The Club's Results
University IVs 2007
A knockout competition for Cambridge College IVs over 2800m (light IVs), 2000m (men's coxed IVs) or 1300m (women's coxed IVs)
Mon 29th October - Fri 2nd November
The event was organised by CUCBC. At the bottom of this page there is a summary of the results of college crews and a link to Cambridge weather. Club members, please go here to add (or correct) results, crews or race reports.
Light IV, Light IVs
Semi finals
beat Clare by 37s
Time: 10:11
beat Clare by 37s
Time: 10:11
I was a bit worried on first post reach, it looked like we were in for a close race. What happened after that I'm not sure, maybe we were better at cornering. By my count we were 9 seconds up at Plough, so we cruised (untidily) on the reach. A fair way off our 10 minute target, but if it's less windy and we pull harder there's a chance tomorrow.
Final
beat LMBC by 4s
Time: 10:00
beat LMBC by 4s
Time: 10:00
Go off hard.
Crash.
Twice.
Still win.
Textbook.
Crash.
Twice.
Still win.
Textbook.
We did well to save ourselves from disaster. Maintained our pace on the reach, and still at 34 when we nailed the railway bridge. By far the worst thing that's ever happened to me in a race (except the time I capsized), we lost Phil's blade badly. I was terrified, and by the time we got going LMBC had taken the lead. So the fight or flight kicked in, and we spanked it off at 36, rising steadily to the line.
According to the ratemaster the time spent rowing was at most 9:49. I reckon without the errors we would've been 9:45, or 94.5%, which should please Ming and Bryn.
According to the ratemaster the time spent rowing was at most 9:49. I reckon without the errors we would've been 9:45, or 94.5%, which should please Ming and Bryn.
I noticed that Coker's stash of university medals was starting to get a bit out of control, and that was when I started a campaign to sort it out. I was successful in the Colquhouns sculling race earlier this year, but unfortunately couldn't quite pull it off today. We hit the grey barge relatively hard (he came out of nowhere (in the stationary sense) so I had no warning) in the Plough Reach which allowed Maggie to get back on distance. We then hit the little sign before the railway bridge pretty dramatically, forcing Phil to catch a boat-stopping crab. Not having been in that situation since I was a novice, I couldn't remember which way to turn his handle, so that took a while to sort out. This time Maggie were inside distance. We went a bit mental from the railway bridge, and won.
We were very keen to go under 10 minutes, and conditions were perfect, so I'm really sorry to the guys for cocking this up so badly. The clock on Tom's rate meter stops when he stops, and that timed us at 9:49, so we probably had it in us.
Fortunately we're all still here for another go next year, and Iain seemed amenable to the idea of setting it up to be stroke-steered. Someone lighter should also sit at bow.
P.S. I've just noticed that Tom submitted a report marginally before me, but I can't be bothered to remove the duplicated information.
We were very keen to go under 10 minutes, and conditions were perfect, so I'm really sorry to the guys for cocking this up so badly. The clock on Tom's rate meter stops when he stops, and that timed us at 9:49, so we probably had it in us.
Fortunately we're all still here for another go next year, and Iain seemed amenable to the idea of setting it up to be stroke-steered. Someone lighter should also sit at bow.
P.S. I've just noticed that Tom submitted a report marginally before me, but I can't be bothered to remove the duplicated information.
From Travisty:
"How hard is winning? My mantra is that every race is harder than the last, and it's never been more true. So let me begin a tale of sorrow and woe. In the first term we row in fours rather than eights. A boat half as big needs twice as much refinement and subtlety. It's a challenge, and many crews fall apart (or worse). At the start of November, the top colleges race in the coxless four, steered by a rower looking in the wrong direction. Trinity, naturally, has the only person in the university capable of doing this. The trouble was that Dan had spent his summer drinking and surfing rather than training, and had to be relegated to the second boat, a coxed four. So we got the charming and affable Bryn to do it. The preparation was careful, with much time spent distinguishing "left" from "right", andcalculating how to fit his unusually muscular physique into a narrow racing boat. The race itself is pretty simple: 2800 metres head to head with St John's. We'd established a lead of 5 seconds before finding out what Bryn had up his sleeve. Rejecting the usual convention of rowing in the middle of the river, he preferred to take short cuts through a 50 tonne barge and the railway bridge. The latter was more controversial, and resulted in a boat stopping crab, which left us firmly in second place with only 800m to go. The response was devastating, a lung busting sprint to the line at 37 strokes per minute. We won, but only only just. Dan's coxed four was more convincing, winning comfortably and stylishly. Celebration over, we were left to ponder the irony that swapping the two men would have made both boats faster.
