The Club's Results

Fairly pleased with the result, but not quite in the same league as the destruction of the opposition by Queen's men.

We were still 29 seconds off the fastest Women's crew.

More to do to be where we want to be. (Thomas)

Well done on the result! Looking forward to future races. (Mark)

Solid row, overtaking Nottingham Trent Uni on the way to victory in IM3.

Marshalling was very cold, but the crew had plenty of support from the bank, with Iain, JPD, Peter Summers and Myself cheering them on. (Thomas)

Good result. At the start we were all just too cold and miserable but got into a decent rhythm for the first half well. The strong middle 2min didn't happen quite well enough and it was a little without spark until we started chasing down Nottingham Trent. Overtaking them went well (we do respond well to a crew next to us) and after a wobbly 10 strokes we got on with it and got clear water. At this point I went for the last 2 min section which took 3:30 min as our race plan accounted for a 20min race(oops) but this way we got a really hard solid final section hoping to see that finish (why did they hide the signs in some bushes?!).
We have a good foundation to build on for WeHoRR. We need to get just a bit more consistent with the pressure and rhythm. But before that, bring on Pembroke Regatta and Bumps! (Sonya)

The gap was quickly opened over a Corpus crew, sadly well out of their depth racing a crew 30 places higher in bumps. It is a little silly that there is no system for ensuring smaller clubs get some decent races, making drawing one of the top few clubs a virtual guarantee of first round exit for a smaller one, unless you have a spectacular year. (Thomas)

A fairly neat New Hall (Murray Edwards) crew, having surprised us by beating a Queen's crew that looked good in paddling, held us close until about 400m gone, when they faded. They will do well come bumps. (Thomas)

A neater start ensured we were competitive throughout the race, and we pulled away coming into the railway bridge, lengthening out to a length clear water by the finish. (Thomas)

Delicious. (Mark)

Another fairly good start meant we were fairly competitive through the first part of the race, drawing away towards the finish. (Thomas)

Massive congratulations girls - fantastic to see. (Rich)

I've just got all emotional watching that. Very, very pleased for all you guys. Well done girls, absolutely fantastic :D (Lyns)

CONGRATULATIONS!!! BWWB :-) (and no, caps lock isn't on, I'm just excited and proud) (Jane)

Well done girls, most of you've seen my footage already but here it is edited and with an apropriate soundtrack, part of a work in progress montage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF10l686sJM

just watched that back, its a bit cack, the version I have on my computer is much better, will find a way of getting the good one on youtube (Aaron)

Good work. I think a competition with M1 for largest finishing margin is in order. (RTT)

FaT W1 - Back Where We Belong :oD Well done!! (Erica)

Trivial. And you lost me a pint :(. Oh well, well done :). (Swords)

Delicious.

I was watching in the Gut and at Grassy. I thought you'd have had them just comingout of Grassy but they put in a do-or-die push to hold you to Ditton. The same place they got us last year. Good luck for the next 3 races!

P.S. Just found a video of the bump http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78OLDaQNfOg

P.P.S. I was told this year's W1 got Emma earlier than Emma got us last year, contrary to what I wrote earlier. I apologise to Julijana for this mistake. (Mark)

Get in!! (Neil T)

FAB :- D congratulations girls, see you tomorrow! (Charlotte)

Amazing, well done! Wish I'd been there to see it. (JPD)

I may be a rather impatient person....but this was one hell of a bump worth waiting for! (Rachel Overington)

Well done girls! (Mark)

Rowed well until the bump behind was inevitable, about the exit of grassy, then rowed fairly poorly over the rest of the course, saving a little for tomorrow.

Hopefully a little pressure tomorrow will bring out the best of FaT W1. (Thomas)

Unstoppable!! (Alex)

Well Downing gave it some welly but you seemed to take it all comfortably. Downing got some dubious "bullsh*t" whistles on the Reach but never could improve further on a small gain from a massive push. (Mark)

Massive :D. Major congrats! (Tsunami)

HUGE congratulations!! And very well deserved. (Jane)

Held Downing on station to Ditton, with a push out of Ditton beginning the move away, and increasing the distance until the finish line was crossed. 19 seconds was the final margin. (Thomas)

What a finale to my college Bumps career! After lots of issues with nerves meant that we started into the week signifacantly below our usual performance, we gradually found back to our rowing and improved from day to day. On the last day, we finally showed spectators and opposition why 'Head of the River' is really the only position we can be in this term!

