A Season with OUBC

Third year Trinity College Oxford classicist Alannah Burdess takes an inside look at trialling for OUBC

“Stroke side tap it, bowside back it down”. Spinning into place in the marshalling area of Upper Thames Autumn Head, my heart in my mouth, recalling the race plan I’d made the night before to keep myself calm -this was the scene of my first race with Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC). If you had told me even six weeks before that day that I’d be coxing for OUBC, let alone racing with them, I’d have looked at you in utter disbelief.

At the time of writing, I have been coxing for 11 months. What started as giving rowing a go because it’s Oxford and everyone does it at least once, has turned into 40 hours of training a week and a competitive hunger I’ve never felt before -all in less time than it takes Charlie Elwes to rig a boat. It was in a moment of slight madness that I emailed Head Coach Sean Bowden about trialling. What it might be like to train with a squad of elite male rowers as the only girl, and a novice to boot, didn’t even cross my mind. It’s a moment of madness I don’t regret in the slightest.

The training that this squad does is gruelling, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. All those hours of dedication are worth it for one thing: winning. The seventeen minutes of complete physical exertion we will witness on 3rd April is the culmination of hundreds of hours of training and sacrifice. The rapture and elation, or anguish and disappointment, when those boats cross the University Post is because body and soul have been put on the line for the past six months, day in, day out.

If you’re an elite athlete you know this, you expect it -but I went in blind. OUBC has required a newfound resilience to balance the deep dive into elite rowing alongside my degree and some semblance of a social life. It’s an experience difficult to put into words, rewarding because it’s so exacting. Most Oxford students are perfectionists and, when it comes to rowing, we are no different. Resisting frustration when an outing isn’t perfect, or you make a mistake, is easier said than done. We all hold ourselves to the highest standards and I’d challenge you to find a more self-motivated group of individuals. No one is going to hold your hand in a seat race or pat you on the back for anything less than a stellar performance. It might seem brutal -it is -but it’s what’s required to succeed. When I first arrived at OUBC I was conscious of my lack of experience and so nervous that one of the squad members recently told me I would shake getting into the boat. However, I was determined to conquer the river that lay in front of me. The same is true for every member of the squad. Though they might have been rowing for half their lives and have an Olympic medal, the Boat Race is a unique challenge requiring change from everyone.

Such a challenge can’t always be sunshine and rainbows. Some days are just hard. Even on those days, there is always something to smile about. The boys may be talented athletes and reasonably bright, but their musical talents are truly legendary. Music was a key element of our daily bus journeys to Wallingford. It was a considerable responsibility to be on the aux, not to be taken lightly. Over the months we’ve had performances of Frozen’s ‘Let It Go!’, various hymns, and anyone who has witnessed Angus and Dave’s rousing rendition of Angels by Robbie Williams should consider themselves incredibly fortunate. Those bus journeys to and from Wallingford are a key part of OUBC existence, just as crucial as a post training refuel in the form of a trip to Greggs. A sausage roll a day keeps the Tabs away?

“OUBC is responsible not only for a change of hairstyle but it has also fundamentally changed me.”

Without embarrassing them by getting too sentimental (who me?!), I would never have got as far or enjoyed the journey as much as I have if it weren’t for the people in the squad. Whilst the coaches gave me space and time to learn, the daily lessons were learned in the boat from the rowers. They were demanding but that pressure also came with the support to progress. That being said, they love to remind me how far I’ve come. At a recent dinner my coxing during preseason was described as ‘Tokyo Drift: Caversham Edition’.

Of course, I can’t talk about a year with OUBC without mentioning the Tideway. It always felt as though the Tideway was the coxing equivalent of the bogey man; scary and discussed in hushed tones, with a million complicated rules. To minimise my chances of being overly intimidated by the course, Olly Perry sat with me in my kitchen for two hours going over its ins and outs the night before we first headed to the Tideway. I credit him with the fact I now feel quite fondly about that stretch of water. Mind you, there has been the odd occasion when we’ve been caught in very choppy water or gone through the wash of a clipper where I did think we were all going for a swim. Thankfully, that has yet to happen.

When I first joined OUBC rarely a day went by where I wasn’t asked what it was like to be the only woman in a squad of men. The best explanation I can offer is that it’s like having 27 brothers. They’re as protective, supportive, and occasionally just as irritating as my actual brother. In fact, the whole squad feels like a family of sorts. After all, even before you factor in the social side of life, we spend 40 hours a week training together, witnessing each other’s highs and lows. We’ve seen each other happy, sleep-deprived, hangry, focussed, stressed and sad. It’s hard not to be close after all of that. I’m of the opinion that the closer a squad is, the more they trust one another, and the better the boats will go. So much of rowing is about trust and belief in one another. Trusting that every individual will do their absolute best, will be on time, will set the balance and that the cox will steer the best possible line. Before OUBC I had never been part of a team that trusted or supported each other as we do. There are countless examples but one of my favourites in-volves Oriel College’s Chapel. Chris Rimmer is training to be a vicar and as part of that he was giving a sermon. Practically every single member of the squad, including those who weren’t religious, or Christian, turned up in support. How he maintained a straight face with all of us staring at him, I don’t know.

That trust is even more crucial on race day. My first ever fixture was against Imperial College, and it felt like being right back at preseason there were so many ‘firsts’. My first side-by-side in eights, let alone on the Tideway, and my first Tideway starts. However, just as they had for the previous five months, the boat backed me to do the job required. Holden and Joe as stern pair communicated what they needed, trusting me to get it done. Equally, I trusted them to make the changes I called together. Simply, there is no better feeling than that cohesion between nine people to achieve your common goal, made even sweeter by the grind it takes to get there.

It is perhaps assumed that as part of a men’s team I’d feel pressure to be less feminine, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’d often get compliments about my nails, hair or clothes (when not in rowing kit). President Marty even requested I have OUBC themed nails for the Boat Race. Though Joe’s taste in shirts might be a bit left field, I did discover boat ties make great belts. Actually, the boys are responsible for a considerable appearance change of mine. It turns out that making a bet to dye your hair Oxford Blue can, in fact, result in dying your hair Oxford Blue. Extra points if you let one of the rowers do it in your kitchen late on a Monday night.

OUBC is responsible not only for a change of hairstyle, but it has also fundamentally changed me. For starters, I can now steer a straight line down a 2km buoyed course. In all sincerity, the boys have taught me a level of determination and focus I didn’t know I had. They have demonstrated time and again a trust and support that it’s hard to believe exists between a group of people who were mostly strangers six months ago. They’ve shown me how to find the humour even on the hardest of days and how to cope under intense pressure. This season with OUBC has been the most challenging and most rewarding six months of my 20 years, and none of it would be possible without my 27 teammates.