

The club has two main bases, Edgbaston Reservoir and Worcester. Edgbaston Reservoir is a 900m stretch of water located close to campus and is used mainly for the Development Squad in the first semester. The boat house at Worcester provides the club with access to a 6km stretch of the River Severn. This is an invaluable resource for crews training for the head season. The Worcester facilities are used by the Senior Squad in the first semester, and by the whole club after Christmas. The boat house is due to under-go a £75,000 overhaul in the coming months.

In addition to this, the club has its own ergo room at Selly Oak campus. This room contains 8 ergs, which allows a whole crew to train at the same time, as well as a dyno machine, 4 spinner bikes, gym balls, and free weights.

Club Kit

Members of the boat club race in a lycra all-in-one. It is blue with red sections on the legs and yellow trim, which are the colours of the University of Birmingham. In addition to this, the vast majority of the club own a splash jacket. This is a versatile, long-sleeved jacket, which is partially waterproof and is specially designed to be easy to row in. The jacket is mainly red in colour with the University Sport Birmingham logo, complete with crossed blades, on a blue section on the back. The distinctive styling of the jacket helps to raise the club's visual impact on campus and at racing events.

Club Blades

External links

* [http://university.birminghamrowing.co.uk/ The University of Birmingham Boat Club website]
* [http://www.bham.ac.uk/usb_homepage.asp?section=0001000100010019 The University Sport Birmingham website]
* [http://www.bham.ac.uk/default.asp The University of Birmingham website]
* [http://www.birminghamrowing.co.uk Rowing in the Birmingham area]
* [http://university.birminghamrowing.co.uk/msgboard/index.php the club messageboard]