Selwyn College Boat Club (SCBC) 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

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Selwyn (bishop of Lichfield), Georg ...

, a constituent college of the

University of Cambridge 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 ...

. The Selwyn College Boat Club has one of the highest participation rates of novice rowers of any

Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...

college. Notable alumni of the Selwyn College Boat Club include

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

Tom Hollander Thomas Anthony Hollander (; born 25 August 1967) is a British actor. He trained with National Youth Theatre and won the Ian Charleson Award in 1992 for his performance as Witwoud in ''The Way of the World''. He made his Broadway debut in the ...

, and

Richard Budgett Richard Gordon McBride Budgett OBE (born 20 March 1959) is a British Medical and Scientific Director of the International Olympic Committee. He won an Olympic rowing gold medal in coxed four at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was c ...

. In 2014, Selwyn College constructed a new combined boathouse on the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distanc ...

. The new facility provides training and rowing facilities for members of Selwyn and the University of Cambridge. The combined boathouse was designed by RHP Architects at a cost of approximately £2.20 million and was the winner of the 2017 RIBA East Award for outstanding architecture. Selwyn College rowers have not taken a headship (men's or women's) of the two

bumps race A bumps race is a form of rowing (sport), rowing race in which a number of boats chase each other in single file, each crew attempting to catch and 'bump' the boat in front without being caught by the boat behind. The form is mainly used in C ...

s. Selwyn College boats have had more success over the past several years, with the 1st Women's VIII earning blades in the 2023 Lent Bumps, and the 1st Men’s VIII earning blades in the Lent Bumps the following year.

History

Selwyn College, Cambridge was named for Bishop

George Augustus Selwyn George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was metropolitan bishop ...

, who was himself a Cambridge scholar and a rower for

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. Selwyn is the only College to be named after a scholar who was also a Rowing Blue. George Selwyn was a member of the Cambridge crew which competed in the inaugural

Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the Uni ...

in 1829.

In the early days of the

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

and

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 ...

, Selwyn spent a lot of time in the 2nd division, but rose sharply from the mid-1920s, reaching 3rd in the May Bumps throughout the early 1930s and 2nd in the Lent Bumps in 1933. By 1958, Selwyn's 1st VIII had found its way back into the 2nd division. Selwyn once again gained 2nd place 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 ...

in 1974 and 4th in the

in 1979, but has since fallen. The men's 1st VIII currently () lies 17th in the 1st Division of Lent Bumps, and 11th in the 1st Division in the

. A women's crew first appeared in 1977. The women's 1st VIII reached 3rd in the

by 1981 and the 1st women's IV reached 6th in the

in 1979. Since then, the most successful season was May Bumps 2016, when their men's 1st VIII achieved super-blades and went up 6 places. The SCBC was established immediately after the May Bumps were moved to June, instead of the previous month (1882). It is unknown why this was done, but it is believed to pay homage to the Cambridge tradition of scholars publishing during the

Lent Term Lent term, named for Lent, the six-week fasting period before Easter, is the name of the winter academic term at the following British universities: *University of Cambridge *Canterbury Christ Church University * University of Lancaster *Univer ...

. In the late 1990s the college digitised and released the Personal History of the Selwyn College Boat Club through its website. Hard copies of the original remain rare, however a signed original version of the monograph remains in the Selwyn College archives.https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/Selwyn-College-Boat-Club.pdf

Boathouse

The Selwyn College Boat Club moved into its first boathouse during Michaelmas 1883. The old boat house was originally rented from the town-rowing club and later purchased. It was a beautiful but cluttered old building made from shaped wood and iron with no access to the road. Given that all material and supplies had to carried in or taken by coat, it fell into a state of serious disrepair. Nevertheless, young Selwyn men produced a fine tradition of rowing from this humble boathouse, and Selwynites continued to fall in love with its ramshackle quality. The old town boathouse also produced team which achieved a second in the Lent Bumps of 1934 and third in the May Bumps 1931. An impressive result, all the more because of the facilities the rowers had to train in. The Selwyn Boat Club during this period also trained several men who would go on to become Olympic Rowers and University Blues in the annual boat race against Oxford. This was all the more fitting given that the namesake of the college, George Selwyn, had rowed for the Cambridge team that went up against Oxford in the first Boat Race at

