RUBC clean up at BUSA Sprints Regatta

For the first time this year, BUSA decided to run a separate sprints regatta, at the Cotswold Water Park. Due to windy conditions the course was not buoyed making the promised 4 lane racing impossible, and leaving crews to do a 450m time trial instead. However, RUBC took this in their stride and went on to do very well at the event.

The first race of the day was the Women’s Novice coxed 4, and the crew of Ally Metcalfe, Megan Singleton, Jenni Norrington and Vicky Tomalin, coxed by Clare Carver had an excellent couple of races and won the silver medal – the first time RUBC has medalled in a BUSA novice event in a very long time. Racing straight after were the Men’s Novice coxed 4, of Sam Gourley, Martin Barratt, David Crutchley and Joe Hopkins, coxed by Rhiannon Jones. Despite a good effort, the boys were slightly disappointed by their 9th place finish.

Next up were the single sculls. Firstly Laura Lelievre, racing both in the Women’s Lightweight and Champ category, finished 5th in Lightweight (though just 3 seconds behind the winner), and took the Bronze medal in the Champ category. Next up was Bruce Simpson, taking Gold in the Men’s Lightweight category, then Peter Charij taking Silver in the Men’s Champ category, and finally Rory Parsons, taking the Gold in the Men’s Junior category.
Next came the coxed 4 events. First up were the Women’s Champ coxed 4, of Vicky Tomalin, Jenny Collins, Jenny Cogger and Lucy Powell, coxed by Clare Carver. The girls raced really well and were pleased with the Bronze medal they achieved, against some very tough crews.

Both the men’s crews had excellent results in the 4s, firstly David Ewart, Chris Carew, Fred Hay and Sam Waterson, coxed by Rhiannon Jones, took the Gold in the Champ event, then the Junior crew of Ed Birrell, Alex Dabell, Simon Barbour and Max Humphreys, coxed by Clare Carver followed in their footsteps to win their event.

The next crew RUBC had racing were Bruce Simpson and Rory Parsons, in both the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls and the Men’s Champ Double Sculls. The boys rowed really well and won the Gold medal in both events. Next up were the women’s sculls, with Jenny Cogger and Jenny Collins winning the Silver medal in the Champ event, and Lucy Powell and Vicky Tomalin winning Bronze in the Junior event.

For some, the most anticipated event of the day was next – Champ 8s. RUBC fielded the strong crew (including 5 freshers) which did well at 8s head last month – Sam Waterson, Simon Barbour, Ed Birrell, Fred Hay, David Ewart, Chris Carew, Max Humphreys and John Preston, coxed by Rhiannon Jones, in the brand new Filippi boat recently purchased by the club. The crew had an excellent race, and won the Gold medal, a second ahead of Bristol and 2 seconds ahead of Imperial College. This is the first time Reading have won Champ 8s, so a truly excellent result for the boys.

The last races of the day were the quads. First up were the Men’s Lightweight Quad. After a last minute diet to make the required weight, the crew of Rory Parsons, Bruce Simpson, Maurits Van Heijst and Charlie Dorling were unlucky to finish 4th, just one second off the Bronze medal. However, this is not a bad result for some inexperienced race rowers. Next came three Gold medals in quick succession. Firstly the Women’s Champ Quad of Vicky Tomalin, Jenny Collins, Jenny Cogger and Lucy Powell finished joint first with a very strong crew from Imperial College, then the Women’s Junior Quad of Ally Metcalfe, Megan Singleton, Jenni Norrington and Laura Lelievre beat UWE by just 0.2 seconds to win. The final race of the day was the Men’s Champ Quad. Here a very strong crew of John Preston, David Ewart, Andy Derbyshire and Chris Carew beat Nottingham by over a second to take the Gold medal.

Special mentions go to Alex Dabell who won a Junior Gold medal just 9 months after joining the sport, and to Vicky Tomalin who also medalled in all 4 events she entered (including 2 champ), less than a year after starting.
Final medal haul: 10 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze. Total BUSA points – 155. This more than doubles Reading’s total BUSA points to 295, moving us from 19th to 6th overall in the country.

Best Ever Results For Club At HoRR

On Saturday 15 March, Reading University Boat Club sent two men’s eights to compete at the climax of the winter rowing season, the Eight’s Head of the River, in London. Raced on the Oxford-Cambridge boat race course, but in reverse, the race attracts 420 entries per year, including top international crews from Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Hungary, and Germany. At 4.5 miles, the course is the ultimate test of strength and endurance, and usually a good measure for who will be doing well at the BUSA Sprints and Main Regatta, to be held in late April and early May respectively; and Henley Royal Regatta in early July.

This year, Reading were without their international oarsmen, due to GB trials for the Olympics. The first eight, starting 27th, clearly had a big task on its hands to hold its own. The crew of John Preston, Rory Parsons, Chris Carew, David Ewart, Fred Hay, Ed Birrell, Simon Barbour and Sam Waterson, coxed by Rhiannon Jones, put in the row of their life to finish 24th. In a measure of how close the race was at the top end, had the Reading crew been 1.5 seconds quicker, they would have finished 16th. This result, amongst international standard crews, was an exceptional performance, and the crew was second in the Halliday Trophy for university eights, beaten only by an Oxford Brookes crew which had Under 23 internationals on board.

This was a Record-equalling result for Reading, who finished 24th in the 1986 season. Then, the result set the club up for its first and only win at Henley Royal Regatta, in the Visitors Challenge Cup for Coxless Fours. This year, with the Brookes crew that beat them ineligible for the Student Eights event at Henley, there is a genuine belief that the Reading Student Eight can carry the flag for GB and take the fight to the Americans for a coveted Henley Medal. In a measure of how much the crew stepped up on the day, they overturned a deficit of 15 seconds at the BUSA Head to beat Bristol’s top eight by 4 seconds, and put a massive 13 seconds between themselves and Newcastle, who had squeezed Reading out of the Bronze at BUSA.

The boat club also entered a second eight, which continued the record-setting day by achieving by far and away the best result a Reading second eight has ever achieved, placing 72nd out of 420. The crew was a mixture of associate members and students, and the first chance for a few of the ‘Sporting Giants’ – talent identified for rowing at the London 2012 Olympics who are being developed at Reading, to race. The crew of Robin Dowell, Brad Whale, Brad Topps, Alex Walker, Bruce Simpson,  Ben Johnson, Oliver Campbell and Alisdair Stuart, coxed by Mary Mclachlan made a big jump from a starting position of 192, and set Reading up very strongly for next year.

