Aubrey Warley

Club OUBC

Year of Birth 1999

Hometown Yattendon

Nationality British

College Regent’s Park College

Undergrad/Graduate Undergraduate

Year 2021

What are you studying? Philosophy and Theology

What is the most interesting part of your course? Do you have any professional or academic plans after? It’s hard to say what’s the most interesting part of my degree. Aspects of both philosophy and theology are fascinating. Theology is a much more text-based degree and I really enjoy the challenge of attempting to interpret complex literature, particularly in the orignial language. Philosophy by contrast is very focused on ideas and assessing the quality of given arguments. I’d say I enjoy both in different ways and I think the subjects complement each other nicely. Where philosophy has been invaluable in improving the quality of my written argument, theology has given me an appreciation for the subtleties that can be contained within given texts. After uni, I am looking to pursue a career in finance or law.

Future ambitions? Over the summer, I am planning to cycle Route 66 to raise money for charity. I love cycling and I think that bike packing is an incredible way to get to know a country and the people who live in it.

How do you balance rowing and academic life? It’s all about scheduling your time. I make sure I write up a routine for each day with designated times for working and rowing to ensure I can excel at both. It’s also very important to have interests and a life outside of both.

When did you start rowing, and why? I started rowing at 14, mainly because I didn’t fancy standing round for ages playing cricket.

What was your first club? Eton College Boat Club.

What is your favourite part of rowing for Oxford? The Oxford rowing programme is truly incredible. I have been blown away by how scientific and targeted all of our sessions are and have seen the largest physiological improvements of my rowing career since joining the boat club. My favourite aspect is, however, the team. OUBC has an incredible group of dedicated guys who are amazing fun to spend time with but who also get the work done when required.

What’s your rowing history, and what has been your biggest achievement so far? Definitely making it to the final of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley in 2018. Although we lost to St Paul’s, I was proud of how our team raced, equalling the old course record.

Have you raced in the Boat Race before? If yes, when? No.

Your favourite race so far? The 2015 Boat Race was incredible. I loved how close the racing was in the first half with Oxford pulling away in the second for an incredible victory.

Your sporting idol? Pete Reed.

If you could have any sportsperson in your crew, who would it be? Tyson Fury. Although he isn’t a rower he is 6’9, incredibly co-ordinated and very powerful. I think most importantly he is mentally tough, coming back from depression to beat Deontay Wilder is an amazing achievement. He’d bring an amazing work ethic and great chat to any crew.

What gets you through a tough session? Do you have a mantra, rituals? I make sure I focus on why I am doing the training session. On top of this, visualising the Boat Race and watching old races never fails to motivate me.

Any hobbies, other interests outside rowing? I love cycling and would like to try racing TTs at some point. This passion came over the lockdown where there was nothing else to do. I did endless loops of Regent’s Park in London and did an awesome bike packing trip in the French Alps over the summer.

How do you motivate yourself and your teammates, especially with Covid restrictions? As a team we have a lot of Zoom meetings which really helps to break up the seemingly endless grind of training. In isolation I think it is super important to feel connected to the team and keep an eye on why we are all training so hard.