Merton College Boat Club Update Hilary Term 2026

TorpHeads

Due to a seemingly never ending red flag, Hilary term has been more erg-based then the Merton Women would have liked. With river levels remaining high and showing no signs of falling, the annual Torpids campaign was converted into a last-minute ‘TorpHeads’ head race. With just one day of racing instead of the usual four days, the Merton Women had to focus their erging efforts into one piece along the River Isis rather than the bumps style racing we anticipated. The race began just before Donnington Bridge and finished after Boathouse Island. Despite the lack of water-time, the girls quickly found their rhythm again. We are delighted to announce that Merton Women came 10th overall from all college crews. In their division, Merton Women came 2nd to St. Catherine’s college. Due to the TorpHeads race requiring S-status coxes, Merton Women were coxed by Micheal from Oriel College. This was a particularly impressive result considering that the Merton Women have not had actual water time since before Christmas. That will all, hopefully, change once Trinity term brings its sunshine and warm temperatures. We remain ever grateful for our wonderful land training facilities in the Merton Pavilion. This term, the Merton Women have co-ordinated a varied training program to elevate their fitness by alternating between UT1 and UT2 ergs as well as Iffley tank sessions with their new coach, Keith Dixon. As training camp approaches, the Merton Women look forward to more time on the water to apply their fitness.

Ergathon

On March 11–12th 2026, Merton College Boat Club launched its third annual Ergathon. This is our annual charity fundraiser, where our rowers erg for twenty-four hours straight in aid of a specific charity. With three rowers allotted to every slot, there are always two rowing machines being used non-stop (other than to switch over rowers). This year, MCBC raised funds for Amnesty International. This charity works tirelessly to defend human rights whenever and wherever they are under threat and bring perpetrators of abuse to justice. Our Ergathon is not only a valuable way for our boat club to raise money for charity, it is also an opportunity for our first-year rowers to engage with older students and immerse themselves in the club environment. Our first-years typically tackle the ‘graveyard-shifts’ (the night-time erging). We were delighted by the enthusiasm and willingness of our novice rowers to take on the night-time shifts. Some of them even incorporated UT1 bursts into their erging slots! We are delighted to announce that the Ergathon successfully amassed over 550km in distance and surpassed the fundraising target, raising £1,300 for Amnesty International. We extend sincere gratitude to all our MCBC alumni who generously donated towards our fundraising.

International Women’s Day

Marking International Women’s Day at MCBC is important for our female rowers. This year, Merton Women took on a 5k run around Oxford in aid of Refuge, a domestic abuse charity. This day allowed for our current rowers to reflect on the history of Merton College Boat Club. With women entering the college in 1980, the history of Merton Women at MCBC has been relatively short. We mark International Women’s Day at MCBC as a day of recognising the incredible progress we have made since 1980, and continue to make. Perhaps one day we will again reach the dizzying heights of Headship that the Merton Women of 2003-2004 achieved!

-Cara Treacey