To put these results in perspective, when the third year members of the boat club were freshers, the university’s top eight had finished in the 160s, with the second boat limping home 402nd after an equipment failure. To go from this to achieving a 24th and a 72nd place is a fantastic achievement and shows that the boat club is really stepping up to challenge at the highest level. The men would also like to thank Radley College, who leant RUBC one of their boats, ensuring that both eights could use top class equipment.

The club now looks forward to bringing home more valuable BUSA points and medals at the Sprint Regatta, held near Bristol on April 20th, and the main regatta 2 weeks later in Strathclyde, running from 2nd-5th May. Following exams, they will be regrouping for the final assault on Henley Women’s Regatta, Henley Royal Regatta, and the National Rowing Championships of Great Britain. Reading’s GB internationals look forward to the Olympic regatta in August, with the men’s scullers attempting to qualify a quadruple scull at the last chance qualification regatta in Poznan, in late June.

47th For Girls at WeHoRR

RUBC had just one crew entered in to this event, and the girls were starting off 5th after last years impressive result so the pressure was on! The crew consisted of Jenny Cogger, Nikki Brown, Olivia Carnegie-Brown, Nikki Godbold, Jenny Collins, Mary Liston, Lucy Powell and Vicky Tomalin, coxed by Clare Carver. The girls got off to a fantastic start, and managed to hold off the Cambridge University women’s blue boat until the Eyot. Unfortunately they were then passed by very strong crews from UL and Durham University in quick succession. However, the girls kept cool heads, and after a dodgy patch just after Hammersmith bridge, got back in to their rhythm and held off Furnival until the finish. The girls were slightly disappointed by their 47th  place overall, but they came 8th in S3, and such a result is a massive step on from 2 years ago, with plenty to build on for next year.

Winter Racing Roundup

Kingston Head

Racing over a 5km stretch the week before the men’s head were the first 8, hoping to equal their win from last year. The crew consisted of David Ewart, John Preston, Robin Dowell, Chris Carew, Ed Birrell, Fred Hay, Sam Waterson and Simon Barbour, coxed by Rhiannon Jones. Due to wind and a “safety” launch going down before the start, conditions were not ideal. However, the boys got a good result, winning the S2 category and posting the 3rd fastest time of the day, just 11seconds behind Molesey BC, who won the event.

Also racing were two S4 4+. The first one, James Ellis, Luke Levitt, Alex Dabell and Sam Gourley, coxed by Jules Caudwell, managed to hold off a strong crew from Brunel University for most of the course, finally being overtaken in the last 1k. The second crew, Charlie Dorling, Martin Barratt, David Crutchley and Ben Geary, coxed by Chris Deeks, had a good row and enjoyed their second ever race.

Due to illness in the women’s squad, the WS3 4+ had to scratch, but the WS4 4+ achieved an excellent result. The crew of Laura Lelievre, Ally Metcalfe, Megan Singleton and Jenni Norrington coxed by Clare Carver shot away from their competitors from Kingston RC and won the event in a time of 21 minutes flat. A fantastic result and a first win for Megan and Jenni!

BUSA Head

Tired after theprevious days racing, the 6am start was not overly popular. However, the first division got some good results for RUBC. The men’s champ coxed 4, Simon Barbour, Ed Birrell, Sam Waterson and Max Humphreys, coxed by Rhiannon Jones had an excellent race and claimed the bronze medal. The women’s champ 8, of Lucy Powell, Vicky Tomalin, Jenny Collins, Jenny Cogger, Ally Metcalfe, Laura Lelievre, Megan Singleton and Mary Liston coxed by Clare Carver, got off to a good start overtaking Zargreb University (Croatia), but had a slight altercation with Durham due to a bent fin. The girls finished 5th out of 15, a huge improvement on last year’s result for them. The men’s squad had also entered two champ quads, the first one, John Preston, David Ewart, Chris Carew and John Preston finishing 5th and the second, Ollie Wilkinson, Bruce Simpson, Rory Parsons and Luke Levitt finishing 8th after an altercation with one of the bridges.

The third division was slightly delayed, but some excellent results here too. The men’s champ 8 of David Ewart, Simon Barbour, Max Humphreys, Ed Birrell, Chris Carew, Fred Hay, Sam Waterson and John Preston, coxed by Rhiannon Jones finished an impressive 4th in the event, an excellent achievement. The girls champ 4, Lucy Powell, Jenny Cogger, Jenny Collins and Vicky Tomalin, coxed by Clare Carver, had an excellent race and also finished 4th overall, a great result for them. Also racing were the women’s champ quad, Mary Liston, Maria Gerelle, Laura Lelievre and Ally Metcalfe, who finished 7th in the event.

Reading University Head of the River

Due to flooding last year, this event has not run since 2006, and the whole club were looking forward to competing in their own event. Organising an event for nearly 200 crews is possibly not the ideal race preparation, but all the members of RUBC stepped up on the day. The first division saw the new line up in the S2 8o of David Ewart , Simon Barbour, Ed Birrell, Fred Hay, Max Humphreys, Luke Levitt, Sam Waterson and Alex Walker, coxed by Rhiannon Jones race. The boys felt it was not their best race as they finished 9th in S2, but were looking forward to BUSA head the next day to prove themselves.
Also racing in the first division was the S4 8o, containing many novices racing for the first time. The crew was James Ellis, Sam Gourley, Alex Dabell, Maurits van Heijst, Joe Hopkins Rich Oliver, George Todrick and Sotiris Voulgarakis, coxed by Amanda Becker raced well and beat a number of more experienced crews from other clubs. The third crew entered for the 1st division was the WS3 8o. This crew consisted of Jenny Collins, Maria Gerelle, Jenny Cogger, Vicky Tomalin, Lucy Powell, Ally Metcalfe, Megan Singleton and Laura Lelievre, coxed by Clare Carver. The girls had a reasonable race and finished a respectable 5th in S3.

The second division saw only two crews from RUBC entered. First the novice men racing as a crew for the first time – Alex Dabell, Sam Gourley, Joe Hopkins, Maurits van Heijst, David Crutchley, Martin Barratt, Ros Nobile, and Charlie Dorling, coxed by Chris Deeks. The boys had a good race considering it was the first day of racing for almost all of them!The second RUBC crew was WS4 8o. This crew was Lucy Powell, Vicky Tomalin, Jenny Collins, Ally Metcalfe, Megan Singleton, Jenni Norrington, Kat Shepherdson and Steph Lyons, coxed by Clare Carver. The girls had an excellent race and were pleased with their 3rd place finish.

