Downing College Boat Club
British rowing club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Downing College Boat Club (or DCBC) is the rowing club for members of Downing College, Cambridge.
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| Location | Cambridge, England |
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| Coordinates | 52°12′38.61″N 0°8′6.51″E |
| Home water | River Cam |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Membership | Downing College, Cambridge |
| Affiliations | British Rowing CUCBC |
| Website | downingboatclub |
| Notable members | |
| Annabel Vernon | |
History
Despite the college admitting undergraduates in 1821, Downing's boat club did not form until 1863, with their first race being in the spring of 1864.[1] The men's 1st VIII did not feature regularly in the 1st division of the Lent and May Bumps until the 1960s. The club first became Head of the Mays in 1982, a position it lost in 1983 but then regained in 1984.[2] The head crew was coached by Downing alumnus Graeme Hall, who was the stroke of the Cambridge crew which won The Boat Race 1968 and again in 1969, and coached the British Men's VIII to win the silver medal in Rowing at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[citation needed]
In 2018, the first indoor rowing training tank in the East of England was built in the club's boathouse.[3]
Honours
Boat Race representatives
The following rowers were part of the rowing club at the time of their participation in The Boat Race.[4][5][6][7]
Men's boat race
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Women's boat race
The club has had several rowers achieving Half-Blue colours for the Lightweight Boat Races, including James Nash (Spare Pair 2026), Edward Townsend (Lightweight 2022), Gianluca Maffi (Spare Pair 2022, 2023, Lightweight Boat and President 2025), and Livia Lisi-Vega (Lightweight 2023).[8][9]
Gallery
Downing W1 exhibition row after rowing over as head of Mays, 2011
Downing W1 exhibition row 2012
Downing W1 at Lent Bumps 2011
