Katie Anderson
Club OUWBC
Year of Birth 2000
Hometown Darlington
Nationality British
College Brasenose
Undergrad/Graduate Undergraduate
Year 3rd
What are you studying? BA Economics and Management
What is the most interesting part of your course? Do you have any professional or academic plans after? I really enjoy the management modules in my course such as strategic management and marketing. Their applicability to real world business problems is something I hope to use in a future career in management consultancy.
Future ambitions? I’m really excited about going travelling after I’ve graduated before starting to work in management consultancy.
How do you balance rowing and academic life? I try to plan my week in advance so that I can schedule when I will be working, rowing and relaxing so that I know I can get my work and training done.
When did you start rowing, and why? I started rowing in the summer of 2013 as a way to stay fit for netball and hockey during their off seasons, but soon fell in love with the sport and continued it year-round. In 2015 I had the opportunity to race at Henley Women’s Regatta. As one of our first external regattas, competing up a year we celebrated not coming last. While celebrating, I had the realisation that I didn’t want to be celebrating not coming last, instead I wanted to celebrate winning. It was really a turning point as I was inspired to take rowing more seriously.
What was your first club? Yarm School.
What is your favourite part of rowing for Oxford? My teammates - we spend so much time together and the squad have become some of my closest friends.
What’s your rowing history, and what has been your biggest achievement so far? I learnt to row at Yarm School age 13 and then represented GB as a junior at Coupe de la Jeunesse in 2018, winning gold in the women’s eight and two bronze medals in the women’s pair. I raced with current OUW teammate Lucy Miles in the eight and CUW squad member Sarah Portsmouth in the pair. I joined OUWBC in 2018 as a fresher, stroking Osiris in 2019 and was selected for Osiris for the 2020 race.
Have you raced in the Boat Race before?
If yes, when? I raced in Osiris in 2019 and was selected for Osiris for the 2020 race.
Your favourite race so far? One of my favourite races at school was Durham Regatta, where the whole team would support each other all the way down the 700m course. I’m looking forward to returning as a former pupil and racing with my old teammates (hopefully) this summer.
Do you have any race day habits or superstitions? I like to watch the 2012 London Olympics women’s pairs race of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning. I then visualise myself racing like that down our race course.
If you could have any sportsperson in your crew, who would it be? Helen Glover and Heather Stanning.
What gets you through a tough session? Do you have a mantra, rituals? Teammate support and encouragement can be really helpful in getting through the tougher sessions as well as knowing that we’re all pushing together to get faster and work towards our common goal of beating Cambridge.
Any hobbies, other interests outside rowing? A lockdown hobby I’ve been enjoying is meeting friends for a coffee and walk around Oxford. There are so many pretty parts of the town that I hadn’t seen until recently.
How do you motivate yourself and your teammates, especially with Covid restrictions? Staying connected and checking in on teammates to remind each other that we’re here for each other and all doing the training for one another. Zoom has also helped to create an atmosphere of being together when we’re doing circuits and erging