Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC) was the university

rowing club A rowing club is a club for people interested in the sport of rowing. Rowing clubs are usually near a body of water, either natural or artificial, that is large enough for maneuvering the rowing boats. Clubs usually have a boathouse with racks t ...

for lightweight men at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

which selected crews to race against

Cambridge University Boat Club The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primaril ...

in the Lightweight Boat Races at the end of Hilary term. These races are usually held in late March each year. In 2023, OULRC merged with OUBC, OUWBC and OUWLRC to form one

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the Rowing (sport), rowing club for the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in 1829. The prime constitutional aim of OUBC is to beat Cambridge Univers ...

Membership and racing

Membership of OULRC was by competitive selection drawn solely from student members of the university. OULRC commenced the selection process in September prior to the beginning of Michaelmas term, recruiting from both undergraduate and postgraduate members of the

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. By the end of Michaelmas, the squad was reduced to two trial eights which competed in a Trial Eights race in London over the

course Course may refer to: Directions or navigation * Course (navigation), the path of travel * Course (orienteering), a series of control points visited by orienteers during a competition, marked with red/white flags in the terrain, and corresponding ...

used for the race against Cambridge. From this squad the club selected a first crew, known as the Lightweight Blue Boat, and a reserve crew, known as Nephthys. The Blue Boat went on to race Cambridge. From 2000 until 2006, Nephthys also raced against a lightweight reserve crew from Cambridge, Granta. From 2007, however, Cambridge declined to field a Granta crew, and Nephthys raced in the

Head of the River Race The Head of the River Race (HORR) is an against-the-clock ('processional') rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, between eights, other such races being the Schools' Head of the River Race, Women's Head of the River R ...

and other external races. The squad also participated in

BUCS British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS; ) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2008, BUCS is responsible for organising 54 inter-university sports in the United Kingdom, as well as represe ...

championships. Nephthys derives its name from the

Egyptian goddess Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural for ...

of the same name who was claimed to be the sister of

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

. Isis is the name given to the heavyweight reserve crew, and is also the term used within the university for

the reach "The Reach" is a short story by American writer Stephen King. First published in '' Yankee'' in 1981 under the title "Do the Dead Sing?", it was later collected in King's 1985 collection '' Skeleton Crew''. Plot summary Stella Flanders, the o ...

of the Thames between Osney lock and Iffley lock on which the college crews row. Although the Blue Boat did not compete in regattas after racing against Cambridge, OULRC did occasionally field crews in the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

, which often compete as Nephthys. The Blue Boat crew had the right to wear a distinctive uniform. With lightweight rowing a full blue sport at Oxford, they wore an Oxford blue blazer with the club insignia on the chest pocket. Previously a half-blue sport, this replaced a blue and white striped blazer with OULRC embroidery or a blue blazer with white piping and embroidery worn in the early years of the club. Nephthys members wore a white blazer with blue piping, with crossed blades and the word Nephthys on the chest pocket.

Organisation and history

The first Lightweight Boat Race was in 1975, and the first lightweight crew originally raced under the auspices of

. OULRC was formed soon after. The management of the club was in the hands of an elected committee composed of students, although the day-to-day running was mainly in the hands of the president, who was elected by Blue Boat and Nephthys members each year. Like all Oxford University clubs, it also had a senior member, who is a university don. Along with OUBC, OUWBC, and

OUWLRC The Oxford University Women's Lightweight Rowing Club was established in 1984 to represent the University of Oxford in the race against the Cambridge University Boat Club at the The Lightweight Boat Races, Lightweight Boat Races. Throughout t ...

, OULRC was part of Oxford University Rowing Clubs which is the body that oversees all college rowing in Oxford.

1987 mutiny

In 1987, at the time of the OUBC Mutiny, a similar dispute also arose in relation to the selection of the Lightweight Blue Boat. This dispute threatened the running of the 1987 race. The President, David Whittaker, who rowed the previous year, had lost a selection race against another rower, Sean Sinclair. As president, Whittaker claimed the right to select the crew against the recommendations of the coach, and former OUBC Blue, Rob Clay. The crew, in turn, refused to row with Whittaker in the boat. The matter was finally resolved when an extraordinary meeting was called and life members from London travelled up to Oxford to elect Bob Macdonald as president. Ironically, one of the American OUBC mutineers, Dan Lyons, was called in to assist in coaching the 1987 crew after the original coach, Rob Clay, was called out of retirement to stroke Isis.

Facilities and training

For much of its history, OULRC trained outside of Oxford, variously at

Radley Radley is a village and civil parish about northeast of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfor ...

(downstream) and at

Godstow Godstow is a hamlet about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It lies on the banks of the River Thames between the villages of Wolvercote to the east and Wytham to the west. The ruins of Godstow Abbey, also known as Godstow Nunnery, are here. ...

(upstream). From 2007, OULRC was based at the Fleming Boat House at Wallingford alongside OUBC.

Past Crews

This is a list of the OULRC / OUBC crews who raced the Men's Lightweight Boat Race against Cambridge. (*) denotes President of the Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club

References

External links

Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club

Oxford University Rowing Clubs

Henley Boat Races

{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Sports clubs and teams established in 1975 1975 establishments in England

Rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

Rowing clubs in Oxfordshire Rowing clubs of the River Thames