King's College Boat Club, Cambridge Henry's VIII - Lent 2012 - Easter 2013 - May 15, 2014
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
King’s College Boat Club,
Cambridge
Henry’s VIII
Lent 2012 - Easter 2013
May 15, 2014
Cover photo: King’s M1 at Henley Royal Regatta after qualifying for the Temple Challenge Cup
3 Note from the Editors Welcome to this special edition of Henry’s Eight, which will bring you news of the club’s progress up to the start of this academic year. Apologies again for the lateness of this issue; the KCBC committee have decided to modify the format of future editions. As of the 2014-15 academic year, we will be moving to a termly newsletter to make the task of collating and editing this newsletter more manageable. Alongside these changes, we are hoping that many of you will be willing to make a shift to receiving only electronic copies of the newsletter. Alongside this newsletter, you can always keep track of KCBC’s progress on our website at www.kingsboatclub.com where you can find latest news, full race reports and crew lists. Included with this edition, you should have also received a copy of KCBC’s Corporate Sponsorship pamphlet, as we are currently searching for sponsorship to support the day to day running of the club. If you or your company think you may be able to help, we’d love to hear from you. Contact details are included in the pamphlet. Last, but certainly not least, we are very excited to bring you news of the plans for a new Combined Boathouse for King’s, Selwyn, Churchill and the Leys School. The project is now advancing into the planning application stages, and so we have included some of the architect’s images at the back of this newslet- ter. We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have, positive or otherwise. We hope you enjoy this issue, and hope to see you on the river soon. Will Miller and Conor Burgess wm248@cam.ac.uk and cb709@cam.ac.uk
4
Contents
Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Lent Term 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Cambridge Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Lent Bumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Boat Naming - Women’s IV - Stan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Head of the River Race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Easter Term 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Cambridge Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
May Bumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Men’s Captain’s
Report 2011-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Women’s Captain’s
Report 2011-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Michaelmas Term 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Novices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Cambridge Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
University Fours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Bedford Star Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Fairbairn Cup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
School Sculling to College Rowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Blade Donation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Lent Term 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Cambridge Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Lent Bumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Kingston Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Easter Term 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Cambridge Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Wallingford Regatta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Bedford Amateur Regatta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
May Bumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Boat Naming - Women’s VIII - Leo Sharpston . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Henley Royal Regatta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Men’s Captain’s
Report 2012-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Women’s Captain’s
Report 2012-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Boathouse Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5
Announcements
May Bumps Marquee
KCBC would be very grateful for your support in the upcoming May Bumps, and
we’d like nothing more than to meet you at our Mays Marquee for the final races
on Saturday 14th June. There will of course be refreshments available for a small
charge. Races start at 11:45.
Saturday 14th June 2014
From 11:30, Osier Holt, Fen Ditton
A limited number of car parking spaces are available upon request
Contact Marijne Mak at mem56@cam.ac.uk for more details
May Bumps Dinner
You are cordially invited to attend May Bumps Dinner to celebrate the year’s
achievements with all of our rowers, coxes and coaches. Please contact the De-
velopment Office at development@kings.cam.ac.uk for further details and to
reserve your ticket.
Saturday 14th June 2014
7pm, King’s College
6
Lent Term 2012 Lent Bumps
ay one of Lents would be an im-
Cambridge Races D portant for all the racing crews -
potentially defining their bumping trend
ent term 2012 proved quite a test for the rest of the week.
L for KCBC, with several injuries af-
flicting crews and sub-zero temperatures
M2 were on the start line first, ner-
vously waiting for the cannon. After
causing the Cam to freeze - majorly dis- a frantic start, crews behind started to
rupting training. creep up on the second men. Luckily
though as Jesus M3 approached, they
The first race of term was Winter
were quickly bumped out by Hughes
Head to Head, which saw M1, W1 and
Hall, allowing M2 to push on home
M2 all out to prove themselves against
for the row over. Unfortunately that
the other colleges. With two ex-novices
was where M2’s luck ran out, with the
in the crew, the first men put in a solid
following three days resulting in three
performance to rank them 4th amongst
bumps down the charts.
the colleges - setting an early bench-
mark for Bumps. W1 attacked this race
hard and comfortably achieved 2nd in
the Second Mays division, highlighting
that their main rivals for the term would
be Murray Edwards. The newly formed
M2 struggled slightly with the race con-
ditions, but showed the potential to im-
prove in the run up to Lents.
After several weeks of yellow/red flags
and sheet ice covering the Cam in front
of the Plough, temperatures rose and
the river thawed. Pembroke Regatta,
one of the only Cam side-by-side races,
had arrived. The first women produced King’s M2 outside the Boathouse on the
an extremely strong performance, beat- Saturday of Lents.
ing the likes of Corpus and St Cather-
ine’s to reach the quarter finals, where W1 started their week with quite a
they were narrowly beaten by First and major hiccup, o↵ the start nerves got the
Third W1. With the boat moving well, better of them and two crabs caused the
the women looked set to do well in Lents. women to concede an easy (and unfor-
For M1, a first round defeat by LMBC tunate) bump by Churchill W1. Out to
was disappointing. Clearly the lack of seek revenge on the women in pink, W1
water time had impeded the develop- raced out of the blocks on day two and
ment of the newest crew members and easily bumped Churchill by the Motor-
a solid crew rhythm. W2 also struggled way Bridge - the speed of the bump tak-
on the day, losing in the first round to ing both crews by surprise! Two more
First and Third W2. bumps later in the week saw W1 up two
7
in the charts, solidifying a First Lents Boat Naming - Women’s IV
division place. - Stan
n 3rd March 2012, on a bright
O but brisk Saturday morning, a
gathering assembled on the hard outside
the boat house for a very special occa-
sion. This was to officially name the new
women’s first coxed four in honour of a
gentleman who has been a key part of
the women’s training for nearly 13 years,
Stan Chapman.
King’s W1 at Lents Dinner.
M1 had a tougher time. Day one po-
sitioning presented the first men with
a rapid Girton M1 in front, who had
performed extremely well all term, and
a quick Christ’s crew behind. With
the bump all but gone from everyone’s
minds, thoughts turned to the depres-
sive prospect of a row over. O↵ the start
Girton soon bumped out, leaving a bat-
tle for survival to ensue with Christ’s
Stan’s Boat Naming.
