Balliol College Boat Club

We're looking forward to seeing to catching up with our alumni and celebrating Steve's retirement with drinks and some boating on Sunday 19th, 10:00-12:00hrs. If you are an ex-BCBC member and haven't been contacted by Balliol's alumni team please get in touch to book a place.

See you all there!

Best of luck to all five BCBC members competing in HRR this week!

Sam Baker is a member of our M1 crew, and will be racing for the Oxford Lightweights in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup today at 10:30.

Daisy Bellamy has coached our women's side this past year, and will be competing for Brookes A in the Island Challenge Cup.

Coach Tom Wiblin will be putting down the watts for Brookes B in the Ladies Challenge Plate, while Oli Gerrard will be racing in a four for Henley RC, and Charley Wedderburn for Brookes in the Princess Grace Challenge Cup

Watch the livestream at https://youtu.be/dBnCvYstu-0 , and keep your eyes peeled on the HRR website for further details re. Daisy, Tom, Oli and Charley's races.

Massive congratulations to all 6th formers on their A-level results! Cracking effort.

Keen to try a new sport?

Excited to get stuck into the heart of Balliol's social life?

Want to compete in the Unis' biggest intercollegiate events, come to the juiciest formals and meet the best people?

JOIN US!

We'll be putting on various events in Freshers Week, but until then follow us on social media, and whack us a message for more details.

Excited to meet you all!

Now that racing's finished for the year, we're returning to our subject showcase.

Message us if you want to know more about the featured courses, studying in Oxford, or rowing!

Next up - graduate engineering!

Name: Matilde Maardalen
Hometown: Florø, Norway
Subject: DPhil in Biomedical Engineering

I’m a DPhil student working on targeted drug delivery in cancer therapy. I chose Oxford not only because I found a research group that perfectly aligned with my interests, but also because I’d heard that Oxford has a great graduate community. Being part of a college makes it very easy to meet new friends across different subjects, which is very different to what I’m used to in Norway. I’d never rowed prior to coming to Oxford and didn’t really expect to enjoy the early mornings, but doing it as part of a team makes it all worth it.

Name: Sam Baker
Hometown: Lewisham, London
Subject: DPhil Engineering (designing hybrid engines for ).

I picked mechanical engineering because I love things that make me go fast (also a great reason for choosing BCBC!)
I did my undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at , liked the look of an industrial PhD with JLR, and picked Balliol on the recommendation of some friends. They knew I'd love the mix of traditional beauty/relaxed sociable community that makes Balliol unique! The warm people at Balliol and BCBC constantly inspire me, and if you're thinking of applying, I couldn't recommend it enough.

4th photo credit 📸 Al Craigie

W1 will be our final crew racing each day, starting 7th in Division 1.

This crew has seen a huge amount of progress in just a few weeks, with most of the crew having rowed for just weeks as we head into Torpeights. A lot of dedication, and widespread success in other sports, has gone into producing boat speed and we hope it all pays off this week!

We can't wait to develop this crew, along with W2 and W3, into a really successful women's side over the next few years. This is only the first term of our quest. Watch this space.

Check the crew video on our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/IFuVuRv5apc

Thanks to coach John Ewans (with support from .bellamy and ) in supporting our huuuge women's squad this year.

It's well-known that M1 set the trends on the Isis, from headgear to tap turns. Catch them starting 7th in Division 1 this week on the livestream!

The chat drag of having 3 junior deans in the boat is thankfully outweighed by the 2 Tabs, bought in a hasty transfer window earlier this year to secure more free speed. With Sam's backwards cap, Pearson's Park End bucket hat and Alec's prowess on Rainbow Road, this crew is basically 10splits free before the first stroke. Amos is also in the crew.

Catch the crew video up on our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/X54eZ79qoaA

Thanks to coach .holden for all the kms pulled on our dubious launch! And thanks to .gerrard for coming out to visit us a few times.

W2 are pumped to be hunting down success from 8th in Division 5 this week.

It's been a while since we've had 3 regular boats going out, and we're just so happy that our W2 has been having so many sessions. Thanks to president Molly Green's endless enthusiasm, and coach Charley Wedderburn's motivational tech work, W2 and W3 have both put in a solid shift this term which saw a lot of individual improvement.

Catch the crew in Division 5, starting 14:45 each day, on the livestream. Their crew video is now up on our channel:
https://youtu.be/OeUaxiWIrTs

W3 sadly were struck by illness and injury, meaning they won't be racing in Bumps, but will be shouting everyone on from the sidelines!

