The Bull - News

Taurus / Brookes annual dinner- Phyllis Court -Henley, Saturday 18th March ‘23

Tamsin BryantComment

The 2023 dinner, for current Brookes students & keen Poly / Brookes alumni is taking place at Phyllis Court once again, on Saturday 18th March.

Limited availability, as Brookes have pre-ordered 125 tickets! Booking form = the QR code or Dinner ticket link

  • 6.30pm - 11:30pm, 3 course dinner, glass of prosecco, 1/2 bottle wine per ticket, guest speaker

Tables of 10, alumni can stick together, whilst the youngsters are on their tables.

Club blazer or black tie.

Deadline for bookings: Thursday 8th March, 2pm.

Taurus London Drinks - Lansdowne Club - Friday 27th May 2022

Tamsin BryantComment

We would be delighted for your company at a rearranged drinks reception in London at the renowned Lansdowne Club in London on the evening of Friday 27th May from 18:30pm.

We have organised a bar tab for the evening and which will run out inevitably! We have budgeted for this to cover approximately 3/4 of a bottle of wine per person. The ticket also includes a selection of bowl foods or canapés.

As the 2020 dinner did not go ahead we would love for you to attend this event with us. If you can make it and would like to attend please RSVP through the link below. The event will be free for ticket holders of the postponed dinner or £55 for those who weren't able to purchase a ticket at the time. We have reached out to current ticket holders of the postponed 2020 dinner which includes an rsvp option. Please reach out to info@taurusboatclub.org.uk if you have any questions.

If you are not able to make those dates Oxford Brookes are organising a dinner at Phyllis Court in March 2022 for which it would be great to have a few Taurus tables in attendance. We would encourage you foremost to attend the event in London as this will be an exclusive alumni event but do not want to discourage you from attending the Henley event if that is desired.

We look forward to hearing from you,

The Taurus Boat Club Committee.

Buy your tickets here.

http://www.taurusboatclub.org.uk/products/taurus-london-drinks-event-lansdowne-club-london-friday-27th-may

Latest News - Return to racing, Careers talk and Taurus cycling jerseys!

Tamsin BryantComment

A few updates from the Taurus committee:
1) Return to racing at Met regatta this weekend,
2) Careers Talk with Karl Hudspith on 15th June 6pm,
3) Taurus Mustash Cycling Jerseys

Return to racing:
It is with great pleasure that we have entered our first crew of the year into the Metropolitan Regatta 2021! Hamish Bowie will be representing Taurus this weekend (the 5th - 6th June) in the Mens Championship singles event.

It would be great to see many more Taurus Bulls crossing the finish line! Round up your former crewmates and please reach out to info@taurusboatclub.org.uk or any of our social media channels to discuss getting you entered into some summer races! We have included a few upcoming races at the bottom of this email to give you an idea of what is coming up but open to other suggestions!

PA four .jpeg

We are delighted that Karl Hudspith will be leading our next Brookes Careers talk at 6pm on Tuesday 15th June.

Karl rowed in two Henley finals at Brookes and was in the U23 team all three years, winning a bronze in the men's eight in 2010 and a gold at FISU. After leaving Brookes Karl completed a PhD at Oxford where he won three boat races and was President of the OUBC. He competed for Great Britain in the men's pair at the World Cup in 2013.

Karl studied Biology at Brookes, before completing a PhD in Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford. During that time he helped develop a clinical diagnostic test for inherited blindness using next-generation DNA sequencing technologies. He then moved to the US where he was a post-doctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. His research there aimed to develop a stem-cell based treatment for inherited blindness.

After eight years in academic research Karl left to join the law firm of Wilson Sonsini in their Washington DC office as a scientific advisor. Karl is now a patent agent at the firm and in part-time law school at Georgetown. Karl works with early stage life science startup companies in the medical device, biotech, and pharmaceutical spaces. Karl drafts and prosecutes patent applications for his clients, and represents them during investment diligences.

Karl will be talking about:
• How to search for careers, make connections, and request informational interviews.
• How to present your CV, resume, and LinkedIn profiles.
• The advantages and disadvantages of graduate studies.
The Oxford admissions process and trialing for the boat race.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82779011500?pwd=OGw0M3lxRHZMUUVpMURYcWZOTUl4dz09

Meeting ID: 827 7901 1500
Passcode: 904930

Taurus blazer jersey 0430.jpg

Mustash Cycling Jerseys:

We are delighted to have worked with Brookes alumni Charlie Merton and Toby Seely, founders of Mustash Cycling to create the above cycling jerseys!

The jerseys cost £45 including post and packaging (to UK addresses) and the deadline to order is EOP Saturday 12th June.

Click on the link below to find out more and to place your order here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6_OfgerI8XSUwK_es8yWIuoFRG_S71D683zZLfscUU3m51A/viewform

We would kindly like to remind you that by wearing this jersey you are representing Taurus Boat Club. We would like to ask you to please be mindful of other cars and cyclists by riding safely and respectfully (we hope that they treat you with the same respect in return!).

Dates for the diary:

Henley Royal Regatta: Tuesday 28th June - Sunday 3rd July 2022

Incase you missed it - Taurus AGM 

Tamsin BryantComment
Taurus Blazer .jpg

We would like to say a huge thank you to all who attended our AGM last night. It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces spanning from the class of 89' to current students. The committee are incredibly grateful for your support and for you taking time out of your day to talk to us. If you would like to watch the AGM please email info@taurusboatclub.org.uk and we can send you the link to the zoom.

Please find a brief summary of the minutes from the meeting along with the details to our upcoming careers talk below.

Key points from the Committee:

  • We want to build up the strength of the network of Taurus alumni in order to help and assist each other, keep friendships going and get in some rowing (when this is allowed to be organised).

  • Club had donated £28,500 to OBUBC between 2002 - 2014 but now has £16,000 in savings which needs a decision on how this should be used between Taurus alumni support, events, kit or supporting OBUBC.

