Christ Church Boat Club information

At Christ Church we believe that coaching makes a huge difference on the experience of the athletes coming through the programme, making it both more productive and enjoyable.  As such, we have a highly experienced professional Head Coach leading a strong team of Assistant Coaches.

Head Coach - Ben Reed

Ben has coached for over 30 years, starting his career on the Isis while a student at Oxford.  The strength of his coaching is shown by the consistent record of success at all levels.

College: 

• The only coach to have won all four college Headships at Oxford
• Won the Christ Church (novice) regatta with Keble W1 in 1995 and 1996, then again with New W1 in 1998
• With New W1 won the Torpids Headship in 2005, and the Eights Headship in 2004 and 2005
• With Christ Church M1 won the Torpids and Eights Headships in 2009 and 2010
• Won the Eights Headship with Pembroke W1 in 2012

University:

• As Assistant, then Lead Coach for OUWLRC (1998-2005) won 7 out of 8 boat races, setting course records in 1999 and 2002
• Head Coach for OULRC (2011-12), winning the 2011 boat race

School:

• First professional rowing coach at St Paul’s School (2005-2008)
• Coached the J16 8, winning silver in the 8 and bronze in the 4- in 2006, then gold in both in 2007, setting a course record

Club:

• High Performance, then Head Coach at Wallingford Rowing Club (2008-2018)
• Won 8 Brit Champs trophies, 13 Henley Women’s medals and 16 Tideway Head pennants

International:

• Coached the GB Lightweight Women’s 4x at the World Champs in 2011 (gold), 2015 (silver), 2016 (gold) and 2017 (5th)
• Also coached the GB LW 2x to silver in the 2011 European Championships, and the GB LW 1x at the World Championships in 2012 and 2016

Ben’s coaching also shows an aptitude for athlete development:

• During 6 years coaching New College women, 9 athletes raced for OUWBC or OUWLRC
• Three athletes from OUWLRC went onto to Senior international selection
• 10 of the 24 boys coached at St Paul’s achieved international representation at Junior level
• From Wallingford, 4 athletes won U23 vests, while 4 gained Senior selection, three ending up as World Champions
• GB World Class Start Coach at Reading (2018-2023), bringing talented athletes into the sport

James Hopkinson
James is an experienced student oarsman, having rowed for OUBC lightweight squad.  He has coached for Christ Church for a season now…

Miles Denning
Miles has joined us from coaching the Brookes Novice and Development Squad.  He was a Junior athlete at Leander before heading to Brookes to study for a degree in Sport and Exercise Science.  When not coaching, he is an accomplished rowing photographer.

Molly Wilson
Molly was previously Head Women’s Coach at LMH, having learnt to row at St Anne’s.  She is also a highly experienced sailing and kayaking coach.

Ceyda Oral
Ceyda joins us from Kings College London, where she was the club President, over-seeing an upturn in performance, as well as a rejuvenation of the alumni society.

If you are already a member of the Boat Club, you should be able to contact all of the people listed below via the WhatsApp group. If you are not a current member, please use the email addresses listed below.

Ben Reed

ben.reed@chch.ox.ac.uk

Austen Dorey

chchboatman.ox.ac.uk

President

The President is the first point of contact for people from outside the club.

Amber Softley

chchbc.president@chch.ox.ac.uk

Secretary

The Secretary can help you in relation to club memberships and subs.

Tim Herd

chchbc.secretary@chch.ox.ac.uk

The Captains

Contact the Women’s or Men’s Captain if you have a question about the respective Senior squads.

Contact the Novice/Lower Boats Captains if you are just joining the club, or are in crews other than the 1st VIIIs.

Contact the Captain of Coxes for all things related to coxing.

Women’s Captain

Bella Lucas

chchbc.womens.captain@chch.ox.ac.uk

Men’s Captain

Fraser Chapman

chchbc.mens.captain@chch.ox.ac.uk

Novice/Lower Boats Captains

Izzy McElvanney and Willow Jopp

chchbc.novice.captains@chch.ox.ac.uk

Captain of Coxes

Rachel McCormack

chchbc.captainofcoxes@chch.ox.ac.uk

Social Secs

For all the details about up-coming social events, or about social media, please contact the Social Secs.

