First and Third Trinity Boat Club
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The Club's Results

Novice Fairbairn Cup 2011

A 2700m timed head race on the Cam for Cambridge College novice VIIIs
Thu 1st December

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1st men's novice VIII, 1st division

3rd place out of 71 boats
Time: 10:02.2
3rd place!!! What more is there to say..awesome! (oh and christs, no you don't need extra 30 seconds next time you row behind us...) :D I WILL MISS ALL OF YOU!! (Flo)
That morning the weather was good and the crew were ready. We were glad that the starting point of the race was only a few strokes away from the boat house.
Seconds after the race started Sam's feet came off the straps to the crew's dismay, rather amazingly however Sam continued rowing for the entire fairbairn distance at full speed without his foot straps! and by doing so saving our race. Thanks Sam...
A rowing expert who was watching the race described our first half as "absolutely scorching", the technique and the commitment were in a state where the boat was flying effortlessly on the water. Yining did a great job steering around tricky corners and calling for a surge every time the crew got over excited.
The moment of truth came when we passed under the railway bridge. While most other crews look miserable at that point, Yimin pointed out that we looked relatively fresh. Not only that but our technique was again as good as the first half of the race at that point. The crew then gave it everything they had left to get to the end finishing at 3rd place overall, with only 2s behind Christ's.
"You looked like you could happily do another 500m!" said Yimin.
We came off the boat, and walked to the reach to cheer for NM2 and watch other boats crash into each other and also observe the exhausted rowers while they struggle to even move their blades in the air.
The paddling back to the boathouse was hilarious, the crew celebrated their upgrade into "seniors" by switching their positions in the boat, splashing each other with the blades and even attempting to revolt against Yining and take control of the boat!
This team is exactly how it should be and I am very glad to have been part of it. (Ahmad)

1. NM1 crew photo

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2nd men's novice VIII, 2nd division

19th, 2nd NM2
Time: 10:39
I thought this was our best row of the term. We set off at a high rate and managed to maintain it throughout the race. Although we had some bad strokes, we recovered quickly after each one. Miraculously, all of Titan's footplates stayed in place and only one velcro strap came undone. When we got to the reach Em called for more pressure, and I could hear several voices yelling to my right. I thought we had caught up with Pembroke NM 2 and were racing them to the finish -- which certainly would have happened if Em hadn't taken so long getting us straight at the start. After the horn I realized it was our very own NM 1 who were shouting encouragement from the bank. Thanks for the support guys! (Steven)

1. NM2 crew photo

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3rd men's novice VIII, 2nd division

1. NM3 crew photo

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1st women's novice VIII, 1st division

13th place out of 60 Boats
Time: 12:10.5
With a composed rolling start (amazing stationary rollup!) we were at rate within 10 strokes. Another up 2 got them to 29.5, which they maintained throughout the course with a few pushes in the middle and out of the corners to get it back up.
If Jack wasn't on the bank with me, I'd keep calling rate ups because of how composed and light the crew looked - have you ever heard a novice crew saying the boat didn't feel heavy and they were all working together?! And believe me, they were working.
Under the railway bridge, with Selwyin crew at a bumps distance, the rate spontaniously crept up with the pressure, and another push was needed to empty the tank in the last minute.
Katie was very professional with a sack of motivational calls while steering accurately.
Special credit to our hero Nina (Voight) who rowed injured and reminded me of Charlotte SP, having been replaced on the row back.
I cannot describe how happy we all were with this race, and rowing back with them was one of my enjoyable rows - with the rythm set by carols, the boat was sat and still moving among the dazzled crews. (Nina)

1. NW1 +3
2. NW1 crew photo

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4th men's novice VIII, 2nd division

1. NM4 crew photo

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2nd women's novice VIII, 2nd division

42nd, 14th Excluding NW1s
Time: 13:47.1
For a crew that had never rowed together before, this was a great row. The girls were mostly together, mostly in time and kept the power consistent throughout. Anglia Ruskin's first boat were behind us and although they caught up, the girls pushed them away and made sure they couldn't overtake!

Special mentions to Rozi for not crabbing until the very first stroke after the finish, and to Penelope for learning to row just one day before the race. Well done girls, you should all be proud. (Rebecca)
Ooooowwwww :( And coxing from the 2-seat just isn't quite the same.

But it was definitely worth it, if purely for the comedy value of yesterday afternoon, which involved Alex and I coxing from the bow and stroke seats of the tub and ignoring Jack; me (unnecessarily) diagonally sculling said tub whilst Jack tried to climb over me to help Alex put her seat back on, thereby nearly capsizing it; Aaron chasing down animals, talking some non-rowing nonsense at me and then telling me off for laughing at what he was saying; and me pushing the hardest in the NM5 Coastal during "race pace" pieces. As fun as they were, three hours to learn to row probably wasn't enough.

As for today, aside from my general spannering about, nearly catching three crabs and apparently catching early as well as not having finishes, this was a good row for an essentially scratch crew! Well done Ellie for staying so patient and keeping us relaxed all the way through, and thank you for the "Push for Penelope". Also, "AAANGEEER!!!" seemed to be a good call for this crew.

We should, however, learn some Christmas carols in their entirety. And to roar properly. (Penelope)
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