How Donor Support is Strengthening LMHBC

As Summer Eights gets underway on the Isis, LMHBC will take to the water with renewed confidence, rallied by a year of hard work and the continued generosity of donors.

The club enters Oxford’s flagship summer rowing event following an encouraging performance at Bedford Amateur Regatta, where the women’s first boat won its division and the men’s first boat produced a strong run against tough competition.

For LMHBC, recent progress reflects more than training alone. Donations to the Boat Club have helped provide equipment, coaching and access that has enabled students to develop their abilities in ways that might otherwise have been out of reach.

Recent gifts have funded a new Eight for the men’s rowing team, coaching and training opportunities, a new Cox Box, and “Sponsor a Seat” donations have directly subsidised the costs for student rowers, including training, British Rowing event entries and their associated travel.

“Thanks to (donor) support, during the Easter vacation we took 23 athletes for four days of intense training on the Guadalquivir River in Seville,” said the LMHBC Boat Club Presidents, Hannah Kearney and Hannah Moody. “We were able to subsidise much of the cost, allowing as many rowers as possible to participate. We can’t stress how valuable this opportunity was, and it was remarkable how much progress we made in technique and speed over the course of just four days.”

A long-standing supporter

Among the Boat Club’s longstanding supporters is Mark Robson, former LMH Treasurer and member of the SCR.

“I have given to the boat club over 20 years in honour of my dear late father, who was potty about eights rowing and LMHBC,” Mark said. 

His first major gift came shortly after he became Treasurer in 2003, following a telephone fundraising campaign. Inspired by the students’ efforts, Mark and his brother decided to buy a boat for the club and name it after their father as a surprise.

“It arrived just in time for Summer Eights 2004,” he recalled. “I went down to the river to meet him. He said to me immediately: 

‘I was standing here on the bank when the most extraordinary thing happened. A boat went past with my name on it. I quickly looked up the blades chart then realised what you had done. It brought a tear to my eye.’”

That boat went on to play a part in a memorable season for LMH, with M1 rowing in the first division, earning several bumps and later rowing at Henley.

Mark and his father continued to meet by the river for Torpids and Summer Eights each year until his father’s death in 2010. By then, Mark says, he had “caught the bug” himself. When he later received some money from his father’s house, his priority was to support the Boat Club again - funding a second boat for W1, named after his father’s two granddaughters, and a third boat for M1, named after his two grandsons.

“Now I am an old age pensioner myself I cannot afford any more boats,” he said. “But I give a modest amount each year for coaching. Every little helps in the stretched rowing budget.

“I shall be down at Summer Eights every day to cheer on our gallant crews. My father was a great believer in the afterlife, and so I like to think that somewhere, somehow, he is looking down on us and joining the celebrations whenever a crew achieves a victory bump.”

Strong results at Bedford

M1 captain Andrew Hughes said the impact of  donations was clear at the recent Bedford Regatta, where the crew raced in an unfamiliar 1.2km side-by-side format.

M1 opened with a length win over Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, before defeating Cambridge’s Pembroke M2 by three-quarters of a length. The crew narrowly missed out on the final after an agonising quarter-length loss to Robinson College, Cambridge.

“Although the men didn’t quite get the result they were looking for, the cohesion, dedication and drive they showed were a testament to the work they had put in over the year and the valuable time they spent in Seville thanks to generous donations from college and alumni,” Andrew said. “Their performance leaves the crew excited for their prospects this Summer Eights.”

The women’s first boat enjoyed an especially successful day at the Regatta. After opening with a two-length win over Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, W1 went on to defeat Wadham II and Robinson College, Cambridge, before beating Selwyn College, Cambridge, in the final to win their division.

Looking ahead

Hannah Moody, Women’s Captain, said the result reflected the commitment of the whole squad.

“It was absolutely incredible to see everyone’s hard work this whole year pay off in this win,” she said. “The women’s side has grown immensely in both size and achievements this year, and it was great to have this confidence boost going into Summer Eights.

“We beat many crews much further up the bumps chart than us, putting us in a very solid position going into bumps racing, and we’re excited to hopefully see some more success on the Isis.”

As LMHBC heads into another Summer Eights campaign, the club does so with the backing of a community whose support continues to make a practical and personal difference, from funding coaching and training to helping students create memories that last far beyond their time at Oxford.

For information on how you too can support LMH, click through here.