Immy Rickard and Aakaanksha Singh

chchbc.socials@chch.ox.ac.uk

Generally, several thin layers are better than one thick one.  As you warm up during the session, you will be better able to control your temperature.

Tighter kit is better than loose, baggy kit.  At the end of the stroke the handle comes into the body and can get caught in baggy tops.  Likewise at the end of the stroke you lean back while on a sliding seat, so tops that are too long can get caught between the slides and the wheels, causing them to get dark stains on them, if not holes in them.  Baggy leggings can stick on your knees as you try to compress into the front of the stroke, especially when they get wet. The kit does not need to be rowing specific, so tops and leggings that you can pick up in Decathlon are fine, certainly to begin with.  If you need to buy some sports kit, there is a Decathlon store in Oxford at the end of the Botley Road, which should have everything that you need.

You will be getting wet, not from falling in, but perhaps from rain, and definitely from splashing, so a waterproof top is advisable, though again, tighter is better.

Please bring a water bottle with you.

You may want to bring some spare kit down to the boathouse with you.  It can be left in the boathouse during the outing, and will allow you to go home in dry kit.

All rowers will get blisters on their hands. It is best to try to avoid them, rather than get them and then try to treat them.  At each training location we have a plastic box with plasters and tape in. Once you get an idea on where your hands will rub on the handles, put tape over that area before an outing. Novices sometimes try to wear gloves when rowing, but this reduces your grip of the handle, especially when it gets wet, and makes rowing more difficult.

You might also get cuts on the back of your calves from the metal runners that the seats slide on.  You can wear leggings to protect your legs, but you may not want these getting holes in them, so a cheaper option, or something you can do when it is too hot to row in leggings is to wear long socks or cut lengths of Tubigrip and wear them around your shins.

You will be expected to undertake (and pass) and swim test as soon as possible.  You will get a few outings grace, but after that you will not be allowed on the water without having passed this.  These are arranged by OURCs, the body that runs Oxford College rowing, and take place at Iffley Road sports centre.  As soon as you get the opportunity, sign up and attend this (check the Calendar to see when swim tests are scheduled).  Once you’ve passed it, you won’t have to do it again, and you will be cleared to row and race at Oxford. 

The Boat Club has its own income, and subsidises all the activities for students to a large extent.  However, we do ask that members pay subs of £50 every term.

You do not need to buy Christ Church Boat Club kit straight away.  This is only necessary if you decide that rowing is something you want to continue with. Normal sports kit is fine for starting out.  If you do decide to commit to the sport, then the minimum you will need is a club race all-in-one, which costs just over £60 if ordered in one of the bulk orders. Information about Boat Club kit can be found here.

If you are to enter races outside Oxford, then you will need to become a member of British Rowing, the sport’s national governing body.  This will be £50 a year, or you can just pay £20 for a day ticket, if the race will be a one-off.  You do not need to do this straight away, but it will be an expense you need to consider if you get further into the sport.

Coxes need to register with OURCs and attend briefings.  Again these cannot be missed, so sign up as soon as you can and attend them (check the Calendar to see when briefings are being held). 

The Boat Club is lucky to have access to very good training facilities.

Chief among these is the Boathouse on the Isis. Built in 1936, it is the only boathouse used by a single club; all others on the stretch are shared.  The racking is sufficient to house the entire fleet, and we are looking to see if we can add more to enable us to purchase more small boats.

The first floor of the Boathouse has been converted into the club gym, which is now incredibly well stocked.  It contains 8 RP3s and 8 brand new C2 static ergs, each with its own set of slides, as well as 8 C2 bikes and a SkiErg to allow any athlete with a lower body injury to carry on training.  There is also a well-equipped S&C area, with 2 squat racks, a cable machine, and bench pull, alongside free weights (bars, kettlebells, dumbbells, bands, sandbags and so forth).  We are still looking to see if we can expand the training area available to us.

Novice training, and the intercollegiate racing, takes place on the Isis.  Our Senior crews, however, are able to get away from the congestion by cycling to our compound at Sandford Lock to train on the Radley stretch, which is both longer and generally free of other boats, allowing a volume of training that cannot be achieved on the Isis.  The fact that this offers the twin benefits of a much better stretch of water, but one which is still cyclable from college, must be stressed.  Other options for top college crews include: Godstow, which is cyclable, but still relatively short, busy and subject to limitations from St Edward’s School; Abingdon, which is a long cycle ride away, though more usually a bus ride; or Wallingford, which is a fantastic stretch, but only accessible by bus, minibus or car.  We have recently increased the number of racks so that all four of our top crews can be based there.  Crews can be coached from a launch on this stretch, adding another benefit.