Also racing were the mighty Ortner BC, this year a strong crew of Ian Ringer, Mark Symons, Jono Radcliffe, James Waters, Tom Grange, Will Robbins, Joe Prewitt and Philip Longstaff, coxed by RUBCs Rhiannon Jones. The crew managed an excellent result in the tough S1 category, beating crews from clubs such as Henley RC and Reading RC.

As soon as racing was over, the club members were clearing up and getting ready for the long drive to Nottingham ready to compete in BUSA head the next day.

Thames Valley Trial Head

With the first racing opportunity since BUSA in December and a bright sunny day forecast, RUBC were looking forward to this 1900m time trial at Dorney lake. The first division saw the first eight, David Ewart, Bruce Simpson, Max Humphreys, Simon Barbour, Ed Birrell, Andy Derbyshire, Sam Waterson and Rory Parsons, coxed by Rhiannon Jones win the event and post the fastest time of the day. The girls squad entered an open coxed 4, of Jenny Collins, Nikki Brown, Laura Hunter-Smith and Jenny Cogger, coxed by Amanda Becker (in her first race), which also won their event. Due to lack of competition, the women’s quad of Laura Lelievre, Lucy Powell, Ally Metcalfe and Vicky Tomalin was racing for time only, but they had a good row and posted a good time.

Racing in the second division were a S3 4x of Rory Parsons, David Ewart, Andy Derbyshire and Bruce Simpson, again with no competition, but they boys sculled well to post the 3rd fastest time of the day, only beaten by RUBC’s 8 from the first division and a Veteran F crew with an adjusted time. Winning the open coxed 4 event by 6 seconds were Simon Barbour, Ed Birrell, Sam Waterson and Max Humphreys, coxed by Rhiannon Jones. The second division also had the novice girls racing in WS3 4+. The crew of Megan Singleton, Jess Lee, Stephanie Lyons and Jenni Norrington, coxed by Clare Carver finished a very respectable 6th out of 11 S3 crews – not bad for a novice crew in their first race!

The third division saw RUBC enter just one boat, a women’s S3 8. The crew of Jenny Collins, Nikki Brown, Jenny Cogger, Vicky Tomalin, Laura Hunter-Smith, Ally Metcalfe, Lucy Powell and Laura Lelievre, coxed by Clare Carver, had an excellent race and not only won the WS3 event but also beat all the open 8s as well, including a strong crew from Marlow Rowing Club, and posted the fastest women’s 8 time of the day. All in all a successful day’s racing for RUBC!

BUSA Small Boats Report - 03/12/2007

Reading University Boat Club continued its outstanding start to the season by picking up four silver medals at the recent British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) Small Boats Head competition in Nottingham. On a lovely winter's day, 135 boats took to the water. With RUBC's current and future international rowers away at a special camp preparing for the upcoming international trials, it was left to some of the club's other top rowers to help warm-up the hands of the spectators lining the banks of the River Trent.

In the Coxless Fours, the University claimed silver in both the Championship Men's Heavyweight and Lightweight divisions. The heavyweight crew finished just eight seconds behind the winners, a very strong team from Imperial College, London. The lightweight crew ended up just 0.8 seconds behind a Durham crew containing three Great Britain Under 23 international rowers, a terrific effort. Unfortunately RUBC were held up when passing other boats, otherwise they may have claimed an unlikely victory.

In another fantastic finish, the club were second in the Men's Heavyweight Double Scull. This result was made even more special as Reading were forced to enter a crew from the lightweight division. To win silver when competing against much bigger and stronger opposition was truly a remarkable effort.RUBC's final silver medal came courtesy of fresher Laura Lelivre in the Lightweight Women's Sculls. This was another outstanding performance from such an inexperienced ra ce rower. The crew competing in the Women's Coxless Fours were unfortunately denied a bronze medal when a team from Durham crashed into them, the tangle costing them about 30 seconds.

"I'm extremely proud of the club's start to the season," said RUBC Director of Rowing Will Rand. "With our top rowers away, this was a real opportunity for others to gain valuable racing experience and their performances were simply astonishing. These results also earned Reading valuable BUSA points, so these athletes are a credit to the club and the University as a whole."

Head of the River Fours – 3/11/07

An early start today was made better by the bright sunshine and lack of wind – perhaps a repeat of 8s head wasn’t on the cards? RUBC had a record number of 8 crews entered into the fours head this year – 3 more than last year. Due to illness amongst the men there were a few last minute crew changes, but nothing RUBC couldn’t handle! First off was the Elite Men’s Quad, defending their 3rd place finish in the event from last year. The crew of Alex Gregory, Bill Lucas, Dan Ritchie and fresher John Preston successfully defended their place and finished 3rd overall, behind TSS and Leander. Next was the S1 4x of Alex Walker, Rory Parsons, Bruce Simpson and Peter Charij, who finished an impressive 29th overall – meaning RUBC had 2 crews inside the top 30 for the first time. Going off 104th were the S1 4-, Phil Turnham, Brad Whale, Robin Dowell and Chris Carew. Unfortunately due to rudder issues, the boys did not have their best race, and finished 77th overall, 6th in their event.

The 4th boat was the Women’s Elite Quad – Tash Page, Anna Bebington, Laura Greenhalgh and Hester Goodsell. The girls finished 75th overall, 4th in their boat class. Next off were the newly formed S2 4-, now Sam Waterson, Simon Barbour, Ed Birrell and David Ewart. The boys felt they had raced well and were slightly disappointed with a 6th place finish, behind experienced Tideway clubs, and 95th overall (although they later discovered they had been given a questionable time penalty, without which they would have finished 81st).

The Womens Senior 3 Four - www.rowphoto.co.uk

Next up were the S3 4+ – and illness saw an old face back for this one! Mark Symons, Ollie Wilkinson, Brad Topps and Luke Levitt, coxed by Rhiannon Jones had equipment issues and therefore started slightly late – however finishing 234th overall was a reasonable result for a scratch crew.

The 7th boat to start were the WS2x, going off first in their category after last year’s win. The girls finished 9th in a huge event of 39 boats, very respectable for a crew with so outings together before the race.

Last but not least were the women’s S3 4+, Jenny Collins, Phili Cuss, Lucy Powell and Maria Gerelle, coxed by Clare Carver. Going off a mighty 484th, the girls had a long wait on the water. They got off to a reasonable start and managed to over take one crew and catch up with another, but did not row their best overall. They finished 9th in their event and 407th overall.

