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Alumni: LMHBC Legends[Back to Alumni]These were a permanent institution on the old website so it seems a shame not to include them again! If anyone would like to nominate someone else for this accolade, certainly not to be bestowed lightly, please write to the President and your idea will be considered! Dirk Jan-Omtzigt- A Profile of a Great Man
Dirk-Jan Omtzigt, or the Hulk from Holland as he was never called at LMH, came to LMH in 1997 to do a second undergraduate degree. He had been at Durham before, but had not rowed there. It was only at LMHBC that Dirk was to discover his true calling and talent. For those familiar with the rowing world it should have been obvious that Dirk's calling would be as an oarsman. His father is a layman in the Catholic church of great kindness, if not stature. We recall that Matthew Pinsent's father is a priest, also of unspectacular size. The two oarsmen then have very similar lives (true logic), as is evident from the mere fact that they both finished their academic studies at Oxford. Dirk started his rowing career with great success, and was immediately selected for the LMH Men's Third Eight - a crew respected and feared by its opponents in Torpids Rowing On. But Dirk's agility, mathematical blade precision, fitness and sheer ambition soon saw him aim for greater things. It was only a matter of terms before Dirk was in the Second Eight. And then fortune was on his side when an injury to the mighty medic, Johnny Seymour, saw him catapulted into the bow seat of the First Eight in Eights 1999. Dirk, now a master of technique and a bundle of physical energy, went from strength to strength, acquiring the affectionate name of Superstar DJ (Here we go) Omtzigt. He trained throughout his final year with the first eight, and only missed Blades in the Millennium Torpids due to the event being cancelled. This disappointment was too much to bear for a man of ambition. Dirk was warned by his tutors to hang up his oar with the pressure of finals looming, but this order lasted for just one week. The pain of missing out on LMH rowing was too great, and soon Dirk was achieving even greater levels of fitness with his sprints from the Radcliffe Camera to the boathouse for outings. Dirk's energy and enthusiasm was rewarded when Eights was run, and he ensured with his great power that the crew did not drop more than one place into the Third Division that year. If it had not been for Dirk, it would surely have been worse. Even before being celebrated in the LMHBC Hall of Fame as a Legend, Dirk had caught the eye of many people in Oxford. Dirk's immaculate shoulder and chest hair was just too much for any female who saw him in his lycra. Dirk was therefore the obvious choice for the Men's First Eight's crew date representative. The combination of his seductive Dutch accent, the backing sounds of Top Gun during phone calls and reputation for handsomeness, charm and humour were quite a hook for those swooning lady rowers. Now that Dirk is in the city, his flirtation with rowing is now sadly over, much to the disappointment of all those involved in the sport. Yet he still returns for many of LMHBC's fine social events. He will, however, be hallowed for ever as an LMHBC Legend. Roy Wooters ("it's Wouters you bastard")
Roy rowed at LMHBC for his full three years, finally succumbing to exam pressure handing over his captaincy to Simon Woodcock, early in 2002. Roy had no rowing experience prior to arrival at LMH, but had a natural fitness, which had been further developed through running. His extremely long legs gave him a natural build for rowing. His first crew was a novice crew at Christchurch Regatta, which as one of two LMH boats made the final Saturday of racing, but unfortunately lost against a very strong crew. However a number of rowers showed themselves as being extremely competent. Roy found himself within the first eight squad and his technique, strength and drinking ability improved at equally rapid rates. Yet the strength in depth of the crew at the time meant that Roy was not able to force his way into the first eight yet. Both Torpids and Summer Eights were spent in the Men’s Second Eight. The following year however saw the departure of a number of the more experienced rowers from one of LMH's strongest crews ever. Chris Sandilands recognised Roy's obvious talents and the day finally arrived that meant so much to Roy, his opportunity to complete the initiation, to prance around in front of the first eight in lycra, along with fellow new crewman Ed Mitchinson. Roy quickly became an invaluable member of the crew, both on and off the water. His long efficient stroke made him a technically useful rower, coupled with his determination in training, a formidable oarsman. Socially he slipped straight into the crew with his fondness of curry, beer and cheesy music. The crew was very strong, driven and unfortunate not to achieve more success, despite rising up a division in both Torpids and Summer Eights. On one particular training trip to Dorney Lake the crew were generally in a less than fully healthy state, having had boatie cocktails the night before. £10 as much as you can drink was not an opportunity to be passed up by poor students. In any case a certain member of the crew gave Roy a plastic cup full of Vodka, which he then proceeded to neck in one. Roy then realised this was Vodka and it reared it's ugly head the following day, 3 times on the hard shoulder, on the way to the lake. Yet in typical style Roy rowed the outing (fairly badly no doubt). With Chris' departure for Russia, Roy was the obvious choice for captain. In his opening term Roy lead the team, now fairly inexperienced to success at Nepthys Head Regatta, beating many teams above LMHBC in the event. His leadership was by example, working very hard on and off the water to motivate some of the less experienced crew members. Roy was also very able to point out rower's faults, but in a constructive manner. Roy has now left for bigger and better things, but his willingness to pull ergs for fun, his bizarre dancing and hangovers will be remembered. Most of all I personally will remember Roy's association with the boat club for how much he cared about it's continued success and improvement. Work very hard and play very hard, a successful combination. |
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