W1 Saturday 12th November saw the RUMS W1 boat striding down the Cam in their first racing event of the season. Racing in the fiercely competitive student first eights category was no easy feat, given the majority of the crews were from Cambridge colleges, for whom this stretch is home water. This seemed to give the College crews quite an advantage, with the first 19 times in the division secured solely by Cambridge University crews. However, our W1 crew put down an excellent performance, securing the spot of second fastest non-Cambridge crew of the day, and ranking 21st overall. It is argued, however, that the feat our W1 boat was most proud of was achieving a time 10 seconds faster than our very own RUMS M2 boat! We thoroughly enjoyed this 2.5 km head race, as our rowing was smooth and focussed and, with the help from the placid waters of the River Cam, felt more balanced than ever before. Stroked by our women’s captain Kira Klico, our rhythm felt powerful and deliberate and we managed to maintain a healthy stroke rate throughout the piece. This was a row that we were certainly satisfied with, especially due to the perfect racing line steered by cox Maddy Stevens. When we were met with booming ‘Middle Middle Middle’ calls from all members of the club, we felt our speed surge even more. Cambridge Head has been a very positive start to the season for the Women’s Squad and has provided us with a good benchmark for our future races, just around the corner. The day of Cambridge Head - by Sophie C The day RUMSBC embarked on Cambridge Head, We quite prematurely left our beds. On the coach bright and early, around 6am, Everyone was sleeping so alas, no mayhem. Got off the coach and set up in a field, Teaching the novs to rig felt like reinventing the wheel. W2 were so eager to get afloat, They hadn’t realised the trestle had become one with the boat. W1 was the first crew to race, Followed by W2 at quite some pace. Everyone was yelling “middle middle middle”, To the oblivious dog walkers, this seemed quite a riddle! Then came the NM1’s first competition, They rowed well, making fools of the opposition. M2 powered it down the course Exerting onto their footplates phenomenal force M1 became closely acquainted with the bank, This didn’t stop them – they EMPTIED THE TANK. NM2 rowed the boat club proud Our cheers for them were overwhelmingly loud The Nov women rowed down in style, Leaving their captain proud, with a smile. Crew photos were taken all around Now that everyone was finally aground At the end of the day We packed the boats away Fresher’s hands duct taped with cider and port Ready to enjoy a different kind of sport The journey back home was anything but quiet Circles left right and centre it was quite a riot With the lack-of-water-in-cambridge-dehydration kicking in It wasn’t long before our heads started to spin Back at Mully’s RUMSBC took the stage As much energy as pixies released from a cage The songs they were singing were no hokey pokey This was some real hardcore karaoke All in all it was a successful day Everyone felt ready to hit the hay The novs were ready to go to bed Having partaken in their first head Mixed Novice 8 A poem perhaps, To recount the mishaps Of an oar-ful race Where we couldn’t keep pace. That shambolic day We were antislay We barely survived And almost died But lived to regale You with our tale Of how we flailed And iconically sailed. A precarious ride Rowed against the tide We couldn’t set the boat we barley stayed afloat We kept catching crabs Which killed our abs The weather was cold Maddie's coxing? Gold We made Maddie scream Lewis could only dream And as for niccolo You helped our confidence grow Alix we'll do better next time UH head is our time to shine You sure did cheer loud We hope we made you proud Novice Men Crews We started the day of our first race well after arriving in Cambridge with one of our members being left behind on the coach and not a single person noticing that they were missing or that there was a mysterious unclaimed bag present. After settling in the ideal spot right beside the portaloos and reconvening with our abandoned teammate, we tucked into our gourmet dishes prepared the night before, including, but not limited to, 2 cans of diet coke or, in particularly fancy cases, a Tesco meal deal. We then assisted in the assembly of the senior crew’s boats which went surprisingly well despite an unfortunate incident involving a trestle. Afterwards, it was time to watch the senior crews and marvel at the excellent timing of their strokes and at their ability to keep the boat completely set while in motion (a concept completely foreign to us) before cheering them on as they crossed the finish