Boat Club: 60th Anniversary Celebrations

The Boat Club celebrated its 60^th Anniversary with an afternoon’s rowing that included any OPs who wished to take to the water, followed by a dinner in Mess Hall.

Having handed over the new eight “Spirit of ‘63” that they had so generously donated to the Boat Club, the crew, complete with their coach and with substitute Luke Towers, took to the water in it. Although septuagenarians (apart from Luke), they still showed the poise and teamwork that had taken them to victory in the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley and paved the way for future generations to achieve three further successes in that event to date, a record bettered only by Eton. They were then joined by another predominantly OP crew of mixed vintage and our girls’ 1^st VIII. To remind us of the biggest change in Pangbourne rowing in recent years – the addition of girls’ crews – the girls showed the other eights their sprinting ability in a series of short bursts.

Before the Dinner, “The Spirit of ‘63”, together with two other boats named after members of the ‘63 crew, was formally named by our Guest Speaker, reigning Olympic, World, World Cup, European and British champion, not to mention Olympic, World and European record holder, Captain Heather Stanning, MBE. Heather, who is successfully combining a career in the Royal Artillery with unprecedented rowing success, mirrored the path blazing of the ’63 crew, along with Helen Glover in a coxless pair their being the first ever British female Olympic Gold Medallists and the first Gold Medallists of the 2012 London Olympics.

The Dinner itself completed a memorable day, with nearly 160 OPs, Pangbournians, parents and coaches present. The Headmaster pulled off an impressive coup in borrowing the actual Princess Elizabeth Cup for the occasion – a magnificent trophy worth many thousands of pounds. There was an excellent atmosphere and four great speeches by Julian Coles, stroke of the ’63 crew, Tegan Foister and Luke Towers, the Captains of Boats, and by Heather Stanning.

Special thanks must go to our own Olympian, who has also been World Champion, ex-Sportsperson in Residence, Beth Rodford, who did much of the organising of this year’s dinner.

MW