M1. Going past the Plough, they were
half quarter a length o↵ our stern, and
closing. Rounding Ditton our last push For those who may not know Stan, he
for the safety of the Reach just wasn’t has been riding alongside King’s crews
enough. Three more days of determina- for over 12 years, providing encourage-
tion to get out of our downward spiral ment and helping in any way he could.
proved futile, ending the week down four He has supported the Boat Club (partic-
- Div. 1/2 sandwich boat. ularly the women’s side) at every event
on the Cam, and has extended his sup-
port to numerous o↵-Cam events. He
has ever been a favourite of the women’s
side for providing them with pre-peeled
oranges and other goodies after races!
Many past members will recall how he
cycled the entire length of the course
during Peterborough Head a couple of
years ago, regarded by all at the time as
a tremendous feat.
King’s M1 racing in Lents. We really owe you, Stan, and it is a
delight to all of us to be able to recog-
8
nise your contribution to KCBC in this directional! With both crews half way
way. We wish you all the best for the down the course and facing in oppo-
future, and hope you keep cycling along site directions, we set o↵, and before
the river for many a year to come! we knew it the happily bribed marshals
were telling us to spin. Some hairy
maneuvering ensued. Nevertheless, we
Catz Cardinals were soon on our way towards the fin-
Mixed Four ish, which seemed to be moving towards
us as the marshals walked our way, giv-
ith the focus more heavily on ing us a fabulous victory and winning
W fancy dress than anything, this the regatta.
race was never going to be too serious for
us, though we’d spotted our opponents
out on multiple occasions getting some
practice in. Due to slightly disappoint-
ing entry numbers, we were put straight
through to the final! A normal side by
side race was deemed to be a bit boring
by the organisers, so both crews started
in the same place, but facing di↵erent
directions. We then raced to the ends
of the course, spun, and finished back
where we started. Aside from the ner-
vous moments as we lunged into a spin
at race speed, we dominated our oppo-
sition. A great race bringing the less
serious side of rowing back to the fore!
Mixed Eight
fter squeezing in a short prac-
A tice outing the day before the re-
gatta and compensating for the di↵er-
ences in male and female rowing styles,
our crew donned the purple body paint
and secured our crowns before mounting
our trusty royal steed, the Vicky Wade.
After three rounds we had comfort-
ably made it through to the semi’s where
the fun began! The marshals decided to
spice things up a bit - the semi was to
be a backing it down race. After happily
zigzagging up the river, we crossed the
line ahead and into the final. As with
the fours final, our race would be bi-
9
Head of the River Race ter we passed them, despite closing on
another crew in front, we struggled to
e all knew before heading down
W to the Tideway that this race
was something of an unknown quantity.
push on from this point as we started
to feel the e↵ects of the long course. As
we got more tired, our rowing became
With a crew that had only been together
scrappier and despite the aggression and
for a week, and with fewer than half of
determination shown by the crew, our
us having had any Tideway experience,
speed dropped o↵ from approximately
it could have proved very tricky if the
Barn Elms.
conditions were bad.
In the end we finished a slightly disap-
Despite the torrential rain, conditions
pointing 254th , but with plenty of posi-
were almost perfect for the race, with
tives to take from the race we can build
virtually no wind to upset the crew. O↵
towards taking those lost places back
the start we hit a good early rhythm,
next year.
overtaking our first crew and simultane-
ously passed by the fast Leeds Univer-
sity first boat from behind, all within the
first 30 strokes or so. Whilst we man-
aged to hit a good rate of the start, it
quickly dropped down to a more sustain-
able ‘6k-to-go’ level. We were constantly
spurred on by Chris telling us that we
were closing on the crews ahead, and we
held a good pace for the first part of the
race.
King’s M1 at HoRR 2012 from Hammer-
smith Bridge.
As we neared Hammersmith Bridge,
we were closing in fast on UCL 2, and
could feel ourselves moving up on them,
taking more out of them on each stroke,
timing our overtake perfectly for the
crowds watching from the bridge! Af-
10
Easter Term 2012 With exams and Bumps rapidly ap-
proaching, training was going really well
Cambridge Races for both sides of the Club. Champ’s
Head, in the middle of May, provided
fter various levels of disappoint-
A ment in Lents, determination
gripped the Boat Club. The days were
the last opportunity to compare our
boat speed with all the other colleges - a
final ranking before Mays. On a particu-
lengthening and King’s could be seen larly sunny afternoon M1, M2, and W2
out on the river until dusk. all pulled out reasonable performances
Success came early in term for W1, to finish solidly in the middle of their
claiming fastest overall women’s crew in respective divisions, but it was time for
the St Radegund Mile competition. For W1 to shine again, winning pots for the
the first men, a change in crew order and second time this term.
a returner from illness had injected some M1 finished o↵ May by winning the
much needed speed and rhythm into plate competition in Nines’ Regatta, in-
the boat. At Head of the Cam in late dicating a vast improvement in boat
April, M1 was placed 4th and W1 won rhythm, speed, and attitude. The board
the Second Mays division. Both sec- was set ready for Mays.
ond boats also put in promising perfor-
mances, showing that they had stepped
on over the Easter holidays. May Bumps
Spring Head to Head, the Cam’s gru- ive crews represented KCBC in
elling two by 2k head race, saw W1 pit-
ted up against their main second di-
F May Bumps 2012, all set to
progress up the charts, aiming for those
vision rivals, Murray Edwards. Af- all elusive blades!
ter a great first leg, the first women
M3 (or MBeer as they liked to be
had to settle for a closely fought sec-
known), formed of a mix of novices
ond position, emphasising the need to
and previous first boat rowers, had a
continually improve as competition gets
great start to their Bumps campaign
stronger. The following day M1 partic-
by bumping Caius M4. The power of
ipated in City Sprints, and after a poor
the third men proved too great for the
first race, they eventually won the plate
other fifth division crews, bumping Sid-
final.
ney Sussex M3, Robinson M3, and Pem-
broke M4 to claim blades.
W2 had been dubbed as the ‘quickest
W2’ in years, so expectations we high
and the Club were excited to see how
they would perform. A re-row on day
one gave the second women the chance
to catch the crew in front, however Pe-
terhouse W2 bumped out early leaving
W2 to comfortably row over. Day two
gave W2 their first bump, confidently
King’s W2 racing in Champ’s Head. taking down Hughes Hall W2 on First11
had nothing to lose. With a good start
they rapidly gained on Churchill M2 and
bumped back into the third Mays divi-
sion.