Upper Thames Small Boats Head – 28/10/07

A 3.3km upstream race, held the weekend before the Fours Head in London, this event was the perfect opportunity to test the crews racing there, as well as allowing some freshers and old faces to race too. In the first division the newly coxless four of David Ewart, Simon Barbour, Ed Birrell and Rory Parsons were racing above their status in S1. They did well to pass Henley RC’s 2nd boat, but unfortunately got pushed out in to the stream in doing so, meaning they lost to Henley’s first boat by 3 seconds to take 2nd place in the event. Also racing were the S3 4+ racing next week, Sam Waterson, Ollie Wilkinson, Brad Topps and Peter Charij, coxed by Rhiannon Jones. They overtook two boats on the way up the course and finished an impressive 3rd in a very strong event. Also racing in this category were a new comination of Sotirios Voulgarakis, Luke Levitt, Rich Oliver and James Ellis, coxed by Clare Carver. The crew got off to a good start chasing and catching up with the other Reading crew – unfortunately out of Temple Island they went in to the headwind and the others shot off! Overall they finished 7th out of 14, a good result for them. The girls had also put out two doubles in WS3 – freshers Laura Lelievre and Vicky Tomalin finished 3rd with Maria Gerelle and Lucy Powell just a few seconds behind them in 4th place.

The second division saw Dave, Simon, Ed and Rory racing again, this time in S2 4-. This time round the boys rowed much more efficiently and won the category, so big congratulations to them! Racing for the first time were also the girls WS3 quad, of Jenny Cogger, Jo Lyons, Nikki Brown and Laura Hunter-Smith. The girls finished 3rd, only beaten by UL and the Oxford Uni Lightweights, and only losing out on first place by 4 seconds, so a good start for the year for them. Also racing in preparation for 4s head were the WS3 4+, Jenny Collins, Phili Cuss, Lucy Powell and Maria Gerelle, coxed by Clare Carver. The girls raced well, overtaking two crews including Oxford Uni Lightweights, and were pleased with their 7th place out of 15. Most of the crews racing now look forward to next weekend on the Tideway!

Left the Mens winning Senior 2 coxless four - www.rowphoto.co.uk

Reading Small Boats Head Report– 08/10/07

This event, held on our own water, was the first chance to race this year, and the line up included a few freshers. The first division saw RUBC put out two boats. The first was a women’s S3 4+ (Jenny Collins, Phili Cuss, Lucy Powell and fresher Laura
Lelievre, coxed by Clare Carver). The girls were a scratch crew and got off to a good start, overtaking 3 crews within the 1st 500 metres! Unfortunately the draw set them off behind juniors, and as they approached the gut they were just a foot behind a quad, meaning they then had to slow down to prevent overtaking. The time lost here meant they finished 15 seconds behind their nearest competition, but the girls felt that they’d had a good row and it was worth the race! Simon Barbour entered in a novice single and raced well (through a lot of wash from a “safety” launch) to finish 3rd out of 10 in the event, an excellent result for him.

A total of 4 boats were entered in the second division. Firstly, a S2 4+ with Ed Birrell, Simon Barbour, and freshers Luke Levitt and Sam Waterson (coxed by Rhiannon Jones). Again started off behind juniors, Rhiannon had a lot of weaving to do! The crew had a good row and were unlucky to finish 2nd by 7 seconds in what was possibly the slower of the two divisions. Rory Parsons and Bruce Simpson entered an Elite Double, their only competition being the guys from AK who’d won the pairs head a week before and Hampton School. The guys beat Hampton by 30 seconds but unfortunately could not catch the AK double, and lost by 14 seconds. Peter Charij bravely decided he wanted to race Elite in his single, but due to illness he did not row his best and was unlucky to finish 3rd. The girls had also entered a S1 quad in preparation for 4s head next month. Despite only actually being S3, the girls sculled very well and managed to finish 2nd, beating Surrey University by over a minute! A fantastic race girls.

Summer racing success for Reading – 28/08/07

Kingston Regatta was the first of what the men’s senior squad hoped would be many summer regattas that RUBC would succeed at. A composite S28+ with Curlew Rowing Club, combined RUBC’s Dave Ewart, Rory Parsons, Ed Birrell, Simon Barbour, with Lee McAuliffe, Matthew Ayers (ex RUBC), Joel Kowalski and Graham Everitt from Curlew RC, coxed by Clare Carver. In the first round the boys beat Cygnet RC easily, going on to meet Vesta’s 1st 8 in the final. Thinking this was going to be a very tough race, the scratch crew pulled out all the stops and went on to beat them by 2 lengths in the fastest time of the day. Arguably the best part of the day however was receiving the prizes – as it was Kingston Regatta’s 150th Anniversary they were giving away 3 pint pots, certainly something worth racing for! Thanks to Ed Birrell for organising the crew.

Unfortunately due to very heavy rain and flooding over the summer months, Bewdley, Staines, and Henley Town & Visitors Regatta were all cancelled, meaning a slight lull in racing. The next provincial regatta RUBC targeted was therefore the mighty Gloucester-Bristol-Ross, held over the August Bank Holiday weekend. At Gloucester (confusingly held at Ross) on the Saturday, RUBC put out a S24+ (Ed Birrell, Simon Barbour, Ian Ringer and Rory Parsons, coxed by Rhiannon Jones) however, comig up against Worcester RC’s Brit 4+ from Henley and getting off to a terrible start they went out in the first round, leaving them with nothing to do but drink for two days.. Not to worry – the S24+ was racing again and this time had had a practice outing. They beat Llandaff in the first round, Monmouth (controversially coxed by RUBC’s Clare Carver) in the second round and went on to beat a good crew from Hereford in the final.

Monday morning at Ross saw Simon, Rory and Ed racing in a composite 8 with Ross RC and Tyne RC, coxed and organised by Rhiannon, leading off the start, but unluckily Simon’s seat broke meaning he had to stop rowing for 20 strokes in order to sort it out, and the crew lost

Reading Reach Henley final – 08/07/07

The University of Reading Boat Club's (RUBC) fantastic fantastic year continued with a superb squad performance at the recent internationally renowned Henley Royal Regatta. A record 27 RUBC members raced during this prestigious annual sporting weekend, all doing the University proud.At the Henley Women's Regatta, held a week before the Royal Regatta, the club had two stunning victories. Atlanta StJohn rowed extremely well to win the top single scull prize, and Jo Lyons completed the double with victory in the senior single scull event. This meant that RUBC came away with both of the women's heavyweight single trophies, confirming the development of the wealth of talent within the ladies squad.

