Lady Margaret Boat Club

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. The club is named after Lady Margaret Beaufort, foundress of the College.

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. An early member was Patrick Colquhoun who in 1837 instigated the Colquhoun Sculls, in the year in which he won the Wingfield Sculls.

The greatest influence in the 1860s and 1870s was J H D 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. 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. 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.

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. [ [http://www.lmbc.net Welcome to the Lady Margaret Boat Club ] ]

The club is traditionally strong in the Lent and May CUCBC Bumps race. The club motto has been "Si je puis" ("If I can") since 1825. 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 every Boat Club Dinner, few members know the tune.

Latest Results

LMBC failed to qualify for the Temple challenge cup this year at Henley Royal Regatta but are well placed for the forth coming year, challenging for headship in both Lent and May Bumps with every intent to qualify for HRR 2009.

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.

Lent Bumps

Men

Women

ee also

*University rowing (UK)

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.

External links

* [http://www.lmbc.net Club Website]