CUBC Names New Women’s Eight in Honour of Roger Silk

Cambridge University Boat Club proudly celebrated the naming of its newest women’s eight on the Tideway yesterday, honouring the life and legacy of legendary CUWBC coach and Lady Margaret Boat Club boatman Roger Silk, whose impact on the Cambridge Women’s programme endures to this day.

The ceremony took place on the Putney Embankment, directly outside Thames Rowing Club, as the squad made its final preparations ahead of the 2026 Boat Race. The Club was especially pleased to welcome Roger’s daughter, Lisa, who unveiled the shell with great generosity.

Athletes, coaches, alumni, and friends of the Club gathered to recognise Roger’s extraordinary contribution to women’s rowing at Cambridge. His generosity, his belief in the power of opportunity, and his absolute commitment to helping women rowers reach their potential shaped the trajectory of the programme and of countless individuals within it.

In naming the new shell Roger, the Club paid tribute not only to his support, but to the transformative influence he had on enabling Cambridge Women to compete at the highest level. Reflecting on his coaching, Kirsty Gill (Bl 1993, BB ’94) noted:

Roger volunteered extraordinary amounts of time, fitting CUWBC outings around his duties as LMBC boatman and travelling with crews to events across the UK and abroad whenever he could. That generosity of spirit is remembered vividly and with great affection.

Pat Marsh, former CUWBC Chairman, addressed those gathered, reflecting on Roger’s unwavering commitment to CUWBC and the legacy he has created for current students and for the generations who will follow. Alongside Ron Needs, he helped build the expertise, structure, and discipline that forged highly successful crews. Between 1984 and 1999, Cambridge women won 13 of 16 Women’s Boat Races – a period of dominance shaped in no small part by Roger’s standards, belief, and quiet leadership.

Many of those coached by Roger describe his impact as life‑changing. Kat Astley (Bl 1996, BB 1997–98) captured the sentiment felt by so many, recalling the countless times he rebuilt her confidence or transformed her rowing with the smallest of gestures:

CUBC extends its deepest gratitude to Roger for his unwavering dedication to excellence and looks forward to seeing the Roger carry Cambridge crews towards continued success.

Few lives have been lived so fully; few individuals have shaped so many others with such quiet, steadfast care. Roger was, and will always remain, a safe harbour, a teacher, a builder of communities, and one of the most influential shapers of rowing, and of people, that Cambridge has ever known. His legacy is not simply remembered; it is alive in the generations of athletes who proudly call themselves Roger’s rowers.

Read the Club’s full tribute to Roger here.

To learn more about supporting the new women’s eight and the athletes who will race in her, you can find further information here.