After that fabulous effort it was time for the men to 'paddle' up. The club managed to qualify three crews for this year's Henley Royal Regatta, a magnificent showing, and no crew disappointed. In the men's student coxed 4's event, RUBC was represented by a crew who amazingly had only started rowing at the University nine months earlier, and although they were knocked out by a strong crew from Queens University, Belfast, their pre-qualification for the regatta put them in the top 16 student coxed 4's in the country. For such an inexperienced four this was a superb achievement and racing at Henley provided them with invaluable experience.

With a warm-up win at Reading Regatta and a 3rd place finish at the Marlow International Regatta, the men's student 8's crew arrived at Henley on top form. This was confirmed with a first class performance in beating Edinburgh University's top crew in the opening round. Unfortunately, waiting in the wings the next day were a University of California crew containing heavy weight internationals but although beaten, RUBC showed tremendous character racing against such mighty opposition.

The club also entered a crew into the elite coxless 4's. Formed three weeks prior to the regatta they turned in an amazing result by reaching the final! Sadly they were unable to overcome a team from the famous Leander club, but the journey there saw them beat a very strong crew from Imperial College and another vastly experienced team made up of members from Oxford University & Molesey Rowing Club.

"Henley was once again a huge success for the club," said RUBC Director of Rowing Will Rand. "It's great to see the women having such a fantastic year on the water. The ladies squad continues to go from strength to strength.

"For the men's student coxed 4's just to qualify for Henley after taking up the sport so recently, shows immense dedication and preparation, traits RUBC is proud to be recognized for. When you consider that only one member of the student 8's crew graduates this year, the 2008 men's squad is going to be exceptionally strong. Congratulations to all those RUBC members who competed at Henley this year." For information about the University of Reading Boat Club contact Will Rand, Director of Rowing on 07989 972 594 or email w.rand@reading.ac.uk

The Prince Albert Challenge Trophy(The men's student coxed 4's event)
Ed Jackson, John Kough, Rich Oliver, Josh Lockwood - coxed by Clare Carver

The Temple Challenge Trophy (The men's student 8's event)
David Ewart, Bruce Simpson, Ed Birelle, Chris Carew, Peter Charij, Simon Barbour, James Waters, Rory Parsons – coxed by Julia Cauldwell.Visitors

Visitors Challenge Cup (Elite coxless 4's)
Phil Turnham, Brad Whale, Robin Dowell and Will Rand

Wins for RUBC at Reading Regatta – 18/06/07

On Saturday racing two coxed fours the mens squad saw the scratch S34+ of Bruce Simpson, Robin Dowell, Simon Barbour and Peter Charij, coxed by Clare Carver, beating AK, Kingston RC and Twickenham’s Britannia Cup 4+ in the final to win the event. The S24+ made up of David Ewart, Rory Parsons, Ed Birrell and James Waters, coxed by Rhiannon Jones, beat Bristol University by 2 lengths in the 1st round, but unfortunately were edged out on the line by a very strong crew from Imperial College in the 2nd round.

Peter Charij and Bruce Simpson also raced the S2 double sculls beating two good crews on the way to the final and despite having already raced 6 times before the final, managed to beat Rhodes University by a length and a half to win the event. Brad Whale and Phil Turnham entered the elite pair they trained in all winter, but got off to a bad start, and despite recovering to come back well were knocked out by Rhodes University (USA) in the first round.

The senior girl’s squad put out the 4+ that they are sending to Women’s Henley this year, a crew made up of Nikki Brown, Laura Hunter-Smith, Nikki Godwold and Phili Cuss, coxed by Robyn Inglis. They won their first round against University College Dublin, but were knocked out by in the next round. The other girls raced a S3 quad, made up of Lucy Powell, Ali Metcalfe, Jenny Collins and Hannah Clews. They won their first round against Headington School, but unfortunately they too went out in the 2nd round. Nevertheless, the girls did very well, especially Lucy and Ali who had only been sculling for 2 months!

One of the most exciting races of the day came from the novice 8, (Rob Till, Dave Crooks, Rob Benson, Ollie Wilkinson, Brad Topps, George Knuff, George Todrick and Matt Purchace, coxed by Rhiannon Jones) due to crews scratching, they didn’t have to race until the semi final, where they beat Eton College convincingly. In the final they faced Kingston Grammar School, but again managed to beat them by 4 lengths, meaning that they are no longer novices - congratulations boys!

Sundays racing saw the Temple 8 for HRR get their first real test racing as a crew. In the first round the S28+ (Dave Ewart, Bruce Simpson, Ed Birrell, Chris Carew, James Waters, Simon Barbour, Peter Charij and Rory Parsons, coxed by Julia Caudwell) had to race Reading Rowing Club’s first 8. It was always going to be an exciting race, and thankfully RUBC won, meaning that they also win the Phoenix Trophy for the 2nd year in a row (poor winter weather meant it was never raced for during the head season). The boys then went on to beat University College Dublin, and Bedford School in the final, winning by 2.5 lengths.

The Novice 4+ g their first race together (Ed Jackson, John Kough, Rich Oliver and Josh Lockwood, coxed by Emma Howell-Matthes) beat Twickenham RC easily in the first round, despite a couple of mishaps, and were unlucky to be knocked out by a more experienced crew from Southampton University in the 2nd round. Jo Lyons raced in her single scull in the women’s S1x event and beat Athalie Redwood-Brown from RRC in a straight final. RUBC also fielded a S24- made up of Phil Turnham, Brad Whale, Robin Dowell and Will Rand on the Sunday, who beat two other crews before beating AK Rowing Club easily in the final.

Reading Novices win Ortner Challenge – 07/06/07

A good warm up to summer racing for the novice squad, this is the annual event where they race Ortner (the RUBC old boys) pits fitness against experience. Due to the novices regular stroke-man Ed Jackson being away, not-quite-novice Ed Birrell kindly agreed to stroke the novice crew consisting of Ollie Wilkinson, John Kough, Josh Lockwood, George Knuff, George Todrick, Rich Oliver and Dave Crooks coxed by Claire Carver. Unfortunately due to a member of the crew dropping out at the last minute, the supremely confident Ortner crew decided to race with 7 men – Dave Read, Ian Ringer, Mark Symonds, Will Langton, Will Rand, Jonny Hobgen and Con Sullivan, coxed by the traitorous Rhiannon Jones. Having watched both crews practice jumping the start, the umpires informed them they would be starting as soon as aligned, then blew a whistle. The novices were taken unawares by the Ortner crews lightning start…however within the first 200metres the novices extra man began to count pulled back and went on to win by a length. Once off the water it was time to enjoy the BBQ and beers to celebrate ex-President Becky Campbell’s 21st birthday.

