SUBC Wins Professional Club of the Year for the 2021 Sydney University Sports Awards

At the Sydney University Sports Awards this week The Boat Club was named Professional Club of the Year for 2021.

Following a year in which both Intervarsity and The Australian Boar Race were canceled Sydney Uni Boat Club excelled on a number of fronts in 2021 earning one of its most deserved Club of the Year Awards.

Starting the year 2021 by winning the Honours Trophy for the most points scored at the New South Wales Championships the club took out the double in the Elite Men’s and Women’s Eights of NSW. Then at the National Rowing Championships at Lake Barrington SUBC won the Centenary Oar Trophy for winning the club point score at that event.

Following selections for the Olympics in February our athletes Jack Hargreaves, Alex Purnell, Nick Purnell, Jack O'Brien, and Cam Girdlestone, Tara Rigney, Rowena Meredith, Gen Gorton were all included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Team with Campbell Watts selected as a traveling reserve and two former Head Coaches, Andrew Randell, and Mark Prater selected to coach the women’s and men’s quad scull boats, respectively. This was our strongest representation since London and would prove to be our club’s most successful Olympics.

In addition to these selections Jimmy Talbot was selected on the Australian Team for the Paralympics in the PR3 Four.

Both Jack Hargreaves and Alex Purnell won Olympic gold medals in the men’s four and Cam Girdlestone and Rowena Meredith won bronze medals in the men’s and women’s quads both boats coached by former Sydney Uni Head Coaches.

Cam Girdlestone became the first Boat Club athlete to win medals at more than one Olympics – having won silver in the quad scull in Rio in 2016.

The club also ran its junior winter program which unfortunately had to finish early due to NSW Government lockdown restrictions.

Despite the difficulties presented by the postponed Olympics and the Covid restrictions the athletes and coaches of Sydney University kept training and had one of their most successful years. Sydney University Professionally Administrated Club of the Year for 2021.