We have access to the Pavilion on the Christ Church sports ground.  Here we have another 8 brand new C2 static ergs, again each with its own set of slides. This allows us to land train even when Boathouse Island is shut if the river level gets too high.

Finally, as with all colleges, we are able to book sessions in the rowing tanks at Iffley Road, the university sports centre, or at Radley College.  We might use these to teach novices the basics, or for our more experienced crews if we cannot get access to the river due to flooding.

If you are going from or through Christ Church, leave the college by Meadow Gate (photo A).  Directly in front of you is Poplar Walk, a tree-lined path that runs down to the river.  At the far end of this, when you meet the riverbank, turn left and follow the path round to a small hump-back bridge (photo B).  Go over the bridge and you come onto Boathouse Island.  Sadly, the Christ Church boathouse (photo C) is the one furthest down the row.  The outside stairs lead up to the gym, while the boat bays can be accessed from the large doors at the front of the boathouse.

Alternatively, if coming from outside college, there are two other ways to get to the boathouse.  One is to come through Memorial Gate (photo D), the main visitors entrance, on St Aldate’s, downhill from Tom Tower, the main gate into Christ Church.  Walking straight on from this, with the college on your left, and you will come to the entrance to Poplar Walk to your right, just beyond the Visitor Centre and Shop. The second route in is via the path down the lefthand side of the Head of the River pub (photo E).  Follow this round until you come to a footbridge with a kissing gate at the far end.  Once through this, turn right and follow the path alongside the river.  

Please note that bikes are not allowed in the Meadow, so you will have to take both of these routes on foot.  Bikes can be parked on the bridge outside the Head of the River, or even behind it, despite the many notices which suggest you can’t.

The Cricket Pavilion is on the Christ Church Sports Ground, which is on Iffley Road.  To get to Iffley Road by bike from Tom Tower, cycle up St Aldate’s towards town, then turn right into High Street and follow this all the way across Magdalen Bridge to the roundabout on the Plain.  Take the third exit onto Iffley Road.  The gate to the Sports Ground (photo G) is between the grounds of Magdalen College School and Christ Church’s Liddell Annex.  Follow the track down to the Pavilion, and enter through the lefthand door (photo H).
 

 Alternatively, it is possible to walk from the Meadow. Exiting the college via Meadow Gate, turn left and follow that path all the way to the end where you come to the River Cherwell.  Then turn right and the Millenium Bridge (Photo I) will be on your left.  Cross this, go through the gate on the far side, for which you will need access via your fob, walk past all the gardening equipment and you will come to the pavilion.

Please note
If you are travelling to training on a bike, it will be expected that you wear a helmet, and, when it’s dark, have working lights on your bike. 

The Rowing Tank is part of the Oxford University Sports Centre, also on Iffley Road, just a little bit along from the Christ Church Sports Ground, beyond the Liddell Annex.  Coming from town, cycle past the Liddell Annex and look for the gate into the Sports Centre on your right (photo J).  The path down is shared between bikes and pedestrians and at the end will turn to the left and bring you to the main entrance to the Sports Centre (photo K).

Alternatively, if you are coming along the Iffley Road from the other direction, you can turn left down Jackdaw Lane (photo L), then right into the Sports Centre through a different gate (photo M).  Cycling past the astroturf hockey pitch on your left, through the car park, you come to the main entrance.

Once at the main entrance you may need to check in with the staff behind the desk to let you through the turn-styles.  From here, you can either then go straight on and out onto the running track, turning right to head to the OUBC rowing building, which is to the left of the outdoor gym, or turn down the corridor to your right, turning left as you exit the building at the end of this.  The tank is through the third door (it has a sign next to it, and you will be able to see it through the window).  Wait outside before being told to enter so as not to disturb another college’s session.

