When it comes to rowing, most people seem to believe that partaking in such a sport involves waking well before the rising of the sun, training several times a day and relinquishing any form of a social life. However, this is simply untrue. Mostly.

Imperial College Boat Club has spent the past month slowly lulling its new members into a false sense of security by organising vaguely ‘rowing-themed’ parties and supplying a multitude of alcoholic beverages. The season kicked off in the first week with a fresher’s taster session, involving a short row from IC’s Putney boathouse, followed by beers and a barbeque on the club’s balcony overlooking the Thames. The evening was completed with a recruitment push to South Kensington’s finest drinking establishment: IC Union. Social Secretary Adam Freeman-Pask took the lead with his ‘active recruitment’ techniques, which involved encouraging willing victims to consume from a ‘3 and a half pint’ oar.

The Boatclub ‘All-You-Can-Drink Toga Party’ happily coincided with England’s Rugby World Cup victory over France, thus setting up the night perfectly for the many who were in attendance. The combination of sporting victory, togas and unlimited booze made for an (if you will forgive the mild hyperbole) epic party, the events of which will not be printed on the respectable pages of Felix. It is safe to say however, for those who had to train at 7am, the following morning was suitably painful.

To finish off the ‘Fresher’s Month’, a Splash, Dash and, er….Get Lashed event was held on the last Sunday of October, with the magical combination of fancy dress, rowing on the Thames and beers (not necessarily in that order). The day gave a first taste of racing to our new freshers, most of whom have not rowed before coming to Imperial. This leads me briefly to the training; since around two-thirds of our new members have never rowed before, there is a steep learning curve in the coming months.