  • We need help to make more connections between alumni. Estimate of at least 1500-2000 people have been through OxPoly and Brookes since Taurus was formed and we only have 550 people on a mailing list and have had only 140 people making a contribution to funds.

  • We have LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Strava groups that we encourage everyone to join or follow.

Q & A comments:

  • Many expressed thanks for the effort to refocus Taurus towards the alumni, keeping or re-establishing connections and networks rather than an OBUBC focused club.

  • Julia Scott and others expressed an interest in a more "taurus alumni" focused dinner or series of events focussing on separate year groups.

  • Other ideas shared included: Events for Taurus parents and their children, quarterly "networking" events more focused towards London to test attendance but could be anywhere that makes sense for the attendees.

  • Newcastle and Cambridge are held up to be a very successful Alumni association - perhaps with a winning formula that should be looked at further.

  • Would people be prepared to pay more than £20 for membership and this be used to subsidise networking events.

  • Create a list of industries and professions that alumni work in and work with coaches at OBUBC to help connect students with alumni.

  • Get the conversation started in the Linkedin group to connect Taurus members.

  • Was mentioned that Henry has every email of every OBUBC members for past 15 years that could be used.

What's next?
Careers talk, an evening with. Tuesday 20th April, 7pm.

Join four members of our committee as they talk through their journey of life after Brookes.
Pete Lowe - Asset and Development Management,
Tamsin Bryant - Architecture,
Simon Speirs - Finance and Accounting,
James Symington - Private and Corporate event planning,

Join via the zoom details here: Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86910514449?pwd=cVdCSWhMenFRZ3pzNkhsU0NPWFdqZz09

Meeting ID: 869 1051 4449
Passcode: TBCareers

Please send your questions to info@taurusboatclub.org.uk

Join via zoom here

Happy International Women's Day to all of our Taurus members!

Tamsin BryantComment

This year International Women's Day is encouraging individuals and organisations to 'Choose to Challenge'. Last summer Georgie Grant did exactly that and created a petition to challenge the rule that does not allow women to wear trousers in the Stewards enclosure. The dress code currently reads:

"Ladies are required to wear dresses or skirts with a hemline below the knee. Ladies will not be admitted wearing divided skirts, culottes or trousers of any kind"

Georgies petition gained 1,647 signatures and highlights that we still have a long way to go in achieving equality in the rowing world both on and off the water. Find out more and sign the petition here. We spoke to members of the Oxford Poly Women's squad and would like to share their stories with you below!

Please also find dates for the diary and details for the upcoming AGM on Saturday 20th March at 7pm at the end of the newsletter below.

Pictured at The National Poly Championships, 1992 in Nottingham: Lotte Sturgess, Helen, Sam Jenks (nee Oxford), Claire Chapman, Penny Orford, Lynn Morgan, Suzanne Hutchings, Ester Bettinson (nee Takcas), James Cann (cox) and Steve Walters (coach).

Pictured at The National Poly Championships, 1992 in Nottingham: Lotte Sturgess, Helen, Sam Jenks (nee Oxford), Claire Chapman, Penny Orford, Lynn Morgan, Suzanne Hutchings, Ester Bettinson (nee Takcas), James Cann (cox) and Steve Walters (coach).

Suzanne Hutchings started studying Architecture at Oxford Poly in 1989 and now works as an Architect part time whilst bringing up her eight year old son.

"My favourite memories are rowing at Wallingford and the banter on the car journeys to and fro! These were the days when we only had a couple of boats that were racked at Wallingford Rowing Club.

Off the water - I seem to vaguely remember the Captain’s Cocktail Party at the Head of the River, it was always one to look forward to! I carried on rowing post Poly/ Brookes days and gained a few vests at the Home International/ Commonwealth regattas in various boats. My most memorable race was actually against Oxford Brookes in 2002 when I stroked a TSS eight to the Remenham Challenge cup final. Brookes won convincingly (great crew!) but getting to the Sunday at HRR is a true honour and I’ll never forget the cheer from the bank on the row down through stewards on the way to the start.

I think that women’s stories need to be told more. It’s beginning to happen on social media. I also think we should be fighting for the retention of lightweight events- for men and women...but particularly for women where a larger proportion of athletes are not larger proportions- but the work ethic and talent of lighter athletes is often overlooked for pure size. So keeping the lwt category ensures a much more even playing field and gives a larger audience of women something to aspire to".

Lotte Sturgess studied Civil Engineering at Oxford Poly - "I was in the ladies first eight (new blue lycra) crew. We were a really strong crew whose biggest success and best race was WEHORR 1990. We had to start at the back of the race after not getting to the start line on time and managed to place in the top twenty crews! It was an amazing race and experience!

Our worst race was when we messed up our finish at Women's Henley Regatta and lost to the eventual winners. I left rowing after uni but came back to it in my mid thirties and started coaching when my kids started rowing".

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Kate Venables (nee Moseley) studied Estate Management at Oxford Poly from 1989-1992.

"I qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and now work part time doing this sort of work as well as a lot of voluntary work in my local community.

After I left Oxford Poly, I continued rowing with City of Oxford for a couple of years. I found the transition from a student to full time work quite challenging when I was still rowing and after a couple of years I decided that I needed to focus on my work (as I would struggle to stay awake all day after early morning training sessions!).

My fondest memories from Oxford Poly are:

  • The discipline of training with a squad and the fitness achieved,

  • Starting as a novice rower and making the senior boat within 2 years,

  • Competing at Women’s Henley two years running (stroking the winning coxed Club IV event in 1992). I don’t imagine this would be possible now if I was at Brookes!

  • Early morning sessions on the Wallingford stretch of river,

  • The boat club black tie balls!

  • Friends made for life.

