St Cross/Wolfson Boat Club Makes History at Summer Eights 2025
Wolfson St Cross Open1 Boat Crew celebrate winning Head of the River at Summer Eights 2025
The Wolfson/St Cross Boat Club delivered a remarkable performance at this year’s Summer Eights, Oxford’s largest and most celebrated intercollegiate rowing event. With 13 bumps, a historic headship, and no spoons awarded, the 2025 campaign will go down as one of the most successful in the club’s history.
Most notably, the Open First Boat (O1) secured Summer Eights headship for the first time in Wolfson’s history, continuing the dominant form they showed during Torpids. Over the course of the week, the crew bumped Keble, Christ Church, and Oriel to take the top spot—earning headship blades and a place in the club’s legacy.
The club’s President shared their pride in the achievement, thanking the rowers, coaches, marshals, supporters, and all who contributed to the campaign's success.
Congratulations and thank you to rowers, coaches, marshals, bank-side supporters, and anyone else who helped make Summer Eights 2025 incredibly successful.
Other crews also had a fantastic week on the river. The Women’s First Boat (W1) made an impressive climb in Division 1, reaching fourth place after bumping both Teddy Hall and Christ Church—marking their highest position since 2022. The Women’s Second Boat (W2) rowed with determination, holding their own in a competitive Division 3 and defending their position with confidence.
The Women’s Third Boat (W3) battled through a tough start to reclaim a top spot in Division 5 and held their position with resilience. Meanwhile, the Women’s Fourth Boat (W4) rocketed up the charts with three bumps, placing them firmly in the higher reaches of Division 6—a testament to the club’s strength in depth.
The Open Second Boat (O2) narrowly missed blades after Christ Church unexpectedly withdrew from one of their races, but still rose three places in Division 3 with commanding performances each day. The Open Third Boat (O3) showed consistency and determination, defending their position and making a final bump up the Division 5 rankings on the last day of racing. While the Open Fourth Boat (O4) were just seconds away from qualifying during "rowing on," they are expected to return with renewed energy for the summer regatta season.
This year, the club also introduced inclusive naming for its former "Men’s" boats, now referred to as Open boats (O1, O2, O3, O4), reflecting the diverse backgrounds of the rowers who compete in these divisions.
Celebrations continued off the water with a boat naming ceremony held on Sunday. The newly named vessels—Aeneas (O2), Morningstar (W2), Red Rose (Single), and Golden Pear (Pair)—were proudly unveiled, expanding the club’s growing fleet. The ceremony was a fitting tribute to the generous donors and partner colleges whose support helps fuel the club’s continued success.
Warm congratulations to everyone at the Wolfson/St Cross Boat Club for an unforgettable Summer Eights campaign. We look forward to cheering you on throughout the summer season and beyond.