King’s M3 at Mays Dinner.
Post Corner and lining up Peterhouse
for day three. After another row over,
W2 were awarded a technical bump on King’s M2 at Mays Dinner.
Darwin W2 on day four to finish up two
for the week. W1 had had a promising term and
looked set to rise up out of the second
Mays division, however Peterhouse W1
had other ideas. For three days the first
women rowed over behing Peterhouse,
comfortably fending o↵ any pushes from
behind, but failing to claim the bump.
The final day arrived and at last W1 had
a bump, giving Churchill W1 spoons and
moving the first women up to Div 1/2
sandwich boat.
King’s W2 at Mays Dinner.
M2 had a week of ups and downs.
Day one saw them drop down to Div
3/4 sandwich, after being bumped by
Queens’ M3. However a comfortable
row over at the head of division four,
saw them avoid a further bump on day
two. After being bumped by Caius M3
on day three, the second men were de-
termined to turn things around as they W1 at Mays Dinner.
went into the final day. Day four - M2
produced a rare feat and bumped Caius M1 had a lot to prove. Spoons in
M3 back, returning to sandwich boat Lents had not been an enjoyable expe-
and giving them a second race. Starting rience. Everyone longed for a first di-
at station 18, practically in the lock, M2 vision bump. We knew that there were12 several crews above us who were slower; we just had to catch them. Day one - o↵ the start everything went into catch- ing Churchill M1. Grit and determina- tion saw us grind down the length and a half gap, so that by the Plough we had three whistles. A surge into Ditton saw us take the Bump. After a comfortable row over on day two, day three presented another victim - Trinity Hall M1. The final day of a cracking week, and what better way to celebrate than emphati- cally bumping Magdalene M1 opposite the Plough and taking the bow ball o↵ in the process! Up three in the first divi- sion, what a way to turn things around! A brilliant end to the year with all crews finishing either up, or level. King’s M1 rowing down on Saturday.
13
14
Men’s Captain’s and race cancellations, perhaps we could
have compensated for the lack of experi-
Report 2011-12 ence, but we simply had too little water
time.
Rutger Grisel Easter term was something else
though. We retained most of our row-
t was perseverance that defined
I this academic year for the mens side,
not smooth success. We started the year
ers and got Alge Wallis back in M1 af-
ter missing most of Lent term due to
illness. M1 finished 4th in the Head of
with twelve rowers. Including Patrick
the Cam, and began to win a few plate
Goodbourn, who would graduate after
competitions in regattas. M2 had barely
Michaelmas, we only had three row-
been out in Lent term due to more flag
ers with first boat experience. This
restrictions, giving them an even larger
meant last year’s second boat rowers
gap to make up. Both crews stepped
were quickly enlisted to the first boat,
up without complaining, and the results
leaving both boats somewhat underpow-
reflected their dedication and persever-
ered and inexperienced relative to the
ance. M2 finished Bumps level, despite
competition.
a lot of naysayers predicting spoons for
We started the year with M1 as a four
them; they went down two over three
and M2 as an eight. Within the first two
days, then bumped up twice on the
weeks of Michaelmas, novice numbers
fourth day. M1 was equally satisfied
settled into three eights, one of which
with their results, bumping up three
was filled with keener rowers. The M1
places to 13th in the 1st division, the
four made it to the finals of University
highest the Boat Club has been in over
Fours, only to be beaten by Caius. After
fifty years.
a few more races, the first boat finished
And now for the good news: this is
a respectable 7th in Fairbairn’s, having
unlikely to be the end of the story. Most
stepped training up to an eight. The two
of the men’s squad will be continuing
novice eights also performed very well.
next year, but without all the disadvan-
Lent term led to a few drop outs from tages encountered this year. I wish them
the squad. Some were deterred by work, all the best of luck, but I doubt that they
while others were potentially discour- will need it.
aged by the lack of resounding success
by the seniors. Perhaps this was for
the better, however, as the remaining
core had the willpower to continue right
to the end of the year, providing con-
sistency for the next two terms. We
now had two eights, and although they
weren’t looking too bad in terms of fit-
ness, we had very few experienced row-
ers. This showed in race results, par-
ticularly in Lent Bumps with M1 get-
ting spoons and M2 going down three.
If there had not been as many outing15
Women’s Captain’s time-out, the top end of the squad was
strengthened and very competitive. W1
Report 2011-12 raced in every Cam race in Easter term,
getting some very impressive results and
Sarah Hadman-Back even a few pots. We were unlucky in
Bumps, finishing up one - at the top of
strong W1 squad of 11 row-
A ers, consisting of several return-
ers, allowed for an extremely promising
Division Two. W2 rowed in four races
and thought they would have to row the
Getting-on-Race, but due to scratches
Michaelmas term. We entered all the
they were put back in the main start or-
eights races on the Cam and by the end
der. They were also unlucky with who
of term had constructed quite a compe-
they were chasing and couldn’t go up as
tent boat with ambitions set on Lents.
far as they had hoped. W3 improved
The novices can’t be forgotten, with a
over the course of the term and were
keen group of 17 making it through their
entered into the Getting-on-Race as a
first term of rowing. Thank you to our
time-only crew.
two female Vice-Captains, Alex Hayes
All-in-all it has been a very success-
and Brioni Aston, for teaching these
ful year for the King’s women due to
girls the basics and getting them enthu-
the dedication of so many seniors and
siastic about rowing.
novices rowing throughout the whole
The start of Lent term saw the
year. I do hope that all the rowers who
women’s side with three senior boats.
are here continue rowing next year and
The core of W1 had continued, allowing
strengthen King’s success even more.
the strongest eight novices to fill a W2
crew. It soon became clear that W2’s
enthusiasm and 2k scores would help to
push W1 on, as competition for seats be-
came a distinct possibility. Due to other
commitments, two first boat rowers had
to stop rowing at the start of February,
allowing two fresh-faced novices - Felic-
ity Eperon and Vera Konieczny - to step
up to the mark. February 2012 also saw
a mini ice-age come to Cambridge. As
parts of the river froze over, training was
severely disrupted and races cancelled -
this could only hinder our preparation
for bumps. After a minor hiccup on the
first day, W1 had a successful Lents, fin-
ishing up two and firmly in the First Di-
vision.
