Monday 16 December marked the annual Cambridge Trial VIIIs race in London. Trial VIIIs, the UK’s final rowing event of the year, serves as a dress rehearsal for The Boat Race, with two evenly matched CUBC crews rowing the full Championship Course for the first and only time before 12–13 April 2025. 

This year’s crews showcased an exciting mix of seasoned experience and youthful energy, featuring international rowers and returning Blues alongside many college rowers proudly wearing Cambridge Blue for the first time. We were delighted to see St Edmund’s College so well represented by our students: Annie Wertheimer; Madeleine Jackson; Harry Weston; Tom Macky; Matt Heywood and Douwe de Graaf. 

Annie Wertheimer (MPhil in Education) was in Position 6 for “Winnie the Pooh” which defeated “Eeyore” by four lengths over the Championship Course. Madeleine Jackson (Medical Sciences Tripos) did us proud, rowing in Bow in challenging conditions for the Women’s Lightweight VIIIs and Mixed Crew, but just missing out in “Piglet” to race winner “Tigger”. Harry Weston (MPhil in Genomic Medicine) raced in Position 2 for the Men’s Lightweight VIIIs in “Thunder” which was just pipped to the post by “Lightning”.  The final race of the day featured not one, but three Eddies rowers: Tom Macky (MPhil in Education) for Scylla in Position 3, Matt Heywood (PGCE Secondary History) in Position 6 and Douwe de Graaf (MPhil Finance and Economics) as Stroke in Charybdis.

Trial VIIIs is a milestone in The Boat Race selection process, and reaching this stage requires hard work, dedication, and discipline. Well done to all our Eddies’ students.

Cambridge Trial VIIIs

At St Edmund’s College, we have a strong sporting tradition and actively encourage students to participate in some form of physical activity, whether that’s just for fun or for something more. Many of our students achieve sporting excellence representing the University at national competitions, including the famous annual Cambridge / Oxford Boat Race. 

St Edmund’s College Boat Club (SEBC) is the hub of college life and each year the Club recruits both enthusiastic novices eager to learn new skills, as well as experienced seniors from all around the globe.   

If you would like to find out more about rowing at St Edmund’s College, visit the Boat Club website or follow them on Instagram.

In Other News…

CUBC at British December Trials

Team GB held closed trials in Caversham on Saturday 14 December. Cambridge University was represented by six athletes. George Borne (Peterhouse) and Douwe de Graff (St Edmund’s) formed a winning pair. They were joined by pair Luca Ferraro (Peterhouse) and Matthew Heywood (St Edmund’s) who took 5th. James Robson (Peterhouse), also in a pair, secured 3rd. Natasha Morrice (Jesus) put on a solid performance in a single.

Douwe De Graaf (photo credit Row360)

Matthew Heywood (photo credit Row360)