The Club's Results
Fairbairn Cup 2008
A 4300m timed head race on the Cam for VIIIs
Fri 5th December
The official results published by the organisers, JCBC, can be found here. 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.
1st men's VIII, Senior VIIIs
1st
Time: 14:10.34
Time: 14:10.34
After rumours flying around all day it is nice that someone beat the oxford scum.
Very enjoyable row, very good performance. The aims of this term were to put down the solid ground work to build on in Lents and Mays. We focussed on developing long, powerful strokes after lots of bungee work. Just wait and see how fast we go once we start doing some speedwork...
Great thanks to Tom Rose and JPD who have done an awesome job coaching the men this term!
Great thanks to Tom Rose and JPD who have done an awesome job coaching the men this term!
I started training less than 3 weeks before the race, having done almost no rowing since Henley. Tendonitis set in after a few days, but luckily I was able to carry on with some technique modification (ie feathering with the outside hand) and lots of deep freeze gel. Even so, this wasn't anything like enough time to regain a sensible level of fitness, and I think the deficit accounts for the loss to CULRC 2.
Race preparation was minimal. We rowed a total of 3 minutes at race pace in training, half of which was the beginning of the Wallingford Head, before over-geared hell broke loose. I wasn't convinced that we could win the race at 32; it probably hasn't been done before. But this crew had more power and weight than finesse, so it worked a treat. It was a really good performance on the day, the crew definitely rowed to its potential.
The best thing is that there's a long way to go, improvement is much easier to find than it was last year.
Race preparation was minimal. We rowed a total of 3 minutes at race pace in training, half of which was the beginning of the Wallingford Head, before over-geared hell broke loose. I wasn't convinced that we could win the race at 32; it probably hasn't been done before. But this crew had more power and weight than finesse, so it worked a treat. It was a really good performance on the day, the crew definitely rowed to its potential.
The best thing is that there's a long way to go, improvement is much easier to find than it was last year.
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1. FaT M1 racing off
2. FaT M1 ready to start 3. Tom with his three y... [more...] |
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BPBC 1st men's VIII, Invitation VIIIs
1st Invitational crew - 9th overall
Time: 14:44.12
Time: 14:44.12
We could have gone 23 seconds slower.
Tradition dictates that BPBC don't practice so whilst we had had a couple of outings in IVs and even a cheeky 30 min yesterday in a VI, the crew had not rowed as an VIII until the actual start stroke. In fact I believe that stroke was the first I had even taken in the same boat as at least 1 crew member.
With RTT in the stroke seat the start was always going to be a sedate affair and we duly wound to 26 before a "get on with it" from the 6 seat took us up to a distinctly ungentlemanly 34 as we then settled into a surprisingly OK rhythm at 32ish. The row to Chesterton went quite well and as planned with reasonable length and acceleration but perhaps at an unsustainable physical cost. We managed to keep things going fairly well until the railway bridge where we had caught up a fair bit on the Hommers (17s according to the halfway times).
Giddy thoughts of a glorious overtake entered out minds but soon the pain re-took over and the wheels began to come a little loose. We managed to maintain the rating but with increasingly (and predictably) scrappy cohesion as lack of fitness and recent rowing experience began to show. The calls from Andy about gaining on the Hommers disappeared and it became more about making it to the finish OK (well, at least for me it did). The corners seemed to go quite well with a good line from Andy [no doubt helped a bit by a Bevan-memorial gentleman's agreement between me and Din - both of whom were still suffering from viruses] but that bit down First Post Reach and through the bridge seems to get longer with age - or maybe we were just going too slowly by then!
Anyway, results showed that after taking 17s off the Hommers to halfway we did manage another 6s in the second half so we obviously didn't blow up quite as much as it felt.
Only 5 real colleges (plus a Filth one) beat us so we were within our 1st target but sadly with a 33.78s (a tribute to Jesus' 100th of a second precision system) gap to FaT I we missed our other target of being within 30s. There didn't appear to be much alumni opposition so hopefully we've scared them off. Apparently this has actually been confirmed as the reason for Boars Head's absence. This is pleasing.