Before Easter term had even begun,
we were out racing - determined to make
up for all the cancelled outings in Lent.
With rowers returning from injury and16
Michaelmas Term 2012 last minute practice, the two crews man-
aged to post some encouraging times for
Novices 500m on the erg - however not impres-
sive enough to see them through to the
new year, a new batch of novices. finals.
A A strong turnout at the Freshers’
Squash with a lot of enthusiasm for
the erg competition (especially from the Cambridge Races
men’s side) led to a large novice-rowing
he senior squad started the year
sign up.
Next came the Tubbing Days, where
T as they meant to go on - winning
races. With barely two weeks of train-
a lovely demonstration of e↵ort from
ing, both first boats impressed at Au-
the novices was witnessed, with some
tumn Head. W1 came second out of
promising technique emerging. There
the women’s first boats and M1 won the
was a lot of enthusiasm all round, with
men’s competition. In preparation for
great usage of the new bank tub and
University Fours (see separate report),
new BBQ alike. Whilst the actual tub-
M1 also raced in two IVs, coming sec-
bing involved large amounts of zigzag-
ond and fourth.
ging across the river in front of the
Boathouse (mostly due to the VCs cox- Winter Head, mid-November, pro-
ing ability, or rather a lack thereof), vided crews with their last chance to
everyone had a great time and really race a clear head course before Fair-
started to get the hang of it. A strong bairns. M1, whose minds were firmly
number have continued into VIIIs and focussed on training towards a historic
it’s looking to be a great term for King’s Fairbairns win, performed well - chas-
Novice Rowing. ing down a couple of o↵-Cam crews on
the Reach, but in agreement that fur-
ther improvements to the crews rhythm
could be made before Fairbairns. They
finished second overall and first out of
the colleges (time only). M2 had a
promising race, but fitness took its toll
towards the finish; placing the second
men firmly mid-table. The novice men
also took to the water, gaining valu-
able experience from the long head race,
but ranking lowly amongst other novice
crews.
For the novice women, Michaelmas
King’s Novice Men before Fairbairns. term was a story of regattas. In Emma
Sprints the girls came through three
Both the men and women managed rounds of competitive novice racing to
to each enter a novice crew for Queens’ reach the final against Selwyn NW1. For
ergs at the beginning of November. Af- the majority of the race King’s were
ter some hectic arranging of subs and leading over boathouse neighbours, how-17
ever due to an unfortunate collision Sel-
wyn rowed through King’s during the
last ten strokes. With a di↵erent crew,
the novice women also raced in Clare
Novice Regatta - making it through the
first round, but progressing no further.
University Fours
he men’s first eight was perform-
T ing well, therefore it came as no
surprise that we could form two strong King’s M1 with their University Medals.
fours to compete in the University com-
petition.
The second four was a relatively in-
experienced crew, but held the poten- were quick, but beatable. After a great
tial to do well. After a bye in the start, flying down First Post Reach, and
first round, they faced LMBC II in the tightly turing around First Post Cor-
quarter finals. LMBC proved to be no ner, the rudder took on a mind of its
trouble for King’s; allowing our men to own and we went extremely wide around
relax into the feeling of the boat, de- the following two corners. The crew
velop their crew rhythm further, and could see Queens’ pushing on strongly
still win by over a minute. The semi behind, making up the distance they
finals were a little tougher. Downing had lost - so we pushed on for the fin-
II fought hard o↵ the start to try and ish. A Dead Heat. Re-row. After re-
pull away on the upstream station, how- moving the significant amount of debris
ever great calls from Ben kept King’s wrapped around our rudder, we took to
grinding down the competition leading the course a second time, cornering well
to a good victory. For the final against and taking the win by two seconds! Af-
Queens’ II, King’s would have to set up ter the ordeal that was the quarter final,
their game again. After a great start, the semi final seemed very tame in com-
the guys were up on their fast rhythm parison. Christ’s I were a less formidable
taking the race to Queens’. Going past competition, after ten strokes we had
the Plough King’s were ahead. Just. moved up onto them and they failed to
However the headwind on the Reach respond. Will got a chance to practice
knocked the crew badly, a lack of ex- his corners, cutting them all tight to the
perience allowed Queens’ back into it, inside bank, and we relaxed it home for
finally beating King’s to the line by six an easy 16 second victory. We then had
seconds. Still a great achievement to fin- to immediately spin and head back to
ish runners-up. the start for the final against Caius I.
The first four spent the weeks running This was our chance and we had the
up to Uni IVs developing a very strong belief. After an early move by Caius,
crew rhythm and top speed. In the quar- we lifted out of Grassy onto our best
ters we faced Queens’ I who we knew speed and rhythm, moving to regain the18
length we had lost on the first half of the
course. Rounding Ditton, Caius in front
of us hit the headwind and struggled.
“Caius are splashing about in the wind”
came from Will, which encouraged us
further to step on in the wind. Holding
our form, we drew back on station and
pushed through; sat up tall and gritting
our teeth through the wind. Through
the finish post I knew we had it. Af-
ter a little wait for conformation, it was
official, we had won by three seconds. King’s W1 at Bedford Star Head.
Bedford Star Head the boat out of the gap and so remove
the blockage.
Full Report: Women’s First Eight
All in all, the day proved to be relaxed
or much of the crew, this was their and happy, this no doubt contributed to
F first ever o↵-Cam race (previous the best result the crew has seen to date.
attempts having been foiled by bad
weather conditions and crew complica-
The Fairbairn Cup
tions). So it was with an air of great ex-
citement that the nine of us set o↵ for a or the novice rowers who had
day at Bedford. An early division meant F made it through the trials of
an early and frosty start to the day, but Michaelmas term, Fairbairns would be
everyone arrived safely and in plenty of their final rite of passage - transition-
time of assemble the boat. ing from Novice to Senior. The men en-
At Bedford, the weather cleared to tered three novice crews into the com-
cool sunshine and the friendly, buzzing petition, whilst the results weren’t par-
atmosphere of the venue meant that the ticularly spectacular, they rowed well
girls approached the race with feelings of and greatly enjoyed the experience. Two
anticipation and excitement. The unfa- novice women crews represented King’s,
miliar course encouraged everyone into with the first novice women continuing
serious focus, so the coxing and rowing their impressive term by finishing 11th
was of an excellent level throughout. Af- - the highest placing for King’s novice
ter a solid warm up, the resulting confi- women in years.