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

in 1829. Despite these early successes, the fellows of the college eventually decided that the Boat Club should move to a new, more adequately equipped facility. This became a reality in the 1960s when one of the college's benefactors stepped forward and donated funds that allowed Selwyn College to join with King's College, and

Churchill College Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

to build a new combined boathouse. In 1968, the combined boathouse opened on the River Cam to great fanfare as the three colleges, plus the

Leys School The Leys School is a co-educational private school in Cambridge, England. It is a boarding and day school for about 565 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen. The head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. ...

, celebrated their new facilities. This new combined boathouse was somewhat further away from Selwyn and King's, being located on the north end of the River Cam near

Jesus Green Jesus Green is a park in the north of central Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, north of Jesus College. Jesus Ditch runs along the southern edge Jesus Green. On the northern edge of Jesus Green is the River Cam, with Chesterton Road (the ...

. Nevertheless, the combined boathouse proved to be a major advantage for the Selwyn College Boat Club which was finally able to properly train and exercise inside its doors. The boathouse contained boat bays for each respective college and back right onto the river. In 2014, Selwyn College, King's College and Churchill College announced plans for a new, state-of-the-art combined boathouse located on the River Cam, near to the majority of the colleges. The new boathouse features double-length beams and extensive gym and training facilities for all Selwyn College rowers and student athletes. This facility was officially completed in 2015-16 and now provides world class rowing and training facilities for Selwyn College Boat Club rowers and students across the University of Cambridge. The project was largely funded by donations and contributions from alumni and the Hermes Club. The two-storey combined boathouse is larger than its 1968 predecessor and provides facilities for socialising, training, and boat maintenance in addition to an observation deck. The combined boathouse was designed by RHP Architects at a cost of approximately £2.20 million and was the winner of the 2017 RIBA East Award for outstanding architecture.

Hermes Club

The Hermes Club, founded in 1920, exists to encourage and improve rowing and all sports at Selwyn College. Officially, the Hermes Club does not favour any particular sport club, however its board has largely been made up of former rowers of the college since the early 1950s. Each year, the Club offers financial grants to individual sportsmen/women and college teams, through the lobbying of College and raising donations from alumni and foreign donors. Members of the Selwyn College Boat Club are eligible for invitation to the Hermes Club only if they have been awarded a Full Blue or Half Blue by the University, if they have captained a Selwyn College team in a 'First Class sport', or if they have competed on behalf of Selwyn in two 'First Class' Cuppers competitions. Alumni of the Hermes club fund two major sports grant schemes which award thousands of pounds in grants every year. In particular, the Hermes Fund and the Vickerstaff Sports Bursary Scheme provide funding for outstanding athletes and student scholars who would not otherwise be able to take up their sports at Selwyn College. The Hermes Club also assists the college in raising funds for capital and building projects, including the construction of the 2014 Combined Boathouse.

Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

Gallery

File:Selwyn College Rowing Team Year1926.jpg, Selwyn College Rowers in 1926 File:Selwyn College Boat Club 1887.jpg, Selwyn College Boat Club (1887) File:Selwyn College Boat Club 1914.jpg, Selwyn College Boat Club (1914) File:Selwyn College Rowing Barge May Bumps.png, Selwyn College Rowing Barges (River Cam) File:Cambridge MayBump2015 (pixinn.net).jpg, Selwyn College Boat Club (SCBC) File:Selwyn College M1, Lent bumps 2012.jpg, Selwyn College's Men's 8 (2012)

References

A Personal History of the Selwyn College Boat Club
Andrew Patrick McEldowney

External links

Selwyn College Boat Club
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs

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 ...

Rowing clubs of the University of Cambridge 1882 establishments in England Sports clubs and teams established in 1882 Rowing clubs in Cambridgeshire Rowing clubs in England Rowing clubs of the River Cam