- Tom Coker"![[by the webmaster]](/images/endpara.gif)
"How hard is winning? My mantra is that every race is harder than the last, and it's never been more true. So let me begin a tale of sorrow and woe. In the first term we row in fours rather than eights. A boat half as big needs twice as much refinement and subtlety. It's a challenge, and many crews fall apart (or worse). At the start of November, the top colleges race in the coxless four, steered by a rower looking in the wrong direction. Trinity, naturally, has the only person in the university capable of doing this. The trouble was that Dan had spent his summer drinking and surfing rather than training, and had to be relegated to the second boat, a coxed four. So we got the charming and affable Bryn to do it. The preparation was careful, with much time spent distinguishing "left" from "right", andcalculating how to fit his unusually muscular physique into a narrow racing boat. The race itself is pretty simple: 2800 metres head to head with St John's. We'd established a lead of 5 seconds before finding out what Bryn had up his sleeve. Rejecting the usual convention of rowing in the middle of the river, he preferred to take short cuts through a 50 tonne barge and the railway bridge. The latter was more controversial, and resulted in a boat stopping crab, which left us firmly in second place with only 800m to go. The response was devastating, a lung busting sprint to the line at 37 strokes per minute. We won, but only only just. Dan's coxed four was more convincing, winning comfortably and stylishly. Celebration over, we were left to ponder the irony that swapping the two men would have made both boats faster.
- Tom Coker"
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1. Out of Ditton roughl...
2. Bit of a mess 3. Not crashing [more...] |
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1st men's IV, 1st division
1st round
beat Trinity Hall easily
Time: 7:24
beat Trinity Hall easily
Time: 7:24
Solid result guys, first day nerves out of the way.
Scrappy start and uncertain first post reach. Bit more control around the corner though, and a late but aggressive push down the gut really lifted us.
Grassy was well taken, and we relished the big attacks on the plough. At this point we left Tit hall for dead, and were about 12 seconds up at the Plough. An uncharacteristic call for 'patience' by Ming made a big difference, and will give us a lot more today.
Wonderful conditions meant the reach was a delight (about 20 seconds up at the bottom) and it was a very comfortable row more than anything. The plan is to row like this from the settle against Peterhouse.
Catches need to come together to give us an extra two pips when we need them, and ye gads is there a lot left in the tank.
Grassy was well taken, and we relished the big attacks on the plough. At this point we left Tit hall for dead, and were about 12 seconds up at the Plough. An uncharacteristic call for 'patience' by Ming made a big difference, and will give us a lot more today.
Wonderful conditions meant the reach was a delight (about 20 seconds up at the bottom) and it was a very comfortable row more than anything. The plan is to row like this from the settle against Peterhouse.
Catches need to come together to give us an extra two pips when we need them, and ye gads is there a lot left in the tank.
The start was pretty well together but we failed to settle onto anything like a race rhythm before hitting first post corner. Luckily this wasnt critical as we were already pulling away. A fifteen stroke push in the gut got things moving and again the pushes down the Plough were agressive if not terribly tidy. Things really picked up on the reach - suddenly we found the power in the middle of the drive that we have been looking for all term and pushed out our lead to around 20 seconds. A satisfying start to the week.
Quarter finals
beat Peterhouse by 16s
Time: 7:36
beat Peterhouse by 16s
Time: 7:36
Job done. The crew really came together nicely today. The rate felt unforced and the row home was better then our usual paddling. Lot still to do though, and the first big test is tomorrow. Lets do it.
Semi finals
beat Downing by 10s
Time: 7:25
beat Downing by 10s
Time: 7:25
Some excellent practice starts saw us cruising around rate 40 with lots of length and control, which helped the nerves quite a bit (for some reason I was shaking yesterday at the boathouse... against Peterhouse...?! fine today though).
Good strong start, again going off in front and again careering through a strong outflow after the Motorway bridge. Downing really wanted it, and jacked the rate right up. Luckily we'd decided to do this too and the settle call was basically a power up. That said - eyes always in the boat, of course - one couldn't help but notice how close they looked as we slowed up for First Post!
