Linacre Boat Club Rules
JOINING THE BOAT CLUB
In your first term, you are allowed to try out rowing three times before you become a member and pay the membership fee of £45, so you are free to try and see if rowing is the sport for you without any strings attached. Sign-up to the mail list during the Freshers’ Fair at Linacre, the BBQ or by emailing one of the captains at any time. You will then receive an email every week asking you to sign-up for trainings for the week after. These sign-up sheets contain detailed information on how sign-ups work.
SWIM TEST AND SWIMMING LESSONS
Rowers (and coxes) can only go out five times on the water without having passed the swim test. The swim test is a test taken at the Iffley Road Pool, whereby you must swim 50m above water, 5m underwater and tread water for 2 minutes. Without passing the swim test, you are not allowed to go out on the water after your fifth outing, so it is crucial for everyone to take the swim test. The swim test is done with clothes on, so you need to bring a t-shirt with long sleeves and shorts or leggings as well as dry clothes, towel, change for the lockers and bod card. The club is charged if you show up for your test or not. Please show up for your time slot. If you are willing to commit, please ask your captains for details on available swim test times and swimming lessons.
COXING REGISTRATION
Our boat club requires all members to coxing license after having rowed for one term, but we strongly recommend going to a cox registration as soon as possible. The session includes detailed explanation about rowing, river rules and terminology, so it is very relevant for rowers as well as coxes. These meetings are normally held at the Bernard Sunley Lecture Theatre at St. Catherine’s College and students need to bring £3 cash and two passport-sized photos (photocopies or prints are fine if they are clear) for their coxing license cards. Captains will keep you updated about the dates of these introductions as soon as they are known.
If you are an experienced cox, you still need to register with OURCs and attend these meetings. Please get in touch with your captains.
TRAININGS
The rowing training schedule typically consisted of four types of trainings:
- water outings – on the water with a cox and usually a coach on the bank
- ergometer (erg) sessions – usually held at the Linacre gym (check the schedule for details)
- tank sessions – at the Iffley Rowing Gym and are sessions where rowing in a boat is simulated using a water tank
- gym sessions – at the Linacre Gym and typically include weights training and/or circuits.
Besides these sessions, there is usually a 2K erg test every term. Essentially, the 2K test is an erg test used to see how physically fit and strong you are in the run up to a race.
Training log
After a while of rowing, you typically need to start keeping track of your workouts and results to improve fitness but also see your progress. There will be a separate tab on the sign-up sheet for the training log. Captains will remind you when you need to start filling this log in.
Gym access
For Nuffield students: access to the Linacre gym is restricted to particular times for non-Linacre students and associates. You either need a specific code to get in during these specified times or you need a Linacre member to open the door for you. You will receive further information about gym time slots and access codes closer to the start of term.
When you can no longer attend
As rowing is a team sport, it is crucial to be present at all trainings you sign-up and are scheduled for. Particularly for water outings and tank sessions, eight rowers and a cox are needed. When missing any of these people, the show cannot go on. You owe it to the rest of your team to show up as promised. If you can no longer attend a session, always notify the captain as soon as possible. When it is about a water outing or tank session where eight rowers and a cox are necessary, you must make sure to find a sub yourself. Not showing up and not arranging a sub is not an option.
Seat order
After several outings, set crews will be formed and the coach will decide upon seat ordering. For novices, the seat order is quite irrelevant but for seniors the boat configuration plays a more important role. Therefore, the coach will have a meeting with the team every term to talk about seat orders and explain his/her decisions.
MEMBERSHIP FEES AND ADDITIONAL COSTS
Subs
If you row or cox more than thrice during a term (or attend a coached land-training session), you are required to pay the membership fee of £45 per term. This membership fee will be added to your college battels; no further action from you is required.
Kit
At the start of Hilary term, it is possible to place a team order for kit. This is the only time during the year where we can place a kit order as a team, so it is crucial that you order your kit before the deadline. All in-ones (onesies) are required for racing in external British Rowing events: everybody who wants to race at external races needs one. Other kit is optional. The product prices will be based on overall numbers from both the Linacre and Nuffield pages, so it does not matter which you order from.
