The Coldharbour newsletter is back!
We’re excited to share updates and bring together both new and longstanding members of the Coldharbour community, keeping everyone connected and up to date with what’s happening across the club.
Autumn is in full swing and it’s been an exciting few months for Coldharbour. Following our official relaunch in September, we’ve been laying the foundations for a thriving alumni community – establishing the holding committee, publishing our mission and vision, and strengthening ties with UWEBC and the Uni. It’s been brilliant to see interest from alumni across generations, from those still close to the club to rowers who last raced under UWE colours decades ago.
With racing season now underway, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved – both on and off the water. If you’d like to get involved without racing, it would be great to see plenty of former UWEBC members back on the banks, cheering the crews along.
In this newsletter:
- Coldharbour news – what’s been happening since launch and our priorities for the months ahead.
- UWE Boat Club news – latest from the student club including racing updates.
- Upcoming events – from the UBBC Head and Christmas Dinner to the Pudding Races and London drinks.
- Get involved – opportunities to race, socialise and volunteer
And if you’ve got something to share, we’d love to hear from you – just drop us a line at coldharbourboatclub@gmail.com.
Coldharbour News
Since our relaunch, the focus has been on building firm foundations. The holding committee is now in place, with roles including Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Student Liaison – all working together to maintain momentum as we move towards formal elections around Henley next year.
We’ve also been developing key building blocks – from refreshing the Coldharbour logo and progressing British Rowing affiliation, to shaping our membership offer and planning a presence at major events like the University of Bristol Head and Henley Royal Regatta.
It’s been fantastic to see representation from across the decades already – from early 1990s crews right through to recent graduates in 2025. We currently have alumni involved from over 15 different year groups, including:
1990–1996, 1997–2000, 2001–2009, 2010–2015, 2017–2025
…but there are still plenty of missing crews and untapped connections! We’d love to build out our network even further – so if you know anyone who rowed for UWE but hasn’t yet joined, please do share this newsletter or encourage them to sign up.
Looking ahead, our priorities for the next few months are:
Formalising our membership structure – setting out how alumni can officially join, renew, and support the student boat club through events and fundraising.
Progressing British Rowing affiliation – as this can be a lengthy process, we’re getting started early to ensure everything is in place for next season.
Bringing alumni and current UWEBC rowers together – there will be lots of ways to get involved, including a few events before Christmas (see below).
Growing and connecting our alumni community – continuing to expand our network and strengthen ties across generations of UWE rowers.
UWEBC news
UWE Boat Club has kicked off the new academic year with great energy and enthusiasm! Freshers’ Fair was a fantastic success, with a brilliant turnout of new students keen to get involved with rowing. Our novice intake this year is promising and a good intake, with swim tests complete training is already well underway as our new members get to grips with the sport both on and off the water.
Our senior squads have also hit the ground running, returning to training with renewed focus and determination. A handful of our senior members at UWE competed at EUSA and Nottingham Head, which was a fantastic opportunity to test their skills against strong competition and showcase the club’s talent.
Looking ahead, the team is preparing for a busy race calendar, with both Avon Head and UBBC Head fast approaching. These events will be great opportunities for our novice and senior crews alike to demonstrate their hard work and progress early in the season.
In addition, we’ll have several members taking part in BUCS Indoors, competing in erg racing and representing UWE on the national indoor rowing scene. It’s shaping up to be an exciting and competitive term for UWE Boat Club, we can’t wait to see what the crews achieve next!
Ewan Johnston, President
Captain’s racing report
EUSA
With the generous support from parents, friends, teammates, and alumni, Ewan and
Felix raced at EUSA in September, due to their qualification at BUCS regatta earlier this
year. The event was run over 3 days in Bydgoszcz, Poland, over a 1000m course, with the boys racing their heat on the Friday and their final on the Sunday. The boys put down an impressive performance in their heat, securing themselves a spot in the A final, with a time that outranked 4 of the crews in the opposing heat. On the Sunday, the double went out hard – knowing that they’d have to fight to compete with the impressive field of crews – and held third place up to the 500m mark. They raced in an incredibly strong field, finishing 6th overall at their first international event.
Nottingham Autumn Head
Following the disappointing cancellation of Pairs head, a few of our crews were offered
the opportunity to race at Nottingham Autumn Head on the river Trent. Three UWEBC crews raced; Felix raced over 6000m in the morning division in the Op 1x, and two of our double sculls raced the long course (3700m) in the afternoon division. Felix put down a strong performance, as the only lightweight sculler in a field of open weight crews, and placed 8th overall in the division, ranking 2nd in his band.
In the afternoon, Ewan and Felix took to the water for their first race since EUSA, once again proving themselves amongst open weight crews, with a second place finish in the Op 2x, and taking first place in band 2. Finally, Lauren and Erin took part in their first race of the season, with an incredibly close race, ending up second in their band by 0.8 seconds. Overall, all crews were pleased with their performances and put forward a great start to UWEBC’s 25/26 season.
Erin Shippey, Women’s Captain, Oscar Taylor, Men’s Captain, Amelia Harrison, Media and Publicity
We’ve achieved a lot in just a few months, but there’s plenty more to come. Thank you to everyone who’s shown support so far – it’s been brilliant to see the enthusiasm for bringing the Coldharbour community back together.
With best wishes,
The Coldharbour Boat Club Committee