line. It was then the turn of our first novice crew led by their cox Abena. After an emphatic team talk from our captain/hype man Niccolo, the first crew set off towards the start line as everyone else set up a picnic, ready to support them as they turned the corner. Despite a couple of crabs and blisters, the first team were spurred on by cheers of “MIDDLE MIDDLE MIDDLE” in the final stretch finishing with a time of 15:52. Following on from them, after waiting for only 3 hours, was the second novice men crew led by Will S. After swapping kit and getting a similarly engaging team talk from our hype man, the second crew set off towards the start line. As the crew waited alongside the other boats, the experience of our cox shone through as he began the mind games. By playing songs like YMCA or tequila through his speaker, we psyched out our opponents while also demonstrating incredible feats of synergy by making letters with our hands simultaneously. The second crew then crossed the start line at a surprisingly fast (but unsustainable) speed before slowing down due to a couple of unfortunate crabs until the final stretch where, again, the resounding cries of the entirety of RUMSBC gave us the energy to cross the line with a time of 13:08. Despite coming 12th and 11th respectively out of the 12 novice crews entered the race and losing by 20 seconds to the other UH crew (St George’s), we were all content with our display in our first-ever race and the experience only enflamed our desire to perform even better in our future races. Novice Women Crew A “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” And if you want to make UH history, make sure to go into RUMS - literally, row into their boat. At least, that seems to have been the UCL Novice Women’s philosophy. At 09:50am, donning yellow and blue war paint (and glitter) on our cheeks, RUMS’ Novice Women Crew A took to the erg shed to practice our sprint starts - fuelled by caffeine, team spirit, and some nutritious breakfasts: ranging from hungover-MD-rower Nikita’s pesto pasta, to bananas (curtesy of our stroke Scarlett - another MD - who was so tired from Friday night’s post-Polio and Juliet Circle that she brought to the Boathouse with her enough bananas to feed an army). After Alix and Niccolo were satisfied with our sprint starts, we let the Novice Men have their go on the rowing machines whilst we took our boat out of the boathouse and did our final checks. On Abena’s command, we heaved the boat off the trestles (fret not, unlike Cambridge Head, the trestles all stayed anchored to the ground), and we walked down to the river bank with the boat on our shoulders. Wading knee-deep into the ice cold water of the Thames, we lowered our boat and put our blades in, before rowing to the start line. At front stops, blades squared and buried in the water, cores tense and boat beautifully balanced and straight, we waited in eager anticipation on Surrey side for the marshals to say that one syllable, two letter word: “Go!”. To our right, UCL’s Novice Women waited in the waters of Middlesex side. The call to battle sounded and we wasted not a millisecond. Wind blowing, frigid water splashing, hair flying - we pulled ahead of UCL to the sound of “MIDDLE MIDDLE MIDDLE, SEX SEX SEX.” Legs, bodies, arms, arms, bodies, legs; catch, there, catch, there; legs, bodies, UCL’s purple blades hitting RUMS’ yellow and blue ones in my periphery. Wait - UCL’s purple blades? Ladies and gentlemen, UCL’s Novice Women had rowed not just into our lane, but into our boat. Abena was face-to-face with the enemy’s bow. Stroke side’s blades were compromised - taken prisoners by purple cavalry. Using our quick thinking and problem solving skills, we managed to push off their boat and disentangle ourselves from UCL’s oars, taking the lead once more - only for the Marshals to order a re-row. So we rowed down to the crossing zone, UCL following us and shame following them, and spun to row back up the river. We then spun the boat again and realigned ourselves at the start line - only to be told that there was a PLA coming. If you don’t know, that’s the big boat which goes at the speed of a six year old human child swimming for the first time. We were instructed to spin once more, and at this point I was convinced the UH Autumn Regatta was a “do figures of 8 competition” as opposed to a 500m sprint. Nevertheless, we obliged, rowing back down the river, spinning, and rowing some more. Seasons came and went. The baby seals of the Thames grew up and got married, had baby seals and grandbaby seals of their own, and passed away, before the PLA finally moved past us. But just when we finally thought we were going to be able to