dence saw the crew to the finish line in Friday saw the turn of the seniors,
a personal best time. with M1 pulling out an impressive dis-
Unfortunately, the feeling among ev- play to win the men’s competition (see
eryone might have been slightly too ju- following report) for the first time in
bilant as not enough concentration was KCBC history. M2 finished 15th in the
paid in spinning with the result that second boat competition; having had a
the Jolly Roger spent a happy ten min- good run to Chesterton, they lost mo-
utes wedged between the two banks mentum in the second half of the race,
while marshals attempted to shoehorn due to a slight lack of fitness and nu-19
merous yellow flagged outings. W1 had the term.
an excellent result, building upon their Race day saw relatively fast stream
Bedford success, finishing as the 5th conditions for the Cam, so I adjusted
fastest college crew. my racing lines appropriately to max-
Fairbairns 2012 saw the return of nine imise speed from the river. We warmed
alumni to the Cam. After settling back up just as we had practised for the
into the comforts of the Mays room, past three weeks, this time heading into
the alumni men set about mis-adjusting the unfamiliar waters upstream of the
their boat so they would have an ex- boathouse. Ten o’clock approached and
cuse for not winning when the results the first crews headed o↵. We de-kitted,
came in. With the absolute minimum of passing everything we could to Chris
training, it was a relief that all members Smith. Rowing down to the start, the
of the crew still remembered to stick crew was a silent mixture of nerves and
the oar in the wet bit! After teaching excitement - we were all focused on the
the Jesus marshals a thing or two about task in hand; the next 14 minutes of rac-
running marshalling, King’s alumni got ing that would define our term’s e↵orts
underway. After cruising comfortably as a crew.
for most of the race, the close proxim- I lined us up ready to start outside
ity of Boar’s Head (Queens’ alumni) to Goldie boathouse. The crew came for-
the King’s stern on First Post Reach in- ward to front-stops for our racing start.
spired our alumni to step on the gas and “Attention. Go.”
show Queens’ a fight. Overall an enjoy- It was crucial we got a good start.
able experience for all, ending up at the Moving together and up at our top
pub having beaten M2’s time! speed. That’s exactly what we did. The
first two minutes saw us take the corners
under Elizabeth Way Bridge and com-
Full Report: Men’s First Eight
plete our start sequence. Coming past
airbairns had been the focus of King’s boathouse we sharpened up our
F Michaelmas for King’s M1. From
the start of term we knew we had a crew
catches and brought the boat speed back
up to cruising. We were flying along in
strong enough to challenge Caius’ third a smooth rhythm set up by stern pair,
successive Fairbairns victory. King’s has driven faster by the stream and aiming
never won the Fairbairn Cup before, to make the halfway mark as the quick-
but we were all eager to change this est crew. Indeed, official results put us
and write our names into KCBC his- first, ahead of the lightweights by 1.7
tory. The whole crew has been commit- seconds.
ted to the training that Chris Smith and Chesterton Footbridge marked the
I set this term, pushing each other to the second phase of our race plan - from
limit on the ergs and uniting as a crew this point we would step on it in an at-
on the water. As Fairbairns approached tempt to break all the other competi-
we knew Queens’ would be one of our tion. We lifted out of the corner and
closest rivals, while the speed and form surged past the P&E, focusing on the
of Caius remained elusive; we had not leg drive and connecting with the water.
directly raced them over the course of As we raced under the Railway Bridge20
we knew we had just over two kilome- tor quote, ‘What we do in life echoes in
tres to go - bridge to bridge, just as we eternity’, over the cox box at this point
had practised twenty times before. At to help maintain focus - we were going
this point, we were approx. eight min- to do it. Nearing the Motorway Bridge
utes into the race and tiredness was be- I called for a final lift and the response
ginning to kick in. Boat speed dropped was incredible. Just when I thought the
slightly and the possibility of losing be- guys could give no more, they took the
gan to creep into our minds. As we rate up to 36 12 and the speed jumped
rounded Ditton, I knew we had to get up another notch. This was it. The fi-
back up to speed. I prepared the crew nal surge for the line: lactate in the legs
for the lift and surge. They responded. burning, lungs gasping for air, and faces
We flew along Plough Reach, thirty grimacing. “Wind it down.”
strokes of pure power driving us into the As the crew slumped over their oars
corners and bringing us surging towards it was clear none of us could have done
the finish. The boat was perfectly set on any more to obtain victory in that race.
the entry to Grassy and stayed that way Faces were marred by sweat and pain.
as we slingshot around it, maintaining Eight weeks of training focused on one
boat speed and rhythm. race, a chance for King’s to take a step
forward on the river and beat the best
rowing colleges; to grace a place on the
Cam where no King’s crew had gone be-
fore - the Head of the River.
Result: 13:47.6 (1st Senior Men’s Eight)
We had won Fairbairns technically
a joint victory with Queens’ who were
within one second (slower) of our time.
I would personally like to thank every
member of the crew and Chris Smith for
being extremely committed to the Boat
King’s M1 Fairbairn’s Crew 2012.
Club this term and making this victory
possible. We made history guys!
First Post Corner marked the final
stage of the race. This was our final
chance to win it, if we so happened to
be behind. I called a lift over three,
getting the crew up onto their toes and
allowing those with power left in their
legs to drive the boat on. The intensity
from everyone was outstanding as we
raced along at 35 strokes per minutes,
the bows lifting out of the water with
each stroke and propelling us forwards.
I may have shouted the famous Gladia-21
Features other crews in the heats but we managed
to pull through the 1km course and win
School Sculling to College our first race and gain our first sculling
Rowing points! Later on we also raced at MK
rowing club on a very windy day over a
irst year, Craig Lambert, de- 500m course which was great fun, and
F scribes how he first got into
sculling at school and after one term at
even though technique fell to pieces we
managed to gain another pot!
King’s finds himself rowing in M1. Coming to King’s College I was keen
to try rowing in the 8’s. I went out on
a few outings with some of the M1 crew
all the King’s rowers, Chris Smith and
Chris Braithwaite were all really help-
ful and patient in helping me convert to
rowing with one blade rather than two!
The first thing I noticed was the luxury
of having so much stability in the boat in
comparison with the single scull! I also
loved how powerful and fast the boat felt
in comparison.
