Sporting success

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Tags: rowing, sport, UQ Sport, winter-2009

A particularly impressive piece of silverware is on show at UQ SPORT, thanks to the efforts of the University’s rowers.

The Oxford and Cambridge Cup

The UQ men’s coxed eights recently took out the 2008 Oxford and Cambridge Cup for the first time in 16 years, and were rewarded with a famous silver trophy that is more than 100 years old.

The trophy was donated by old Blues of Oxford and Cambridge in the early 1890s to be rowed for annually by the universities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and is estimated to be worth more than $250,000.

The cup has scenes of both Cambridge and Oxford engraved on its sides and depicts pictures of rowing and the floral emblems of England, Scotland and Wales. An angel at the top is pictured in the traditional pose of the toast to rowing.

Queensland first entered the race contested by men’s eights in 1920 and won in 1922 and 1923, with both crews stroked by Eric Freeman (after whom the UQ Boatshed is now named). Queensland won again in 1958 and 1959 and broke tradition by taking the trifecta in 1990, 1991 and 1992.

The 2008 winning crew was coached by Lincoln Handley and consisted of Ben Ward, Will Lindores, Angus Morton, Charles Ohtomo, Jonathan Trovas, Robert Lewis-Swan, Sam Conrad, Michel McBride and Mark Alexander.

UQ crossed the line first in 6:56.03, several seconds ahead of Sydney University and the University of Melbourne.

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