With RTT in the stroke seat the start was always going to be a sedate affair and we duly wound to 26 before a "get on with it" from the 6 seat took us up to a distinctly ungentlemanly 34 as we then settled into a surprisingly OK rhythm at 32ish. The row to Chesterton went quite well and as planned with reasonable length and acceleration but perhaps at an unsustainable physical cost. We managed to keep things going fairly well until the railway bridge where we had caught up a fair bit on the Hommers (17s according to the halfway times).
Giddy thoughts of a glorious overtake entered out minds but soon the pain re-took over and the wheels began to come a little loose. We managed to maintain the rating but with increasingly (and predictably) scrappy cohesion as lack of fitness and recent rowing experience began to show. The calls from Andy about gaining on the Hommers disappeared and it became more about making it to the finish OK (well, at least for me it did). The corners seemed to go quite well with a good line from Andy [no doubt helped a bit by a Bevan-memorial gentleman's agreement between me and Din - both of whom were still suffering from viruses] but that bit down First Post Reach and through the bridge seems to get longer with age - or maybe we were just going too slowly by then!
Anyway, results showed that after taking 17s off the Hommers to halfway we did manage another 6s in the second half so we obviously didn't blow up quite as much as it felt.
Only 5 real colleges (plus a Filth one) beat us so we were within our 1st target but sadly with a 33.78s (a tribute to Jesus' 100th of a second precision system) gap to FaT I we missed our other target of being within 30s. There didn't appear to be much alumni opposition so hopefully we've scared them off. Apparently this has actually been confirmed as the reason for Boars Head's absence. This is pleasing.
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1. Off they go
2. Discussing what star... 3. First stroke [more...] |
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2nd men's VIII, Senior VIIIs
3rd second VIII
Time: 16:06.28
Time: 16:06.28
This was a good committed row to finish off our brief spell together as a crew. It was a bit scrappy at times but there was no doubting the effort, particularly from Ming who almost died at the end.
All in all, 3rd 2nd VIII isn't a terrible result after 2 weeks of training. Bring on more banter next term!
All in all, 3rd 2nd VIII isn't a terrible result after 2 weeks of training. Bring on more banter next term!
Not bad, not bad at all, considering this crew had only two weeks to train and contained two novices at rowing. Very well done to Maggie II, they stormed the category but M2 should be confident for next term's racing as a less hastily fashioned FaT crew could dominate once again.
The row was a bit panicked at times, awesome at others, and just a bit random at others. But we all got really committed- even after a long nap I'm still feeling the pain- and we put as much pressure down as we possibly could.
I'm really really happy I got the chance to row with this crew, for me and Ming to transition to senior rowers here properly was just about the best way it could have been done: banterous, with massive weights and incredible tunes!
A big thankyou all the other crew members and the coaches who made it possible.
The row was a bit panicked at times, awesome at others, and just a bit random at others. But we all got really committed- even after a long nap I'm still feeling the pain- and we put as much pressure down as we possibly could.
I'm really really happy I got the chance to row with this crew, for me and Ming to transition to senior rowers here properly was just about the best way it could have been done: banterous, with massive weights and incredible tunes!
A big thankyou all the other crew members and the coaches who made it possible.
Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was winning. This was not it. I'd forgotten how much it hurts to lose a race. Forget the fact that, until two weeks ago, I'd never rowed before - it still hurts.
Still, there are a lot of positives to be taken from this race. As Charles says, this was a committed row and, despite the high intensity of work, the quality of the rowing was at least of the standard which we had trained at over the past few weeks.
In the middle of the race I was a bit upset by the fact that I couldn't put down as much power as I would have liked to because my forearms hurt so much. In the end, this was probably for the best as going any harder in the middle probably would have resulted in blowing up somewhere around grassy. Clearly more forearm guns are required in addition to technical pairs work.
Another positive was that losing reminded me of this video, which is definitely applicable under these circumstances: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1fmZmKsL5eE
Congratulations to the LMBC M2 crew who defeated us today. But we'll be back in black next term to set the record straight.