race, another PLA decided to pull up. Once more, at snail’s pace. At this point we were all cold and wet, having been on the water over an hour. But one eternity later, the second PLA too passed, and we found ourselves parallel to UCL at the start line once more. (Or maybe for the first time, as they clearly weren’t parallel to us the first time around). The re-row began, and we were off - until we caught two simultaneous crabs, leading to an “easy there” from Abena. Luck was on UCL’s side, as they did not catch two crabs at once and were able to continue rowing as our rowers bravely recovered their blades from the viscous hold of the tide. Nevertheless, we kept rowing and crossed that finish line. It was only once we were out of the boat and back on the river bank that we were made aware we could have contested the moment UCL crashed into us. But alas, it was too late for justice to prevail, in spite of the videographic evidence from Scarlett’s mum and Eti. Defeated on paper but not in spirit, RUMS Novice Women Crew A took our boat out of the water and got ourselves dry(er) and warm(er), before heading back down to cheer on the seniors and other novice crews. All in all, our first sprint (and for most of us, our first race) was certainly a memorable experience. Not quite sure many other crews can say they were crashed into by UCL. It wasn’t just the Novice Women though - the whole day was punctuated by various, curious incidents of UCL’s boats gravitating a little too close to RUMS’ boats, including a moment where the RUMS Senior Men were unable to row because of UCL’s boat. As poetic as it would be to liken the boats to star-crossed lovers born into rival clans, I wouldn’t quite say it was Romeo and Juliet; RUMS’ Novice Women’s boat didn’t really reciprocate UCL’s Novice Women’s Boat’s desire for close proximity (she felt quite the opposite, actually 😬). But anyway, UH Autumn Regatta was the first of many more races to come. UCL, you may have got lucky and won this battle, but RUMS is determined to win the war. See you at Winter Sprints x Near Death Experience Count: 1 Head Injuries: 0 Woman of the Race: I think we were all extraordinary, but special mention to Khadeejah for continuing to be a very slay bow even when her foot plate came completely off in the middle of the Thames. Wouldn’t have made it back to land without you x Novice Women Crew B
Selling one Autumn Regatta experience with Nov Women B Details: One autumn regatta experience: including 500m of rowing until you want to collapse, wind, rain, and maximum RUMSBC vibes. Pros:
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Senior Men's race reportC: Chris Jackson S: Arjun Patel 3: Joss Digweed 2: Bartlomiej Rosinski B: Amit Bhudia The Men’s four rocked up at the boat house for an early start for our first ever paddle as a crew. We made leaps and bounds trying out our sprint start and building up to race pace which gave our crew added confidence for our first sprints race ever! As we were cheering on the novice women, Amit and myself were unexpectedly called to sub into a Novice Men’s VIII due to a timing clash. We took this opportunity to get used to the race we would face that afternoon and came so close to victory in the face of mechanical issues for our bow and stroke seat. After the tides turned, we strapped ourselves into our shiny new Hudson and made our way down to the start point, practising one last sprint start along the way. We lined up and were faced with an unexpectedly long call for attention which threw us off. We heard the marshal call go and ended up losing to the more experienced George’s boat who from peripheral vision were faster than expected but all was not lost! Each rower dug deep, listening attentively to Beans’ motivating calls as we put our all into a power 10. Alas, we crossed the finish line uncertain of the distance between ourselves and the George’s crew but remained hopeful for our three-way race for third. With no time to waste we turned around and made our way back to the start line for our last row of the day. Once again, we lined up, feeling exhausted, waiting for the start call. ‘Attention… GO!’ This time our start was much better, we were holding a tight lead against ICSM for the first half of the race. Not one rower on either crew was giving in, but our bodies were aching as we sorrowfully saw the ICSM crew take our lead and inch away from us. We crossed the finish line to the sound of our teammates chanting, MIDDLE MIDDLE MIDDLE! Everyone who stuck around until the end of the day to watch us race made the pain and suffering all worth it. Although we hadn’t won, we left with our heads held high and excited for races to come. With some more practice we’re all looking forward to an even better performance at Quintin Head next weekend and particularly UH Head Arjun Patel Senior Women's race reportC Melissa Nelson S Zakira Klico 7 Sophie Covington 6 Rose Maloney 5 Grace Yang 4 Lauren Pereira-Greene 3 Sophie Ollerenshaw 2 Annabel Butler B Alix McNeil On the morning of Winter Sprints, we ate many a crepe We gobbled them up without a regret All the Nutella that made us feel sick Was the fuel needed for us to row extremely quick Saturday 22nd saw the first race of the year We arrived at the boathouse full of cheer With hair in meticulous battle braids We got warmed up and put out the blades The women’s eight’s first race was the semi-final For Bart’s and RVC were COVIDly viral We rowed up alongside GKT Came to front stops and sat squared and ready GKT’s start was rather strong Perhaps since their warmup was rather long Within 10 strokes they’d taken a length But this didn’t buffer our mighty strength We held onto them throughout the race Our technique was good and we were moving at pace It was captain Melissa’s coxing debut Her excellent calls helped us push through But due to GKT’s impressive start sequence speed They finished the race with just over one boat length’s lead This left us in third place overall A position we felt was good, but improvable We put our boat back onto the rack And had our informative post-race chat And to celebrate our short but exciting row We took a wholesome crew photo And with thanks to the incredibly slow boat bay kettle A haphazard hot chocolate we drank and then did we settle Over at the pub for a pint or five Legs tired due to our massive leg drive Winter Sprints was a great start to 2022 But now we were all rather pooped So off we all went, homebound In need of a well-deserved lie down Sophie Covington Novice Men's reportS Pawel Ogrodnik 7 Aryan Arora 6 Etienne Royer Gray 5 Josh Lau 4 Justus Schotanus 3 Sam Rolfe 2 Dan Diaz Blanco B Dara Razanghi Overall, a really good day with a lot of promising progress to build on. Despite the loss, the novice men fought back to lose by only half a boat length despite being at times 2 rowers down. Unfortunately, a loose gate and floor plate gave way - perhaps a useful lesson about tightening bolts? The boat felt really balanced throughout thanks to the efforts of all the novice men, with marked improvements in power, timing and positioning. This race has given us lots of encouragement to continue and sets a solid benchmark for the rest of the year! Etienne Royer-Gray Novice Women's reportC Vaish
S Cecila 7 Hannah 6 Geemini 5 Laetisha 4 Sofia 3 Mathura 2 Anam B Maddy It was a cold and wet morning in January and like every day at the boathouse, everything was running smoothly, punctually and without any sort of breakdown. With our lovely Vaish at our helm, we went out for a classic RUMSBC pre-race paddle, only stopping once (1 time) to prevent an almost-tragic fin-related casualty. The atmosphere was buzzing; first race day for a few of us and first sprints for all. Between a cheeky shoe issue (through no fault of the boatswain & assistant, obviously) and me and Cecilia attempting to dry off after an only slightly spicy landing, the chatter and excitement was palpable. In traditional fashion, staying cool, calm and collected was an unobtainable goal. However, we were on time! (Go RUMS!) With the marshals guiding us towards the start line and St. George’s revving their engines beside us, we were tense, we were exhilarated, we were speed! Given that we’d not rowed as a complete crew before, and the fact that a few of our dashing rowers were extremely new to the fun, funky and fresh vibes of the Thames, morale may have been high, but expectations sure weren’t. Nevertheless, we brought our big boy legs to the table and when the marshal called “attention…”, we were born ready. Soaring off, neck and neck with the girls from George’s, we were looking good and feeling better. But, no! Tragedy struck in an early crab and we watched, doe-eyed and slightly panting, as victory slipped through our blistered little fingers. Winning may not always be RUMSBC’s style, but giving up definitely isn’t. With a quick reset and some encouraging shouts from Vaish, we were off again, determined to finish and already mentally preparing for the second race of the day. Race number 2 was against sworn rivals, ICSM, and with the whole of boat club behind us, chanting dutifully as we spun round into the Middlesex bank, we had a point to prove. The starting call didn’t faze us this time (we were already pros) and so we rushed out of the gates, immediately taking a strong and rather sexy lead on Imperial. It seems that fate, however, was not on