My favourite race has to be part of a winning crew at Henley women’s Regatta (pictured above) in 1992 where we beat an unknown crew from Canada in the final. This made up for a defeat the year before in the Open IV’s event when I was in a different crew.

I think the world of rowing has come on a long way since 1992! My daughter rowed at Headington School a couple of years ago so I have seen this first hand and how successful junior rowing has become. The success of GB women in the Olympics has also helped this. Having said that, I think rowing is still considered to be an elite sport and it would be great if this could change".

Katie Beaumont studied Estate Management from 1991-1994 and coxed during that time. She now runs her own award winning baking mix companies.

"My fondest memories of rowing at Oxford Poly were the focus, dedication and family that rowing and especially Taurus gave me. Sadly I have no connection to the sport now except old friends but won’t ever forget my rowing experience at Oxford Poly Boat Club.
Favourite race? Henley women’s regatta 1992 final coxed IV’s as pictured above!".

Trireme Sea Trials, 1987

Trireme Sea Trials, 1987

Julia Scott - "I coxed at Oxford Poly from 85’-88’ and Taurus thereafter. Followed by stints at City of Oxford & UTRC. I coxed (rather disastrously!) an OPBC/Poly composite at the first Women’s Henley.

If you want to know about how far women’s rowing has come then looking back to that is quite extraordinary- we were only ‘allowed’ to row from the finish to just before the island & we certainly didn’t use the enclosures. Sadly I don’t have a photo, probably because we’d lost very badly to what was effectively the GB squad 8 out of Thames (there were no Women at Leander!). What stopped me coxing? I couldn’t get beyond National regattas as a female Cox in a men’s crew at UTRC.

Fondest memories - Dick Collett circuits & beers in the bar afterwards! Winning with my girls at Peterborough Regatta and the Worcester, Monmouth and Hereford regatta weekend (pictured below). Being a part of the Poly contingent that rowed on the first sea trials of The Trireme (photo above!)".

Worcester Regatta

Worcester Regatta

Dates for the diary:
Taurus AGM - Saturday 20th March 7pm
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83006323057?pwd=U0FkSVNuUEIxL1FzazNod0VLQTZzZz09
Meeting ID: 830 0632 3057
Passcode: Taurus

Careers after rowing - Tuesday 20th April 7pm
An evening with; Pete Lowe, Tamsin Bryant, Simon Speirs and James Symington.
Please send your questions to info@taurusboatclub.org.uk

The Bull - Spring Newsletter

Tamsin BryantComment

"Please write something!”...Various Taurus committee members words ring in my ears...But what? I ask myself as I stare out of the window during this most extraordinary and challenging time. It’s ok, I don’t propose to dwell on that subject. But I do want to send a massive message of thanks out to the huge effort the Taurus committee have been and are putting in to promote the Taurus message as they seek to extend the family.

I joined Oxford Poly when we had an amazing “club spirit”. We, the students, ran the club for the members. We had socials amongst the whole club, we trained hard and partied hard. In our own way we have always wanted to recreate that spirit within Taurus. We all have shared experiences of rowing with Oxford Poly/Brookes. We are working to promote our friendship and create connections. It seems more appropriate right now than ever before, that we are here and Taurus is relevant. We have a huge cross section of members spanning over 40 years! If needed, we can be the “support bubble”, the connection for the new job or simply an additional news service for what is going on with our members and the current elite squad of Brookes athletes.

Rowing was the making of me and my time at Poly/Brookes moulded me into the person I am today. Odd for me to say this as a Poly/Brookes oarsman...but through adversity and the disappointment of not quite succeeding at my ultimate goal It has led to me achieving arguably bigger and better than I could have ever imagined. My message is that for many this period is a massively challenging time, and many are facing adversity and disappointment whether in work or, of course in rowing objectives for the younger members. If you can muscle through you will end up stronger and more capable and better equipped to cope with future challenges and undoubtably what life will throw at you.

Now is our time to come together and support each other. We did in the gym, on the runs and on the water. By being a member of Taurus you are part of something special. The network is far and wide. You can simply follow the social media posts, or be more proactive and connect with past friends. Or indeed take part right now in the current physical challenge that the committee have initialed. It’s great to see athletes from the 80’s not daunted and posting daily endurance scores and matching present day athletes.

Through adversity great things can happen. As Taurus members let’s support each other. With the huge effort the committee are making at this time let’s emerge a stronger and even more relevant Taurus boat club.

Future dates:

  • 7-8pm Saturday 20th March - Virtual AGM and questions for the committee. (Invites to follow),

  • Careers after rowing, an evening with; Pete Lowe, Tamsin Bryant, Simon Speirs and James Symington. Details to follow.

  • The Taurus BBQ - Saturday of HRR (August fingers crossed!),

  • Head of the Charles - We would love to still race at HOCR however, we will follow guidelines and make a decision closer to the time.

Taurus Aerobic Challenge:

It has been fantastic to see so many of our members join the Taurus Strava group that we created during the first lockdown. Simon Speirs has been working hard on creating a tracker where you can log your daily miles run/cycled, km on an ergo or time in the gym to score points. Join the Strava club and the discussion here.

Get involved by logging your miles on the google sheet here

Kirsty Hunter (nee Myles) pictured in the centre above   "I started studying Sports and Coaching Studies but transferred to study Physiotherapy after my second year. One of the Physiotherapy lecturers was treating the rowers and knew I was applying …

Kirsty Hunter (nee Myles) pictured in the centre above

"I started studying Sports and Coaching Studies but transferred to study Physiotherapy after my second year. One of the Physiotherapy lecturers was treating the rowers and knew I was applying through UCAS for the following year. About a week before starting my 3rd year he called me to say there was a place available and did I want it! I had just finished a week of work experience and said YES! I had rowed from age 13, starting at school (George Watson's College) and came through the GB junior programme which is why I ended up coming to Brookes.