Same pattern of pushes as before, but with Ming helpfully screaming at us to drive the legs down and accelerate in the second half it was feeling pretty beefy. And knackering - luckily Coker joined us on the reach and shouted incoherently which gave us the boost we needed.
They held on until the plough, but had front loaded the race and quickly died off after an appalling Ditton by their cox.
If anyone from LMBC read this, please don't pull very hard tomorrow as we're looking to taper before IVs head. Cheers and good luck!
Good strong start, again going off in front and again careering through a strong outflow after the Motorway bridge. Downing really wanted it, and jacked the rate right up. Luckily we'd decided to do this too and the settle call was basically a power up. That said - eyes always in the boat, of course - one couldn't help but notice how close they looked as we slowed up for First Post!
Same pattern of pushes as before, but with Ming helpfully screaming at us to drive the legs down and accelerate in the second half it was feeling pretty beefy. And knackering - luckily Coker joined us on the reach and shouted incoherently which gave us the boost we needed.
They held on until the plough, but had front loaded the race and quickly died off after an appalling Ditton by their cox.
If anyone from LMBC read this, please don't pull very hard tomorrow as we're looking to taper before IVs head. Cheers and good luck!
Well done guys. Another solid win and the times look promising. Looking forward to watching your final tomorrow (assuming I can make it to Cambridge in time).
Final
beat LMBC by 25s
Time: 7:21
beat LMBC by 25s
Time: 7:21
LMBC didn't allow us to taper, basically - see IVs Head results. I could have sworn the official result was 'easily' though.
1st women's IV, 1st division
1st round
beat Queens' by 11s
Time: 5:52
beat Queens' by 11s
Time: 5:52
Yay! Well done girls! Keep it up :o)
Well... we won :) Despite my new and exciting tactic of not actually having my blade in the water for the second and third draw strokes we managed to pick it up and ended up with a comfortable victory. Hopefully by tomorrow will have worked out the basic physics of rowing (always the damn physics!) and can have power AND some form of technique...
Quarter finals
lost to Emmanuel by 7s
Time: 6:04
lost to Emmanuel by 7s
Time: 6:04
This wasn't the best row we've ever done, but it was definitely better than yesterday (I even managed to put my blade in the water every stroke this time!) so at least we're heading in the right direction. It picked up after the railway bridge when we started to come back, but by that point the damage had been done and they held us off at about a length to top finish. However, they were by no means a lot better than us, and today was a useful learning curve that can only make us better in the future.
Disappointing result for today, but we didn't give it to them easily, and they are probably the best IV I've seen on the river this week. After a blade clash at the start they pulled away slowly for the first half of the reach, and we just couldn't get it back. We knew they were going to go off hard, and they stopped gaining any more after that, but the damage was done and we couldn't come back.
In the grand scheme of things, this was a chance to check that we're in the same ballpark as the other crews rather than the be-all-and-end-all, and what we have to take away from it is the fact that yesterday we were faster than everyone else, and today we rowed hard and made Emma work for it. So we're not the best IV? Doesn't mean we can't be the best VIII by Lents. We've just got to keep on working.
In the grand scheme of things, this was a chance to check that we're in the same ballpark as the other crews rather than the be-all-and-end-all, and what we have to take away from it is the fact that yesterday we were faster than everyone else, and today we rowed hard and made Emma work for it. So we're not the best IV? Doesn't mean we can't be the best VIII by Lents. We've just got to keep on working.
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1. rowing up
2. still rowing down 3. lining up [more...] |
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2nd men's IV, 2nd division
Quarter finals
beat Clare III by 39s
Time: 7:55
beat Clare III by 39s
Time: 7:55
Thanks to Igor for subbing in, and making this event (and win) possible for us.
The rowing was generally messy, not helped by being told 'go' while we were still sitting the boat at back stops. However, the words 'this is good, we'll bump them before grassy' helped to settle some nerves, and we found something similar to a rhythm as we approached first post corner. Unfortunately, we weren't actually allowed to bump them, and had to drop the rate four to avoid this on plough reach.
Coming round ditton, we took a nice wide line, and called the come-by. Clare now found some power, and our progress slowed slightly as tiredness set in. However, Clare had refused to let us change day to give us our full crew, and so we wanted the overtake. This made it a bit more fun, but our time might have suffered from this, but not as much as theirs did from hearing 'more clear water'.
Not a bad row, but plenty more to be found here.