our side. At RUMSBC, we pride ourselves on our consistency and as another crab held us up, nearly taking out Sofia along with our chances to win, we took a moment to remember the rush of the lead and enjoy our brief respite before Sergeant General Vaish had us back on the grind and pumping out our best rowing to get the race done and dusted. Whilst we didn’t win, and were barely able to keep the boat above our heads at any given time, we did learn the value of teamwork, perseverance and importantly, that it never stops being funny when someone falls in the river. Hopefully, the promising leads we snatched keep our Nov women hungry and in the upcoming races (looking at you, UH Head), we’ll be able to clinch a few medals with some super zesty rowing. Maddy Stevens w1 race reportAll the leaves are brown And the sky is grey I've been for a row
On an autumn day I'd be safe and warm If I was in the Huntleyyyy ~ The leaves are falling and a frosty chill is creeping in so one thing’s certain: winter is coming. Fear not though, as an ingenious way to transport ourselves back to some spicy summer racing just happens to come in the form of AUTUMN REGATTA! With the novice races cancelled, nine of our finest ladies clambered onto the overground ready for battle. The intimidation tactics were played at once with a chunky outing in the crisp morning air (almost as crisp as our catches) But this was just the warm up. Once the finishing touches of matching kit and battle braids had been secured, our cox Abena led her crew into the field. The women braving the waves were as follows: S Kira Klico 7 Laura Dan 6 Millie Walker 5 Luisa Alamo Gomez 4 Melissa Nelson 3 Grace Yang 2 Rose Maloney B Alix McNeil A rapid turn around from boating to the moment alignment was called left little time for the icy rain to distract from the task at hand: yeeting ourselves across the finish line before ICSM could start chanting away. With half the crew hungry for more following a close race in the W4+ with Will, and the other half still running on a mix of caffeine and the adrenaline from our morning outing, we knew we had to make every inch count (especially the first though)! The crew came out swinging with a speedy start that rattled ICSM, giving us an early lead. This was not going to be an easy race, however, and our opposition were up on us through the halfway. “Middle middle middle” was called as we stormed past the white crane into the final stretch and we stayed strong until the sound of the almost synchronised finishing horns marked the end of such a tight race. With the first sprint race of the season now under our belts, we rewarded ourselves with some snazzy stash and a UH (in this case just RUMS x Bart’s) curry night followed by Leccy B All in all, it was a great taste of the season ahead and some fuel to fire us up for winter training! Novice women race reportC: Chris Jackson S: Hannah Simon 7: Sara Terracciano 6: Cecilia Bogle 5: Diya Shah 4: Belva Tam 3: Nadia Ali-Nadja 2: Valerie Mok B: Annabel Butler The Novice Women's 2021 Cambridge Head race really all started the night before with Rose, our Captain's, home made vegetarian bolognese. Having cooked enough to feed the 500 we all sat down to eat as a team, after partaking in this age old tradition we went off for our early bedtimes well and truly united. Rising before the sun like good rowers (although still a novelty for us RUMSBC gals) we were far to soon reunited outside of campus, awaiting the coach that would take us to our first competition. Whilst waiting we were informed that only a few hours earlier it had looked like we would have to float down the Cam in homemade rafts as our boat trailer had encountered difficulties. After napping the coach journey away, we woke up to find ourselves in the bleak grey outskirts of Cambridge, where our city lungs were shocked by the concept of fresh air. We set up camp in what I am told is our traditional spot perhaps intentionally close to the landmark that is the row of portaloos. Here we settled down for a day of racing. Like all athletes, as we were last to row, we turned our focus to the important task of sport nutrition. This took the form of carefully crafted, well-balanced, PBJ rice cakes and pizza! Having spent an inspiring morning watching the rest of RUMSBC race it was time for us to take to the water. Kitted out in our crew shirts we stepped (yes, no wading knee deep in the water today!) into our borrowed St. George’s boat. Waved of by a cheering crowed we rolled sixes down the river. It was about this time when Diya realised that this boat was clearly made for giants when, despite all her best efforts, the shoes were too big for her feet. What were we