Thanks to coaches Charley Wedderburn and Daisy Bellamy for the time they've put into our women's lower boats this year.

M2 kick off their Torpeights campaign tomorrow at Rowing-On. Here's the crew.

Watch their video here:

https://youtu.be/cZFAj_0Wlx4

More tasty maths chat! Here's W1's Sian and M1's Dewi giving their insight on applications at Balliol.

Name: Sian Dennett
Hometown: Yeovil
Subject: Masters in Mathematics

I realised how rewarding and fundamental maths was while studying for my A-Levels and wanted to take it further. I absolutely love studying in Oxford and being surrounded by people equally faking it until they make it. Balliol is especially a fabulous place to live and study. I visited on an open day and immediately felt the relaxed and friendly atmosphere in college. It’s perfectly located in the city and is stunning too - it was a no-brainer! Before arriving in October, I’d never even seen a rowing boat in the flesh. I got stuck in with training, and now in Trinity term, I’ve just completed my first race with W1. The facilities and coaching allow for massive improvements in skill as well as the experienced rowers being ever patient when you inevitably have no idea what you’re doing! Being on the river in the mornings is refreshingly cathartic for me, and I enjoy being able to focus purely on moving the boat for an hour or so.

Name: Dewi Gould
Hometown: Glasgow
Subject: DPhil in Mathematical Physics

I did my undergraduate degree in physics and found myself leaning more and more towards the theoretical side, so much so I’ve found myself now in a maths department. I’m in the first year of my PhD: my work at the moment is focused on something called ‘generalised symmetries’ in string theory and quantum field theory. I chose Oxford because my group has a really exciting mix of personas and research areas (including recent Nobel Prize winner Roger Penrose!). I wanted to learn with and work alongside the best minds out there - Oxford is a pretty good place for that. I applied to Balliol for its graduate community. I’d heard great things about Holywell manor - the focal point for all graduates. I had only rowed for 3 months before coming to Oxford. The coaching at Balliol is fantastic and rowing out in Abingdon on an empty river only serves to make the coaching better. I’d strongly recommend joining!

Next up in our subject profiles, graduate medic Henry West & biomed 2nd year Katherine Hammond!

Name: Henry West
Hometown: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Subject: DPhil of Medical Science

I started my DPhil at Oxford because I had the chance to join a world-leading lab group developing new technologies for improved risk assessment of heart disease. My DPhil in particular has developed a new approach to stroke risk assessment via CT imaging and we are now testing it in a large international study. Like many international students, I knew very little of the college system prior to arriving in Oxford and made my college selection based upon online material. I am very glad I chose Balliol – I have had a great few years and continue to be very involved in many aspects of College even after moving out of college accommodation. I had never rowed before coming to Oxford, but started in my first term in a novice crew consisting of mostly other Aussies at Balliol! I continue to enjoy the camaraderie of BCBC and the thrill of the regattas.

Name: Kath Hammond
Hometown: Partington
Subject: Biomed because it’s got all the sexy bits of medicine without any bodily fluids

Oxford was never a place I’d had my heart set on, but I did a UNIQ summer school and just loved the city and how they taught the course. As first gen, even the concept of uni was alien, so before arriving I had a whole host of concerns about not fitting in or making friends. The atmosphere of Balliol is unique in that everyone is really keen to learn about other people's backgrounds. Sure, some are uninformed, but no one is unkind or judgemental. Even in a boat club which is something I always thought was way too posh for me to get involved with I’ve found a group of lovely people. Never actually saw myself actually getting involved but once I fell into it I really enjoyed it!

Interested in coming to Oxford? Over the next few weeks, we're going to share some member profiles so you can find out a bit more about the subjects on offer!

Message us if you want to find out more, or ask questions to those featured.

First up, women's captain and PhD maths student, Anna Berryman.

Name: Anna Berryman
Hometown: Amersham
Subject: PhD in Applied Maths
Started rowing: 2019

My PhD is on the InFoMM CDT modelling the labour market as we go through the post-carbon transition.

Being a graduate at Balliol means being surrounded by enthusiastic people from around the world all researching really cool stuff!

I only started rowing when I came to Oxford last year but instantly fell in love being on the water. Training as a team with ability levels from absolute beginner to experienced rower means anyone will feel welcome at BCBC.