RUBC perform at the MET - 04/06/07

Reading University put in some good performances at this year’s MET regatta at a time when university exams were still interrupting the summer racing season. Lauren Fisher won the women’s Elite quad sculls title on both days by considerable margins, in a composite with Nottingham Rowing Club. Atlanta St John finished fourth in Women’s Elite singles on both days and picked up a win in the Senior one category.

RUBC also entered an elite coxless four which put in a solid performance to finish fifth on the Saturday in their final, beating the likes of London Rowing club and the University of Ireland. On the Sunday they just missed out on qualifying for the final, a crab in the first 500m saw them down on the rest of the field, but they rowed strongly to put themselves back in contention. Unfortunately they missed a finals place by less than 0.2 of a second.

More crews were entered on the Sunday, including two fours and a women’s coxed four. The men’s senior 2 four qualified for the final but men’s captain Dave Ewart came down ill before the final, meaning a sub was needed. They raced well to finish fifth overall beating the likes of Oxford Brookes and Vesta Rowing Club. The development four were racing in the senior 3 event and again reached the final, they finished a creditable fourth just missing out on third to Strathclyde University, again by less than a second.

The girls were racing in senior 2 coxed fours, in preparation for the upcoming Women’s Henley in a few weeks. They performed well in their heat beating the likes of Oxford Brookes and Marlow amongst others but just lost out in the semis on a final qualifying place. They were unfortunately in the faster semi as their time would have qualified them in the other semi-final. All the squads are now preparing for their upcoming respective Henley’s over the next two months.

RUBC strike gold at BUSA Regatta - 08/05/07

On the May bank holiday weekend, around 40 RUBC athletes headed to the BUSA Championship Regatta for three days of 2000 metre racing. The weekend was a fantastic success and Reading returned with a fantastic haul of medals.

Saturday saw some really strong results, with the Men’s Championship Coxed Four achieving gold without even having to push for the finish in a very competitive field. The senior girls raced in the coxless four event, where they picked up an excellent third place behind GB Under-23 crews from Durham and Oxford Brookes. GB Under-23 athlete Bill Lucas won the Men’s Championship Singles, at a canter and the novice men put in a very promising performance in novice eights, reaching the Semi-Final, against many much more experienced crews. This was a round better than the previous year’s intake, and is very promising for the future. Fresher Pete Charij achieved a fourth place in the Men’s Junior Single, proving himself to be one to watch for the future. Alongside the ecstasy of such fantastic results, the first day also bought agony for the Lightweight Men’s Double of Bruce Simpson and Rory Parsons. Leading in the final of their event, Rory’s right hand blade snapped, leaving Bruce to row the dejected pair in at the back of the field. They would be back for revenge however on Sunday.

Sunday dawned with a stiff headwind, which didn’t deter Reading from impressing hugely in all the events they entered. The Men cleaned up in quad sculls, winning both Championship and Junior events by a country mile, the Championship quad included Sam Townsend, who has been selected for the Great Britain Men’s Quad Scull for the forth coming season. There was success for the women’s quad sculls, achieving a Silver medal in the Championship event, and just missing the medals with a fourth place in Junior quads. The junior crew consisted of the new novices who had only started in October, so it was a fantastic result for them. The afternoon saw the sprint races over 500m, which Reading also returned from with several medals. The Junior quad crew from the morning made the step up to Championship level for the sprint events, which they won comfortably, and the girls completed their collection of medals by adding Gold in their quad sculls event to the silver and bronze medals they had won earlier in the weekend. James Waters achieved a bronze in the Sprint Sculls, just edging a photo finish for the final medal place.

Monday’s racing again provided more valuable silverware for Reading. Sam Townsend and Bill Lucas proved easily too strong for the rest of the field in the Men’s Championship Double scull, winning by a huge margin – they had got their boat out of the water at the landing stage by the time the third placed crew crossed the finish line! Bruce Simpson made amends for the equipment failure in the double with a fantastic silver medal in Lightweight Championship Single Sculls. The weekends results put Reading second overall on BUSA points won, behind only Durham. This was an exceptionally good result considering Reading’s entry was much smaller than other universities such as Durham and London. Special mentions must go to Men’s Captain David Ewart, winner of three gold medals, and GB Athlete Tash Page, who in her final year won the full compliment of medals with the women’s squad.

Club President Simon Barbour was still thrilled with the results – “the entry this year was decided on a quality rather than quantity basis, and it definitely paid off, with fantastic performances from all levels of the squad. GB athlete to novice rower, all our members put in fantastic performances, and I’m proud to have been president in such a fantastic year”.

Overall Medal Results:
7 Gold
2 Silver
2 Bronze

Reading win Senior 2 Eights at Kingston Head - 26/03/07

RUBC 7th at Womens Head of the River - 17/03/07

Women’s squad put in a fantastic performance to finish 7th overall, even though they started down at 121st. Skilfully weaving their way through the slower crews, this saw them beat the likes of other universities such as Cambridge, London and Durham. They also took on the might of some of the top clubs in the country successfully beating them. Another promising note was that they were only 0.5 seconds off beating Oxford University for the University pennant, and finished third overall in the S2 event. This is the best performance at the WHoRR for RUBC’s Women squad ever, beat strong competition from such top clubs as Thames, Cambridge University, Durham University, UL and Wallingford., which highlights the fantastic efforts put in by all throughout the season. The BUSA regatta in May will hopefully see the Women bring back a haul of medals.

Crew: Tash Page, Anna Bebington, Lauren Fisher, Laura Hunter-Smith, Claire Abbey, Nikki Brown, Jenny Collins and Nikki Godbold. Coxed by Robyn Inglis.

Mens Squad win Team of the Year at Sports Federation Dinner - 14/03/07

The annual University Sports Fedaration Dinner and Awards were held this week celebrating the Sporting achievements of the Universities Sports teams. A table of Boat Club members were present to receive the 'Team of the Year' award for the Senior Mens Squads achievements over the past 12 months, a fitting reward for all of the hard training put in by everybody.

BUSA Head Report - 25/02/07

Now the largest student race in Europe, RUBC travelled up to the River Trent in Nottingham, to compete at the BUSA Head of the River. Thankfully last year’s awful conditions did not repeat themselves; a very quick stream was the only thing facing competitors, which actually helped to break some course records.

