The Club's Results
Lent Term 2017
1st women's VIII
Cambridge Head-2-Head (Lents 1st Division)
Pembroke Regatta (1st division)
Lent Bumps
Wednesday
Bumped Pembroke
Bumped Pembroke
We knew when we rowed down to station that Pembroke was much slower than us, and that Girton was about the same speed. The strategy was to "row like we do at practice", not do anything extravagant, and hope we get Pembroke.
We had lost to Girton by 1/4th of a length at Pembroke regatta, despite them being a bigger crew and having an advantage in the headwind, so we knew we had it in us to hold them.
We had lost to Girton by 1/4th of a length at Pembroke regatta, despite them being a bigger crew and having an advantage in the headwind, so we knew we had it in us to hold them.
That was the plan.
What actually happened: in the stress of the first day, Keval forgot to grab the bung when pushing off, and ended up pretending to have it in his hand while Sam was conspiculously throwing him the handle. We were all a bit unsettled when the canon went, but the first few stroke decent. We struggled to hit a rhythm, and some dodgy strokes before FP corner made us become a bit frantic. But Pembroke was having an even harder time, and Girton didn't seem to be moving much, so we just ... continued. Until we heard a whistle. We stayed for a while at two whistles, and then started moving on Pembroke again, faster, until we got continuous whistle just at the entrance of Grassy. I started to be able to see their canvas from the corner of my eyes, until I had to miss a stroke lest the loom of my blade pass through their stern, or their cox.
Keval had been steering for the bump, and ended up quite close to the inside of the corner, so it would seem that some people in the stern didn't know we had bumped, and thought we had hit a tree on the inside of Grassy. (We waited for Pembroke to get away, and had to clear, until we could celebrate properly).
Luckily, the bump happened just in front of a FaT contingent, with Imogen taking some video footage of our bump, and the confusion caused by Girton failing to clear the corner and parking on the outside of Grassy.
Luckily, the bump happened just in front of a FaT contingent, with Imogen taking some video footage of our bump, and the confusion caused by Girton failing to clear the corner and parking on the outside of Grassy.
Overall, a very promising result, and a great start for Queen Elizabeth I: first race, first bump! What's even better is that there is more speed to come!
Saturday
Bumped Christ's
Bumped Christ's
This crew wasn't meant to go up three. With four rowers fresh from their novice term, this term would surely be one of crafting victories from defeats, with a view to Mays and beyond. Thankfully, with four rowers fresh from their novice term, this crew didn't know that.
On Saturday, I joined the racing at Ditton: a headwind, and under a length (I guess) to Christ's. It was on. As on Friday, there was a good rhythm to the boat, bringing a deserved three whistles around the kink. Each move was emphatic; Christ's lost ground with every push, their responses only partially stymieing Lizzie's advance.
In the end, it looked easy: Christ's broke, and the women came into them strongly, forcing a clash of blades and an umpire's judgement of the bump under the Railway Bridge.
At this point, as an occasional coach of a successful crew, it is traditional to eulogise. That seems out of place here. This crew is just getting started, and I refuse to put a work in progress on a pedestal. Their virtue is to approach rowing with smiles on their faces and steel in their legs. As a result, with the guidance of Will McDermott and the leadership of the senior crew members, they are now one of the faster crews in the women's division. However, there's still plenty of physical and technical progress to be had, and I hope the crew is excited about that! Have a great time at WEHoRR - you'll be up against a lot more than 130 boats, but at least history's on your side.
Women's Head of the River Race (Novice VIIIs), WEHoRR W1
208th
Time: 22:03.7
Time: 22:03.7
First race on the Tideway for four of us, an exciting and wonderful experience. The race had a couple mishaps, with us hitting a buoy or two and then Frans gate breaking less than 2k down the course. She recovered the blade having at one point been balancing it in the air, and continued to row on regardless for the rest of the race. FaT W1 overtook three crews including kings W1 in the final 1000m of the race.
Links
Full 1st women's VIII results archive