PBC Men go for a cuptastic Henley 2010

June 24, 2010 by admin

A few of the guys from PBC's 2007 Henley Men's Club 8+ above return to the 2010 crew to make another run at it.

From June 30 – July 4, Potomac Boat Club’s Men’s Sweep Team will compete for the Thames Challenge Cup, the prize awarded to the winner of the Men’s Club Eight event at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta.

The regatta, first held in 1839, takes place annually on the River Thames near the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. More than 500 crews from 20 nations will compete this year, including our own.

PBC men last competed at Henley in 2007. They were the only U.S. crew to make it to the Thames Challenge Cup quarterfinals. A few of the guys from 2007 are returning this year and hope to better their result. We think they will.

The 2010 crew includes Apollo Nguyen (cox), Chad Jungbluth, Paul Holland, John Forrest, Mike McCarthy, Bob Price (PBC President), Brian Wood, Nick Davies, and Tom Brock.

PBC's 2010 Henley team prepares last month at home

Each event at Henley is a single-elimination competition; in other words, you could be one and done, or get to play all week. Boats race two at a time down a 2,112 meter-long course so narrow, there are only a few meters to spare when side-by-side. Adding to the potential drama (and undoubtedly, the regatta’s popularity with spectators), the course is lined by floating, unforgiving wooden bars or “booms.” Steering into the boom is known by onlookers as a “Henley Royal F[oul]-up,” and offending coxswains must wear crowns emblazoned with the same for the remainder of the regatta. (Just kidding about that last part. Maybe.)

On Saturday, June 26th, if all the guys make it into town on time, PBC will tune up and shake off the jet lag at the Reading Town Regatta. Once racing starts at Henley, you can follow the guys as they battle through the competition by signing up for Twitter, Facebook or any of the other Henley results services offered at http://hrr.co.uk/pdisp.php?pid=316.

In the meantime, below we’ve included an alphabetical list of the clubs PBC will have to beat to advance, followed by a list of past PBC winners at Henley.

Safe travels and best of luck to Apollo and our crew. Row hard, guys!

The Thames Challenge Cup
Current holders: Molesey Boat Club A

1829 Boat Club
Abingdon Rowing Club
Agecroft Rowing Club
Broxbourne Rowing Club
Carlow Rowing Club, Ireland
Combined Services Rowing Club
Curlew Rowing Club
Durham Amateur Rowing Club
Galway Rowing Club, Ireland
Henley Rowing Club
HSBC Rowing Club
Kingston Rowing Club
Lea Rowing Club
London Rowing Club ‘A’
London Rowing Club ‘B’
Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club
Molesey Boat Club ‘A’
Molesey Boat Club ‘B’
Potomac Boat Club, U.S.A.
Putney Town Rowing Club
Reading Rowing Club
Runcorn Rowing Club
St. Michael’s Rowing Club, Ireland
Sons of the Thames Rowing Club
Staines Boat Club
Star Club
Thames Rowing Club ‘A’
Thames Rowing Club ‘B’
Thames Rowing Club ‘C’
Thames Tradesmen’s Rowing Club
Twickenham Rowing Club
Upper Thames Rowing Club
Vesta Rowing Club
West End Rowing Club, New Zealand
York City Rowing Club