Lady Margaret Boat Club
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The Lady Margaret Boat Club (often abbreviated to "LMBC", and familiarly known as "Maggie"), is the rowing club for members of St John's College, Cambridge, England.
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[edit] History
LMBC was founded in 1825 by twelve members of the College. In its original rules, the Club was to "consist of eighteen contributing members, besides honorary ones", and all members had to be able to row.
The greatest influence in the 1860s and 1870s was JHD Goldie, who raised LMBC to the "Headship of the River", won the "Colquhoun Sculls", and stroked Cambridge four times. The Goldie Boathouse, used by the university crews, commemorates his services to Cambridge rowing. Another important name in LMBC history is LHK Bushe-Fox who had a long career with LMBC, becoming President of the Club in 1897. One of the greatest influences of this century was Roy Meldrum who established the "Lady Margaret" style, which he detailed in his rowing books.
The Boathouse was opened in the May term of 1901. It was extended in the 1970s, and was the first boathouse to have a workshop for the boatman. In the early 1980s, when the college began to admit women, further modifications were made upstairs to create the women's changing rooms. The boathouse was extended further in 2000 to create more indoor training space, giving its members, some of the best training facilities on the campus. A shed is now being built to house the club's fours, which are currently racked outside.
The Club's heyday was in the late 1940s and 1950s. LMBC won the "Ladies Plate" in 1949 with a new course record. In 1950, they made 4 bumps to go "Head of the Mays", and stayed "Head" for five years (this run of Headships giving the LMBC the privilege of building a weathervane on the Boathouse). In 1951, Lady Margaret won the Grand at Henley Royal Regatta and had five members of the successful Cambridge crew, which also defeated Harvard and Yale in the United States.
Between 1975 and 1981, Lady Margaret were Head of the Lent Bumps for 26 consecutive days, the longest continuous defence of the Lent Headship.
[edit] Current traditions
Members of the Club are well known for their scarlet jackets, which gave rise to the term, blazer. Members with "First May Colours" are entitled to wear trim and gold buttons on their blazer, while "First Lent" or "Second May Colours" are entitled to wear silver buttons on their blazer. [1]
The club is traditionally strong in the Lent and May CUCBC Bumps race. The "traditional" club cry (since 2003) of "Thunder Lady Margaret!", or more succinctly "Thunder Maggie!" is used to encourage LMBC rowers, as they go for those crucial lengths down the Reach; the traditional club motto (since 1825) of "Si je puis" ("If I can") is used for more formal occasions. The boat club song, Viva laeta, has a chorus that goes as follows:
- Vive laeta, Margareta, Beatorum insulis; Si possimus, Fuerimus, Semper caput fluminis.
Although the music is printed in the boat club's history and the song is sung at ever Boat Club Dinner, few members know the tune. An attempt in 2006 by the blades-winning Men's Second Lent Boat to lead the Club in tune was of mixed success.
[edit] Recent Form
Below is a table showing the performance of the men's and women's 1st VIII over the last decade in the Lent and May Bumps.