The first stroke was still a bit nervous but already during the 'build'-strokes it became obvious that there was nothing to worry about at all. Downing had announced that they would treat this as a 'race to the Plough', giving it all off the start and sprinting for us, but they never got anywhere near us. We found our rhythm, pushed through the corners and down the gut, and flew down Plough reach, carried by the cheers of the crowd. Coming out of Ditton, we did our usual push onto the reach and started walking away. The sight of Downing fading into the distance between Ditton and the kink will stay in my mind as one of the sweetest rowing memories ever!

From then on, it was really only about how much margin we could put between us and them. Our bankparty called 3 1/2 lengths coming under the railway bridge, and we gradually extended that to 4 lengths on the finish line.

All that is left is to say a heartfelt thank you to my crew and the coaches. I have never enjoyed rowing as much as in the last two terms. I've never before been part of a crew with such an amazing crew spirit, where the feeling of belonging together and trusting each other extends far beyond the boathouse! Thanks to all of you! Rowing with you guys is a pure pleasure!

And thanks to Sonya for being our 'brain', our motivation and simply the most amazing cox we could possibly have!

Massive thanks to Tom for uncounted hours at the river, for carrying huge amounts of kit while cycling like crazy, for offering your place for crew pasta again and again, and for organising all and everything around us so smoothly that we never had to worry about anything and could totally focus on our rowing. This would not have been possible without your commitment to captaincy!

Finally, our deepest thanks go to the coaches that forged us into the fastest women's college crew currently on the Cam. JPD, who came down from London so often that we gained the impression he'd moved to Cambridge, and who even came out to Ely to see us sparring with CUW. And Iain. Having you back, believing in us, giving us confidence and sharing your experience with us meant more than I can describe with words. Your smile at the finish line was the sweetest reward after every race, better than any pot or medal in the world could be! Thanks for every early morning this term, for every Saturday you came to see us race, for coming all the way to Peterborough and Ely with us! This is your headship as much as ours. (Ulrike)

Fuck yeah. I called this before we got Emma on day 1, and a few times on day 4 walking away from Downing. It really sums it up. Total Domination! (Watching Bring it on was indeed great pre-race preparation :))

Since Fairbairns everyone knew FaT W1 are coming to get the headship and we were determined to not only stay head but do so with a great margin. On day 4 I have to say we executed this race plan to perfection.

Repeating what was said at the dinner, I want to thank Tom for being a great Captain, JPD and Neil for putting so much hope and effort into us and Iain for always making rowing seem so simple.

A thanks to all who carried the boat with me and Natasha on it. I know we are heavy but it was an amazing experience!!

And finally, thanks to all my girls. I love you all! (Sonya)

Reaching the top is hard and staying there is harder, but getting there again after slipping back is probably the hardest of all - just ask the England rugby team. This Headship was the culmination not just of two terms' rowing but of 18 months' effort since the women's boat club suffered its second huge turnover of personnel in two summers, and as well as those that others have mentioned enormous thanks and congratulations are due to last year's 1st Lent VIII for having bumped back to second on the river, and in particular to Liz for having steered the club brilliantly through a challenging year, making this year's domination possible. Much better conditions than on Friday allowed the girls to show their true standard: Downing barely took any distance off the start and were annihilated on the Reach, with the margin at least three lengths coming into the Railway Bridge and around four by the finish. Canada might 'own the podium' but First and Third, complete with all-star Canadian imports (if not Tom Coker's lycra this time round), own the river. Well done girls - legends one and all. (Neil T)

Having listened to my recording from the race and looked all the photos, I have to say I still don't know what exactly happened that we had such a terrible bladeclash (which with no doubt ranks as the most scary moment of my two years of coxing). Had I known that the crew I am overtaking would simply refuse to do even the slightest concession of the line despite being on the inside of the bend and us having the right of way anyway, I might have done things differently, but that is the advantage of hindsight. At least they got a penalty for impeding us..
As it is, we had a fairly good result even with having to stop rowing twice, to the entertainment of the crowds on Hammersmith. However, it would have been really nice to actually be able to compare ourselves with the rest of the field but we will have to wait for regatta season for that. (also, well done to Pembroke who must have had a great race!) (Sonya)