Over the weekend, UBBC returned to the Tideway for the first time in two years. With Quintin Head being the first Tideway encounter for many of our athletes, there was much to learn. UBBC sent seven VIIIs to London, with crews consisting of our Open Club, Senior, Development and Novice members. Quintin Head was a great start to the year, and it was great to catch up with members of our alumni club, Nonesuch BC, after the race. Once again, we’d like to thank Quintin Boat Club for hosting us.
Results:
Men’s 1st VIII: 9th, Op Senior
Men’s 2nd VIII: 5th, Op Inter 1
Men’s 3rd VIII: 3rd, Op Inter 2
Men’s 4th VIII: 13th, Op Devel
Women’s 1st VIII: 6th, W Inter 1
Women’s 2nd VIII: 6th, W Devel
Women’s 3rd VIII: 10th, W Devel
“The Men’s 1st VIII had a promising first race for a relatively new combination. A well paced and disciplined effort saw us manage the conditions rather well. The crew will now focus on continuing to gel as a unit in order to unlock more cutting edge race speed.” – John Davies, Men’s 1st VIII, 7 seat.
“After weeks of good training for the 2nd 8, we were ready to have a go on the tideway, which many of us hadn’t rowed on in over 2 years. A prerace paddle among the waves chucked us right back in the deep end but prepared us well for the race ahead. Despite the many strengths and prowess of the 2nd 8, there are still a few sparsely placed weaknesses that lie within so preparation (including in the form of caffeine) was vital. We had a good start to the race, settling onto rhythm and started to hunt down a City of Bristol crew ahead pushing us along. Despite a slight decline in technique in the last 500m, we put in a good time placing only 17s behind the 1st 8, 5th in our category and 34th overall. An in-depth analysis and recovery post race, which might of including a few refreshing pints, identified our work ons to push on further and power out way up the rankings in coming races. Overall a good day of learning and racing from the 2V – expect more to come.” – Ben Giles, Men’s 2nd VIII, 3 seat.
“The Men’s 3rd VIII had a solid start to the head race season, coming 3rd place in their category and a respectable 53rd place overall out of 250 crews. The race was well executed and disciplined in its approach, with stroke man Tom M’Caw setting a solid long rhythm throughout the proceedings. Moving forward, the crew looks to build on the result, with the crew focus of the coming weeks on being more aggressive in the race and rating higher.” Will Stoner, Men’s 3rd VIII, 6 seat.
“Given that this crew had never rowed anywhere other than Saltford, the pre-paddle on The Tideway came as a bit of a shock. The water had some chop to it but as we discovered in the pub after the race, Matt Liddle had more of a chop on him. The fast-moving water majorly disrupted the balance of the boat, and enough crabs were caught to start up a seafood restaurant. Despite this, we set off at a steady pace and built significantly throughout the race, pushing the stroke rate higher than we were able to in training while maintaining solid form and decent synchronicity. Although there is plenty still to work on, there are so many positives to take away from the race, and the amount of progress that the boys and Jess have made in such a short space of time is something to be proud of.” – Finn Brown, Men’s 4th VIII, stroke seat.
“We went in to it with a good attitude and had a nice push in the middle of the race, managing to overtake the crew ahead. Sam did a great job of steering as well as trying to keep us rowing well right to the finish. This was a good learning experience for the crew and we are excited to work to improve our technical focuses on the lead up to WEHORR.” – Hannah Lawrie, Women’s 1st VIII, 6 seat.
“With no previous training sessions as a full crew, and no previous tideway experience, we went into the race excited but aware of the challenge ahead. We focused on sharp catches and rowing long, which combined with the high rate we maintained set us in good stead. Jess took aggressive lines which enabled us to row as efficiently as possible. Overall we are happy but there is much to work on ahead of WEHORR and we are excited about where we can push ourselves to.” – Eve Whittle, Women’s 2nd VIII, bow seat.
“After a couple last minute changes with the crew and boat we set off as the final boat of the day. The girls executed a strong start, quickly gaining on the crew prior to us. As a first experience on the tideway for all, we held our technique very well and battled alongside them, eventually becoming successful. After holding our pace, we picked up for a strong final sprint finish through Hammersmith bridge and over the line. Overall the day was a great learning experience, and gave us much hope and drive for improvement as we head further into the season.” – Amelia Hobbs, Women’s 3rd VIII, cox.