You will need a bike to get to Sandford, but it is a fairly easy ride following the course of the river.  From Tom Tower, head downhill, past the Head of the River pub, crossing Folly Bridge until you come to Salter’ Steamers Ltd offices. After that, turn left onto the towpath (photo O), and follow that.  This will take you under Donnington Bridge, past Iffley Lock, and then under the old railway bridge, at which point the path leaves the river and cuts right (photo P).

At the end of this cycle path you come out on Sandford Lane (photo Q).  Turn left and follow this road down to the river.  The entrance to the compound is on your left just before you get to Sandford Lock (photo R). 

Alternatively, you can take the 6 bus towards Abingdon. You can pick this up at stop H2, which is a small distance uphill from Christ Church’s Tom Tower on St Aldate’s. You need to get off at the Sandford Lane stop after going through Kennington, then cross over the road and walk down Sandford Lane to the compound.

If you are travelling to training on a bike, it will be expected that you wear a helmet, and, when it’s dark, have working lights on your bike. 

Christ Church Boat Club kit has just been redesigned in partnership with Square Blades and Mizuno, who make quality kit for international rowing teams. 

At regular intervals through the year the Boat Club will organise a bulk order, so members can place orders through these.  By ordering in bulk we can get lower prices on the kit for individual members, something that the club helps with by also covering the cost of delivery.

For help with sizing click here.

Information on cost can be found here.

For Senior racing crews you will be expected to race in a race all-in-one, matched, if it’s cold enough, with race leggings and/or a baselayer. They can also be used for land-training sessions. This is perhaps the one piece of kit that is essential.

Race All-in-One

Race Leggings

Training kit can be worn on the water, protecting you from rain, wind and cold during the long sessions.

Splashtop

Midlayer

Gilet

Long-sleeve Baselayer

Short-sleeve Baselayer

Vest

Duster Leggings

These items can be worn around the boathouse, or down to the gym.

Fleece

Hoodie

Sweatshirt

Joggers

Long-sleeve T-shirt

Short-sleeve T-shirt

Loones

Mizuno

For anything made by Mizuno (all-in-one, leggings, splashtop), the sizings are:

Square Blades

Midlayer and Gilet

Baselayers

Vest

Fleece

Hoodie and Sweatshirt

Joggers

T-shirts

Loones

Mizuno

Square Blades

For information on how to make a payment, please click here.

The club must have received payment before kit is distributed to you.

The club’s crews race in top end racing shells. The Men’s 1st and 2nd VIIIs race in Empacher 86s, and we are currently fundraising to add an 80 to that.  On the women’s side, the 1st VIII has a Hudson U8.21, while the 2nd VIII uses a Filippi F09.  The women will be receiving a new boat for next season, either another Hudson or an Empacher 89.  On top of these, we have another 5 eights, a Filippi F09 and Stampfli for our 3rd VIIIs, and 3 novice shells.

In terms of small sweep boats, we have four coxed fours, two of which are Filippi F34s, along with two pairs/doubles, one of which is a Hudson S2.32, which can be shared between the men and the women.

We have recently bought two Glide Solos to help people get into sculling without capsizing early on in the process.  Once people become proficient in those, we have five fine singes that they can use, one of which is a Hudson S1.31.

This summer we will be adding more racking in, which will allow us to purchase another two 2-/xs and another 2 1xs when funding becomes available.

Coxing

We have recently invested in our coxing equipment. For our men’s and women’s 1st and 2nd VIIIs we now have 2 NK CoxBox GPS units, and 2 ActiveTools Platinum CoxOrbs.  For the lower boats we have another 4, 2 NK CoxBox 08s and 2 ActiveTools CoxOrbs, one Tungsten and one Cobalt.  All units now have working microphones and chargers.

Data collection

We have not yet gone down the Peach route, for several reasons.  First, given that we would only purchase it if we could get sets for both men’s and women’s sides of the Boat Club, we are looking at a commitment of around £20,000. Second, before spending this amount of money, we would need to be convinced that the benefit gained would be worth the outlay.  Does the information gained produce tangible and beneficial change on a regular basis? Third, it will be interesting to be what impact the arrival of the XBoat system has on the market, and whether it offers a viable alternative.