Training camp
Usually, we organise a training camp to every year in Spring. In the past, we have been to France, Spain, Greece, and the River Dee in Chester! You will receive further information about this closer to the camp. Volunteers to help organise the camp are always needed, so if you are interested, please let one of the committee members know!
WELFARE
Our Boat Club welfare officer (lbc.welfare@linacre.ox.ac.uk) is available for welfare issues within the Boat Club. Linacre Boat Club strives to create a supportive and inclusive environment for all members. There are absolutely no ‘initiation’ or similar events under any circumstances and all club socials have attractive non-alcoholic options available where alcohol is served. You can also get support from college and learn more about the college welfare team on the Linacre Welfare webpage
OURCS RULES
The boat club abides by the code of conduct as well as rules regarding safety, restrictions, flag status, coxing and racing as set by OURCs.
Hardship fund
LBC operates a hardship fund which aims to ensure that, wherever possible, participation in boat club activities is not dependent on the financial circumstances of any member.
The boat club is not permitted to give grants, but, instead, can waive up to 100% of the subscription fees (subs) that may have been payable by a member. The following are three non-exhaustive examples of how the hardship fund may apply:
- A member applies to the fund because they cannot afford to pay their full termly subs. In this case, they may be charged a discounted or zero rate at the end of the term.
- A member intends to pay full subs, but requires financial assistance to attend the boat club dinner. In this case, up to the full cost of the dinner may be deducted from their termly subs.
- A member has already paid full subs in Michaelmas, and intends to for the rest of the academic year, but requires financial assistance to attend a training camp. In this case, they may be charged a discounted or zero rate for all future subs payments this year, and, if necessary, may have some or all of their Michaelmas subs payment credited back to their battels account.
This fund is administered by our senior member, David Seale, to ensure that details of members’ financial circumstances are not shared with other members of the club. The boat club treasurer, will be made aware of successful applications only in order to verify club membership and to ensure appropriate amendments are made to payments, but will not know the reasons for the request.
The hardship fund is intended for genuine financial hardship. To apply, please email David Seale making it clear in the subject line that you are applying to the boat club hardship fund. Your email should briefly set out why you need support, but need not be detailed.
Small Boats
Our trainings are usually in larger boats (4+ or 8+) until Summer VIIIs in Trinity Term. Over the long vacation, many of our rowers spend some time in smaller boats. The club owns some single sculls, a double, and a pair. If you want to learn how to row in these boats, you must pass a capsize drill and get coached sessions. Talk to your captains for more information and familiarise yourself with the Club’s small boat rules here.
Important Dates 2024-2025
2024
IWL A – 03/11/2024
Autumn 4s – 10/11/2024
Teddington Head – 16/11/2024
Tamesis Novice Regatta – 27/11/2024-01/12/2024
IWL B – 01/12/2024
2025
Quintin Head – 25/01/2025
IWL C – 26/01/2025
IWL D – 09/02/2025
IWL E – (overlaps with Torpids)
Torpids Rowing On – 21/02/2025
Torpids – 26/02/2025-01/03/2025
Women’s Head of the River – 08/03/2025
Head of the River – 22/03/2025
Summer VIIIs Rowing On – 24/05/2025
Summer VIIIs – 28/05/2025-31/05/202522-25/5
Committee 2024/2025
Presidents
Tom Ginnis &
Tom Underwood
lbc.president@linacre.ox.ac.uk
Secretary
Keri Grieman
lbc.secretary@linacre.ox.ac.uk
Treasurer
Fergus Cooper
lbc.treasurer@linacre.ox.ac.uk
Men’s Captains
Elias Drost (captain) &
Manny Djanga (vice captain)
lbc.menscaptains@linacre.ox.ac.uk
Women’s Captains
Emily Stone &
Sophie Kubik
lbc.womenscaptains@linacre.ox.ac.uk
Captain of Coxes
Katie Beard
lbc.captainofcoxes@linacre.ox.ac.uk
Safety and Equipment Officer
Fergus Cooper
lbc.safetyequipment@linacre.ox.ac.uk
Welfare Officer
Francesco Fiorani
As a British Rowing club, we abide by the Code of Conduct of British Rowing. A full version hereof can be found in this PDF document (Updated May 2022).
Linacre Boat Club 