to do? Drop out a vital pair of rowers? Never! As a boat full of medics (and an architect), surely we could put our heads together and find a solution. And of course we did - tape! - we would tape her feet into the shoes and nothing could hold us back. Making an emergency call, Rose ran to our rescue. But before she could arrive we set of again from the banks of the Cam chasing a rumour of electrical tape at the start line. A quick bit of DIY later and we were ready to row. And off we went, picking up speed towards the start line. This was perhaps the best rowing of our lives, it seems impossible to think that this time last week we were struggling to role sixes and the concept of feathering was a abstract form of meditation to us. Guided by Beans calls of ‘power 10’ and ‘push off the boys’ who were forever tailing us in the distance. A few crabs were perhaps caught but each was seamlessly recovered and so we travelled down the Cam with what I am told was “chunky rowing”. Reaching halfway, our energy stores were staring to run low but turning the corner we were revitalised by the chant of 'MIDDLE MIDDLE MIDDLE' …giving us the strength to power gracefully though the last two bridges, and with one final push we crossed the line. We rowed our first race in 13:34.6, came 6th in our category, and 2nd out of UH, and so after such an incredible display of strength and determination we went off to celebrate with some karaoke! By Hannah Simon Novice men race reportC: Will Shorrocks S: Pawel Ogrodnik 7: Dara Razanghi 6: Justus Schotanus 5: Guy Fischman 4: Etienne Royer Gray 3: Sam Rolfe 2: Daniel Diaz Blanco B: Aryan Arora Overall, we were very happy with the race, and definitely pleased with our own performance. As we are a novice crew, we just tried to do our best, and left feeling that we did. Our best also happened to be pretty good for what we expected, so a lot of positives to look back on from the race itself! After coming back to London, we had our fair share of fun celebrating at Mully’s karaoke to finish off the day. With that our first race day was complete, and we’re all looking forward to the next one! In the Cambridge head, novice men rowed for 12.20 minutes, came in 8th of 10 teams and 2nd of 3 UH teams. By Pawel Ogrodnik M1 Race reportC: Vaish Sabari S Luca Richards 7 Felix Von Spreckelsen 6 Jai Sidpra 5 Derek Harrison 4 Sam Gregg 3 Sukhvir Nijjar 2 Joachim Ho B Max Fornasiero It had been a stressful 24 hours to Cambridge. All trailered boats had been grounded by a failed trailer driver so we had to procure 4 eights and a four at 10pm the night before the race. Fortunately our men and women at st George’s had a lovely new Hudson eight they allowed us to use. This presented M1 with a unique opportunity. As their M1 was racing in an earlier division and the river isn’t tidal- we had a matched race! Same boat, same river, same river speed! Finally a proper UH head to head! Their expensive boat was a dream rowing up in, slick slides like they had been oiled with the slippiest of oils. The start! We were adeptly spun on a sixpence in the middle of the river by Vaish and then we powered off. Chasing us was the Cantabrigian Semi-professional rowing club who were hot on our heels and a lot better trained. We held them off for the first 700m and on the second 90 degree turn we had ourselves a good old fashioned stand off. Vaish wouldn’t back down, we had the inside line and we wanted it. Their cox was taking the riskier and longer line, but we had to be safe so couldn’t force them wider. Screaming from the Cantabrigian coach on the side as he couldn’t believe the scenes as our blades and theirs feathered over each other. Alas, we held them as long as we could but in that final straight their crew of 8 very seasoned and experienced men slowly pulled away. As we rowed passed the women’s crew cheering from the bank suddenly the boat speed picked up, and the balance reset. The mens eight powered through the finish. M1 raced through the finish, faster than George’s, in their own boat and with a healthy 10 second lead. Moral of the story, we need to break our old boat for the insurance money and buy one of the ones George’s have. By Felix Von Spreckelsen M2 race reportC: Chris Jackson S: Owen Colligan 7: Bartlomiej Rosinski 6: Arjun Patel 5: Laurens Boevé 4: Lewis Hindle 3: Amit Bhudia 2: Aryan Goel B: Niccolo Doe The second race of the year was upon us. Following the fresh morning start (or continuation of the previous night for Owen), there were many sleepy heads on the coach journey up to Cambridge. We were also graced with the presence of Niccolo Doe who was a true hero for subbing in last second. Arriving at the green the scratch crew found out