SCCBC - Captains' Reports HT2008

Women's Boat Club

Lucy Rowland, Women's Captain

This term started well with a number of the women's 1st viii attending a training camp at Oxford the week before term started. Unfortunately things went downhill from here; it started to rain and did not stop. This Isis flooded and several weeks of water time were lost. However the W 1 did not lose their determination, we kept up land training with relentless erg and gym sessions; at one point the squad even waded down the flooded towpath to reach the erg room for a session! It wasn't till the start of February that the flood waters subsided and the Isis opened again allowing W1 to continue training and W2 to start training. That same weekend the W1 and M1 had been lucky enough to go down to the tideway to train courtesy of Darren Chadwick and Imperial boat club. This really kick started our water sessions; the opportunity to row such a continuous stretch of river really gave the girls some invaluable experience. Following this W1 came back to Oxford and got back on the Isis. We entered the Isis winter league and got the second fastest time out of all women's crews entered. This gave us and our coach Rob Hollis a new found boost as the whole squad shifted their focus to the possibility of taking Torpids Headship from Oriel.

Alongside W1's training Alex Zdravkovic and Caz Woffindale had been making sure the women's second boat got as much experience as possible, in the couple of weeks leading up to Torpids. Finally Torpids arrived and we were ready for it. W1 bumped Queens on the first day and rowed over on the second. By the third we were ready to take Oriel, as we knew we were the faster boat. After a shaky start the crew managed to catch Oriel half way down the course, helped by the fact they took a racing line a little too close to the bank. On the last day Catz women were nervous; they knew they were one race away from achieving the ultimate goal in college rowing. At the start of the race Oriel pushed up on Catz but coming out of the gut Catz extended the gap to 1, followed by 2, then 3 until finally they finished the race nearly 4 boat lengths ahead of Oriel to take the title of Head of the River. W2 also had much to celebrate as despite an unfortunate crash resulting in a dramatic fall down the division they still managed to achieve a total of six bumps.

With Torpids over all eyes and training turned to summer eights and the possibility of crossed blades!!! The Women are hoping to enter 3 crews into summer eights and continue the successful path we have started on.

Men's Boat Club

Tim Monger-Godfrey, Men's Captain

The term started with a training camp in 0th week, with combined water sessions with the women?s squad, which was a great success. However, by the time the weekend came, the weather took a turn for the worse, and the river status went up to red flag. Unfortunately, it was to stay like this for several weeks, resulting in the training for the men?s squads moving to a land-based timetable.

We had organised a weekend training camp in London, which proved to be very beneficial for both the men and women's first squads, allowing us to get the water time that had been so sorely lacking up until that point. After that weekend, we were able to get out onto the Isis, and water-based training began (albeit still controlled by the rather erratic flag status) and both the men?s squads were able to gain the water experience needed to compete in Torpids.

By the time Torpids arrived, we were able to field two strong boats. The men?s second boat consisted of several novices, and combined with the very little water time, had an uphill battle. However, as soon as the racing started, the boat came together and put in an outstanding performance over the four days, which the results unfortunately do not reflect. The men?s first boat had been hit by injuries throughout the term, but we were able to field a very strong side when Torpids started. After four very hard days of racing, in which the crew improved throughout, we had climbed one place in the first division, finishing 5th overall, an absolutely outstanding performance among very tough competition from the other crews.

Torpids this year was one of the most successful in the Boat Club?s history which was a testament to the ability that the rowing squads possesses, with novice and senior rowers alike showing great commitment, development and skill throughout the term. With the rapid improvements shown by the crews as well as the extra depth which will join us over Trinity term, I am expecting the same success for Summer Eights. I have no doubt that we will be able to claim back the positions that were taken from us last year.