Hey, my name is Sam and I'm the president for GCBC this year. I'm a third year engineer and started rowing in first year of University with GCBC, I learnt under our Development Squad and have not stopped learning and progressing through the club since then. During my second year I was very involved in GCBC, being in the men's top VIII and taking on the role of assistant boatman where I spent hours on maintaining and organising the equipment and boathouse. Being assistant boatman, I started to branch out to get contacts in DUBC and Durham College Rowing, successfully getting elected as DCR Boatman. I plan to go above and beyond for GCBC, making us stand out from other college boat clubs, both organisationally and with our successes. I'm also going to put a big focus on fundraising for both charity and the club and other ways to do our bit to contribute to the community. Don't hesitate to get in touch!!
Men's Captain Joe Holey
Hi, I am Joe and I will be the GCBC Men’s Squad Captain for 2019-20. Before university I had never even considered rowing but I signed up for the GCBC Development Squad in first year and have never looked back since. By the end of my first year I was rowing in the senior squad and had enjoyed my time at the club greatly and wanted to get as many other people as possible involved with it. Consequently, I ran to be the vice-captain in my second year and had great success in developing not only good rowers but good club members – I taught the incumbent president, treasurer, boatman and welfare officer to row. I am very proud of this and want to continue the fantastic growth and development of the club this year, especially after all the great work that Dan put in last year getting the Senior Men’s Squad to the fantastic position that it is presently in. This year I would like to maintain the brilliant squad depth that we presently have and hopefully build on it. I would also like to win a few more races in the larger boat categories. In the last year we won one event in the IV and one in the VIII but this year I feel we can do better than that, particularly in the IV, utilising the Stämpfli that the club has recently acquired after our fantastic fundraising efforts last year. Finally, I want the Senior Men’s Squad to be a community where its members can better themselves, as both rowers and people, while have fun doing so.
Women's Captain Genevieve Weston
Hi, I’m Genevieve, this years Women’s Captain. I’m a 4th year, who joined GCBC and started rowing as a fresher. I soon fell in love with the sport and the amazing people who make up this club, so much so that my friend and I rowed 101km for charity and to raise money for the club in our first year. I am so excited to be captain this year to help the girls excel in rowing and to come more together as a squad. This year I want to try and set boats early and go to more races, with the main aim of entering 2 boats for WEHoRR in second term, and Durham Regatta in last term. I want to integrate more with the men’s squad and the fresher women so that they can have a smoother transition into senior squad.
Vice Captain of Women's Rowing Olivia Sharpley
I’m Liv, and as being a novice last year, my main aim for this year as Women’s Vice Captain is to make sure all first-time rowers have as great a time learning to row with GCBC as I did! Whether the aim is fitness, fun, or serious competition, I’m super excited to have the opportunity to train the new freshers and welcome them to the club.
Vice-Captain of Men's Rowing Lewis Unstead
Hello, my name is Lewis, I’m a second year economist and GCBC’s vice-captain of men’s rowing. I began rowing as a fresher and over the past year have grown to love the sport and this club. Novice rowers are a fantastic source of enthusiasm and new talent to any boat club and within my role I want to capture this for GCBC. Through developing a successful and effective programme my aim for the end of this year is to have a competitive and well-rounded group of rowers ready and keen to progress into the upper echelon of college rowing that is the men’s senior squad.
Coxes Captain Josie Baker
I’m Josie, a 3rd year Geologist and I’m carrying on as GCBC’s Head Cox this year. I’m really passionate about coxing and demonstrating the important role that a cox plays in the crew – sometimes the difference between winning and losing a race. I have spent the last year as the cox for GCBC’s men’s and women’s top VIII’s, so have plenty of head race and regatta experience that I’m looking forward to passing on. I’ve had a successful first year as Head Cox, nearly doubling the number of coxes in the club. This year, my aim is to continue training up novice coxes whilst also focusing on the development of our more experienced members. I hope to have dedicated ‘coxes’ coaches’ and utilise go-pro footage/voice recordings to improve technique. I have recently become the DCR Captain of Coxes, meaning I oversee coxing at all college clubs in Durham. I plan to use this to GCBC’s advantage by increasing our relations with other clubs and developing how coxes are taught at a university-wide scale.
Treasurer Ollie Wells
Hi everybody, I’m Ollie and I am your Treasurer for this year! Having never rowed before I came to uni, I joined GCBC as a fresher 2 years ago and was trained under the tutelage of the legendary Joe Holey (our Men’s Captain for this year). Moving up to the Senior Squad at the start of second year, I rowed with the second VIII over the winter and then gained a seat in the top VIII for the summer term. After the success we had fundraising for the new men’s top IV last year, my main aim during my time as Treasurer is to establish the fundraising committee to provide the club with an additional source of income, whilst also raising money for charity at the same time. I’m also hoping to change the way the club’s finances are managed, switching things to an online banking system to make payments and tracking funds a lot easier for everyone involved. My most important role as Treasurer is, of course, stash! I’ll be organising a few orders throughout the year for new kit, but if you have any ideas at all for new items then just let me know and we’ll see if we can get it sorted!
Boatman Will Watson
Hi, I'm Will, and I'm the Boatman this year for GCBC, so it's my job to look after the boats. My main goals for the year are; 1) to improve the state of Brian, our second eight and most used boat across the whole club - just because you aren't in the top boats doesn't mean you shouldn't have a good rowing experience, and 2) to generally increase awareness throughout the club regarding the ins and outs of looking after Boats, hopefully resulting in fewer breakages and less spending.
Welfare Officer/Social Rowing Captain George Woodward
Hi! My name is George and I'll be working as GCBC’s welfare officer this year! Up to now I’ve failed in knocking the rowing habit for the past 2 years I’ve been at Grey, despite the ergs doing their best to make me want to catch a tactical ejector crab out of the club. GCBC has become a big part of my time at Durham, through which I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and rowing with lots of lovely people. It’s because of these people that I wanted to become GCBC’s welfare officer. I want to ensure that everyone, whatever stage they are rowing at and whatever year group they may be, can have a really positive experience whilst being a part of the club. It’s important to me, through acting in my role, that everyone feels comfortable and able to speak out about any problems they may be facing. It’s also one of my larger goals for us as a club to champion tackling the stigma of talking about mental health, which is a larger issue that is highly prevalent with athletes in sport. I can’t wait to continue the great work previous welfare officers have done before me and to support the wellbeing of fellow rowers as best as I can.
Social Secs Rosie Scott and Isobel Clark
Hi we’re Rosie and Isobel and we’re your social secs for next year! We were both a part of dev squad this year and were brought up to scratch by Aoife. We’re already planning the socials next year as we aim to continue from Izzy and Kat (the previous Social Secs) and reduce the amount of people who think rowers are no fun and have no chat (obvs so wrong) Look forward to seeing everyone at the first social xoxo