Brookes better?
In the wake of Oxford University's defeat by Cambridge in the boat race, Oxford Brookes' rowing team looks set to become one of the most successful university teams in England.
At Henley, one of rowing's most pretigious events, the team has achieved nine wins. Two of the rowers for Britain's Olympic gold medal-winning eight originated from the club, described as "Britain's most powerful university rowing force".
At present the club has a simple boathouse, described as a "cowshed", in Cholsey. However, Oxford County Council has granted planning permission for a new £200,000 club house, which will be built higher to solve the problem of flooding.
Already the Oxford Brookes team have received £110,000 of investment towards providing a club house to replace the old one.
Oxford Brookes' head of development, Mr Brunner-Ellis, said that the planned new boathouse "demonstrates the university's commitment to rowing." He added that the existing boathouse was inadequate for the needs of Oxford Brookes' rowers and couldn't give them that extra edge to propel them to top-class standard.
26th Apr 2001