Phil McCullough, Men's Captain
We started this term with our returning seniors, and a plentiful number of
committed novices. This gave us enough oarsmen to enter three boats, who had
varying levels of water time. Coming back to a winter wonderland made 0th week
outings a fun challenge. Soon enough, the Red flag came, and we turned to the
bane of our lives - ergs, runs and circuits.
The river cleared in time for Isis
Winter League D. To stop our returning coach, Rachel, going insane from lack of
water time, we entered the senior boat three times, in order to 'buy' three
pieces on the Isis on a Sunday. The crew posted some impressive times. The
second and third squads entered a composite boat and clocked an acceptable time
given their lack of experience.
Soon afterwards, we held our 2k selection test, and the boats took on a
definite form. The first boat took on two very powerful novices, Jeff Douglass
and Chris Rees, and Alex Sanders, a German with past high-level experience who
was now free of injury. Following a committed training plan, training on the
water 4 times a week, the boat soon picked up a lot of speed. Competition for
the second boat was also fierce, affording us the opportunity to choose the
boat and push it hard.
We sent the first boat to Dorney, and the crew looked very promising. However,
after one morning outing, Hugh Taylor
dislocated his shoulder while taking the boat
in, ruling him out of Torpids. We can only guess at his frustration, but know
he will be an asset when we return for Eights. Having lost our 6'5'' oarsmen,
reserve Felix van Litsenburg stepped up to the challenge, having trained
ruthlessly for several weeks in the hope of such an opportunity.
Rowing On arrived, with an ominously fast river. The thirds, to
whom I will be forever
apologetic for a lack of outings, put up a brave effort but didn't
qualify. Obviously, the weather Gods were furious with this result, raining
their fury over Oxford all of Saturday, putting racing at jeopardy. As a
result, the first day's racing was done in half divisions, and the second
allowed all fixed division boats except the lower half of Div 5 (housing M2) to
race. We didn't get to join the fun until Friday.
The Men's 1st Torpid racing on the Saturday.
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On Wednesday, Oriel gained on Catz early on, but the crew fought them off with
ease. Thoughts turned to catching Magdalen on Thursday. Having been slated from
the offset, the firsts showed the river they were a force to be reckoned with,
gaining overlap. However, our rivals evaded us. Friday brought a new sense of
determination and their best rowing of the term. How Magdalen got away from us
is something I am still unsure about, with our bow ball at hand's length away
from their stroke's rigger for at least 300m. Failing to get the bump was a
kick in the teeth for the crew, but more significantly, it offered no immunity
from a highly-tipped and fast-rising Balliol crew, who got Catz on the
Saturday. Despite going down one, the crew should be immensely proud of their
efforts. Even holding a spot in the upper half of Div 1 takes a tremendous
amount of work, and for their dedication, I am proud.
The Men's 2nd Torpid after racing.
Photo from Phil McCullough.
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The second boat managed to easily secure an overbump on Trinity. On Saturday,
still directly behind Wolfson, we were again going for the overbump on St
Anne's, a crew which, during training, we'd
managed to catch up in a IV. However, the
race got klaxoned after 45 seconds, when the top of the division were involved
in a massive pile-up. Due to two fixed crews above us not entering, we are now
three places higher compared to last year. Given the aims of climbing the
depths of the lower divisions, this is a result that is great for the club, and
is something that next year's crew can build upon.
I'd like to thank Jack Plummer for happily coxing crews under Amber flag, and
Anu for all his support, especially allowing us to swap Jack between both first
boats. I'd also like to thank Rachel for putting up with my constant moaning
and complaints for another term, and to the college who came down in their
masses to support us.
Next term our prospects include having a lightweight join us in the first boat,
a strong second boat with a chance to rectify last year's 'spoons' incident,
and seeing whether we can finally qualify M3 for racing.
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