The Club's Results

I think we hit about 38 off the start, with lots of energy - a good improvement over previous outings where it had felt a bit uncomfortable. The rhythm felt under control for the first 2k; perhaps we could have been bolder, but we had not yet practised any longer pieces. Into the middle section of the race we grew more confident and it felt like we were maintaining length well. An excellent push off the railway bridge gave us a pretty solid Reach. Going through the corners did not go as well - we weren't as well drilled on corners as is usual so the instability and increasing fatigue threw us off a bit. Successive rate winds on First Post Reach didn't particularly increase our speed, but as I said afterwards: if you cross the line faster than your average speed then you've paced it badly. Some confusion about where the finish was may have cost us a second or two but not much. Looking back at photos of us rowing it's clear we have a long way to go technically - on the flipside this means we are nowhere near our maximum potential speed. With the number of senior men going on training camp we have a great opportunity to work on this.

Interestingly we came in the same position (20th) as last year. Last year we were rowing in a fixed crew since early November with around 4 outings a week, including several practice pieces over longer distances. So to manage the same result in what was our third outing is quite promising. We are certainly a much fitter squad than last year and with a large number of people returning next term we will be in a stronger position. The attitude towards training in the top of the squad has been one of the best I've seen. There are a lot of people in contention for M1 next term - probably almost two boats' worth. This has already brought up a very competitive atmosphere and I'm looking forward to see what people bring out the bag in a month's time for 2ks and seat racing.