How do you get your Blues ??????

Scroll to see replies

Reply 40

Helenia

I get a bit annoyed that the womens' blues event is not as high profile as the mens.

Why? The men's boat race was the original varsity competition and is a lot older and more prestigious than any other sport's varsity match. You can't expect millions of people around the world to tune into oxford vs cambridge juggling competition can you :rolleyes:

Reply 41

Mop

Bezza

You can't expect millions of people around the world to tune into oxford vs cambridge juggling competition can you :rolleyes:

Well the BBC did show a bit of the Varsity darts :rolleyes:

Reply 42

H&E

Willa

The objection is to drafting in students just to row, and that is what the main race seems to mostly be about (with the odd exception)

I sort of share your objection, though in a different manner. The problem isn't guys being drafted in to row: in these days of closely monitored, centralised admissions for grads, that just can't happen. The problem is, that sometimes people whose personal statements suggests all the intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm in the world just don't do any work at university. It's impossible for the university to predict who will do that; and you can't reject all good rowers because some of them do it. It's individual people abusing the system, not a corrput system.

It's a problem, btw, common to all students. In every college there are people who do almost no work. It's just that rowers are particularly susceptible to it because a) rowing is obviously a huge attraction to them, and very time consuming and b) if they get chucked out at the end of the year, they already have their Blue so they might not care.

Reply 43

Hoofbeat

H&E

I sort of share your objection...It's just that rowers are particularly susceptible to it because a) rowing is obviously a huge attraction to them, and very time consuming and b) if they get chucked out at the end of the year, they already have their Blue so they might not care.

I agree with you entirely, but at the same time I remember reading somewhere that rowers (I think it sampled both Uni and College level rowing) generally get higher marks in their exams than students who do either no sport, or another sport. Now, I'm not saying I necessarily believe that, but it could be quite possible, as rowing certainly does give you time management as well as something else to think about and take your mind off work.

The most annoying people are those that do barely any work and still get better marks than me! grrr...speaking of work, I feel my "Optics" is beckoning me...<starts glaring mindlessly at her notes again>

Reply 44

Willa

well i personally dont think rowing does my academic side any good - i hopefully wont do terribly in these exams, but i doubt i will reach my potential!

And actually I do think the system is corrupt to an extent I really do. You hear of students taking bogus grad courses in the most obscure things just so that they can row for the university. And you hear of admissions tutors being asked to admit more sportsmen in certain sports into a college. From my understanding, part of caius's dominance in rowing here in cambridge is something to do with some past secretary of the boat club being at caius and setting up international rower admissions to caius.
What I'm saying is that for at least some people, I reckon the admission standard is severely lowered just because they are an amazing rower.

Obviously this might all be hear'say, but I doubt it's all complete rubbish...there must be some truth in it!

Reply 45

H&E

Helenia

I get a bit annoyed that the womens' blues event is not as high profile as the mens.

In fairness:
i) It is getting higher profile, not least because it's getting more funding and the standard's rising. However...
ii) The standard is still nothing like as high as the men's. Obviously women are naturally slower, but you don't get anything like the star quality. Oxford had two girls go to trials this year, I think, neither of whom was selected for the World Cup. Whereas the men had about 8 guys invited, two of whom won the men's pairs trial, and four in total were selected for the World Cup.

It's also far less spectator friendly: where you can watch the Boat Race on the telly after it's gone past you, at Henley you're left with radio commentary which cuts out every 10 seconds :frown:

Reply 46

H&E

Willa

well i personally dont think rowing does my academic side any good - i hopefully wont do terribly in these exams, but i doubt i will reach my potential!

And actually I do think the system is corrupt to an extent I really do. You hear of students taking bogus grad courses in the most obscure things just so that they can row for the university. And you hear of admissions tutors being asked to admit more sportsmen in certain sports into a college. From my understanding, part of caius's dominance in rowing here in cambridge is something to do with some past secretary of the boat club being at caius and setting up international rower admissions to caius.

Obviously this might all be hear'say, but I doubt it's all complete rubbish...there must be some truth in it!

Obviously you can never tell for sure, and there are always exceptions. But honestly, from the Isis guys I've spoken to, they don't get anything like an easy ride. Maybe it's a case of "all other things being equal admit the rower"...However, I can tell you with absolute certainty that in the past few months alone there have been two mega name rowers (i.e. not just dead cert Blues, but guys who would've been top 1/2 rowers in the university, even this year) not admitted.

I think Caius' dominance, if it's anything like Oriel here, is just because people who row apply there. Both are known to be fairly public schooly, both are known to be good at rowing. Hence if you're a good schoolboy rower, which usually means you're also a public schoolboy, that's two reasons to apply there. Given that school first eights are usually much, much better than colleges first eights, if you get one or two of them each year you're sorted. Again I can bring up cases I personally know of where guys who'd've made a huge difference in a college which is keen on rowing were not admitted.

Reply 47

Elles

Hoofbeat

...I remember reading somewhere that rowers (I think it sampled both Uni and College level rowing) generally get higher marks in their exams than students who do either no sport, or another sport. Now, I'm not saying I necessarily believe that, but it could be quite possible, as rowing certainly does give you time management as well as something else to think about and take your mind off work...

i've read that too & can quite believe it - given the time management & discipline required.
my only thoughts (based on a limited sample of university rowers - or perhaps more tellingly - their girlfriends.. :wink:

) are that it's somewhat at the expense of "a life" outside of rowing & work.

I think Caius' dominance, if it's anything like Oriel here, is just because people who row apply there...

I agree with much of your general anaylsis - the public-schooly connection etc. & certainly there is perhaps a slightly public school ethos in our M1.. :p:

but the other (perhaps vicious rumour) i've heard is that with some prolific rowing colleges - during their particular 'glory years' there was an especially high frequency of rowers doing a certain subject - i.e. being admitted by a certain man. & apparently to some this perceived correlation did seem rather suspicious or indeed worthy of exploiting...

(please don't flame me here - i don't have names or the inclination to research & make accusations about exactly who these people were :rolleyes:

- but the info came from an interesting source. though i fully accept in the not so far away past admissions generally were far less 'transparent' anyway!)