Adelaide University Boat Club
Encyclopedia
The Adelaide University Boat Club is a rowing
club affiliated with the University of Adelaide
. The club was founded in 1881, and in 1896 helped to form the Adelaide University Sports Association. The main clubrooms, donated by Robert Barr Smith
in 1909, are located on the north bank of the River Torrens
on War Memorial Drive, adjacent to the Adelaide University Sports Grounds. The shed has two boat bays, a gym and weights room and a small bar. The club also leases a secondary boatshed at the South Australian Rowing Association complex on Military Road at West Lakes
, and also trains regularly at Port Adelaide
's North Arm Creek
and Murray Bridge. Members have included rowers of all levels, from total beginners to Olympic Gold Medallists. The club shares the nickname "The Blacks" with the Adelaide University Football Club
.
One of the primary purposes of the Adelaide University Boat Club, as stated in its constitution, is to field competitive crews in the Intervarsity Championships
, especially for the Oxford and Cambridge Cup
(Men's Eight). AUBC also competes in local regattas, and has a number of oarsmen who compete at South Australian Sports Institute time trials and the National Regatta.
Recent performance by the club has been impressive, winning the South Australian State Championships in both Men's and Women's Eights in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Interstate performance has also been good. The club achieved a number of wins in the Victorian State Championships in 2006, and also gained a number of silver medals and a gold at the National Regatta. Club members have also enjoyed success at the recent Under 23 World Championships
in Belgium.
Club members competed for the University of Adelaide to win the Oxford and Cambridge Cup at the 2009 Australian Universities Rowing Championships in Canberra
. The crew included Beijing Olympian James McRae
and defeated the highly fancied Sydney crew by over a boat length.
In 2010, Club member Chris Morgan
won the National Single Scull Championship, becoming the first South Australian in 40 years to do so.
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
club affiliated with the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
. The club was founded in 1881, and in 1896 helped to form the Adelaide University Sports Association. The main clubrooms, donated by Robert Barr Smith
Robert Barr Smith
Robert Barr Smith was an Australian businessman and philanthropist.Smith was born at Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the son of the Rev...
in 1909, are located on the north bank of the River Torrens
River Torrens
The River Torrens is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains and was one of the reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Adelaide Hills near Mount Pleasant, across the Adelaide Plains, past the city centre and empties...
on War Memorial Drive, adjacent to the Adelaide University Sports Grounds. The shed has two boat bays, a gym and weights room and a small bar. The club also leases a secondary boatshed at the South Australian Rowing Association complex on Military Road at West Lakes
West Lakes, South Australia
West Lakes is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Charles Sturt. It contains the Westfield West Lakes Shopping Centre, AAMI Stadium and the Riverside Golf Course...
, and also trains regularly at Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. It lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and is the main port for the city of Adelaide...
's North Arm Creek
Port River
The Port River is the western branch of the largest tidal estuary on the eastern side of Gulf St Vincent. It extends inland through the historic Inner Harbour of Port Adelaide, to the constructed salt-water West Lakes in the north-western suburbs of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia...
and Murray Bridge. Members have included rowers of all levels, from total beginners to Olympic Gold Medallists. The club shares the nickname "The Blacks" with the Adelaide University Football Club
Adelaide University Football Club
The Adelaide University Football Club is a South Australian based Australian rules football club. It is an affiliate of the Adelaide University Sports Association and plays in the South Australian Amateur Football League . The club promotes itself as the largest amateur football club in Australia...
.
Competitions
Australian University Games
The Australian University Games is a multi-sport competition held annually in September / October between teams fielded from a large number of Australian universities and tertiary institutions. The Games were first held in 1993 in Brisbane, Queensland...
, especially for the Oxford and Cambridge Cup
Oxford and Cambridge Cup
The Oxford and Cambridge Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Australian University Championship Men's Eight , and is competed for annually at the Australian University Games or the Australian University Rowing Championships...
(Men's Eight). AUBC also competes in local regattas, and has a number of oarsmen who compete at South Australian Sports Institute time trials and the National Regatta.
Recent performance by the club has been impressive, winning the South Australian State Championships in both Men's and Women's Eights in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Interstate performance has also been good. The club achieved a number of wins in the Victorian State Championships in 2006, and also gained a number of silver medals and a gold at the National Regatta. Club members have also enjoyed success at the recent Under 23 World Championships
World Rowing Championships
The World Rowing Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA . It is a week long event held at the end of the northern hemisphere summer and in non-Olympic years is the highlight of the international rowing calendar.The first event was held in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1962...
in Belgium.
