Balliol College Boat Club
Balliol College Boat Club (BCBC) is the rowing club for members of Balliol College, Oxford, and is one of the top boat clubs in Oxford with regular success for both men and women. In 2008, Balliol's Men regained the Head of the River in the Oxford Summer Eights competition after a gap of 52 years. The Colleges women are currently placed 5th in Summer Eights. The club has a history of developing new talent, and the club's lower boats also performed well in 2008.
Equipment
Coaching
The Men's 1st VIII is currently coached by Colin Williamson who rows at Leander Club. Colin coached the mMn’s 1st VIII to their successes in 2007-8 and has agreed to stay on and coach them for another year. He is training full time out of Leander Club in Henley and is a past President of Aberdeen University Boat Club.
The Women's 1st VIII are coached by Nick Beven. Nick attended Balliol in 1960 and has had a long history in rowing coaching at schoolboy level. He was originally approached by Balliol to help coach the Men's 1st and 2nd VIIIs but has since found a home with the Women of Balliol.
Training Locations
Novice and development crews train on the stretch of the Thames, known as the Isis, which flows through Oxford, but senior crews train further afield; the men train at Wallingford on the same stretch of the Thames as the Oxford University crews while the women train on the Godstow stretch just west of Oxford city centre.
Eights Headships
- Men:
Torpids Headships
- Men:
Rivalries
Not being a traditionally a rowing college over the last century, Balliol has few rivalries with other colleges. Currently the traditional Balliol/Trinity is not felt amongst the rowing community as the two colleges are not placed near each other in eight Torpids or Summer Eights.