We have been asking staff, students and alumni to share with us objects and places that make the University of Chester special to them. This week, Gordon Reay, Director of Sport and Active Lifestyle at the University, chose to nominate the University rowing blazer. Here’s why…
“The University rowing blazer means a huge amount to me. It was the accumulation of many years of hard work with the Rowing Club to raise the standard of the students to be able to compete at Henley Royal Regatta.
“In 2014, Henley Royal Regatta was celebrating its 175th anniversary year in the same year as the University. To mark these significant anniversaries, both myself and a number of students decided we would launch a bid to qualify for Henley Royal Regatta. Although the University had competed on numerous occasions at the Women’s Henley Regatta (held two weeks before), we had never competed at Henley Royal Regatta.
“Alongside this we decided to design and create our own unique Henley blazer. This was designed by the students and completed in time for Henley Royal Regatta.
“The crew raced at the qualifying regatta for Henley Royal but finished just outside the required time. However we wore our blazers with pride and managed to put the University of Chester on the timesheets at Henley Royal Regatta for the very first time.”
If you would like to nominate an object or place for #UoC100Objects, we would love to hear from you! Email us at alumni@chester.ac.uk or drop us a message on social media.