Club members competed for the University of Adelaide to win the Oxford and Cambridge Cup at the 2009 Australian Universities Rowing Championships in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. The crew included Beijing Olympian James McRae
James McRae
James McRae is a World Champion and Olympic rower. McRae grew up in Murray Bridge South Australia where he rowed for the Murray Bridge Rowing Club...
and defeated the highly fancied Sydney crew by over a boat length.
In 2010, Club member Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan (rower)
Chris Morgan is a world champion rower from Adelaide, South Australia.Morgan began his athletic career as a competitive walker, however he took up rowing after taking part in a rowing machine competition held by the Adelaide University Boat Club during the University of Adelaide Orientation Week...
won the National Single Scull Championship, becoming the first South Australian in 40 years to do so.
Notable members
- Sir Collier CudmoreCollier CudmoreSir Collier Robert Cudmore was an Australian lawyer, politician and Olympic rower who won the Gold medal in the 1908 Summer Olympics.-Early life and rowing career:...
- Gold Medallist in the Men's Coxless Four at the 1908 London OlympicsRowing at the 1908 Summer OlympicsAt the 1908 Summer Olympics, four rowing events were contested, all for men only. Races were held at Henley-on-Thames. The competitions were held from July 28, 1908 to July 31, 1908. There was one fewer event in 1908 than 1904, after the double sculls was dropped from the programme...
. Although he rowed for Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, he was the first Australian to win an Olympic Gold Medal for rowing.
- Tim WilloughbyTim WilloughbyTimothy John Willoughby was an Australian rower, yachtsman and stock broker who won a bronze medal as part of the men's eight team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles....
- Rowed twice in the Olympic Men's Eight (1980 and 1984), winning Bronze in '84.
- Kate SlatterKate Elizabeth SlatterKate Elizabeth Slatter is a World Champion and Olympic rower from Adelaide, South Australia. She is considered the most successful female rower in Australia's history....
- Three time Olympian in the Women's Coxless Four (1992) and Coxless Pair (1996 and 2000), winning Gold at Atlanta '96Rowing at the 1996 Summer OlympicsTaking place at Lake Lanier, Georgia, United States, the 1996 Summer Olympics saw the debut of lightweight rowing events. The three included replaced the remaining coxed events for men and the Women's Coxless Four...
and a Silver at Sydney 2000Rowing at the 2000 Summer OlympicsFinal results for the Rowing events at the 2000 Summer Olympics:The event is probably most noted for Steve Redgrave's winning his fifth Olympic gold medal in as many games in the British men's coxless four. However, there were a number of other dramatic races. Both the men's and women's single...
, Kate is the most successful past member of AUBC.
- Jaime FernandezJaime Fernandez (rower)Jaime Fernandez is a science teacher and former Australian rower. He grew up in the remote mining town of Gove, Northern Territory, but moved to Adelaide for high school, where he attended Christian Brothers College...
- Three time Olympian in the Men's Eight (1992, 1996 and 2000), winning a silver medal in 2000.
- Amber HallidayAmber HallidayAmber Halliday is a World Champion and Olympic lightweight rower from Adelaide, South Australia. Specialising in sculling, Halliday made her international debut in 1999, winning the Under-23 World Championship in Hamburg in the lightweight double scull with Hannah Every.She has since won three...
- Three time World Champion in the Women's Lightweight Double Scull (2002,'03, '07) and in the Lightweight Quad Scull (2001), Olympian at the 2004 Athens Games and 2008 Beijing GamesRowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's lightweight double scullsWomen's lightweight double sculls competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held between August 10 and 17 at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park....
, and multiple winner at the National Championships.
- Marguerite HoustonMarguerite HoustonMarguerite Houston is a lightweight rower from Adelaide, South Australia. -References:...
- World Champion in the Lightweight Quad Scull in 2002, and the Lightweight Double Scull in 2007 with double-partner Amber Halliday. Houston and Halliday competed together in the Lightweight Double Scull at the 2008 Beijing GamesRowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's lightweight double scullsWomen's lightweight double sculls competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held between August 10 and 17 at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park....
.
- Chris MorganChris Morgan (rower)Chris Morgan is a world champion rower from Adelaide, South Australia.Morgan began his athletic career as a competitive walker, however he took up rowing after taking part in a rowing machine competition held by the Adelaide University Boat Club during the University of Adelaide Orientation Week...
- World Champion in the coxed pair in 2010, 4th place in the quadruple scull at the Athens OlympicsRowing at the 2008 Summer OlympicsRowing competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 9 to August 17, at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.- Events :14 sets of medals were awarded in the following events:*Single sculls men*Pairs men...
.