RUBC entered seven boats into the event which had attracted almost 50 universities from around the country, all with the aim of winning some valuable BUSA points. The club came away with two medals- silver in the Women’s Championship coxed fours and a bronze in the Men’s Championship Quads. The Women’s four had had only two previous outings before the race, and were only beaten by Southampton who are the reigning European Uni champions. The Men’s quad containing three first years’ also raced well to come home in third beating the likes of Durham and Nottingham on their way. The Men’s Champ coxed four were disappointed in their result of 4th place but still managed to beat 34 other crews in their event. The development squad were also racing in this event, and despite falling in off the landing stage raced well to finish 14th overall, beating many other Unis’ A crews.

RUBC also fielded four eights, with the Championship 8+ coming home in equal 8th out of 21 crews. In their first race the Novice men’s eight came home in 10th place out of a big field of 34 and the Junior 8+ finished in 12th place. The Women’s squad also entered an eight in the Championship event, and even though for some it was their first ever race they rowed well to come 12th. The club now looks forward to our own race- Reading Uni Head of the River Race on the 10th of March, where RUBC will come up against some of the top clubs in the country.

Pictures available at www.naturesimages.co.uk

Results at: www.busa.org.uk

December Great Britain Squad Trials- 16/12/06

RUBC travelled back up to Boston, Lincs. for the second time this year to compete at the national time trials, held over 5km. Many have had great starts to the season and were hoping to impress yet again against other top competition from around the country. The club had seven heavyweight men racing and all put in fantastic efforts to finish within the top thirty. The best result was from Alex Gregory who finished 4th overall, but who was closely followed home by Bill Lucas, Sam Townsend and Dan Ritchie, who finished 5th, 6th and 9th overall. These places also mean RUBC have three of the top U23’s for this season so far. Brad Whale, Graham Benton and Phil Turnham also raced well to qualify for the next stages of the national trials. Three lightweight men also competed coming home in 33rd, 35th and 46th respectively. James Waters RUBC’s top lightweight, also came home as the 10th fastest U23.

RUBC also had four of its women’s squad competing, with the fastest being Tash Page, who finished 12th overall and was the fastest U23. Atlanta St John came 18th and was the 3rd fastest U23, whilst Lauren Fisher and Nicci Meadows came 35th and 41st overall. RUBC continues to show that its reputation is growing, with some notable performances coming from across the squads. This is particularly shown by the fact it has both the men’s and women’s top U23’s in the country, with others from the club following close behind.

RUBC Win at the Fours Head of the River 18/11/06

This weekend RUBC attended the Four’s Head of The River on the Tideway in London- this national event attracts over 500 crews each year and the club came away with some fantastic performances from across all the squads. The Women’s S2 4x of Nicci Medows, Atlanta St John, Tash Page and Athalie Redwood-Brown, despite crashing full on into the red buoy after Hammersmith Bridge, won their event by 4 seconds, beating almost 40 other crews and with an overall position of 132nd. RUBC also had a Women’s S3 4+ racing which put in a great result; against a field of 37 they finished 7th overall and 347th overall. The crew were pleased with their race and had already overtaken several crews by Hammersmith.

The top finishers in the race were the Men’s Elite 4x, of Alex Gregory, Bill Lucas, Sam Townsend and Dan Ritchie. Taking on various GB squad members and double World Sculling Champion Mahe Drysdale, they sculled brilliantly to finish 4th overall out of 509 crews in a time of 17.56.50. This result also put them well ahead of any other university crews in the race. Although racing for time only due to an admin error, the Men’s S2 4x also sculled well and would have finished around 32nd overall and 11th in their event. The Men’s S2 4+ dealt easily with a last minute substitution due to illness by finishing in the top 90 crews, and 4th overall in their category, in a time of 19.34.68. The final crew to race was the development squad, racing as a S3 4+ they raced well to finish 294th despite having a slight altercation with another crew, and also placed in the top 20 in their event.

Director of Rowing Will Rand and President Simon Barbour were extremely pleased with everyone’s performances. RUBC continues to show it is a club to be reckoned with, especially after this weekend. The club’s next event will be Wallingford 4’s and 8’s Head on December 3rd.

Crew Lists:

Elite Quad: Alex Gregory, Sam Townsend, Bill Lucas, Dan Ritch

Men's Senior 2 Quad: Bruce Simpson, Brad Whale, Graham Benton, James Waters

Men's Senior 2 Coxed Four: Dave Ewart, Simon Barbour, Peter Charij, Ed Birrell coxed by Rhiannon Jones

Women's Senior 2 Quad: Nicci Meadows, Atlanta St John, Tash Page, Athalie Redwood-Brown:

Men's Senior 3 Coxed Four: Matt Purchase, Robert Till, Rob Benson, Dave Crooks coxed by Jules Caudwell

Women's Senior 3 Coxed Four: Jenny Collins, Nikki Brown, Laura Hunter-Smith, Freya Porteous, coxed by Robyn Inglis

Pictures at:
http://www.jetphotographic.com
http://www.bigblade-photos.net/rowing/events/2006/fhor06/index.html
http://www.eliotgeorge.com/index.html

British Indoor Rowing Championships - 3 in a row for Graham 12/11/06

Graham Benton once again successfully defended his title at the indoor champs this weekend, for the third time in a row. He out pulled the likes of World and Olympic Champion Steve Williams and World Champions Peter Reed and Andy Hodge; his nearest rival was Alan Campbell who finished 3 seconds behind him. Also competing in this event was Phil Turnham who picked up bronze in a time of 5.50.5, this is a great effort as he too beat almost all of the GB squad bar Campbell. Below is the race report from the BIRC website:

Men Open Hwt: Here it is then, the big event of the day. For the next six minutes, all attention will be on the middle of the front row in the NIA. Lined up is the crew of the British coxless four, one of our main hopes for an Olympic gold in Beijing. Also there is reigning World and British indoor champion Graham Benton, and the current European champion Phil Turnham. At the start, they all blast out of the blocks. After thirty seconds, Benton's power of the start sees him in front by a good few metres. At the 400 metre stage, he's still going away, sat here on 1:26s and 1:27s. Behind him, all in a line are Alan Campbell, Turnham, Matt Langridge and Peter Reed. After 1100m, Benton's get a decent sized expanse of clear blue water between him and the pack. It's Campbell who's the closest to him, and behind him Turnham. Benton's looking pretty relaxed and surely the gap is already too big for any one to catch him. Campbell and Turnham are matching each other stroke for stroke but Campbell's lead from earlier makes him favourite at this stage for the silver. With 500m to go, Matt Langridge has started to creep up from the pack, and he's right on Turnham's shoulder. With 300 to go, Turnham puts on his sprint finish, dropping to 1:26, but Langridge matches that with 1:25. Both are moving on Campbell who is forced to respond. At these speeds, the finish line comes quick and in a flash Benton's over, winning in 5:46.9; behind him Campbell, desperately pouring on the power, crashes over the line in second place with 5:49.9 with Turnham just inches back in 5:50.5. Langridge finishes just outside the medals in 5:50.9. The first 13 all finish under the magic 6 minute barrier.

