Winning performance from Jesus rowers in Fairbairn Cup
°µÍø½ûÇø's crews delivered a strong performance across the board in this year's , winning the women's College VIII division and coming second in the men's division.
The Fairbairn Cup is an annual head race organised by and raced on the River Cam, with divisions for both novice and senior crews.
JCBC President and Women’s Captain Claire Glanville (2015) and alumnus rower Nick Tubbs (2014) told us about this year's races.
Claire said: "We are very happy with our performance. W1 (the first women's boat) was the fastest College crew. This is a great result considering that only three of the rowers had been in W1 before, and it gives us confidence that we will retain our Headship position in the Lent bumps.
"M1 (the first men's boat) was the second fastest College crew, giving them a good position going into Lent bumps where they will be fifth on the river. Both second boats also gave excellent performances, with W2 coming second and M2 third in their divisions."
Nick added: "The women produced an excellent row, comfortably proving themselves the fastest women’s VIII on the river this term by winning their division by 11 seconds. The men did fantastically, coming second among the Colleges with a strong, technical row.
"The novices fared admirably on Thursday in grim conditions, and on Friday the first novice crews had their first row of the full Fairbairn distance. The Cockerels, representing the senior men’s alumni, rowed well, as did Jesus Old Girls which is formed of recent women’s alumni. Recent men’s alumni, rowing as the Disciples, were the fastest alumni VIII at the event.
"It was fantastic to see the continued strength of the club, despite relatively new crews on both the men’s and women’s sides. This is testament to the depth of the club, and to the training provided right from those beginning as novices though to our most senior crews. It shows real promise for the year ahead."
Claire continued: "We're now looking forward to our training camp in Spain in January, which will be attended by senior rowers and the best novice rowers, so 12 in total from the men's and women's crews. This is excellent training for our Lent bumps campaigns, with all crews aiming to go up. W1 is aiming to maintain their headship position."
Organised by students, the Fairbairn Cup is the largest College-run race on the river. It is the big rowing event of Michaelmas term, with many crews joining from other Universities.
