Revealed: The leaked ‘toughness sheet’ Oxford Brookes Uni is investigating its rowing team for

Oxford Brookes University and British Rowing are investigating the men’s rowing team after a shocking “toughness sheet” was leaked on WhatsApp.

Unknown members of the boat club ranked the “toughness” of all the students, grouped them into categories with penis-related names, and made derogatory comments about each one.

Someone then took photos of the “personal info / toughness sheet” from Brookes and circulated in the group chats of other rowing clubs. A senior coach of the men’s team at Brookes got wind of this and told off the people on the Brookes men’s rowing WhatsApp chat for sharing personal information about he other students. He asked the person who took the pictures to come forward. This person faces “a period of time away from training”.

It is unclear in the WhatsApp messages if the boat club at that point intended to punish the people who made the “personal info / toughness sheet”, or just the person who shared the picture of it with other boat clubs.

The Tab has obtained images of the “personal info / toughness sheet”. We have blurred all the names of students, and put together two separate images so that the writing is as legible as possible.

The ‘toughness sheet’
(Image via Reddit)

There are over 50 students on the list.

They’re been grouped into different categories based on their “toughness”. One student made the top rank of “Strong Diamond”, The other categories are “Rock Hard”, “Stainless Steel”, “Morning Wood”, “The Semis” and “Sponge Bobs”.

The sheet also calls two students as “Mr Floppy” and “Mrs Floppy”.

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Feedback is written next to each student. The comments are generally really rude, and present a rather outdated view of masculinity.

Many of the notes comment on the students’ appearances, including their weights. Students are instructed to “get a haircut”, “put the pies down”, and “not be a plodder”.  One comment reads, “Find your fight, you were bloody tough, loose weight. Specific muscles for rowing only. Fitness!” Several of the notes say “physiology”.

Quite a few comments compare students to paint. One says, “Put your bloody blade in the water, it’s not an oil painting. It doesn’t need 24 hours to dry off each stroke.” Another note says, “Watching you row is like watching paint dry.”

Ten students near the bottom simply have “try harder” next to their names. Someone else is told to “try harder stop asking so many questions please.”

Members of the Oxford Brookes Uni rowing teams
(Image via their YouTube)

Oxford Brookes University says it is “appalled” by the leaked “toughness sheet”. The Uni is now investigating the coaching style at the rowing club.

The Uni said, “The material that has been circulated online has appalled us.

We are taking the concerns that have been raised about coaching practices at Oxford Brookes University Boat Club extremely seriously, and we are working with British Rowing to investigate and address those concerns. We are writing to members of the boat club to provide support and encourage them to come forward and report any concerns they may have to the university.”

The organisation responsible for regulating rowing teams – British Rowing – is encouraging members of the boat club to contact their governance team.

British Rowing is aware of concerns being raised about coaching practices at Oxford Brookes University Boat Club.

Please find our full statement on our website: https://t.co/0JQnPneCsj

— British Rowing (@BritishRowing) November 22, 2024

The Oxford Brookes University Boat Club is home to some of the most competitive uni rowing teams in the UK. Several of its members won bronze medals at the Paris Olympics. Their teams won six different races at the Henley Royal Regatta this year.

Featured image of Oxford Brookes Uni by Pierre Marshall, via Creative Commons. Featured image of the Oxford Brookes Uni rowing teams via their YouTube.