Hughes Hall Boat Club (HHBC), established in the 1970s, is the rowing club of Hughes Hall College at the University of Cambridge. Competing in the prestigious May Bumps since 1979, HHBC has flourished into the largest student society at Hughes Hall.
Since its inception, HHBC has risen rapidly through the Cambridge College rowing rank to become one of the most successful clubs on the river, frequently earning the coveted Blades in the annual Lent and May Bumps Regatta.
In 2003, HHBC merged with the boat club of Lucy Cavendish College, forming the unique Hughes Hall/Lucy Cavendish Combined Boat Club. This merger was officially recognized by the Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs and marked the only combination of its kind at Cambridge.
Following the merger, the club experienced significant milestones, notably in the May Bumps 2009, where three crews won blades, including a ten-place gain by the M2 crew. It was also a historic moment as the club fielded four crews for the first time.
Among the club’s notable achievements is winning the Pegasus Cup three times (2007, 2009, and 2014), awarded to the boat club that demonstrates the greatest cumulative advancement in the bumps.
In October 2017, the two college clubs decided to part ways due to increasing numbers for both clubs. Since the separation, HHBC has continued to thrive. The Men’s and NB sides entered the First Division for the first time ever in 2022, and the Women’s and NB sides moved into the Second Division in 2024, for the first time since the club’s split.
Hughes Hall is also renowned for nurturing elite rowers who represent Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) in The Boat Race and compete at the Olympic Games. Notable alumni include Steve Trapmore (Sydney 2000, CUBC coach, GB Olympic coach), Tom Ransley (London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016), Dara Alizadeh (CUBC president 2019, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024), and Husein Alireza (Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024).
Hughes Hall Boat Club 