Magdalene Boat Club (Cambridge)

Magdalene Boat Club (Cambridge)

Magdalene Boat Club ( /ˈmɔːdlɪn/) is the rowing club for members of Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Magdalene Boat Club was founded in 1828. Mountaineer George Mallory was Captain of Boats (1907–08) when MBC was widely recognised as the fastest boat on the River Cam.

Magdalene is one of the smaller colleges in Cambridge University, but has often put out strong crews. In the early history of the Lent and May Bumps, Magdalene 1st men's VIII were often found in the 2nd division, occasionally slipping into the 3rd. Since about the 1950s, the 1st VIII has largely been in the 1st division or top few crews of the 2nd division. Magdalene men have never held a headship of either set of races, having reached a highest position of 6th in the Lent Bumps in 1979 and 3rd in the May Bumps in 1996. Magdalene was the last Oxbridge college to admit women so that a women's crew first appeared in 1989. The women's 1st VIII in the Lent Bumps has spent most of its time in the 2nd division, climbing into the 1st for only 3 days in 1994. The May Bumps crew has been quite successful in recent years, reaching 10th in 2005, and now stand 14th on the river. In 2008 the women's 1st VIII achieved blades in both the Lent Bumps and May Bumps.

Magdalene is currently unique amongst Cambridge college boat clubs in that the men and women row with slightly different patterns on their blades. The colours of MBC are lavender and indigo.