My fondest memories are 'Battle Paddling' on a Wednesday afternoon, spending summers with some of my best friends on the river, winning lots and thinking we were dominating the world of woman's rowing (we dreamt big and nothing would stand in the way!). I also miss running 10km's faster than I can dream of now!

Since leaving Brookes I went on to row full time for a few years at Leander which was brilliant. Unfortunately a back injury stopped my rowing career earlier than I would have liked so I moved into London to work in private practice physio and played around in Triathlon. I held a lecturing role in Sports Therapy for an academic year which is an aspect of the profession I would love to do more of.

My most recent career move has been into a Specialist Physio role in a private practice outside Reading and I am the Lead GB Rowing Junior Team Physio. This role involves travel with the team for training camps, trials and international competition and is so rewarding leading education sessions to our up and coming Olympians! They love to learn and I love to teach and giving back into a sport I know so much about.

Advice I would give to current athletes is to take opportunities that are given to you and don't be scared to take the next move if you are losing motivation or not learning every day. For me my life balance needs: a challenge (like completing a masters), a physical goal (like running a marathon) and a great social bubble! When you complete the challenge or goal move on to the next!"

The Temple Challenge Cup crew of '93 - by John Cooper (stroke)  "The journey for me & a number of the 1993 winning crew (& squad) started well before. It was 1991, a dark autumn evening, some damp portacabins up at Headington full of wannabe…

The Temple Challenge Cup crew of '93 - by John Cooper (stroke)

"The journey for me & a number of the 1993 winning crew (& squad) started well before. It was 1991, a dark autumn evening, some damp portacabins up at Headington full of wannabe rowers being asked to scribble down on a bit of paper what they’ve done & why they might be good enough to make the cut in the new Poly/Brookes system under coaches Richard Spratley & Tim Levy. It was a nervous time. Was I, were any of us good enough? So you probably know the Henley 1992 story. We were joint favourites…it was a total disaster, broken seat just after the island on Thursday, game over. But for that mishap could we have gone the whole distance? No one will ever know, but IC would have made tough opponents.

1992 started off like groundhog year. The winter grind ahead, running & weights twice a week (followed by ‘Riots'), ergo tests on a Monday, Wallingford on Wednesday & 2’ on 2’ off all weekend down at Wallingford. Slotting in & out of whatever boats we could get our hands on & getting the measure of each other, the coaches & the Wallingford stretch. Notable winter markers included included top billing in small boats trials at Henley being narrowly beaten into second place in the fours, just behind GB's Olympians! There was also a notable win at the 4s Head (including a close shave with the bill on the way home from the very liquid prize giving…Pete!). However, the disappointing 8's head results showed us that we still had a lot of work to do. A brutal Wimbleball trip in the snow ensued to get things back on track…

Seat racing continued into early May, keeping everyone on their toes. Wins over the French National Champions at Paris seemed to set things up & confidence was building nicely (the real victory was smuggling Mike Reynaud into France under the kit bags & out again without a passport). There were many wins that year but I can't actually remember them too well, the reason being, whilst nice, none of them mattered. What I do remember is being deep into multiple 8 min pieces on a still summers eve a couple of weeks before Henley. Richard strangely for once not driving the launch over the stern, he was some distance back just watching & then a weird thing, several nods of approval. The boat was really flying. All that training all that desire being thrown into the last heavy sessions before a slight taper. It’s that beautiful feeling, the boat set steady with everyone at full bore & with every pass we dragged extra meters out of the shell.

Henley week- It's still a blur but collectively we all recall Richard serving up Seb Coe videos the basic message being favourites sometimes don’t win, so get out of the blocks like a lunatic, like Coe did (when he wasn't favourite but won). Routines - mini bus stopped in the same lay-by every day of regatta week to relieve nervous bladders & Survivor's Eye of the tiger always came on as we crossed the bridge. So to racing. The only wobble was Thursday against Cardiff where we all seemed to interpret "do enough” into “everyone do your own thing & it should be fine”. It nearly wasn’t enough & coming into the enclosures a load of geese got in the way just as we were trying to make it look like we weren't finding it too hard. The remaining heats went without incident & unbelievably we were through to Sunday.

Finals Day. Nerve filled journey over, check gear, pre-race Richard talk over, warm up, into the boat. It's all surreal but then once you're into the pre-race routine on the water you settle. You want perfection in that warm up but its Henley finals day, the sun's out, motor cruisers & wash everywhere & it's noisy & rocky. Nerves settle slightly then before you know it you're on the start. Richard & Tim are behind in the Umpire’s launch. Richard can't, doesn't, need to say anything as you know its come down to 9 blokes who have got to empty the tank, everything. All the training, all the previous years hurt, the '92 f*** up. Could it happen again? You’re going to wring every last drop of juice out of the tank. Our opponents, Trinity College Dublin, their third final in as many years, seasoned sly opponents who were ready to do the same, give everything they’ve got & trash our campaign.

The boat straight, blades set, we were away. High 40's off the start & we meant business. Each stroke the cleavers did their work, until by the end of the island we were in control & had really settled into a rhythm you seldom get when you know every man is at the edge serving up everything they’ve got including Matt (cox) who made sure TCD felt & saw the power being put down by the boys. It was beautiful but savage for TCD as there was no stopping us. Following a brief settle there was a push at the Regatta enclosure then a further raise at Stewards & a ramp up through the grandstands which meant we put almost 4 lengths on TCD. Afterglow basically consisted of Rich telling us not to get too drunk before prize giving.

Thank you Browny, Rusty, Jezza, Cheesemaster, Mikey boy, Peiller, Hoody & Matt for the season of a lifetime. It was an honour to serve. Special thanks to Richard for his practical & pragmatic approach to getting the boat club to where it was then on a shoestring with all of us begging & borrowing whatever we could. Thanks also to to Tim levy & big shout out to all the club’s previous members who got the club to where it was then & is now. Peter Lowe gets a special mention too as he was instrumental in setting up the machine with Richard at the helm. A masterstroke of something which has ultimately changed the DNA of GB & International rowing. Chapeau to everyone involved with the club past & present".

