This year International Women's Day is encouraging individuals and organisations to 'Choose to Challenge'. Last summer Georgie Grant did exactly that and created a petition to challenge the rule that does not allow women to wear trousers in the Stewards enclosure. The dress code currently reads:

"Ladies are required to wear dresses or skirts with a hemline below the knee. Ladies will not be admitted wearing divided skirts, culottes or trousers of any kind"

Georgies petition gained 1,647 signatures and highlights that we still have a long way to go in achieving equality in the rowing world both on and off the water. Find out more and sign the petition here. We spoke to members of the Oxford Poly Women's squad and would like to share their stories with you below!

Please also find dates for the diary and details for the upcoming AGM on Saturday 20th March at 7pm at the end of the newsletter below.

Pictured at The National Poly Championships, 1992 in Nottingham: Lotte Sturgess, Helen, Sam Jenks (nee Oxford), Claire Chapman, Penny Orford, Lynn Morgan, Suzanne Hutchings, Ester Bettinson (nee Takcas), James Cann (cox) and Steve Walters (coach).

Suzanne Hutchings started studying Architecture at Oxford Poly in 1989 and now works as an Architect part time whilst bringing up her eight year old son.

"My favourite memories are rowing at Wallingford and the banter on the car journeys to and fro! These were the days when we only had a couple of boats that were racked at Wallingford Rowing Club.

Off the water - I seem to vaguely remember the Captain’s Cocktail Party at the Head of the River, it was always one to look forward to! I carried on rowing post Poly/ Brookes days and gained a few vests at the Home International/ Commonwealth regattas in various boats. My most memorable race was actually against Oxford Brookes in 2002 when I stroked a TSS eight to the Remenham Challenge cup final. Brookes won convincingly (great crew!) but getting to the Sunday at HRR is a true honour and I’ll never forget the cheer from the bank on the row down through stewards on the way to the start.

I think that women’s stories need to be told more. It’s beginning to happen on social media. I also think we should be fighting for the retention of lightweight events- for men and women...but particularly for women where a larger proportion of athletes are not larger proportions- but the work ethic and talent of lighter athletes is often overlooked for pure size. So keeping the lwt category ensures a much more even playing field and gives a larger audience of women something to aspire to".

Lotte Sturgess studied Civil Engineering at Oxford Poly - "I was in the ladies first eight (new blue lycra) crew. We were a really strong crew whose biggest success and best race was WEHORR 1990. We had to start at the back of the race after not getting to the start line on time and managed to place in the top twenty crews! It was an amazing race and experience!

Our worst race was when we messed up our finish at Women's Henley Regatta and lost to the eventual winners. I left rowing after uni but came back to it in my mid thirties and started coaching when my kids started rowing".

Kate Venables (nee Moseley) studied Estate Management at Oxford Poly from 1989-1992.

"I qualified as a Chartered Surveyor and now work part time doing this sort of work as well as a lot of voluntary work in my local community.

After I left Oxford Poly, I continued rowing with City of Oxford for a couple of years. I found the transition from a student to full time work quite challenging when I was still rowing and after a couple of years I decided that I needed to focus on my work (as I would struggle to stay awake all day after early morning training sessions!).

My fondest memories from Oxford Poly are:

The discipline of training with a squad and the fitness achieved,
Starting as a novice rower and making the senior boat within 2 years,
Competing at Women’s Henley two years running (stroking the winning coxed Club IV event in 1992). I don’t imagine this would be possible now if I was at Brookes!
Early morning sessions on the Wallingford stretch of river,
The boat club black tie balls!
Friends made for life.

My favourite race has to be part of a winning crew at Henley women’s Regatta (pictured above) in 1992 where we beat an unknown crew from Canada in the final. This made up for a defeat the year before in the Open IV’s event when I was in a different crew.

I think the world of rowing has come on a long way since 1992! My daughter rowed at Headington School a couple of years ago so I have seen this first hand and how successful junior rowing has become. The success of GB women in the Olympics has also helped this. Having said that, I think rowing is still considered to be an elite sport and it would be great if this could change".

Katie Beaumont studied Estate Management from 1991-1994 and coxed during that time. She now runs her own award winning baking mix companies.

"My fondest memories of rowing at Oxford Poly were the focus, dedication and family that rowing and especially Taurus gave me. Sadly I have no connection to the sport now except old friends but won’t ever forget my rowing experience at Oxford Poly Boat Club.
Favourite race? Henley women’s regatta 1992 final coxed IV’s as pictured above!".

Julia Scott - "I coxed at Oxford Poly from 85’-88’ and Taurus thereafter. Followed by stints at City of Oxford & UTRC. I coxed (rather disastrously!) an OPBC/Poly composite at the first Women’s Henley.

If you want to know about how far women’s rowing has come then looking back to that is quite extraordinary- we were only ‘allowed’ to row from the finish to just before the island & we certainly didn’t use the enclosures. Sadly I don’t have a photo, probably because we’d lost very badly to what was effectively the GB squad 8 out of Thames (there were no Women at Leander!). What stopped me coxing? I couldn’t get beyond National regattas as a female Cox in a men’s crew at UTRC.

Fondest memories - Dick Collett circuits & beers in the bar afterwards! Winning with my girls at Peterborough Regatta and the Worcester, Monmouth and Hereford regatta weekend (pictured below). Being a part of the Poly contingent that rowed on the first sea trials of The Trireme (photo above!)".

Dates for the diary:
Taurus AGM - Saturday 20th March 7pm
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83006323057?pwd=U0FkSVNuUEIxL1FzazNod0VLQTZzZz09
Meeting ID: 830 0632 3057
Passcode: Taurus

Careers after rowing - Tuesday 20th April 7pm
An evening with; Pete Lowe, Tamsin Bryant, Simon Speirs and James Symington.
Please send your questions to info@taurusboatclub.org.uk