Robinson College Boat Club is the

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 ...

club for members of

Robinson College, Cambridge Robinson College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both ...

. Robinson is one of the newest colleges of

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and its men's and women's crews both appeared in 1981 for the first time. The men's 1st VIII rose steadily in the

Lent Bumps The Lent Bumps (also Lent Races, Lents) are a set of rowing races held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge. They began in 1887, after separating from the May Bumps, which are bumping races held in mid-June. Prior to the separation there ha ...

, competing continuously in the 1st division from 1998 to 2008 and rising as high as 9th in 2001. After briefly dropping into the 2nd division in 2008, recent years have seen a resurgence, with blades in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

moving Robinson up to 10th on the river in Lents. In the

May Bumps The May Bumps (also May Races, Mays) are a set of rowing races, held annually on the River Cam in Cambridge, England. They began in 1887 after separating from the Lent Bumps, the equivalent bumping races held at the end of February or start o ...

, the men's 1st VIII was in the 1st division continuously from 1995 to 2008, finishing 4th on the river in 2003. Recent Mays results have been mixed, with a brief foray back into the 1st division in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

before an unlucky year in

dropping the crew back into the 2nd division. The women's 1st VIII have had a continuous existence in the Lents 2nd division since 1982, apart from a brief visit to the 1st division in 1992. In the May Bumps, the 1st women's IV dropped into the 3rd division by 1987 after being ''double-overbumped'' (dropping five places in a single day) on three occasions since 1982. Robinson's 1st women's VIII were positioned at the bottom of the 1st division following the reorganisation of the start order in 1990 when the May Bumps changed to eight-oared boats, and have spent most of the time since then in the top half of the 2nd division or the bottom few crews of the 1st, rising as high as 13th in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Recent years have seen mixed results, with the crew currently 15th in the 2nd division in Lents, and 13th in the 2nd in Mays. The Robinson lower boats have had varying degrees of success over the years - recent highlights include the 2nd Women's VIII earning blades in Mays 2010, and the 2nd Men's VIII repeating the feat in both

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Notable alumni

John Pritchard represented

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in the boat race and won silver in the Men's VIII at the 1980 Olympics.

External links

Robinson College Boat Club website
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Rowing clubs of the University of Cambridge

Boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

Sports clubs and teams established in 1981 1981 establishments in England Rowing clubs in Cambridgeshire Rowing clubs in England Rowing clubs of the River Cam