Richard Chambers- Women's Coach  "I was a Brookes rower (sometimes cox) from 2003 to 2009. Oxford Brookes was my catapult into the British Rowing Team and I have always wanted to come back to a club where I benefited so much from. After retiring fro…

Richard Chambers- Women's Coach

"I was a Brookes rower (sometimes cox) from 2003 to 2009. Oxford Brookes was my catapult into the British Rowing Team and I have always wanted to come back to a club where I benefited so much from. After retiring from my career as an athlete in rowing I took up the assistant coach role at Cambridge working alongside Steve Trapmore as well as being a GB Rowing Team U23 crew coach. I feel privileged to have experienced different rowing teams and environments and hope that I can use what I have learned to be a coach that the Brookes women’s team deserves.

When James asked me to write about my time as a coach at Oxford Brookes for the women’s team I was unsure what to write. No-one expected that we would be heading for a global pandemic in September 2019, so I have not had the chance to have a full season with the women's team yet. In the early part of my first season our women’s team performed well at Upper Thames Head before going on to beat both Oxford and Cambridge boat race and reserve crews in their annual fixtures on the tideway.

Then the world stopped and so did the rowing. The challenges of being a coach shifted from thinking forward towards Henley and those hoping to compete at U23’s but to navigating the women’s team through the pandemic. Rowing isn’t a sport where you can stop and then pick it up again in 6 months expecting to be where you left off – so the training had to continue. Ergo’s were handed out, a training log put together and we got our heads around running, cycling and plenty of time on the ergo!! Zoom quizzes and speaking via facetime became the new normal.

Training through the lockdowns has evolved. Lockdown 3 see’s the women complete the standard ergo sessions each week but they have more control and autonomy over the rest of their training. The training log still exists so there is an element of accountability in completing their training. On the 16th January, 22 of our women did an online zoom ergo fixture against Tideway scullers. While it was good to do some racing we all hoped our next fixture would be on the water. Racing will return one day and our women want to be ready to pull on their Brookes racing kit and get after it.

I am proud of how they have adapted to the challenges they have faced and I am confident that they will thrive because of this in whatever they do after studying and rowing at Oxford Brookes."

Richard Spratley- Director of Rowing

"As I am writing this, we are currently in the middle of the third lockdown and have just heard today that the Head of the River Race has been cancelled, as was the Women’s Head of the River last week. Since the end of March last year, we have certainly been experiencing very troubled times and our rowing teams have been no exception to any other sport at Brookes or indeed the whole country.

We are still very hopeful that Women’s Henley Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta will proceed. All of the athletes have been training hard at home and we are monitoring daily each athlete’s performance and training scores. If any university rowing team is ready to re-start training and competition, then we are probably the best placed to do so in a strong healthy fashion.

We have certainly our strongest ever Women’s squad assembled and very professionally coached by Richard Chambers. We have high hopes of competing with distinction in the inaugural Women’s University Eights event at Henley and still have aspirations to become champions in the Eights, primarily in the BUCS Regatta in May which is still scheduled to go ahead.

Our Men’s team is unquestionably the strongest group we have ever assembled and we have very high hopes, if the summer season progresses, to be highly competitive in the Grand Challenge Cup, the Ladies Challenge Plate and the Temple Challenge Plate at Henley Royal Regatta.

We are currently also experiencing some of the most challenging river conditions we have had over recent months.

As coaches we are doing all possible to remain very competitive and are hopeful that the summer season will progress and that all of our athletes can resume river training as soon as possible. Henry Bailhache and Richard Chambers have both prepared excellent graphs showing the progress of our Women’s crews in the Women’s Head of the River race over the years and, likewise, the Men’s crews over the years, from the 1990’s onwards, showing how each of the Brookes boats has fared. This makes exciting reading showing the high levels of achievement year on year."

"Rowing training in lockdown has been challenging to say the least. This involves training in isolation, away from teammates, away from facilities, a change of scenery and absence of rewards attached to testing and racing. I think I speak on behalf …

"Rowing training in lockdown has been challenging to say the least. This involves training in isolation, away from teammates, away from facilities, a change of scenery and absence of rewards attached to testing and racing. I think I speak on behalf of many rowers around the country when I say our back gardens have become our new training grounds, and our routines have been turned upside down. However, I hope I speak on behalf of many rowers when I say that there have been positives along this unknown journey. When in the darkness, the search for the light is vital, and I know many of my teammates and friends in the rowing community have excelled in finding the light. Although we are stuck in the unknown, our determination, motivation and goals have not changed. We are still striving to be the best we can be for Brookes, for ourselves, and our teammates around us, ready for when we can get back in the boats to go backwards but keep moving forwards. The efforts from our coach Richard, to help us excel in these times has been incredible, and his determination to keep the squad working together from different locations will in no doubt show when we can get back to rowing and racing.

Many of our male and female athletes have achieved astonishing PB’s on ergo tests, taken up new hobbies, excelled in their university work, and unlocked new strategies to stay positive. We’ve had numerous athletes take on exercise challenges for charities, which was amazing to see! We’ve also had athletes working for the NHS, whether that be on placements or jobs, exhausted from their duties, but still remaining focused and training in the early mornings and late evenings.

There is light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully we are approaching the end. We can’t wait to start putting our work from behind the scenes onto the water, wear our Brookes colours, and be the best we possibly can be in the summer." Beth Dutton, Senior Women's Squad.

The very talented Izzy Wedderburn has created a print of the Brookes Rowing stretch as pictured above. Checkout @wizzhandmade on Instagram and order from 'WizzHandmadeGoods' on Etsy.