Note: Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was banter. This was some way towards realising that dream.
Still, there are a lot of positives to be taken from this race. As Charles says, this was a committed row and, despite the high intensity of work, the quality of the rowing was at least of the standard which we had trained at over the past few weeks.
In the middle of the race I was a bit upset by the fact that I couldn't put down as much power as I would have liked to because my forearms hurt so much. In the end, this was probably for the best as going any harder in the middle probably would have resulted in blowing up somewhere around grassy. Clearly more forearm guns are required in addition to technical pairs work.
Another positive was that losing reminded me of this video, which is definitely applicable under these circumstances: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1fmZmKsL5eE
Congratulations to the LMBC M2 crew who defeated us today. But we'll be back in black next term to set the record straight.
Note: Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was banter. This was some way towards realising that dream.
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1. M2
2. M2 |
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1st women's VIII, Senior VIIIs
5th
Time: 17:07.63
Time: 17:07.63
This was the first time that this crew rowed together in this order, mainly due to illness and injury and the formation of set crews only after Uni IVs.
We had decided beforehand that a result of 5th or 6th would be very good, and put us in a decent position to tackle Lent term. Our result of 5th shows that we really can go into Lent term with high hopes, and, with a solid set of training when we return I think we can have some really good, positive rowing.
Many, many thanks to Jon, Tom and Jenny - over the few weeks we had to train our outings improved significantly, and I doubt we would've gotten that result without their help and inspiration.
We had decided beforehand that a result of 5th or 6th would be very good, and put us in a decent position to tackle Lent term. Our result of 5th shows that we really can go into Lent term with high hopes, and, with a solid set of training when we return I think we can have some really good, positive rowing.
Many, many thanks to Jon, Tom and Jenny - over the few weeks we had to train our outings improved significantly, and I doubt we would've gotten that result without their help and inspiration.
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1. W1 Mich 08
2. Concentrated faces 3. Shot from Emma footb... [more...] |
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3rd men's VIII, NM1/NM2 Composite, Senior VIIIs
Time: 17:36.23
Between the scratch novice crew, the strokeman who'd barely rowed since May Bumps and the 20-30 second 'delay' around Chesterton this could have been a lot worse.
BPBC 2nd men's VIII, Invitation VIIIs
13th in Invitational VIIIs, 51st Overall