What we have invested in are units to allow each crew to be able to see their boat speed in real time, as well as the potential for that information to be passed to the coach in the launch.  On top of the four GPS cox-boxes, we have also bought four ActiveTools ActiveSpeed units to display to the Stroke, and another two units to go in the coaching launches, receiving the data transmitted in real time. It was this ability that persuaded us to go with the ActiveSpeeds rather than the more common NK SpeedCoaches, given the demise of the XLs.  The men’s and women’s 1st and 2nd VIII shells have all been fitted with impellers to give still water speed data.  If and when ActiveTools bring out their instrumented gates, we will have a close look at them to see if they would be a useful acquisition.  For our lower boats, and small boats, we have also bought 4 Bowsider Splitscreen units, which are small and light enough to fit in any boat.

(To find out how to get to the locations mentioned, please click here.)

Introductory BBQ: At the Boathouse

Taster sessions: At the Boathouse

Swim tests: At the University Sports Centre

Coxing briefings:

First training sessions of the 2026-27 season:

Capsize drills:

Coxing briefings:

The Boat Club will enter as many crews as possible into Torpids and Eights.  In both Torpids and Eights the club’s men’s and women’s 1st and 2nd VIIIs are in Fixed Divisions, but all other boats will need to row on.

Likewise, the Boat Club will look to enter as many crews as possible into the Tamesis Regatta, on both the men’s and the women’s sides.

For all other college events, the club’s participation will be decided upon nearer the time.

Michaelmas Term:

Autumn 4s: Sunday, 8th November

IWLs: (A) Sunday, 1st November; (B) Sunday 29th November

Lion and Chough Regatta: anticipated Friday 20th November and Saturday 21st November

Tamesis Regatta: anticipated Wednesday 25th November to Saturday 28th November (7th Week)

Hilary Term:

IWLs: (C) Sunday 24th January; (D) Sunday 7th February

Torpids: Rowing On Friday 19th February (or Sunday 21st February as contingency); Racing Wednesday 24th February to Saturday 27th February

Trinity Term:

ISL: Sunday 2nd May

Summer Eights: Rowing On Saturday 22nd May; Racing Wednesday 26th May to Saturday 29th May

Lower Boats Camp (Sandford):

Higher Boats Camp (Temple-sur-Lot): 

Given the success of last season’s training camp in April based in Sandford, the club will be holding one again this year, again in the week preceding the Trinity Term, but this time in the south of France.

We would be expecting anyone who wants to row for the men’s or women’s top two crews in Summer Eights 2027 to attend, so would be looking to take enough athletes to run four eights throughout the camp.

I realise that the Boat Races will only just have happened but we would really want to see those involved with OUBC coming on camp with the club.

There are rooms available at the centre where students can do academic work, and time will be set aside in the day for this. We would encourage athletes to use the vacation around the camp to get work completed ahead of time.  This shouldn’t be a reason not to be able to come.

Financially, the club, through alumni donation, will cover the entirety of the cost of the camp itself, but would ask students to cover the flights.  Those for whom this would be prohibitive need to talk to the Head Coach, as some assistance will be available if necessary.  Again, please plan ahead to put something in place to cover this cost, whether that be a Christmas present or a part-time job at some point.

Crews will be flying out from London Gatwick on Wednesday 14th April, and returning on Wednesday 21st April.

We will require assistance before and after to load and unload the trailer in Oxford. 

The camp will take place at La Base, Temple-sur-Lot (La Base du Temple). This venue is superb as the accommodation and dining hall are literally on the banks of the River Lot, so there is no travel time involved through the day. 

Many of the top university and school boat clubs travel there for their training camps, so it is a fantastic opportunity to develop your individual rowing and bring crews together.

The river itself has a 1km branch in one direction from the camp, which allows for technical work, and a practically unlimited stretch of river in the other direction, with a ‘kind-of’ 2k stretch, allowing for long rows and side-by-side pieces.

Rooms will be shared between 6-8 students.

Food is adequate, though there has been some cost-cutting in recent years (the coaches’ table no longer gets a bottle of wine every evening!), so it might be sensible to bring extra with you.

You will be doing three sessions a day except for the rest day in the middle, where you will only do two, taking the afternoon off. The format will be an early technical session, followed by a longer paddle into lunch.  Then in the evening there will be a pieces session.  Please make sure you bring enough kit and tape for this.

Sunday 11th October: start of term

The focus of the first term is the Tamesis Novice Regatta, a university-wide event that most novices will participate in. 

