Rowing as a Novice with PCBC
PCBC is one of the foremost College Boat Clubs on the River Cam. Our results speak for themselves: following May Bumps 2010, the women’s 1st boat are sitting proudly at the Head of the River (for the third year running), whilst our 1st men bumped up three to second on the river, just one place from Headship! Impressive results, but what’s more, we’re eager to welcome you to share in our success!
From Freshers to Graduate students, any member of Pembroke College is able to join PCBC. If you’ve never rowed before, our cheerful team of Lower Boat Captains (LBCs) are ready and waiting to take you for your first paddle. Alternatively, if you’ve already had some experience on the water, we are often able to accommodate you in one of our senior crews. In this case please get in touch with our men’s or women’s captains.
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Novicing begins for many of our rowers at the start of Michaelmas Term. Your first step should be to stop and chat with us at the Freshers’ Squash in the first week. There you’ll see just how friendly we all are, and will be welcomed to join us on Big Rowing Day a couple of days later. Big Rowing Day is your chance to see precisely what the sport of rowing, in the magnificent setting of the River Cam, has to offer. You’ll meet the LBCs, receive a short introduction to the sport and, most importantly, you’ll take to the water for the first time in one of our two-man training tubs. There will also be an opportunity to talk about becoming a coxswain, for the chance to claim: “I was the one who steered the Pembroke boat to victory!”
Novicing is the perfect opportunity to become friends with people you otherwise might not have met – maybe a PhD student or just someone from another course. By the end of Michaelmas, it’s more than likely that you will find some of your strongest friends are those you see slowly waking up at 7.30am while sitting on an erg! As well as this, regular formal swaps through the novice year allow you to get to know the novice crews of other colleges while having a great night at the same time. The only possible drawback to rowing is that you’ll soon find yourself talking a lot of ‘boatie chat’…but that’s all part of the fun!
Use the following links to find out more:
| A Racing Start | Coxing with PCBC | FAQs | Important Dates and Contacts |
A Racing Start
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Your first term as a College rower is known as ‘Novice Term’, and provides the stepping stones to becoming a competent new rower. From the outset you’ll be guided by our team of professional and student coaches. We’ll teach you the basic rowing stroke on an Erg (a rowing machine) at the Pembroke boathouse, and then transfer what you’ve learnt onto the water as you row in a full-sized eight for the first time. Outings will continue throughout the term and somehow, remarkably, you’ll learn to row together in (almost) perfect time, have (almost) perfect balance and will (almost) always catch the water the right way and prevent yourself from ‘catching a crab’! |
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Particular highlights for your first Term will be:
- Queens’ Ergs: a novice indoor rowing competition at Queens’ College, held in early November. This is an all-out festival of power, as teams of 8 compete to clock the fastest combined 8×500m times on a Concept 2 indoor rowing machine.
- Novice-only racing events: there are four main racing events lined up to test the progress of novice crews over the course of the Term. Winter Head (organised by Cantabrigian Rowing Club), Emma Sprints (Emmanuel College) and Clare Novice Regatta (Clare College) each build up to Jesus College’s prestigious end-of-term race: The Fairbairn Cup.
- Fairbairns Dinner: to celebrate the achievements of PCBC in Michaelmas Term, all are invited to the first of the year’s three Boat Club Dinners. A true highlight of the term, the Master accompanies us to raise a glass and round off the term in style. “Row on, PCBC!”
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Coxing with PCBC
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If you’re a coxswain with PCBC, you’re the most powerful person in the boat. Your role is less physically strenuous than that of a rower, but you’re not just being taken along for the ride… Coxing is an excellent way to get involved with PCBC. You’ll be the person steering the boat from a seat in the stern, and will give commands to the eight rowers with the help of an in-boat speaker system and personal microphone (the Cox Box). Many coxes are novices, just like the rowers, at the start of Michaelmas Term, but with support from LBCs and our coaching team are soon able to progress to cox our senior crews. For more information, please come and chat with us at the Freshers’ Squash or at any other time please drop an email to one of our captains. All contacts can be found on the ‘Committee’ page. |
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FAQs
- What clothing or equipment will I need?
Initially, nothing special. It is enough to turn up for your Novice outings with a simple gym kit of tracksuit bottoms, t-shirt, trainers and warm jumper (important). In time, towards the end of term, we’ll arrange a kit order when you may buy PCBC ’stash’ which might include a lycra unisuit, technical top, leggings or a splash jacket.
- How much time will rowing take up?
We’re planning for a typical week of training to consist of one or two morning outings, plus an afternoon or weekend outing. Each outing will last roughly an hour and a half. We may ask for one piece of land training (a run, or timed piece on a rowing machine) per week, which would take at most an hour to complete.
- How does rowing fit around work?
More easily than you’d think. Almost all novices fit rowing successfully around their study, and can even get from a morning outing to a 9am lecture just fine. It is important to remember that your Cambridge experience consists of more than study alone, and that the time you invest in rowing will provide much-needed relaxation and enjoyment, not to mention its fitness benefit and the many friendships you’ll make as a result.
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Important Dates and Contacts
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The Freshers Squash will be held in the New Cellars during Freshers’ Week – the first week in October. If you’re new to College, the New Cellars are found beneath Foundress Court at the bottom of BB staircase. Look out for the PCBC contingent; we’ll be wearing our glorious PCBC stash and would love to talk to you. The main event, Big Rowing Day (pictured, left), is held the following Saturday. We’ll be picking up groups at regular intervals from the back gate of college (near the big iron gates) and will show you the way to the Boathouse. At any other time of the year, you should start by dropping an email to our LBCs using the addresses below. We’ll get back to you with all you need to know! |
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Contact Us!
Paul Ledwon and Chris Ramsden, Men’s LBCs: lowerboats{at}pembrokecollegeboatclub.com
Georgie Bowyer and Christine Murphy, Women’s LBCs: lowerboats{at}pembrokecollegeboatclub.com
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