The very talented Izzy Wedderburn has created a print of the Brookes Rowing stretch as pictured above. Checkout @wizzhandmade on Instagram and order from 'WizzHandmadeGoods' on Etsy.

"Oli Wilkes, Josh Bugajski, Morgan Bolding, Matthew Tarrant and Rory Gibbs attended the first GB Mens training camp of the 2021 Olympic season. The two and a half week land based camp at the start of January took place in the home of England's football teams, St George's Park, Burton-upon-Trent. Providing world class facilities and a Covid secure environment, St George's Park was the perfect alternative to the GB Rowing team's usual international training camp. The team isolated at home for ten days before the camp and follow strict Covid guidelines during it to ensure a Covid safe environment. The lads from Brookes made good progress developing their physiology over the two and a half weeks and are now preparing for the next stage of selection for Tokyo 2021". Morgan Bolding.

Lastly, a few words from the committee….

As you are all aware, we are having a big drive to update the database & re-launch Taurus again after some quiet years. From it’s roots, as a club to raise money for the existing boat club, to where we are today, with nearly 500 members, our direction is changing & moving towards a club where members can use their past connections to network & socialise & remain friends long after they leave Oxford. And new members, especially existing undergraduates, can tap into the pool of experience out there, & use it to assist them in taking their next steps after rowing.

This is undoubtably one of the most valuable assets we have, & therefore we are actively putting together plans to make this happen & be accessible to all, most likely based around various existing social media platforms. It will be called Taurus Connect.

Finally, we would be really grateful if you could respond to our vice chairman, James, (if you haven’t already), to his email request to you to confirm your details to him, thanks!

thumbnail_Taurus-committee.jpg

Annual Dinner update

Tamsin BryantComment

Taurus Boat Club Dinner 

A message from the Taurus committee,

Due to the ongoing pandemic, we have decided to postpone the 2021 Annual Dinner until March 2022. We are very sad it has come to this, but we have no alternative in these difficult times.

For all those who have bought / paid for tickets, we would like to ask you to please leave the payment with us to carry over to the next annual dinner.

If you require a refund, please email to let us know: info@taurusboatclub.org.uk

The 2022 annual dinner is planned provisionally for the Saturday night of the Head of the River, which is most likely going to be scheduled for Sat 19th or Sat 26th March 2022.

We hope that you and your families are safe and well and hope to catch up when safer to do so in the not too distant future. 

Best wishes,

The Taurus committee. 

Taurus Dinner - Update

Alexandra WenyonComment

A message from the Taurus committee. 

Unfortunately, due to current government guidelines we are not able to hold the rearranged Taurus dinner on Saturday 24th October this year.

In consultation with Phyllis Court and The Oxford Brookes coaching team we have therefore taken the decision to postpone the dinner date again to Saturday 20th March 2021.

We will of course keep a close eye on the ever changing guidelines and want to ensure that all can celebrate safely at the rearranged dinner. 
This will in fact be the date when the 2021 dinner would have been held!

Cancelling the dinner would have resulted in us being unable to get our money back from Phyllis Court, and by simply re-scheduling, our deposit is carried forward.

We trust you will all understand and bear with us.
Unfortunately a global pandemic wasn't anticipated whilst agreeing on the T's & C's of our contract! 

Whilst writing, it has been great to see so many of you joining our Taurus Strava groups and keeping active! Click here to find out more! 

All the best, 

Taurus Boat Club.

Newsletter - May 2020

Alexandra WenyonComment

The Bull Newsletter

May 2020

A quick hello from the committee. We hope that you and your family are safe and well and that you are staying healthy.

We have a few updates and introductions that we would like to share with you in regards to the Taurus committee. Before lockdown a few of us gathered to discuss the future of Taurus Boat Club. Five hours later we had all reminisced over our days at Brookes, shared ideas about the direction of Taurus Boat Club and put plans together for the forthcoming year. 

The main discussion points were around the creation of the 'Taurus Network' to connect the Taurus family together. This includes gaining an idea of the industries our Taurus members are working in, organising more events and creating opportunities for our members to get back on the water together! 

It was our plan to hold an AGM before the Taurus dinner to formally elect our committee members. Due to the postponement of the dinner I would like to introduce you to our team below and to formally elect them onto the committee at the dinner on 24th October! You can find out more about our team on our website. Tickets for the dinner are still available and can be purchased here

Pete Lowe ('93) - Chairman, 
Simon Speirs ('91) - Treasurer,
James Symington ('92) - Vice Chairman, 
Charlie Clarke ('17) - Club Secretary, 
Alexandra Wenyon ('18) & Tamsin Bryant ('08) - Events and Communications, 
James Forrester ('17) - Crew Captain. 

In this era of lockdown due to CoronaVirus, be aware of Speirsy, who whilst an old fart, is still quite fit and healthy, spent 8 days in hospital... message is that you just don't know how it will effect you - so just take care, stay safe and stay "Alert".

Please enjoy our latest news below and reach out to us if you would like to be included in our next newsletter through the contact form on our website

Latest News:

- Get Involved! 

We were gutted for all current athletes who missed out on competing at BUCS Regatta last month. We hope that you would like to continue to get involved with our Strava and Concept 2 groups. Keep logging your miles to stay competitive with each other! 

Our very own James Symington logged 1,000,000 meters on the erg in the first four months of this year (not bad for a 52 year old!). Now onto the next million! 

- The Head of the Charles Regatta

We are hoping to send crews out to compete in this years HOCR. It would be great to see how many bulls we can get to cross the finish line! We have been in conversation with the organising committee who are 'cautiously optimistic' that the event will go ahead in the fall. If not we should be able to enter for 2021 so please let us know if you would prefer to get involved next year! 

If you would like to be involved this year or next please get in touch with us through our contact form here!

- Records smashed! 