Time: 17:37.85
Time: 17:37.85
Fairly awful race. Maybe we should do some form of training before next year's.
Good grief.
2nd women's VIII, Senior VIIIs
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1. Women's 2nd VIII
2. Women's 2nd VIII |
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3rd women's VIII, (aka NW1), Senior VIIIs
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1. Women's 3rd VIII (NW1)
2. Women's 3rd VIII (NW1) |
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Selected Results
Men's Senior VIIIs
Pos Pos in class Crew Inv Time Diff Halfway Diff 1 CULRC 13:46.29 +0:00.0 06:54.46 +0:00.0 2 CULRC II 14:05.44 +0:19.15 07:01.24 +0:06.78 3 1 / 25 First and Third Trinity 14:10.34 +0:24.05 07:03.11 +0:08.65 4 2 / 25 Pembroke (OXF) 14:15.98 +0:29.69 07:06.16 +0:11.7 5 3 / 25 Caius 14:22.79 +0:36.5 07:09.16 +0:14.7 6 4 / 25 Downing 14:30.93 +0:44.64 07:12.91 +0:18.45 7 5 / 25 Lady Margaret 14:31.72 +0:45.43 07:16.69 +0:22.23 8 6 / 25 Jesus 14:38.85 +0:52.56 07:15.08 +0:20.62 9 1 / 12 Black Prince INV 14:44.12 +0:57.83 07:18.93 +0:24.47 10 7 / 25 Christ's 14:47.50 +1:01.21 07:23.63 +0:29.17 11 8 / 25 Emmanuel 14:53.44 +1:07.15 07:25.84 +0:31.38 12 9 / 25 Pembroke 14:54.54 +1:08.25 07:30.10 +0:35.64 13 10 / 25 Trinity Hall 15:04.14 +1:17.85 07:36.15 +0:41.69 14 11 / 25 Clare 15:05.95 +1:19.66 07:26.70 +0:32.24 15 12 / 25 Selwyn 15:06.71 +1:20.42 07:33.23 +0:38.77 16 13 / 25 Homerton 15:07.74 +1:21.45 07:35.03 +0:40.57 17 2 / 12 Emmanuel II INV 15:08.44 +1:22.15 07:28.86 +0:34.4 18 14 / 25 King's 15:13.54 +1:27.25 07:38.37 +0:43.91 19 1 / 14 Lady Margaret II 15:17.51 +1:31.22 07:36.91 +0:42.45 20 15 / 25 Churchill 15:20.10 +1:33.81 07:39.75 +0:45.29 21 16 / 25 Sidney Sussex 15:29.14 +1:42.85 07:43.30 +0:48.84 22 17 / 25 Corpus Christi 15:30.89 +1:44.6 07:42.00 +0:47.54 23 18 / 25 Girton 15:35.75 +1:49.46 07:46.91 +0:52.45 24 3 / 12 Crustaceans INV 15:38.39 +1:52.1 07:47.85 +0:53.39 25 19 / 25 Peterhouse 15:38.66 +1:52.37 07:53.32 +0:58.86 26 20 / 25 Darwin 15:40.73 +1:54.44 07:52.17 +0:57.71 27 21 / 25 Queen's 15:48.62 +2:02.33 07:50.98 +0:56.52 28 22 / 25 Robinson 15:52.97 +2:06.68 07:57.85 +1:03.39 29 4 / 12 Champion of the Thames INV 15:58.53 +2:12.24 08:02.36 +1:07.9 30 2 / 14 King's II 16:01.33 +2:15.04 08:06.16 +1:11.7 31 5 / 12 Wolfson INV 16:01.38 +2:15.09 07:54.40 +0:59.94 32 6 / 12 Leys School INV 16:05.44 +2:19.15 08:03.66 +1:09.2 33 3 / 14 First and Third Trinity II 16:06.28 +2:19.99 07:57.71 +1:03.25 34 1 / 3 Champion of the Thames II INV 16:10.59 +2:24.3 08:05.76 +1:11.3 35 4 / 14 Pembroke II 16:15.54 +2:29.25 08:11.47 +1:17.01 36 5 / 14 Clare II 16:19.27 +2:32.98 08:08.59 +1:14.13 37 7 / 12 Tabby INV 16:19.74 +2:33.45 08:06.42 +1:11.96 38 6 / 14 Girton II 16:22.20 +2:35.91 08:03.46 +1:09.0 39 1 / 2 Wolfson III 16:23.82 +2:37.53 08:14.52 +1:20.06 40 7 / 14 Wolfson II 16:24.95 +2:38.66 08:18.02 +1:23.56 41 8 / 12 St Radegund INV 16:29.97 +2:43.68 08:11.12 +1:16.66 42 8 / 14 Downing II 16:42.33 +2:56.04 08:09.18 +1:14.72 43 9 / 14 Magdalene II 16:43.04 +2:56.75 08:18.73 +1:24.27 44 10 / 14 Churchill II 16:44.66 +2:58.37 08:16.55 +1:22.09 45 11 / 14 Sidney Sussex II 16:45.20 +2:58.91 08:14.71 +1:20.25 46 9 / 12 Cross Keys INV 16:48.11 +3:01.82 08:19.89 +1:25.43 47 12 / 14 Anglia Ruskin II 16:48.48 +3:02.19 08:21.73 +1:27.27 48 10 / 12 Fitzwilliam II INV 17:08.52 +3:22.23 08:29.02 +1:34.56 49 11 / 12 Sidney Sussex III INV 17:15.07 +3:28.78 08:30.80 +1:36.34 50 13 / 14 Caius II 17:19.95 +3:33.66 08:35.00 +1:40.54 51 2 / 2 First and Third Trinity III 17:36.23 +3:49.94 09:01.46 +2:07 52 2 / 3 Black Prince II INV 17:37.85 +3:51.56 08:39.95 +1:45.49 53 23 / 25 Clare Hall 17:51.66 +4:05.37 08:55.72 +2:01.26 54 Leys School II 18:32.82 +4:46.53 09:13.60 +2:19.14 55 3 / 3 Crustaceans II INV 18:39.35 +4:53.06 09:16.85 +2:22.39 56 12 / 12 X-Press INV 19:05.11 +5:18.82 09:36.03 +2:41.57 57 24 / 25 Anglia Ruskin DNF 58 1 / 1 First and Third Trinity IV DNF 59 14 / 14 Darwin II DNS 60 25 / 25 Fitzwilliam DNS
Women's Senior VIIIs
Pos Pos in class Crew Inv Time Diff Halfway Diff 1 CUWBC II 15:55.88 +0:00.0 08:01.99 +0:00.0 2 CUWBC 16:15.58 +0:19.7 08:10.06 +0:08.07 3 CUWBC III 16:30.25 +0:34.37 08:06.51 +0:04.52 4 1 / 19 Jesus 16:37.61 +0:41.73 08:17.13 +0:15.14 5 2 / 19 Downing 16:39.95 +0:44.07 08:23.35 +0:21.36 6 3 / 19 Queen's 17:01.87 +1:05.99 08:27.39 +0:25.4 7 4 / 19 Christ's 17:03.78 +1:07.9 08:29.36 +0:27.37 8 5 / 19 First and Third Trinity 17:07.63 +1:11.75 08:31.01 +0:29.02 9 6 / 19 Emmanuel 17:13.18 +1:17.3 08:40.97 +0:38.98 10 1 / 4 Robinson INV 17:29.27 +1:33.39 08:44.10 +0:42.11 11 7 / 19 Sidney Sussex 17:33.68 +1:37.8 08:48.09 +0:46.1 12 8 / 19 Lady Margaret 17:37.05 +1:41.17 08:48.37 +0:46.38 13 2 / 4 King's INV 17:38.87 +1:42.99 08:44.60 +0:42.61 14 9 / 19 Trinity Hall 17:40.00 +1:44.12 08:47.08 +0:45.09 15 10 / 19 Hughes Hall/Lucy Cavendish 17:46.11 +1:50.23 08:49.83 +0:47.84 16 11 / 19 Churchill 17:51.58 +1:55.7 08:53.78 +0:51.79 17 12 / 19 Clare 17:59.76 +2:03.88 08:58.26 +0:56.27 18 13 / 19 Peterhouse 18:06.42 +2:10.54 09:02.57 +1:00.58 19 14 / 19 St Catharine's 18:18.48 +2:22.6 09:11.85 +1:09.86 20 15 / 19 Pembroke 18:20.28 +2:24.4 09:10.11 +1:08.12 21 1 / 5 Sidney Sussex II 18:21.39 +2:25.51 09:12.69 +1:10.7 22 3 / 4 Champion of the Thames INV 18:24.11 +2:28.23 09:15.69 +1:13.7 23 16 / 19 Fitzwilliam 18:27.65 +2:31.77 09:13.80 +1:11.81 24 17 / 19 Selwyn 18:29.09 +2:33.21 09:18.98 +1:16.99 25 4 / 4 Darwin INV 18:31.37 +2:35.49 09:18.10 +1:16.11 26 18 / 19 Anglia Ruskin 18:38.72 +2:42.84 09:16.05 +1:14.06 27 19 / 19 Corpus Christi 18:44.78 +2:48.9 09:22.74 +1:20.75 28 2 / 5 Jesus II 18:49.16 +2:53.28 09:22.35 +1:20.36 29 3 / 5 Clare II 19:01.58 +3:05.7 09:32.49 +1:30.5 30 4 / 5 First and Third Trinity II 19:18.55 +3:22.67 09:34.51 +1:32.52 31 5 / 5 Magdalene II 19:23.27 +3:27.39 09:49.57 +1:47.58 32 1 / 1 First and Third Trinity III 20:12.78 +4:16.9 10:11.41 +2:09.42
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