Sports Report

Boat Club

Participation in the Boat Club has rebounded this past year to pre-Covid numbers. Six crews raced in the Lent Bumps and eight in the Mays, and crews participated in most of the season’s timed races on the Cam. The men also rowed the qualifiers for the Henley Regatta and the Head of the River race on the Thames Tideway, finishing the second fastest Cambridge college crew.

As well as racing and training on the water, there is increasing emphasis on indoor gym training for rowing. Because there is so little training space at the boathouse, the club has begun exploring the potential to extend the building, providing more indoor boat racks, more gym space and increased accessibility.

The club remains almost financially independent of the College, generously funded by past and on-going donations from Boat Club alumni. To recognise this support, the club hosted seven alumni events through the past year, mostly reunion rows or river-boat cruises. There was one ceremony to name a new eight after recently retired trustee of the Boat Club Trust Fund, Adrian Buckmaster. However, the last of the alumni events was the most poignant, a memorial service for the club’s long-serving vice-president Anne Brewin, who died in March. At least 125 family, alumni and students attended in the Chapel and the newly refurbished Hall.

The Boat Club is proud to be providing a welcoming and low-cost sporting environment for students, and a healthy physical and mental respite from studies.

Football

The 2022/23 season saw the Clare first XI return to the fiercely competitive division 2. Despite some impressive results, most notably a convincing 4-1 victory over division 2 runners-up Girton, we were unable to maintain our status in the division. Our cup run was brought to an end when we were beaten in the plate semi-final 5-4 by the eventual champions Homerton. The second team managed to pick up some positive results towards the end of the season, which helped to secure a mid-table finish in division 5. Despite a disappointing season for the first team, the whole club is excited to get back underway next year.

Netball

We may not be the sportiest college, but we certainly have a lot of fun! Our mixed netball team came third in our division which is a great result, with stellar netball across the court. We had many new players this year, some of whom had never played netball before. A new University Mixed Netball Club started in the Easter term, with quite a few Clare players attending, and we had five Clare players make the first and second teams. 

Rugby

Clare, Corpus and King’s Rugby Football Club, affectionately known as CCK, has gone from strength to strength this season. Pitted in Division 2, CCK stormed to a dominant and unwavering first place, with 7 wins in 8 games and a final points difference of +258. Division 1 awaits us next year, and with almost the entire team continuing their studies, we hope to carry the momentum forward into the 23/24 season. We also found some success in Cuppers, reaching the final of the plate competition, a game hosted at Grange Road against a strong Churchill 1st XV, who outplayed us on the day. Whilst perhaps a less obvious metric of success, the huge number of people we have turning up weekly is a great testament to the team spirit that has been created over the last few seasons. Finally, on a more personal note, captaining the team for the past 2 years has been the biggest privilege of my Cambridge experience. Seeing a group of young men turn into a half-decent rugby outfit and, moreover, a great group of friends, has been a pleasure. For my final year of study, I will take a more non-executive role in the team, handing the captaincy baton to Cambridge’s best place kicker, Teddy Pearson. If you are ever in need of a rugby fix, you will find us every Saturday at 2pm having a run out at Leckhampton Sports Ground.

Tennis

Clare Tennis has had another successful year with lots of new members. We participated in the intercollegiate league in Michaelmas and Lent terms, where we placed 3rd and 5th respectively in Division 2. We also played in Cuppers in Easter term, where we were unfortunately eliminated in the first round.

Staff & Fellows vs Students annual cricket match

The intrepid Staff & Fellows cricket team went into battle once more on Thursday 22nd June, in our annual fixture against the students. Our bowlers provided a dazzling display of searing pace (Phil Ward, Jaideep Prabhu, Tim Chesters, Matt Kenzie), wicket-to-wicket guile (Mark Thompson, Mark Smith), fruity legspin (Simon Franklin), and 'mystery balls' (Kate Hargreaves, Joe Stephen). We bowled out the students for 159 (19.3 overs), which is the kind of total routinely chased down in the IPL without breaking a sweat. Sadly, we didn’t quite get to the target, but every run our batsmen made was cheered on by a riotous Clare supporters group (the ‘Clarmy Army’?) - special congratulations to Paula Yardy and Chris Parsons on their first career runs, and Bill ‘Iceman’ Harris as our redoubtable opener and top-quality sledger. Lizzy Conder and John Mears were fantastic umpires, and the Catering Team did a splendid job laying on a sumptuous cricketing tea. Aiming for the win next year!