Meanwhile David Gillard (2015/16) is still plugging away with his long term goal aiming towards summer 2021, when he turns 50. In his first ever marathon erg in January he set a GB 40-49 record of 2:32:56 with average split 1:48.7. Triumph in Munich at the 30 min indoor champs followed.

David reports that lockdown training has been going well. Surely time to call Richard and Henry for one Last Dance?

- 7 Marathons in 7 days! 

Congratulations to current Brookes student Henry Blois-Brooke who has completed seven marathons in seven days to raise money for the NHS Charities together campaign. Henry averaged a time of 3 hours and 40 minutes and has raised over £10,000. Find out more

Get in touch! 

We are in the process of creating a database for Taurus members to stay connected and to gain an idea of what the Taurus family are up to. 
 
- Aims of the database: 
-Increased networking opportunities, 
-To be able to offer work experience for Taurus members, 
-Create a mentoring scheme for the Taurus family to offer career advice and guidance. 

Make sure that you are a paying Taurus member and get in touch with us through the contact form on our website. Please let us know your address if you would like us to send you Taurus goodies!! 

2020 Dates for the diary (hopefully!):

Saturday 17th October - Head of the Charles Regatta, Boston MA. 

Saturday 24th October - 18:00 AGM, 19:00 Annual Dinner, both held at Phyllis Court, Henley-on-Thames. 
 

Meet the committee!

Alexandra Wenyon1 Comment

We have a few updates and introductions that we would like to share with you in regards to the Taurus committee. Before lockdown a few of us gathered to discuss the future of Taurus Boat Club. Five hours later we had all reminisced over our days at Brookes, shared ideas about the direction of Taurus Boat Club and put plans together for the forthcoming year. 

It was our plan to hold an AGM before the Taurus dinner to formally elect our committee members. Due to the postponement of the dinner I would like to introduce you to our team here and formally elect them onto the committee at the dinner on 24th October! Tickets are still available for the dinner and can be purchased here

The main discussion points were around the creation of the 'Taurus Network' to connect the Taurus family together. This includes gaining an idea of the industries our Taurus members are working in, organising more events and creating opportunities for our members to get back on the water together! 

If you would like to be involved in any of the above please make sure that you are a paying Taurus member and reach out to us through the contact form on our website

Pete Lowe - Chairman

James Symington - Vice Chairman

Simon Speirs - Treasurer

Charlie Clarke - Secretary

Tamsin Bryant - Communications and Events

Alexandra Wenyon - Communications and Events

James Forrester - Crew Captain

http://www.taurusboatclub.org.uk/the-committee

Rearranged dinner date

Alexandra WenyonComment

Dear all,

We would firstly like to wish you all well in these difficult times. I hope that you are all staying safe and adjusting to a new pace of life. 

We are delighted to confirm that the new date of the dinner will be Saturday 24th October 2020 at Phyllis Court Club not the aforementioned date of the 17th. 

We are determined to make this dinner the best yet and we want to thank you for your patience and understanding in these uncertain times. 

For those who are training in isolation, for a bit of fun we have set up a Concept2 team page and entered us into the "World Erg Challenge". It is a leaderboard where we rack up as many metres as we can on the indoor rower, SkiErg or BikeErg. You can also see how you are doing compared to everyone else in the squad. There is a prize for the club at the top of the list at the end of each month. It would be great to see you getting involved and rack up the miles in the bank together! 

To join the team, simply follow the instructions below. Try and do this ASAP so we can build some momentum - you have until 30th March to join this particular months Challenge.

Go to Concept 2 website: https://www.concept2.com/

Click logbook at top middle,

Click sign up in top right,

Make an account with your email and name,

Click teams,

Scroll down,

Click choose a team,

Search for Taurus Boat Club,

Click join team,

Click send application! 

We have also set up a Strava group for those who are out cycling or running. Just login to https://www.strava.com/ and search for "Taurus Boat Club" to join in the fun!

All the best, 

The Taurus Committee. 

A note from the chairman... 

Alexandra WenyonComment

Hello all,

I am delighted to invite you to the Taurus AGM which will be held at Phyllis Court, date tbc.

We wish to:
- Elect/ re-elect the committee,
- Sign off the constitution,
- Announce our plans to promote and move Taurus Boat Club forward. 

This year myself and my other committee members have thrown ourselves into relaunching Taurus Boat Club. We are keen to remind all Brookes past and present oarsmen and women what Taurus is. We would like to be a real support network for the Taurus family that provides social and networking opportunities for members both on and off the water. 

I welcome your thoughts in regards to the above and would welcome you to join myself and the committee at the AGM.

If you are not able to make the evening we are hoping to have a networking evening later in the spring in London. Further information will  be released in due course. Please also feel free to reach out to us via social media.

All the best, 

Pete Lowe, Chairman.  

Taurus HRR BBQ 2018!

Alexandra WenyonComment

Saturday 7th July 2018 at the Henley Cricket Ground please bring £10 cash for a burger and Pimms. 

Celebrate the success of the 2018 season and support current OBUBC athletes racing. 

For the first time, celebrate Oxford Brookes' 25 year anniversary of winning the Temple Challenge Cup by cheering the row over during the Saturday tea interval. 

Open to all Taurus members and friends after the last race! 

 

Best Ever Set of Club Result's at Women’s Head

Tamsin BryantComment

Brookes’ women had the best set of squad results ever at this weekend’s Women’s Head, with 6th, 16th and 53rd place finishes across the 3 eights, with only Cambridge’s boat race squad beating Brookes to the accolade of highest combined first and second boats in the competition. The 1st VIII was a mere 4 seconds off 4th place, and with the return of GB international members to the event this year, the standard of competition again stepped up – signifying a great result for the Brookes squad with the highest ever finish for our 2nd and 3rd eights, the women’s squad had a fantastic showing on the Tideway.

After a very successful head race season where the women’s squad won at every event entered, they will now target GB Final Trials before the regatta season starts at the end of April.

