Stag Stories
This page is dedicated to the stories of our stag community, their time at the club and how it impacted where they are today.
Alex competing for Thames Rowing Club!
Stag Stories: Alexander Morris (2011-2014)
Alexander joined SUBC in 2011 as a novice. He was around to see the “great 2012 Henley VIII qualify and make a round in the temple”. He remarks that this experience made a great impression on him.
Discussing his greatest success during his time in boat club, Alexander says it was leading the club, alongside fellow men's captain Jacob Bryning, to qualifying for the Temple Club Challenge. He says that stroking this 8 was an exciting experience and sharing it with 8 of his best mates made it even better.
His favourite memory is when himself and Jacob took over social secretary duties for an evening. He talks of games including ‘novice speed dating’ and ‘horse racing’ and his enjoyment of the email write up of the night the following morning!
Alexander now works in Finance and Technology for KPMG, and has been doing this for the past 5 years. He has continued rowing for Thames Rowing Club, and won the Thames Cup at HRR in 2017. He still enjoys racing and hopes to row the single scull for the 2019-20 season!
Stag Stories: Scot Livingstone (2007-2010)
Scot joined us as a cox in 2007. When reflecting on her biggest successes during her time in boat club, Scot had several. At a (self-proclaimed) hefty 53kg she was the heaviest cox in boat club in 2008, winning Reading regatta in 2009 and 2010 as a cox, winning Upper Thames 2009 as a rower, going from coxes seat to stroke seat (despite being 5’2), being coxes rep and making a great group of friends as a novice women rower - friends who she is still in contact with almost a decade later!
Her favourite memories include road trips to races and, everyone’s favourite, crew meals before competing.
When asked what she has been up to since leaving the club, Scot had lots to tell us. From 2010 to 2014 she worked in advertising in London and was social secretary - and Men’s Vice Captain - at Furnivall Sculling Club. In 2014 she helped to set up and launch Fulham Reach Boat Club. Since 2015 she has been back in Aberdeen doing advertising. Whilst she no long rows - due to the freezing conditions up in Scotland - she does a lot of running. She lives with her partner Tom, her cat Socrates, and is ‘stepmom’ to Willow, 13 and Logan, 10.
After a triple win, Scot being chucked in the lake at Peterborough!
Stag Stories: Alan Anderson (1981-1985)
Alan joined the boat club in 1981. When I asked him about his successes during his time in the club, he says be probably didn’t have many. He says he wasn’t the biggest in the squad, especially as he had started his time in school rowing as a cox; he only rowed for his last two years at school. He says university rowing felt like a big step up where he mainly rowed for the 2nd VIII, and occasionally jumped into the 1st boat. The image is an example of Alan rowing in the 1st VIII, in the 1983 Tideway HORR! He says they had a few BUSF medals.
Alan has a lot of fond memories from the club, though admits they were less about rowing and more about the people. In his own words, he speaks of the ‘antics of the weird, eccentric, friendly, foolhardy sort of people that make up a rowing club’. He says this enabled him to feel a part of something when he was so far from home.
A slightly more negative memory for him was his near drowning when an VIII snapped in half on a barge and sank during a flooded Tideway session - though this was before heel restraints were about, he assured me!
On a lighter note, he remembers a time when a fellow crew member - Paddy Broughton, rowing in 4 in the image - turned up for an early morning outing still in his fancy dress from the night before. He had come as native warrior complete with war paint and a grass skirt, which was later ditched as it kept getting caught in the slide! Apparently this didn’t hold him back though, as he went on to race in a GB VIII in the Worlds and won the Boat Race for Cambridge in 1986!
My favourite of his memories, though, was of his relationship with DB McNeill. He says that it was only after he had left the club, and was rowing back in Belfast, that he realised that the boat he was rowing in named ‘DB’ and the faded 50s black and white crew photos in the shed with a coach called DB in them were both related to DB McNeill who was now in his 90s and still coaching in his native Belfast. Alan says he often had dinner with DB throughout the years who reminisced about his time leading the club in 50s, alongside Randall Casson, when he was a lecturer in the physics department at the university!
After working for several North American aerospace and telecoms companies, Alan has taken early retirement. He continued rowing after SUBC, first competing for Belfast Rowing Club and then spending 21 years as Treasurer (and coach, boat repairer, boathouse builder…) for Lagan Scullers Club. Now, he volunteers as a coach at his old school in Coleraine (which has produced a fair few GB olympians including Alan Campbell) and occasionally sculls. He says he’s glad to see Mike Beresford still coaching - and he reckon’s he’d be proud of him!
We’d have to agree, Alan - you are one of SUBC’s living legends it seems!
Alan is pictured here, rowing in bow for the 1st VIII, during the 1983 Tideway Head of the River Race. The crew came 48th. He says this was an era where plastic boats were still new but they continued to use wooden blades.
James is rowing in two seat as part of the 2nd VIII at the Head of the River Race in 2012!
Stag Stories: James Ziemann (2010-2014)
James joined SUBC as a novice in 2010. He worked his way up from the 2nd VIII to the 1st VIII before becoming vice-captain for the 2013/14 season.
James says his favourite memories are of his time spent at overseas training camps, including Lake St. Cassien in the South of France and Virdar in Holland. He remarks that these times of intense training allowed him to form what have become lifelong friendships. He adds that him and his wife met during their time in the club, on the dance floor of one of SUBC’s favourite clubs - Jesters, which only shows how close the bonds are in SUBC!
James says his greatest successes in the club were during his time leading, and coaching, the novices. During his captaincy, the squad achieved a place in an A final at BUCS Regatta and also scooped wins at Reading Town and Reading Amateur Regatta. He says he couldn’t have asked for a group of more committed individuals with brilliant attitudes. He does note, though, that those who were in the squad would remember how demanding he was as a coach!
James is now working in construction engineering working on multi-million pound infrastructure projects. He has also rowed in the Hants & Dorset coastal rowing circuit for BTC Rowing Club on the south coast, though now he prefers to scuba dive instead. He lives with his wife, Catherine (a fellow Stag) and they are expecting their first child due at the end of June 2020! Congratulations to the both of you!
If you think you have a good story to tell about your memories of SUBC and your achievements post SUBC please get in touch by signing up with our membership form here.