The rowing was generally messy, not helped by being told 'go' while we were still sitting the boat at back stops. However, the words 'this is good, we'll bump them before grassy' helped to settle some nerves, and we found something similar to a rhythm as we approached first post corner. Unfortunately, we weren't actually allowed to bump them, and had to drop the rate four to avoid this on plough reach.
Coming round ditton, we took a nice wide line, and called the come-by. Clare now found some power, and our progress slowed slightly as tiredness set in. However, Clare had refused to let us change day to give us our full crew, and so we wanted the overtake. This made it a bit more fun, but our time might have suffered from this, but not as much as theirs did from hearing 'more clear water'.
Not a bad row, but plenty more to be found here.
Semi finals
beat Downing II by 5s
Time: 7:36
beat Downing II by 5s
Time: 7:36
Awesome race, ignoring the fact that I died and my rowing went to shit round Ditton.
We wound to 40 off the start which was a lot more relaxed than the 38 on the practice start because we were more in time and not using our backs in the first few strokes. We gained on them continously until Grassy, where we had made up 3 lengths. Then they pushed and held us off for a bit. With Ming and our definitely over-sized bank party yelling we were on station and had to move it now we tried to lift it out of Ditton but didn't get any closer. The wind to the finish gave us our final 1 1/2 lengths gain
In general, a bit unbalanced (my technique going to pots not helping). We kept the rate at 32 which was good. On the plus side only FaT1 and Downing 1 have managed to get a better time over the course during the week, not bad for a 2nd (actually 3rd) four.
We wound to 40 off the start which was a lot more relaxed than the 38 on the practice start because we were more in time and not using our backs in the first few strokes. We gained on them continously until Grassy, where we had made up 3 lengths. Then they pushed and held us off for a bit. With Ming and our definitely over-sized bank party yelling we were on station and had to move it now we tried to lift it out of Ditton but didn't get any closer. The wind to the finish gave us our final 1 1/2 lengths gain
In general, a bit unbalanced (my technique going to pots not helping). We kept the rate at 32 which was good. On the plus side only FaT1 and Downing 1 have managed to get a better time over the course during the week, not bad for a 2nd (actually 3rd) four.
Thanks to Sarah for subbing for this day.
This was a bit closer than we would have wanted, but both boats went much quicker than expected. We may also have been overconfident, and Christian refusal to tap down, and then dying, probably didn't help.
The start was splashy, but brought us up 3 lengths on them quickly. From here, they held us off, and a failure of a push in the gut didn't help. From here, I was told to take it up four, but wasn't really able to, and they edged away slightly.
As we came on to the reach the power came back up, and we nudged up slightly on them, and wound up for the final 200 to make sure of the result. Credit to Downing, they were much more difficult than we had expected, and they almost made us pay for it.
This was a bit closer than we would have wanted, but both boats went much quicker than expected. We may also have been overconfident, and Christian refusal to tap down, and then dying, probably didn't help.
The start was splashy, but brought us up 3 lengths on them quickly. From here, they held us off, and a failure of a push in the gut didn't help. From here, I was told to take it up four, but wasn't really able to, and they edged away slightly.
As we came on to the reach the power came back up, and we nudged up slightly on them, and wound up for the final 200 to make sure of the result. Credit to Downing, they were much more difficult than we had expected, and they almost made us pay for it.
Final
beat Churchill by 17s
Time: 7:24
beat Churchill by 17s
Time: 7:24
Ok what is really worrying about the time is that both John and I agreed it didn't feel as painful compared to yesterday and we were 12 seconds faster. I Guess rowing together, in time means you last longer and go faster. And me not dying as much probably helped.
Good race overall with Ming yelling at us most of the time to get the work on together. I wouldn't say that's exactly what happened but I think we got a lot closer to it than yesterday.
The push in the Gut actually worked with a big change in boatspeed. Most of the time we weren't sure how we were doing with respect to Churchill when the bank party didn't mention anything. Emma just mentioned the odd "we're still moving on them", and that kept us calm for a while again. Looking back at the finish line I saw Churchill about 1 length away so all was good in the end. It's a shame Emma didn't get to yell "Churchill, we're coming by now!!"
Good race overall with Ming yelling at us most of the time to get the work on together. I wouldn't say that's exactly what happened but I think we got a lot closer to it than yesterday.
