The Club's Results

Despite a panicky practice start, I was feeling pretty buzzed as we lined up on the start line. We were bigger than Caius, and we were rowing fairly well. Having done a couple of extra practice starts as we moved up the Reach, I was fairly happy that blades would be in the water for the first stroke.

I think we were probably faster than Caius. Certainly, we were 2 seats up when Lydia caught the first of her overhead crabs, about 10 strokes in. Sadly, these things happen, and we lost about 5/4 lengths recovering the situation. We did move back to a length down, and were moving through Caius, but Lydia caught another boat-stopper, and we crashed into the towpath bank. At this point, the race was over.

However, to the girls' credit, at no point did the power or rate drop off, even when they were 5 or 6 lengths down, and they gave a good account of themselves. I was proud to see that. With a lack of race experience, we can always expect mistakes to happen. I think the crew dealt with the issues that arose as well as they could, which is very pleasing.

On the face of it, this wasn't an ideal result going into Fairbairns, but perhaps there is a silver lining. We have at least had our shocking race of term. Next time when we line up, we are going to remain calm and in control, and we will try and beat Caius. I believe putting this result right should be the primary objective of the crew coming into Fairbairns, and hopefully we will use every stroke we take from now on to get closer to that goal. Come the dinner, I'll drink to that. (Sam)

Watching this race was one of the best moments of my Mich term. Despite challenging conditions, the crew committed from the start and kept hammering at Downing the entire race, finishing on their stern. Performing well in Novice Fairbairns doesn't happen by accident - this result is a gratifying sign of the work that's been done by this crew so far, and the potential to come in the next two terms.

Beautifully raced, ladies. Let's go get some blades in Lents (Alexa)

We came away from Clare Novices with only one goal in mind: an emphatic victory against Caius, who had bested us in the first round by several lengths. Whilst it was clear that all the girls shared this goal, it wasn't until they started racing that I really saw fire and aggression.

The crew attacked the first half of the race, and put together a fantastic first few minutes. By the time we came round Chesterton, the pain was obvious, but the drop in speed was minimal. Kudos.

The rowing wasn't always the prettiest, but the sheer commitment to the row, and the effort put in by every member of the crew made up for every bad moment of the term as an LBC. Every early morning was vindicated as we marched on up towards Downing's stern, finishing just one and a half lengths from them. Erin set a great rhythm, and every girl did everything they could to back her up down the course.

Seeing the girls respond to pushes despite the grimaces on their face was deeply rewarding. Telling the crew that we smashed Caius was also really fun. One member of the crew was a little down that 'my legs just stopped working halfway through', feeling that she let the side down a little. That her legs stopped working is very encouraging, and that she was disappointed with it is even more so. We'll fix the fitness, in time. It's important that this crew already has a racing mentality. Bring on Lents! (Sam)