The final event of the head season for Brookes sees the men’s squad look to retain their Headship position, fastest student crew and senior pennant at the Head of the River Race in 2 weeks time.

RESULTS

1st VIII – 6th
2nd VIII – 16th
3rd VIII – 53rd

 

Come and celebrate with the girls squad at the annual dinner - Saturday 25th March 2017 - tickets available for purchase here: http://www.taurusboatclub.org.uk/dinner/

http://brookesrowing.org.uk/wehorr-2017/

Rowing update & 2017 Taurus Dinner tickets on sale now!

info@taurusboatclub.org.ukComment

Rowing update - 2016-2017 season so far

Brit Champs was the first event of the new season for us, and was another strong indication of the strength and depth of the squad - the top 3 men’s crews came 2nd, 4th and 5th, with the 2nd VIII claiming the student pennant and a new student record of 5:48. The women’s 1st VIII came 5th in a very strong field.

Wallingford Head was the last race of 2016 before the new year, and it didn’t disappoint - we came away with 113 tankards (the most wins at this event ever), winning 17 of the 19 categories entered.

Following this was the second GB U23 and Senior Trials, where alums Peter Chambers and Matthew Tarrant won the LM1x and M2- boat classes respectively.

Since then, Brookes have raced against both Oxford & Cambridge on the tideway:

The first fixture was against strong Cambridge squad, the 2nd VIII won their races against Goldie convincingly, with the 1st VIII drawing on the first piece, then storming away to a 3-length victory over the Blue Boat in the second piece.

The second fixture against our neighbours Oxford was in blustery conditions. OUBC took early leads in both pieces and despite a late surge from Brookes in the first piece the win was to the dark blues. In the second piece once again OUBC took an early lead, but Brookes fought back, pushing the boat race favourites to the line, the final verdict was a seat to OUBC. 

Next race for Brookes is Reading University Head.

2017 Taurus Dinner - tickets on sale now!

Taurus are pleased to announce the 2017 annual dinner, celebrating the recent successes of Oxford Brookes Boat Club athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Saturday 25th March 2017
7pm
Phyllis Court
Henley-on-Thames
RG9 2HT


The ticket price of £50 will include:

- A welcome drink
- 3 Course dinner with coffee
- Bottle of wine between two

Dress code: Black Tie / Boat Club Blazers

Carriages at 12

Get your tickets here!

Payment can be made via our secure payment method on the website or contact info@taurusboatclub.org.uk to arrange alternative payment methods. Tickets will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Taurus News & Oxford Brookes Boat Naming

info@taurusboatclub.org.ukComment

Boat Naming Ceremony on Thursday 10th November 2016

Brookes athletes Scott Durant, Olivia Carnegie-Brown and Zoe De Toledo won a gold and silver medals, in the men’s 8+ and women’s 8+ respectively.

The women’s 8+ pulled strongly through the field to claim silver – GB Rowing’s first ever Olympic medal in this event.

The men’s 8+, with Scott Durant crossing the line first in the bow seat, brought home the Olympic gold for the first time since Sydney 2000. This caps off a phenomenal series of World Championships for the men, with GB winning every World Championship 8+ title, up to and including the Olympics Games themselves, which had never been done by a British eight before.

The Chambers brothers Peter and Richard won the B final in their respective LM4- and LM2x events, after extremely tough semi-finals. Matthew Tarrant also came away with a win, leading the spare pairs race by a comfortable margin.

Oxford Brookes is hosting a boat naming ceremony for our Rio Olympians on Thursday 10th November in the main building on the Gypsy Lane Campus, supporters welcome.

Proud to be a poly? - If you are not already a member, please make sure you sign-up to avoid missing out and make sure we are backing the Brookes Squad all the way to HRR 2016. You can find the sign-up forms here.

Events

Breakfast at Brookes Boat Club PROVISIONAL DATE - 26th November 2016 - DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Taurus Boat Club Dinner SAVE THE DATE - 25th March 2017 - DETAILS TO FOLLOW

Henley Royal Regatta BBQ SAVE THE DATE - 1st July 2017

If you would like to help out with the organisation of any of the Taurus events, please get in touch at info@taurusboatclub.org.uk

Fundraising

Did you know that whenever you buy anything online - from your weekly shop to your annual holiday - you could be raising a free donation for Taurus Boat Club?

There are nearly 3,000 retailers on board ready to make a donation, including Amazon, John Lewis, Aviva, thetrainline and Sainsbury's – it doesn't cost you a penny extra!

It's really simple, all you have to do is:

  1. Join. Head to the Taurus page at easyfundraising.org.uk and sign up for free.

  2. Shop. Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first, pick the retailer you want and start shopping.

  3. Raise. After you’ve checked out, that retailer will make a donation to your good cause for no extra cost whatsoever!

There are no catches or hidden charges and Taurus Boat Club will be really grateful for your donations.

Thank you for your support.

Taurus Barbecue at Henley Royal Regatta - Saturday 2nd July 

info@taurusboatclub.org.ukComment

Taurus BBQ

** Saturday 2nd July

** Location: Cricket Club

** Time: After Last Race

** Cost: £10

** HRR 2015

Oxford Brookes Crews

Temple Challenge Cup (Student 8+): Brookes ‘A’ Brookes ‘B’ Brookes ‘C’

Remenham Challenge Cup (Elite Women’s 8’s)

Visitors Challenge Cup (Intermediate 4-): Brookes/Proteus, NED composite GB U23 Lwt’s (with Ben Reeves)

Prince Albert Challenge Cup (Student 4+) Queen Mother (Elite 4x - GB Senior Lwt’s, with Jamie Copus)

Extra details of interest:

* The Temple 8 comprises of 7/9 of last year’s crew, including 4 GB U23’s

* This is the first time EVER that an all-Brookes, all-student crew has qualified for the Remenham