United Hospitals' Novice Sprints 2017! Winners again

A freezing cold day and an 8am arrival signalled the start of the racing season for 24 BLBC freshers. The first race of the day was the fresher women’s first boat who were taking on ICSM 1. After a dramatic crab in the second stroke of the start (which nearly gave this fresher captain a heart attack) they recovered beautifully to win by nearly a length and a half. The girls‘ second race was Georges 1, again they were slightly behind off the start but found their rhythm and power to come through with a second win by half a length. In the nail-biting final against RUMS 1 the girls lost by just a canvas, after drawing ahead by half a length and fighting over inches at the finish line.

The men’s first boat faced GKT1 in their first race and beat them solidly with a whole length of clear water between them. Much like the women they faced Georges 1 in their semi-final and again beat them easily with 1.5 lengths between the boats at the finish line. The final was once again against the same opponent: RUMS 1. Observing the racing at flood tide RUMS looked to be drawing ahead but by the finish line the boys had beaten them by half a length to take home the medals.

The mixed crew also put up a brave fight for their race (which also happened to be their first outing as a crew) but ultimately lost to Georges 1 (whom the men's crew would later take their revenge on). The racing crews were as follows:

Novice Men's 1st - WINNERS

• Cox - Jess Challenger
• Stroke - Ben Johnson
• 7 - Robert Good
• 6 - Alex Deighton
• 5 - Milo Simpson
• 4 - Jamie Henderson
• 3 - Joseph Johnson
• 2 - Skyler Tian Ren Ye
• Bow - Adam Mitchell

Novice Women's 1st - FINAL

• Cox - Rocio Crispin
• Stroke - Sreya Gooptu-O'Shea
• 7 - Olivia Dupere
• 6 - Alice Gant
• 5 - Tamsin Dyer
• 4 - Caroline Olabisi
• 3 - Sveva de Luca
• 2 - Samia Omar
• Bow - Alice Westlake

Novice Crew Mixed

• Cox - Mathew Robathan
• Stroke - Aamir Saiyed
• 7 - James Ogley
• 6 - Alex Haiser
• 5 - Andreas Andreou
• 4 - Jessica Froggatt
• 3 - Tillana Tarkas
• 2 - Amanda Hertzberg
• Bow - Vrinda Nadda

BLBC Volunteer at Run In The Dark 2017

This week members of BLBC took time out of training for Cambridge Winter Head to volunteer their time at Run in the Dark on the 15th November 2017. It is an event where thousands gather in Battersea Park to run 5 or 10k for charity. Run in the Dark plays a vital role in funding The Mark Pollock Trust’s mission to find and connect people around the world to fast-track a cure for paralysis.

12 members of the club, freshers and seniors got together to help the event run smoothly. We were in charge of marshalling along the course for the 2400+ runners to ensure they were all safe in the dark, having a good time and going the right way! In addition to this we also had several volunteers on bag drop and just being of general assistance in the chaos leading up the run.

Everyone did a great job, a big thank you to all who helped out!

Training Camp at Doncaster!

The men's and women's first boats went on the first training camp of the year to Doncaster for the weekend. Whilst there we got roughly 3 sessions a day on the water and managed to do some seat racing for selection for the first men's 8. The women made a lot of technical gains and really learned to work together as a crew. There was also opportunity to do some work in small boats for both men and women. During our time there we had 2 coaches looking after us who were exceptional in coordinating outings and helping all rowers to come along in technical ability and get them race ready for our first race of the year at Cambridge. It was a very successful camp for all who went along and there was time to relax and bond within our crews.

We thank Doncaster Rowing Club for allowing us access to their facilities and the people there that made the weekend possible. We look forward to returning soon!