All race reports for Katherine Poseidon
Event: Lent Bumps 2009 - Friday
Posted as: Katie
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Event: Lent Bumps 2009 - Friday
Posted as: Katie
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Keen to get Corpus tomorrow!
Event: Clare Novice Regatta 2009 - 1st division
Posted as: Katie
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Update: Jesus went on to win the whole thing - hopefully this is some consolation!
Edit: Jesus went on to win the whole thing - hopefully this is some consolation!
Overall, you should all be very proud of the way you rowed - you kept the concentration in the boat and held it together, really showing what you were made of. Let's keep the focus for the next week and look ahead to Fairbairns!
Event: Fairbairn Cup 2009 - Senior VIIIs
Posted as: Katie
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I don't have much to say about the actual race, but want to thank Neil Talbott and Peter Summers for coaching us - I think we owe a big part of our win to their dedication.
And thanks to the girls and Swords - you really made this term amazing, and all the resulting work crises and amount of time I have to spend catching up during the holidays are totally worth it! :)
Event: Fairbairn Cup - IVs 2009 - College IVs
Posted as: Katie
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Event: Clare Novice Regatta 2010 - 2nd division
Posted as: Katie
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After a neat and technical row up, we did lose a bit of length to Emma off the start. The girls held on and kept it together, but Emma powered through and took the lead, which the held on to and extended down the course.
Overall, a very good row from a crew who only had one outing working on rowing above a paddle. There was a little bit of panicking, but generally the girls rowed nicely together.
We've got a very good foundation with neat, technical rowing, which will hopefully prove to be to our advantage come Fairbairns.
Event: Clare Novice Regatta 2010 - Cup
Posted as: Katie
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Once they were back on their side of the river, they continued to extend their lead, but the girls put in a good effort and held on to them, really making Wolfson work to maintain their lead.
Ultimately, it was a very nicely rowed race, but our lack of experience at rate showed through. Fortunately, this shows us what we need to focus on in the week before Fairbairns!
Event: Lent Bumps Getting-on Race 2011 -
Posted as: Katie
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I've said this already, but it's worth repeating. I am so proud of how far all of you have come this term. Thank you for the commitment, enthusiasm, and flexibility you have all displayed. I'm sorry that you won't be able to row bumps this week, but I hope you still enjoy the excitement! And see you on the river again soon! :)
Event: Lent Bumps 2011 - Saturday
Posted as: Katie
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(The crew has learned this term how cheesy I can be, and I'm afraid you haven't seen the end of my rambling yet).
We started out this term in a tough spot - coaching was patchy, crews weren't definite, and we've been plagued by illness and injury throughout. Neil arrived with three weeks til bumps, and transformed us from a group of girls of varying standards and commitment levels to a crew that buckled down and manned up.
With three weeks to go, Neil didn't have much to work with - too late for huge technical changes, but he did inspire us, and ultimately create a crew in the best sense of the word. With sketchy results all the way up to bumps, and an early loss in Pembroke Regatta, we knew we had a lot to prove. The day after we lost in Pembroke, we sparred with Queens W1 and our confidence was restored. Later that week we sparred with both M2 and M3, with decent results that proved to the crew that we had a lot more potential to move boat than we'd had a chance to demonstrate.
With this attitude, we looked forward to bumps as a chance to finally prove that we weren't the spoonbarge everyone expected.
Day one saw us bumped by an explosive Downing crew, whose standard we really didn't understand until that day. They very clearly deserve the headship, and are really in a league of their own. They completely raised the bar in women's college rowing. We were both shocked and devastated to have been bumped so quickly, but realised that there really wasn't much we could have done when faced with such formidable opposition.
Day two we went into the race with Emma chasing us relatively confident that we could hold them and looking forward for a second chance to show what we had. Again, they gained on us off the start and steadily closed. We realised again that despite how far we'd come as crew, we hadn't come far enough, and despite some impressive evasive coxing from Swords we were bumped coming round Ditton.
By day three we had been through two separate devastations, but, if anything, had grown closer as a crew. We looked forward to finally proving ourselves. After a less-than-perfect start, however, Pembroke soon began to close, and had overlap by Grassy. We enlisted the 'do-or-die' push to open up to clear water, while they steered for the bump and missed. We managed to open up the gap slightly, but they responded with another massive move to get back to overlap. At this point, I started finishing short so as not to hit their bows with my blade. Swords called another massive move, and somehow the boat responded and I was taking full strokes again as we pushed them away a second time. All credit to Pembroke who responded again and closed again, and there was no where for us to go as we came round Ditton, where they finally bumped us. The disappointment that we'd bounced back from twice returned for a third go, and again the crew rallied.
Day four we had the 'Christ's buffer' behind us, and looked forward to finally being able to row past Ditton, and do the 2k that we'd been training for. We moved off with a decent rhythm, Christ's and Queens' bumped out behind us, and we finally got our long row down the reach, although not in the kind of 'glorious isolation' we had hoped for.
My only regret is that we weren't able to give Neil the result he deserved. When he arrived in Cambridge three weeks before bumps and encountered a 'crew' desperate and terrified, he never faltered, but gave literally everything he could to help us make the most of what we had. Turbo ergs, epic outings, and lots of pasta eventually saw us come together in a way I've never experienced before. Personally, this is my worst bumps result (unless you count not getting on in W3), but my experience this term in this crew has probably been the best I've had in First and Third.
We suffered this year from a serious increase in the standard of women's rowing in Cambridge. However, as JPD said after the race, the fact that we're devastated by finishing fourth on the river indicates just how far FaT women have come over the years. The only real disappointment I feel now that bumps is over is not that we should have trained more or pushed harder - we did all we could - but that we weren't able to keep the position that so many girls before us fought so hard to put us in. On the flip side, we now know how it feels to go down, and are that much more determined to go up in the future. (Weights sessions start this week).
So, our result didn't follow our plan, and is disappointing for both our crew and our club, but this term has been far from a wasted effort, and I don't have any regrets. The eight girls and one boy in this boat have grown as athletes and as team members - thanks to Neil and to each other. Thank you girls & Swords & Neil - it's been immense.
Event: May Bumps 2012 - Thursday
Posted as: Katie
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Event: Lent Bumps 2014 - Thursday
Posted as: Katie
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