Boat Club Women’s Captains Harriet Bradnock and Lizzie Knight compiled a Commemorative Programme to commemorate 40 years of women rowing in VIIIs at Fitz, and Tory Roberts (McNeil) and Fiona Miles contributed. I thought it would be a good idea to create a Late 90s Women post in case others want to add their own memories or photos.
Tory Roberts (nee McNeil) was Women’s Captain in 1997. She shared her comments:
I’ve just been able to dig out my old photos so I hope it’s not too late to share memories of women’s rowing at Fitz in the 90s.
The lure of rowing had been, for me, one of the draws of applying to Cambridge in the first place. I had never tried it before. In fact, a smattering of ballet exams and swimming distance badges were the sum total of my sporting achievements as a child, so I am not entirely clear how and why I felt this way – but, sure enough, it came to pass that I fell in love.
A barefoot and statuesque Sarah Winckless was the first person that greeted my arrival at Fitz as a fresher. A term of novicing ensued, then into the first VIII. The camaraderie, the laughter and the drinking; glorious sun-baked days and late nights on the Cam and Thames at Easter dominate the memories of the years that follow.
1996 May Bumps Women’s 1st VIII
Bow H Jeffries, L Barnard, C Kay Russell, F Miles, E Stokes/L Ardwyn-Jones, J Powell, A Tabor, Str V McNeil, Cox N Maloney
Given my enthusiasm for the social aspect of the club, people, I suspect, rather underestimated my seriousness and ambition for the Women’s boat club when I put myself forward for election as Captain in my final year. Timing, as they say, is everything and momentum for success had been building since my matriculation.
The Fitzbilli (in homage to the Ferrari logo) appeared on all our kit-with Fitz maroon and silver appearing only on the trim- we (I) thought black looked more menacing- we trained in the run up to all our races identically kitted out at all times.
I instigated the re-brand: new kit and training regimes but the success that ultimately unfolded for us that year is not exclusively mine to claim. We were blessed with wonderfully dedicated coaches, some brilliant athletes amongst the new intake and enough of us bruised by falling just short in previous seasons to have a steely will not to do so again. Success was also by no means inevitable – although through the bonds we built that year and the faith we had in each other it felt like triumph would be our destiny.
So, when it wasn’t (a brutal row over on the last day of the Lents) we howled and raged at the injustice of it all. I recall the utter desolation, sobbing on the bank, on that dismal grey day, with the prospect of finals and a dissertation still ahead.
1997 Lent Bumps Women’s 1st VIII – 3 bumps and a brutal row over
And then it was, at the Mays. A coming together of everything everyone had worked for; nerve shredding adrenaline and expectation converted to unrivalled euphoria in a matter of minutes – to a riot of colour and noise and Pimms. For that race, that day, that year, and for all the friendships and rowing that followed, I will be forever grateful.
Thank you.
Fiona Miles adds some photos:
The photo of the man on his own is Tim Fisher-Jeffes, who was our lead coach, along with Nick Maloney and Andy Masters. Rob Friend coxed the boats in Lents and Mays. We had just missed out on blades on the last day of the Lents so it was amazing to win them later that summer- for some of us it was our last chance as we were in third year. I remember that we trained so hard- winning blades was almost as important as gaining our degrees- and the camaraderie and closeness that we developed as a crew is something that it’s never been possible to replicate.
I was Vice-Captain of the women’s squad at the time and Tory McNeil was Women’s Captain.
1997 1st May VIII – Blades
Bow Alex Tabor, Emma Swinnerton, Clare Thornton, Becky Lewis, Alice Thompson, Fiona Miles, Claire Edmondson, Str Tory McNeil Capt, Cox Rob Friend
Coaches Tim Fisher-Jeffes, Andy Masters, Pete Matthews, Nick Maloney