To prepare for this we will set crews fairly early in the Michaelmas term, based on availability and keenness levels.  The overall aim for all crews will be firstly to have fun and enjoy the process; secondly to gain proficiency at a sport that doesn’t come naturally to anyone so that you are ready to progress into crews that will race at Torpids and Summer Eights; and then, thirdly, to see how far you can go in the competition. 

In general, we will try to get you out on the water as much as you would like to.  During these sessions we will work on your rowing technique, enabling you to move the boat efficiently and together as a crew.  However, in this we are slave to the weather, and rainfall during the winter seems to be going up year on year, which makes the stream too fast for novices to handle.  When this happens, we have to resort to land training, using the rowing machines that we have in the boathouse, or booking a session in the rowing tanks at Iffley Road gym or Radley College, a local school that rows.

There will be the offer of land training sessions to build strength and endurance alongside the water work.  These will take place in the boathouse or in the pavilion at the Christ Church Sports ground on Iffley Road.

Week 7: Wednesday 25th to Saturday 28th November TAMESIS NOVICE REGATTA

Subs at set at £50 per term and will be paid via battels for members of Christ Church and via (…) for members of Kellogg College.

Those members trialling for OUBC are exempt from Boat Club subs while so doing.  Coxes are also exempted from paying subs.

Please note carefully that the payment of subs do not guarantee for you a certain access to training.  Rowing is an outdoor sport and the weather will determine whether the activity can go ahead as planned on the water.  Wind and rain may necessitate a switch to land training. Prolonged rainfall, as recently experienced through the winters will cause prolonged periods of time off the water. Alternative on-water venues will be sought and used where possible, and alternative land training sessions will be run. Subs will not be reimbursed on the basis of water time lost due to weather.

Equally subs do not guarantee that you will be able to race in any of the inter-collegiate or external races. Rowing in eights necessitates that crews of nine are selected, which may mean that some members do not get a seat. The club is able to look at composite crews with other colleges or use associate members to try to get as many members as it can involved, but this may not prove successful.  Likewise, some crews may fail to row on for Torpids and Eights.  Lack of racing opportunities will also not be considered as a reason to reimburse subs.

To make a payment, please pay by bank transfer using the following details:

Christ Church Boat Club Society

Barclays

20-65-26

20257893

The club will reimburse genuine expenses paid by a member on behalf of the Boat Club.  Generally, these should have the prior permission of the Head Coach.

To claim an expense, please send the details to the Head Coach along with the receipt.

Mileage claims must be for the shortest distance to and from an agreed destination with the starting and end point being Christ Church, St Aldate’s, Oxford OX1 1DP or another address if the distance is shorter. The maximum mileage claims for the following destinations are:

• Oxford to Putney Embankment: 62 miles one way
• Oxford to Dorney: 45.5 miles one way
• Oxford to Bedford: 61.5 miles one way

Although its origins are somewhat unclear, the Boat Club is one of the oldest in Oxford, and has been involved in college racing since the early 19th century.  In 1827 its blades were adopted by the Oxford University Boat Club, hence the dark blue. Showing periods of dominance at times, the club’s M1 has remained in the 1st divisions in the college races since the start of the 20th century, the women likewise from the start of the 21st. 

Overall the club has won 46 Headships in Torpids and Eights, with only the women’s Torpids escaping us so far (though watch this space – we currently sit 2nd).  On another 46 occasions, the club’s crews have won blades for bumping every day during the initially six-day, now four-day, events.

The college has a decent record of success at Henley Royal Regatta, albeit in the period before WWII, scoring 23 wins overall, including the Grand Challenge Cup in 1908.

A large number of club members have gone on to represent the university in the annual Boat Races against Cambridge: 121 in the OUBC Blue Boat, 41 as members of Isis, 11 for the OUWBC Blue Boat, 17 as part of Osiris, 12 for OULRC and 11 for OUWLRC. 

We have 15 Olympians associated with the club, of whom 9 rowed at the club before going onto Olympic selection.  The club can even lay claim to an Olympic gold medal; the British men’s coxless pair in 1932 being the duo of Clive and Edwards, both of whom were Christ Church alumni.  Edwards also won gold in the coxless four at the same games, making him the only British rower to have one two golds at the same games.