University rowers receive new boat

Student rowers from King’s College London Boat Club (KCLBC) officially welcomed the latest addition to the Boat Club’s fleet with the naming ceremony of the new Woman’s Eight, the Donald Bompas, on Saturday 31st January. 

Despite a cold and wet morning, the naming ceremony saw students, alumni and guests gather at Tideway Sculler’s School Boathouse in Chiswick to watch Lord Harris of Peckham christen the boat in memory of the former GKT school secretary Donald Bompas (1969-85).

The acquisition of the new boat, originally purchased by the club last year, was made possible thanks to recent donations by Lord Harris, other individuals and further fundraising contributions.

The newly-named boat was then immediately pressed into action as both the men’s and women’s squads were scheduled to compete in the Quintin Head of the River Race later that afternoon. Taking place on the Thames between Chiswick and Hammersmith, the race serves as an early season proving ground for many rowing crews competing later in March at either the Head of the River or Women’s Head of the River races, both key early events in the domestic rowing calendar.

The valuable racing experience on offer meant that the two King’s College London men’s and two women’s crews were joined by further crews from the University of London Boat Club which also featured several King’s students in their midst.

With over 200 crews taking part, second year medical student and King’s Sport Elite athlete James Richard was part of the University of London men’s Second Eight that finished 20th overall winning the Intermediate Men’s 3 category in the process. In the same category the KCLBC men’s First Eight came home a respectable 14th out of the 31 entries.

KCLBC Women's First VIII racing on the Tideway during Quitin Head of the River, Saturday 31st January

On the women’s side meanwhile, KCLBC’s women’s First Eight - racing in their newly named racing shell - finished 4th out of 23 crews in the corresponding intermediate women’s category that was won once again by a University of London crew.

Finally the race also provided an opportunity for KCLBC’s newest members to place themselves against other university rowers new to the sport. In this the men’s and women’s novice boats showed there was more to come with mid-table finishes of 9th out of 16 and 10th out of 13 respectively in the novice category.