The 1990's

Extract from Chapter XVIII of A History of St Catherine's Rowing 1875-1999

[Extracts from Rowing Society Newsletters, written by Anu Dudhia]

16th June, 1995

[On news from the Rowing Society Chairman that the College had agreed to commit itself to the Boathouse project] You'll note that Richard Peters has some news on the Boathouse front, which has elicited responses from old members varying from `Jolly good' to `AWESOME!!' - by the way, one of these is an American - but I thank Nick Curson (M.84) for summarising what many of us must be feeling at this moment:

`Good news. I trust that uppermost on the agenda is a well stocked bar with vastly subsidised Pimms in plentiful supply. Oh, and a couple of racks for boats too ...'.

20th June, 1996

Another `first' this year was the women's late-night redecoration of Donnington Bridge `Tiggers have two speeds: fast and faster!') - apparently spending two hours in the middle of the night with paint, rollers and bike lights does wonders for crew-bonding - and a more modest effort from the Men's 2nd VIII which is something I'd rather not talk about. I suppose I could change my name.

19th June, 1999

For the record, the men's 1st Eight is now at its highest position since 1883 and St Catherine's joins the select group of colleges which have 1st division crews in all four events: Men's and Women's Torpids and Eights (Pembroke and New College being the only others). Perhaps as good a time as any for someone to produce a History of the Boat Club.

Photo: The 1996 Men's 2nd Eight. Crew: Andy Rushton (bow), Dom Layfield, Carl Mossfeldt, Christopher Walsh, Oliver Jones, Matthew Holdcroft, Gerry Bretherton, Richard Law (str), Howard Cohen (cox). Matt Holdcroft (in the sunglasses) was one of the subjects of a documentary being made about Eights Week, hence the TV camera mounted on the stern. The crew gained 6 places in total, the most successful crew in that year's Eights.