Over the course of the term I trained
and raced with M1 and enjoyed being
Craig Lambert (left). part of the team. I had never done an
erg session as part of a crew before and
found the team spirit really helped to
“At school I was a keen cross coun-
make these sessions much more e↵ective
try runner, training 5 times a week and
as an element of competitiveness was in-
racing most weekends. Towards the end
troduced. So far we have had a really
of my school career, even though I re-
good season in terms of racing so hope-
ally enjoyed my running years, I decided
fully we will carry on like this for the
I needed to try a new sport. I always
rest of the year (and the rest of my time
liked the competitive aspect of running
in King’s!).
and I had always wanted to try rowing!
With the holidays quickly approaching
So with a friend, we became members of
I am looking forward to getting back to
Northampton Rowing Club.
my old club and getting back in the scull
I began training in both single and for a few weeks. But even more so, I am
double sculls and enjoyed getting to grips really looking forward to seeing what the
with the technique and balance. As time rest of this year hold for King’s College
progressed, my friend Oli and myself be- M1!”
gan training harder and harder to im-
prove technique and on the ergs. Our
training reached its peak over the sum-
mer holidays when we decided to enter
our first race at Peterborough Regatta as
novices. We did not expect to beat the 622
Blade Donation
uring Michaelmas 2012, KCBC
D was lucky enough to receive a
blade donation from Ronald Ingle. The
1947 Cambridge Univesity Clinker Fours
blade shows victories over First and
Third Trinity, Queens’, and Emmanuel,
winning King’s the championship. The
club is very grateful to Ronald for his do-
nation and we look forward to displaying
the blade in the Junior Common Room
or the new boathouse, to inspire King’s
rowers for years to come.
KCBC Committee with the 1947 Clinker
IVs Blade.23
Lent Term 2013 came up against a strong Christ’s W1
and were beaten by a similar margin.
Cambridge Races Finally, M1 had drawn a particularly
tough first race, coming up against a re-
he lower boats were still integrat- cently strengthened Caius M1. Whilst
T ing into the senior boats by the
time the Winter Head to Head came
we certainly gave them the hardest chal-
lenge they faced all day on their way to
around, so only W1 and M1 entered. victory in the final, they managed to re-
W1 had a strong race and ended up fin- claim our early lead and pull ahead with
ishing in the fastest time of the Women’s a last minute push.
Second Division, whilst M1 decided to In the Lent Bumps Getting on Race,
use the race as a training exercise and so our W2 surprised everyone by putting
entered four IVs, with every crew mem- in an excellent row and getting onto the
ber racing the 2x2k course twice, and Lent Bumps! This is something that
switching crews after each leg. One of doesn’t happen often, and everyone is
the runs even set the fastest time for any very proud of their performance. Sadly,
IV in the competition. M3 were not quite so fortunate, and nar-
Next up came Newnham Short rowly missed out. They were, however,
Course, where W1 and W2 stepped up the second fastest non-qualifiers, so not
to deliver some excellent results. W1 fin- a bad e↵ort at all!
ished 4th fastest of 16 colleges and W2
put in a solid row, setting them up well Lent Bumps
for the upcoming Lents Getting on Race.
ur W2 exceeded all expectations
The last of the head races was Robin-
son Head, where we entered W3 and M3.
O by following their success in the
Getting on Race with successive bumps
Against many expectations, M3 rowed
on Murray Edwards II, St Catherine’s
better than they had all term to finish
II and Churchill II. Sadly, a canvas
2nd of the boats needing to Get on to
away from making blades just after the
Lents, and W3 pulled out a stellar per-
start, 6 and 5 came o↵ their seats and
formance to almost match some W2s!
W2 were unfortunately bumped back by
Pembroke Regatta is the last chance Churchill II.
for crews to see how they shape up be-
fore the Lents. In the morning, our M3
had their first crack at a proper rac-
ing start against First and Third M5,
and found themselves to be significantly
faster. Sadly their success was short
lived as a strong Caius M3 beat them
by several lengths in the next round.
Next up, W2 looked to be on for a solid
win over Jesus W3, right up until their
rudder cable snapped and ended their
race. W1 fared slightly better, beating King’s W2 at Lent Bumps Dinner.
Magdalene W1 by two lengths, but then24
M2 started the week well with a rapid bumped before First Post. Finally, on
bump on Girton II, and followed it up the Saturday, our week was topped o↵
with a row over in front of them on day with the fastest of the four bumps, as we
two. Sadly the last two days were less rapidly gained and then bumped Robin-
successful, being bumped by Jesus III son half way along First Post Reach,
and Caius III. Nevertheless, they held much to the joy of all the supporters
their own to finish down one. who turned up on the bank. The King’s
flag was triumphantly waved by Will all
the way home as M1 celebrated earning
our Blades, and securing our place in the
First Division once more.
King’s W1 at Lent Bumps Dinner.
W1 built on their defeat of Magdalene
in Pembroke Regatta to pull away and
row over in front of them on the first day.
They followed this up with a bump on
Trinity Hall and then then another on King’s M1 after winning their blades.
Lady Margaret in days two and three.
Sadly, St Catharine’s proved elusive on
the final day, leaving King’s to row over
and finish up two for the week.
M1, having sadly bumped down to
Sandwich boat in 2012, was to start the
week at the head of Division 2. A strong
start saw us quickly gain a large lead and
M1 rowed over safely. An even faster
start and some very tight lines from Will
saw Selwyn bumped on First Post Cor-
ner on Wednesday. Getting into our
stride for the week, we had two whistles
on Emma before the Motorway bridge,
and took them down before the cor-
ner. Friday saw us move up on Magda-
lene so fast our coaches didn’t even have
time to call distances, and they too were25
Kingston Head
ing’s M1 had a wonderful time
K in Bumps, but bigger plans were
afoot, as we shifted our focus to the
Head of the River Race. Our prepara-
tion for this involved a trip to Kingston
Head. Upon arriving at Kingston Gram-
mar School, we quickly set about re-
rigging our boat and set o↵ for a quick
paddle to warm up and marshall. O↵
the start we were moving well, and we
had soon overtaken one crew. The wind
and waves picked up in the second half,
but we coped well and would have over-
taken another crew had it not been for
some very tactical lines from their cox.