In the Open Women’s Category, RUBC’s Claire Abbey put in a fantastic performance to pull 6.51.3 and take the second gold of the day for the club. Although not a Personal Best, as she had been very ill in the days leading up to the event, Claire still dominated to win by over 5 seconds.
RUBC also had 3 other members competing at the indoor champs. Fresher Brad Topps also raced well to finish 26th in a field of 234 in the men’s BUSA category, pulling a time of 6.17.4. In the lightweight men’s BUSA event RUBC had both Stevan Wing and James Waters competing; they finished 6th and 14th respectively in a very strong event.

Full results can be found at: http://www.concept2.co.uk/birc/results.php
Pictures at: http://www.photodigital.co.uk/vscript/eventindex.asp?S=pd&C=210

RUBC Continues its Winning Ways 30/10/06

The Boat Club attended Upper Thames Fours and Pairs Head this weekend and came away with some notable performances. The highlight of the day was the S2 4x which were not only winners of their category but the fastest crew in the morning division, beating crews racing in higher statuses above them, including competitive Leander and Henley quads . In the same division the women’s S3 2x also won their category, by 18 seconds, and a second place was achieved in the same event. The development squad put in a great result to finish sixth in S3 4+, in a competitive field, particularly as they were racing in an event 2 statuses above themselves. The last crew to race in this division was the S2 4+, they finished 2nd to a strong Brookes crew, all of whom won the Temple this summer. This is a great performance from a relatively new crew.

The second division saw another four RUBC crews racing. The S1 4+, who had raced in the morning, put in another good performance to finish fifth, and 2nd out of the universities racing in that category. The same development 4+ again raced and finished 4th, racing some other very competitive universities. The senior men’s double finished 2nd in the S3 category, and would probably have been challenging for a 1st place had they not been fighting a Brookes double who continued to steer into them, the whole way down the course! The final crew to race was the women’s S3 4+ who put in a fantastic performance to finish 4th in a big field of 16.

President Simon Barbour was very happy with the day’s results, especially as the club has proved it is up to speed with some very competitive opposition, and is showing its ability to put in some great performances in both the sweep and sculling disciplines.

Full Results at: http://www.mikrotime.com/rowing/row2006/utsbh06.html

More Photos can be seen at: http://www.onlyrowingphotos.com/

Division 1 Crews:
S2 4X: Peter Charij, Bruce Simpson, Bradley Whale, Will Rand- 1st
S2 4+ - Dave Ewart, Simon Barbour, Ed "The Guns" Birrell, Rory Parsons, Coxed by Rhiannon Jones-2nd
S3 4+ - Matt Purchase, Rob Benson, Dave Crooks, Robert Till, Coxed by Jules Caudwell -6th
WS3 2x - Laura Hunter-Smith and Freya Porteous-1st
WS3 2x - Jenny Collins, Nikki Brown -2nd

Division 2 Crews:
S1 4+ - Dave Ewart, Simon Barbour, Peter Charij, Ed Birrell, Coxed by Rhiannon Jones-5th
Novice 4+ - Matt Purchase, Rob Benson, Dave Crooks, Robert Till, Coxed by Jules Caudwell-4th
WS3 4+ - Jenny Collins, Nikki Brown, Laura Hunter-Smith, Freya Porteous-4th
S3 2x - Bruce Simpson, Rory Parsons-2nd

RUBC’s next event is next weekend on the same stretch of the Thames, at Henley Sculls Head.

RUBC Impress at Great Britain Trials 23/10/06

Nine Boat club members travelled up to Boston, Lincolnshire this weekend to compete at the first set of long distance national trials, including world indoor rowing champion Graham Benton and Commonwealth Gold medallist James Waters. This year for the first time ever, the trials consisted of a two kilometre ergo test and a five kilometre water head race. Out of the seven attending men, two competed in the lightweight event and the rest in the heavyweight division. There were also two women in the heavyweight division.

Dan Ritchie put in a great performance to finish second, just behind Olympian Ian Lawson who competed in Athens. Bill Lucas, in his first year at Reading, had another great result coming in, in fifth place. Dan’s and Bill’s great results also meant they finished 1st and 4th respectively in the Under 23 age category. Brad Whale sculled well to finish in 12th place; the fact that the Boat club had three members within the top fifteen is a fantastic achievement. Graham Benton put in a excellent performance on the ergo to finish second overall and performed on the water to see him qualify for the next round; as too did Bruce Simpson and Rory Parsons. James Waters was the top RUBC lightweight, finishing in 13th place, and 6th in the under 23 event which puts him in a good position for the next trials in December.

In the heavyweight women’s division, Claire Abbey showed her strength on the ergo by pulling a 6 minutes 47 to finish in first place, as well as a solid performance on the water. Atlanta St John finished in 11th place overall and 4th in the Under 23 category. All are hoping to impress even more in the next trials in December when the current Great Britain squad return.

Full results can be found at: http://www.bostonrowingmarathon.org.uk/Senior_trials_22102006.html

Storming start for RUBC women 16/10/06

The Boat Club’s women got off to a great start to the season by picking up three wins at the local Reading Small Boats Head. Held over a 3.3km course the girls managed to beat several other competitors convincingly and dominate their events. In the senior three coxed boat they managed to beat Maidenhead by well over a minute and there were similar time gaps in the senior four quad and novice double sculls.

Hannah Clews competed in her first ever single sculling race, after only starting this summer, and put in a great first performance; finishing 8th in a large field. Women’s captain Jenny Collins was very pleased with the overall performance of her squad, and hopes for more to come. RUBC’s next event is Upper Thames Small Boats Head; where the club are hoping to pick up more wins from all the squads.

Reading Small Boat’s Head Crews:
N1x- Hannah Clews
WS3+- Jenny Collins/ Freya Porteous/ Laura Hunter-Smith/ Maria Gerelle
WS4X- Nikki Brown/ Jenny Collins/Kate Hadfield/Laura Hunter-Smith
WN2X- Hannah Clews/ Nikki Brown

Results: http://www.mikrotime.com/rowing/row2006/rsbh06.html

For more information about the University’s Boat Club look at www.rubc.net or contact Will Rand, Director of Rowing, at w.rand@reading.ac.uk