This Saturday 7th March sees CUWBC race at The Women’s Eights Head of the River Race. This will be our last race before The Boat Race on Sunday 29th March,
The Women’s Eights Head of the River Race is a processional rowing race held annually on the Tideway of the River Thames in London on the 4 ¹⁄₄-mile Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney. In 2019 the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. The race was founded in the 1930s with 5 crews participating. It is now the largest women’s rowing race in the world with around 2,500 women racing and 278 crews taking part.
Our First Eight will be starting the race in No 2 position behind Leander Club A and ahead of Imperial College A. The Second Eight will start in 8th position behind Edinburgh University Boat Club A and ahead of Leander Club B.
Chief Coach Robert Weber says
“We’re looking forward to the racing opportunity and to see what kind of improvements our crews have made. It’s our final real test before the Boat Race and we hope to come away with a clearer idea of what we’re doing well and what we need to work on during the final few weeks of preparation. Our athletes are excited to race!”
Conditions look fast and crews will be looking to chase down the leading 10 crews. The crews racing contain representatives from 16 different colleges. To find out more details about our squad go to our 2020 Squad Page.
| First Eight | Crew 2 | Second Eight | Crew 8 |
| Abba Parker (Bow) | Emmanuel | Gloria Jansen (Bow) | Lucy Cavendish |
| Sarah Portsmouth | Newnham | Anna Harrison | Lucy Cavendish |
| Bronya Sykes | Gonville & Caius | Catherine King | Gonville & Caius |
| Sophie Paine | Wolfson | Elena von Mueller | Jesus |
| Anouschka Fenley | Lucy Cavendish | Adriana Perez Rotondo | Newnham |
| Caoimhe Dempsey | Newnham | Rebecca Smith | Newnham |
| Patricia Smith | Christs | Gemma King | St John’s |
| Larkin Sayre | Emmanuel | Rebecca Dell | Christs |
| Dylan Whitaker (Cox) | King’s | Angela Harper (Cox) | Churchill |
We are also really excited to announce our Development Eight which will also race this weekend. This crew is made up student athletes who are part of the current team alongside those who are part of our Development Squad. Assistant Coach, Katy Knowles has been working with the Development Squad and they will set off in 41st position behind Lea Rowing Club A and ahead of Nottingham University Boat Club A.
| Development 8 | Crew 41 |
| Izzy Rhodes (Bow) | Lucy Cavendish |
| Helen Chatterton | Darwin |
| Simone de Rijk | Clare Hall |
| Emily McHarg | Newnham |
| Olivia Alliott | Jesus |
| Emma Pike | Emmanuel |
| Georgie Archer | Trinity |
| Joanne Mathews | St Johns |
| Josh Kershaw (Cox) | St Johns |
Weekends on the Tideway would not be possible without our generous hosts Thames Rowing Club . We love having a ‘home away from home’ in Putney.
ABOUT CUWBC
Cambridge University Women’s Boat Club and Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club are high performance student rowing clubs working together to support the sporting and academic ambitions of the team. The squad of young women and men train together within a supportive and challenging environment overseen by Chief Coach Robert Weber. The dynamic and positive team culture has been built by the many women and men who have represented CUWBC and CULRC over the previous 90 years.
75th Women’s and 46th Lightweight Men’s Boat Races in 2020