Nevertheless, we finished strong and re-
ceived a decent time as our reward,
finishing 4th fastest of 20 IM3 crews,
and 24th overall. Sadly, due to poor
weather, HoRR 2013 had to be can-
celled, but Kingston Head was a great
race nonetheless.
King’s M1 at Kingston Head.26
Easter Term 2013 training reduced to outings in fours.
However Wallingford Regatta provided
Cambridge Races an excellent opportunity to match our
top four guys against the rest of the
isruption is the word when it
D comes to Easter term rowing in
Cambridge. Revision and exams bro-
country. Raced on Sunday 5th May on
the London 2012 Olympic rowing lake at
Eton Dorney, M1 4+ took on the multi-
ken up by warm, sunny evenings on the lane IM2 and IM3 competitions.
Cam.
An early start was on the cards, with
Easter 2013 saw KCBC in a strong
the first race of the day to go o↵ at 07:30,
position, with both sides set to domi-
with subsequent races every six minutes
nate on the water. The Head of the
there after. As we rigged up the Ham-
Cam at the end of April was our first
mer & Sickle, it became clear how big
chance to pit ourselves up against the
this competition was, with boats of all
big league. The second men’s eight and
sizes and crews of all ages milling around
first men’s four both performed well, but
the boating hard.
it was W1’s day. They comfortably beat
all the competition in the Second Mays A rather rushed warm-up saw us ar-
division, and placed highly amongst the rive slightly late at the start of our first
other first boats. heat in the IM2 division. We had only
Spring Head to Head saw another just got onto the stake boat, when the
strong win for W1, but the competition starter called us to attention! We were
also served as great racing experience for o↵, and up to speed, heading straight
the second and third boats. With Mays down the 2k course. We sat comfort-
fast approaching, it was looking increas- ably in the main pack, focussing on our
ingly likely that we would have six boats own race, the only noise to be heard was
competing for King’s. the six voices of the coxes, Will’s com-
Champs Head in the middle of May ing clearest of all. Lifting towards the
was a last chance to measure up against finish, we crossed the line second, secur-
the other colleges. M1 finished third be- ing a place in the final.
hind Pembroke and Downing, suggest-
ing a positive bumps campaign ahead.
The second men finished in the mix of
colleges, with their fate in bumps un-
clear.
Nines Regatta saw M1 reach the Semi-
finals, losing narrowly to LMBC over the
Cam regatta course up the Reach.
Wallingford Regatta
Men’s First Four
xams at the beginning of Easter The rowing lake at Eton Dorney during
E term had seen the majority of M1’s the Regatta.27
The IM2 final was ours for the tak- in the bright sunshine. Overall a very
ing. Chris Smith has given us a pep talk; exciting day of racing.
we knew we were strong enough to win,
we just had to go out and deliver. Our
Bedford Amateur Regatta
row to the start was perfect; we prac-
ticed a few starts and arrived in plenty Women’s First Eight
of time for the start. On the stake boat
fter success in Bedford Star
we looked at our opposition and deter-
mination filled us. O↵ the start we were
A Head, the first women returned to
Bedford to compete in the Amateur Re-
flying, up onto a great rhythm and mov-
gatta. For most of the crew this would
ing away from the slowest crews. Pass-
be their first o↵-Cam regatta, filling
ing through 500m we settled into our
them with excitement and anticipation.
race and started to grind away at the
In the first round W1 came up against
others crews, moving into an early lead.
Warwick University. They gave the uni-
1250m to go we stepped up slightly, will-
versity crew a good run for their money,
ing the boat on a little bit faster. Still
but unfortunately couldn’t quite make it
ahead. Other crews started to move at
into the second round.
the halfway stage, but we were staying
one step ahead of them. 500m to go.
Ahead. Building up for the finish. Up May Bumps
onto the toes, sharpening up the catches
xams over. Back to the river for
and urging the line closer. 150m to go.
City of Bristol appeared in my periph-
Ethe Mays. For the first time in
many years, W3 qualified for bumps and
erals and closing fast. In a last ditch at-
started the Boat Club’s conquest on the
tempt we went for a sprint finish to the
river. The first day started with a very
line. Too little, too late. Bristol took
quick and decisive bump on Clare IV
it at the line by a canvas. An excellent
a promising start. However, after two
race, but a painful defeat.
successful row overs, it wasn’t until the
The afternoon session saw us com- Saturday that the third women felt the
pete in the IM3 competition. After bump again; this time taking down Sel-
a brief recovery and de-brief, we com- wyn III. A solid up two for the week.
posed ourselves ready to do it all again!
We won our heat, comfortably stepping
away from the other boats, but posted
the slowest time out of the qualifying
crews. Six kilometres of top speed rac-
ing was starting to be felt by the crew.
The final would be against a multitude
of strong school-boy fours. Our aim was
to stick with them until halfway, then
take it from there. We did stick with King’s W3 on Day One of Mays.
them, but could not push on for the win.
The guys enjoyed the last kilometre, rac- The third men had a tougher time, be-
ing on one of Britain’s key rowing stages ing successively bumped by Queens’ IV,28 Girton III, Caius IV, and Magdalene IV. avoiding spoons. Saturday saw them Down four, but pleased with the expe- lose out to a very fast Clare Hall M1, rience gained and determined to make which was tearing up the fourth division! back the places next year. Overall down three for the week. King’s M3 at May Bumps Dinner. King’s M2 at May Bumps Dinner. W2 had a slightly frustrating start The first women had a physically de- to their week as the two boats ahead manding week, starting o↵ as sandwich bumped out, leaving them to chase boat and having to deal with racing down an overbump, which they closed twice each day. After two days of row- upon but couldn’t quite seal. The fol- ing over, day three saw them bumped lowing three days were more successful, by Churchill I. Determination gripped bumping Peterhouse II, St Edmund’s our women on the final day, allowing and Homerton II, leaving them up three them to bump up on Magdalene I and for the week and second in the fourth retain their sandwich boat position for division. next year. Overall level. King’s W2 at May Bumps Dinner. King’s W1 on Day Three of Mays. M2 spent the week slowly sliding back The first men knew Mays would be into the fourth division. The first two tougher than Lents; blues had returned days saw them bumped by Churchill II to other clubs and it was know common and Clare III (with a re-row), before knowledge that King’s could be fast. rowing over as head of division four and Day one saw M1 bump Emmanuel I in
29
a solid row, but still with improvements their boating time approached, doubt of
to be made. Day two saw Fitzwilliam finding a replacement began to set in.