The push in the Gut actually worked with a big change in boatspeed. Most of the time we weren't sure how we were doing with respect to Churchill when the bank party didn't mention anything. Emma just mentioned the odd "we're still moving on them", and that kept us calm for a while again. Looking back at the finish line I saw Churchill about 1 length away so all was good in the end. It's a shame Emma didn't get to yell "Churchill, we're coming by now!!"
We finally had everyone together, and the row down was much more relaxed as a result. The start was a good bit faster than the other days, and our settle was stronger than it had been. We gained ground steadily along first post reach, and managed to co-ordinate a push out of the corners, but they found previously unsuspected speed to hold us off, but we kept our technique and brought it up around ditton.
I started to wonder where they were, but support from the bank helped us keep everything together, and we had a partially successful attempt at a wind for the finish.
The time is slightly disappointing, as we'd thought we could beat the other four. However, with clean water, catching in time and timing the push for the finish better we could go a good bit quicker. We'll try to keep the crew together for winter head, and maybe for fairbairns too.
I started to wonder where they were, but support from the bank helped us keep everything together, and we had a partially successful attempt at a wind for the finish.
The time is slightly disappointing, as we'd thought we could beat the other four. However, with clean water, catching in time and timing the push for the finish better we could go a good bit quicker. We'll try to keep the crew together for winter head, and maybe for fairbairns too.
<h3><a name="selectedresults">Selected Results</a></h3><h4>Light Fours</h4><p><pre><b>Semi final</b> <b>FaT (10:11) beat Clare (10:48) by 37s</b> <b>Final</b> <b>FaT (10:00) beat LMBC (10:04) by 4s</b></pre></p><h4>Men's Coxed Fours</h4><p><pre><b>First round</b> <b>FaT (07:24) beat Trinity Hall ( - ) easily</b> Kings (07:55) beat Clare (08:11) by 16s <b>Quarter finals</b> LMBC (08:03) beat Emmanuel (08:17) by 14s <b>FaT (07:36) beat Peterhouse (07:52) by 16s</b> Downing (07:42) beat Christs II (08:04) by 22s Christs (07:45) beat Kings (07:55) by 10s <b>Semi finals</b> <b>FaT (07:25) beat Downing (07:35) by 10s</b> LMBC (07:47) beat Christs I (07:50) by 3s <b>Final</b> <b>FaT (07:21) beat LMBC (07:46) by 25s</b></pre></p><h4>Women's Coxed Fours</h4><p><pre><b>First round</b> Downing (05:54) beat Jesus (06:02) by 8s Christs (06:00) beat Magdalene (06:27) by 27s LMBC (06:08) beat CCAT ( - ) easily <b>FaT (05:52) beat Queens (06:03) by 11s</b> <b>Quarter finals</b> Downing (05:58) beat Caius (06:06) by 8s Clare (06:13) beat LMBC (06:19) by 6s <b>Emmanuel (05:57) beat FaT (06:04) by 7s</b> <b>Semi finals</b> Christs (05:54) beat Downing (06:05) by 11s Emmanuel (05:59) beat Clare (06:16) by 17s <b>Final</b> Christs (05:37) beat Emmanuel (05:44) by 7s</pre></p><h4>Men's 2nd Coxed Fours</h4><p><pre><b>First round</b> Churchill (07:58) beat Peterhouse II (08:10) by 12s <b>Quarter finals</b> Trinity Hall II (08:14) beat LMBC II (08:28) by 14s <b>FaT II (07:55) beat Clare III (08:34) by 39s</b> Downing II (07:49) beat Emmanuel II (07:53) by 4s <b>Semi finals</b> Churchill (07:59) beat Trinity Hall II (08:06) by 7s <b>FaT II (07:36) beat Downing II (07:41) by 5s</b> <b>Final</b> <b>FaT II (07:24) beat Churchill (07:41) by 17s</b></pre></p><h4>Women's 2nd Coxed Fours</h4><p><pre><b>Semi final</b> Jesus II (06:05) beat Downing II (06:27) by 22s <b>Final</b> Jesus II (05:57) beat Emmanuel II (06:25) by 28s</pre></p><div align="right"><font size="-1"><a href="#top">^ top</a></font></div><hr>
| Cambridge weather: | Monday | text or graph |
| Tuesday | text or graph | |
| Wednesday | text or graph | |
| Thursday | text or graph | |
| Friday | text or graph |
Links
Full University IVs results archive
