your choice
Joining St Antony's largest club doesn't mean you have to enjoy sitting on a balancing beam in the Thames while using a twelve-foot oar to push yourself backwards with seven other people. It also doesn't mean that you have to enjoy relying on your wits and a pair of strings to control the ultimate temporal destiny of nine people in a fast and sleek racing boat.
But you probably will.
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SABC also needs members who like to jog or bike to come along the senic Thames path as a second pair of eyes for our crews once in a while. We also need people experienced in team management to organize our crews, and people experienced in health and fitness to develop and execute training and meal plans. We need members who enjoy photography, public relations, social media and marketing to build and maintain our communication with alumni, new students, and the public.
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row
Rowing combines profound concentration and mechanical discipline with adrenaline and fitness. It's deeply satisfying and more than a little addictive. At this Club we pride ourselves on developing nearly our entire membership from brand new rowers every year, so if you've never even contemplated rowing before, you're in excellent company.
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We offer three rowing Tracks each term for members: First Track, Mid Track, and Friendly Track.
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Casual Track is for members who enjoy the sport, and perhaps even want to row with a set crew, but who have other priorities for the term. We offer one regular weekly outing for the Friendly Track, and we also rely on our Friendlies to sub into other outings as needed. Friendlies are welcome to schedule additional outings on their own initiative.
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Semi-Competetive Track is for members who are keen to row and experience the Oxford regattas; these members prioritise rowing after their academic commitments. Because of the flexible nature of graduate study, Mid Track rowing is the heart of SABC's programme, and accommodates those who cannot be available for more than three to five sessions (water and one land) each week. Middies benefit from regular professional coaching on water and land.
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Competetive Track is for members who are willing to commit a large amount of time to rowing, prioritising rowing alongside their academic work. Our First Crews take the College's highest position on the river in regattas and perform to a high standard. First Track rowers are available to train four to six sessions each week (at the river and in College) and benefit from regular professional coaching on water and land.
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Members are welcome to change tracks from term to term.
COX
Coxing is a skill of brain, not brawn. Cox is Captain, Maestro, Lord and Master of the crew. They coach, conduct, steer, and bear responsibility for the crew's safety and success. Coxes pull their crews through erging sessions in the gym and in addition to rowing technique, they learn to observe how the river currents and water depth affect the running of the shell. A cox has a keen eye for detail and knows how to motivate people. And in return, the cox receives the entire devotion of their crew. As with rowers, most of our members have never coxed before. No good cox starts out with that kind of confidence or command; SABC is a great place to learn it.
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