I fall on First Post Corner. Day three Up stood Leo. A quick change and she
and a crew change due to illness; ten- was in the bows of the Jolly Roger row-
sion in the boat was palpable. Could ing down to the start. Fifty minutes
we catch Christ’s I after a last minute later, pure triumph. W2 bumped up,
change. Yes. Tight on the inside of Dit- making Leo the only rower in the club to
ton we gained overlap and completed the bump at every opportunity in our Mays
bump. Day four and disappointment. campaign!
We closed on Clare I to within a quar- Thank you Leo for your many years
ter of a length, pushing the all the way of support; you are a remarkable woman
to top finish, but unable to complete the and a great asset to the Boat Club.
bump. Overall a strong performance, up
three.
Henley Royal Regatta
Men’s First Eight
enley Qualification had been
H our aim all year. Bumps matter in
Cambridge, but away from the Cam, the
Eight’s Head of the River Race (HoRR)
and Henley Royal Regatta (HRR) are
the most important races in the rowing
King’s M1 on Day One of Mays. calendar. Right from the beginning of
Michaelmas our coach, Chris Smith, saw
that we had the potential to make it to
Henley, so he focussed us in and set us on
Boat Naming - Women’s a path of victories building up to HRR.
VIII - Leo Sharpston After the excitement of Bumps and
May Week had passed, we set upon our
n 15th June 2013, past and cur- final campaign of the year - HRR Qual-
O rent members of the club gath-
ered for the naming ceremony of a new
ification. We had tried our best to keep
the training up during the period of May
Stämpfli women’s eight. The name Balls and garden parties, however we
had been chosen in recognition of a needed to seriously step up our game
truly extraordinary member of the boat and get organised if we were to make an
club; a King’s rower for several years, a impact at Henley. With term at an end,
women’s blue multiple times, a KCBC we packed up the boat, welcomed Will
supporter for decades and our current Hayes (St Catherine’s) into the boat,
Honorary President, Leo Sharpston. and moved the crew to Kingston upon
Events that followed the ceremony Thames where we enjoyed the hospital-
demonstrate how truly amazing this ity of Chris Smith and Kingston Gram-
woman is. A women’s second boat rower mar School.
was ill, leaving them a rower short for Training down in Kingston proved vi-
their bumps race that afternoon. As tal in preparing us for Henley. Double30
training sessions on the long and rela- our most efficient rhythm. As we went
tively empty stretch of river in Kingston through the marshalling pattern we were
allowed us to polish our technique and directed by Sir Steve Redgrave toward
completely gel as a crew. Under the the start. All non-essential kit was re-
excellent coaching of Mortitz Schramm moved from the boat and thrown to our
(our Mays and HRR coach) we had de- bank party. We maneuvered into the
veloped not only our rowing ability, but start area and waited for the start.
also the attitude in the boat - backing The majority of the race remains a
each other up, striving for success, and blur. I can honestly say a race has never
always pushing to improve. felt as though it has gone more to plan.
Everyone agreed in the boat that it felt
good, really good. If our pace dropped
o↵ slightly, we got it back straight away;
nine of us against the clock, backing
each other up. Shouts from the boat
when the rhythm felt great kept the
adrenaline pumping, keeping us on the
edge all the way up the course. Lifting
up as we came into the enclosures was
exhilarating. Every last pound of e↵ort
bent on qualification.
King’s M1 training for Henley at
Kingston upon Thames.
A fresh stretch of river, beautiful
sunny weather and plenty of practice
pieces had done us good, so on Thursday
27th June we moved to Henley.
HRR - Qualifiers
Our preparation was complete, we were King’s M1 in the HRR Qualifiers.
ready. On arriving in Henley we took
the opportunity to test out the water After the division had finished, the
and get used to he unfamiliar sights and regatta officials quickly announced the
sounds, so that on race day we could results. We had racked the boat and
keep focus in the boat. For me this one had gathered in the bay. A voice came
race would be the true test of my Cap- over the tannoy.
taincy, had this year been a success or
would we fall at the final hurdle. “The Temple Challenge Cup. Crews
Nerves were high as we boated for who have qualified in alphabetical or-
the qualifying race, but we had a plan der “Eton College, Exeter University,
to stick to; a very detailed plan that Goldie Boat Club, Hampton School,
would get us up to speed and maintain Imperial College School of Medicine,31
King’s College, Cambridge and St
Catherine’s College, Cambridge...”
We erupted with cheers that were, in
our opinion, the loudest of any qualify-
ing crew.
King’s M1 at the start of Henley Royal
Regatta.
ourselves to claw it back, but Eton just
sat in front, slowly inching us away.
King’s M1 celebrate after qualifying for Perhaps due to a lack of side-by-side
the Temple Challenge Cup. racing experience, we just couldn’t find
the same speed and rhythm that we
had in the qualifiers. We crossed the
HRR - First Round line 1 23 lengths behind.
After a few days of disrupted training, King’s M1 would like to thank
due to work commitments and injury Richard Lloyd-Morgan, David Munday,
to our coach, Wednesday finally arrived. Mike Proctor, and Paddy Robinson for
The first day of HRR proper. We had their support on the Wednesday, and
drawn Eton College in the first round, for providing Steward’s Enclosure tick-
with our race set to go o↵ at the prime ets for several members of the crew.
time of 15:35. With our main goal of We would also like to thank our
qualification having been achieved, our coaches, who drove our improvements
aim now was to have a good race and and kept us focussed on our ultimate
give Eton a run for their money. aim. Thank you to Chris Braithwaite,
As we positioned our stern on the who checked up on our progress sev-
stake boat, Sir Matthew Pinsent arrived eral times throughout term. To Chris
in the umpire’s launch to take charge Smith who masterminded the whole
of the race. The boat was set straight, Fairbairns, HoRR, HRR plan, who
the crew was ready, my hand went down. stayed devoted to us despite his new job
in London, and sculpted us into a great
“Cambridge. Eton College. GO.” crew. To Moritz Schramm who took us
We got o↵ to a fairly quick start, but up three in Mays to Henley Qualifica-
saw Eton start to step away from us; by tion - his experience brought about an
the Barrier they were half a length up. attitude change in the boat. A belief in
From this point on we couldn’t quite ourselves and a real drive to succeed.
recover the distance. We kept pushingYou can also read
