Coaching Room and Ergs in College

I am excited to announce the completion of the refurbishment of the coaching room at the boathouse. This was a project that I started over the summer, and has been finished off this week by the arrival of the centrepiece – the new honours board!

The board lists previous Captains and Presidents of QCBC, with Men’s Captains backdated to 1924! The boards have room to expand up until 2065, and so this represents a long term investment in celebrating the Club’s history and preserving this information for many years to come. A special thank you must go to the Alumni Office and to alumni themselves for supplying and verifying the names.

Aside from the honours board, the refurbishment has involved the replacement of the sofas (the previous sofas having been in place for perhaps 30 years!), fitting of blinds, installation of proper storage cabinets, and a new high quality television. This TV is already being put to excellent use by coaches, who can now take crews up to the room to debrief after outings and discuss technical points using footage from the outing.

The room has also become a comfortable place for rowers to relax before and after outings, with tea and coffee making facilities and snacks, and is suitable for working as well as chilling out on the sofas with the TV. I hope that the room will continue to be utilised to its full extent, and will serve to enhance the coach ability of crews and also the use of the boathouse space in general.

We are also pleased that after many years and many attempts, I am very pleased to announce that the College has permitted us to store and use two ergs in the College. They are currently stored outside the Bowett room, where they will remain initially for a trial period. The provision of ergs in College is something the Club has long felt passionately about, and now means that QCBC members have easy access to the equipment without having to travel to the boathouse, which we all know can be wholly unpleasant and time consuming in the winter months! Many thanks to the College for allowing us this privilege.