[edit] Lent Bumps
[edit] Men
| Year | Finish position | 1st day | 2nd day | 3rd day | 4th Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 2nd | bumped Trinity Hall | rowed-over | bumped Downing | rowed-over | |
| 1999 | 2nd | rowed-over | bumped by Caius | rowed-over | bumped 1st & 3rd Trinity | |
| 2000 | 4th | bumped by 1st & 3rd Trinity | rowed-over | rowed-over | bumped by Emmanuel | |
| 2001 | 4th | rowed-over | rowed-over | (cancelled) | (cancelled) | |
| 2002 | 2nd | rowed-over | bumped 1st & 3rd Trinity | bumped Emmanuel | rowed-over | |
| 2003 | 4th | rowed-over | bumped by 1st & 3rd Trinity | bumped by Downing | rowed-over | |
| 2004 | 6th | rowed-over | bumped by Trinity Hall | bumped by Emmanuel | rowed-over | |
| 2005 | 4th | rowed-over | bumped Trinity Hall | bumped Emmanuel | rowed-over | |
| 2006 | 5th | bumped by Jesus | rowed-over | bumped Jesus | bumped by Jesus | |
| 2007 | 4th | rowed-over | bumped Downing | rowed-over | rowed-over |
[edit] Women
| Year | Finish position | 1st day | 2nd day | 3rd day | 4th Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 7th | rowed-over | bumped by Jesus | bumped by Pembroke | bumped by Christ's | |
| 1999 | 8th | bumped by Newnham | rowed-over | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2000 | 8th | bumped Christ's | rowed-over | rowed-over | bumped by Caius | |
| 2001 | 4th | overbumped Pembroke | bumped Newnham | (cancelled) | (cancelled) | |
| 2002 | 3rd | rowed-over | bumped Trinity Hall | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2003 | 5th | bumped by Caius | bumped by Downing | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2004 | 6th | bumped by Clare | rowed-over | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2005 | 6th | rowed-over | rowed-over | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2006 | 8th | bumped by 1st & 3rd Trinity | bumped by Newnham | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2007 | 7th | bumped Newnham | rowed-over | rowed-over | rowed-over |
[edit] May Bumps
[edit] Men
| Year | Finish position | 1st day | 2nd day | 3rd day | 4th Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 9th | bumped by Caius | bumped by Queens' | bumped by 1st & 3rd Trinity | bumped by Robinson | |
| 1998 | 5th | bumped Robinson | bumped Magdalene | bumped Trinity Hall | bumped Queens' | |
| 1999 | 4th | rowed-over | bumped Downing | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2000 | 6th | bumped by Emmanuel | bumped by Downing | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2001 | 5th | bumped 1st & 3rd Trinity | rowed-over | rowed-over | rowed-over | |
| 2002 | 3rd | bumped Jesus | rowed-over | bumped Emmanuel | rowed-over | |
| 2003 | 6th | rowed-over | bumped by Trinity Hall | bumped by Robinson | bumped by St. Catharine's | |
| 2004 | 5th | rowed-over | rowed-over | rowed-over | bumped Robinson | |
| 2005 | 2nd | rowed-over | bumped Downing | bumped St. Catharine's | bumped Trinity Hall | |
| 2006 | 3rd | rowed-over | bumped by St. Catharine's | rowed-over | rowed-over |
[edit] Women
| Year | Finish position | 1st day | 2nd day | 3rd day | 4th Day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 7th | bumped Homerton | rowed-over | bumped Newnham | rowed-over | |
| 1998 | 3rd | bumped Churchill | bumped Trinity Hall | bumped Clare | bumped Jesus | |
| 1999 | 5th | rowed-over | bumped by Newnham | bumped by Caius | rowed-over | |
| 2000 | 7th | bumped by Jesus | rowed-over | rowed-over | bumped by Clare | |
| 2001 | 7th | bumped Clare | rowed-over | bumped by Trinity Hall | rowed-over | |
| 2002 | 9th | rowed-over | bumped by Downing | bumped by St. Catharine's | rowed-over | |
| 2003 | 6th | bumped Trinity Hall | bumped St. Catharine's | rowed-over | bumped Jesus | |
| 2004 | 6th | bumped by Jesus | rowed-over | bumped Downing | rowed-over | |
| 2005 | 7th | bumped Newnham | rowed-over | bumped by Clare | bumped by Girton | |
| 2006 | 10th | bumped by Trinity Hall | bumped by Newnham | bumped by Downing | rowed-over |
[edit] References
- Durack, John; Gilbert, George; Marks, Dr. John (2000). The Bumps: An Account of the Cambridge University Bumping Races 1827-1999 ISBN 0-9538475-1-9
- CUCBC (various years) - Lent and May Bumps programmes.