we wouldn't be rowing in neither our initial div 2 nor our own boat but rather at the later div 4 and Kings' boat with dodgy steering. This was met with an almost immediate trip by all to the Tesco to get some food and red bulls. With time to kill, I introduced the boys to the wonders of Deep Heat forming our own little circle and plaguing the olfactory nerves of all around us. Our warm up jog definitely ruined some trainers but fortunately no ankles. The time to race was fast approaching when someone from Kings came over and handed us a 2 seat. We prayed that was the only thing broken about the boat but our prayers were not answered... We'd all be warned about the horrible turns of the Cam and were prepared to bust out some sick drifts round the bends on the way up to the start. Alas, it was not meant to be, after our smooth entry into the river we were met with traffic rivalled only by the M25 during rush hour. After a painstakingly slow row up we were met with utter confusion from the marshalls as we were in the wrong division,"What's your number?" "212!" "412?" "No! 212!". We got sent up and down often being referred to as "Kings" or "KCL", before we were eventually allowed to park in some weeds. During our wait we discovered that Laurens' shoe wasn't attached properly and now just a free entity and that we may have overdone the deep heat. Regardless the time had come to step up, Beans pumped us up with some beautiful tunes and we were ready to go. We established we didn't care about splashing all we wanted was some good chunky rowing! After seeing many boats set off before us we were finally brought to the start line. The time had come, we were going to smash this for our fallen soldier (Anshul we love you <3) and we were off. Once we got to the bends we found out how truly awful the steering was, people needed to dropped out here and there. Goodbye racing lines, hello janky boat control. As we came out of the second corner we were eventually overtaken by some Cambridge Women swiftly navigating the horrendous angles of the Cam. We pushed through the pain, towards the screams of "MIDDLE MIDDLE MIDDLE!". All we knew was that the end was near, and we wanted to leave this godforsaken river till our inevitable return next year. We got out only to learn that some of us had lost our hip flexors along the way and others had gotten showered in the cold river water. The result may have not been what we wanted but the sheer determination of these men showed that we're truly in it for those beautiful UH medals awaiting us. By Aryan Goel W4 RAce reportC: Will Shorrocks S: Kira Klico 3: Laura Dan 2: Charis Smith B: Millie Walker After a year of missing rowing and races, we began the day with a ritual no one has missed: the 4am wake up for Cambridge head. Luckily for us, it was the coldest day of year so that woke us all up. Unbeknownst to the rest of us, our president and 3-seat, President Dan, had had nearly no sleep trying to rectify a last-minute trailer driver situation (the situation being that we now had no trailer driver). Heroically, she managed to secure boats for us to row in, so we began the journey to Stourbridge common to unite with our adopted boat for the day. W4 boated early, and Cantabs’ generous offer immediately seemed like sabotage when Laura’s footplate flew off about 5 strokes into the row up. Bow pair, myself and Charis, dutifully powered up to the start line, while Captain Melissa sprinted to meet us, pliers in hand. She arrived just after we had borrowed a pair from a marshal, but was there to give us a last bit of encouragement off the start line. Having not had an outing as a set crew before the race, we weren’t sure what to expect but we felt strong and looked it. Kira set a chunky rhythm that we all bought into – and there is photographic evidence that we were all in the pain cave together from early on in the race. We were overtaken by East Anglia, but couldn’t take it personally as they had a great race. It gave us something to push off in that painful last third, and added a bit of peril for Will, who has coxed Cambridge too many times to be allowed an easy job. Unfortunately for us, there wasn’t a big UH turn out in the women’s 4+ category – but hopefully this means we take them by surprise the next time we come up against them in competition. We completed the course in 12:16.8, which placed us a respectable 190th out of 219 boats. We have a great platform to build off of now in the months leading up to UH head and can’t wait to get some proper outings as a set four! By Millie Walker W8 Race reportC: Abena Amponsah
S: Rose Maloney 7: Sophie Ollerenshaw 6: Emma McEwen 5: Grace Yang 4: Maddie Rose 3: Luisa Álamo-Gómez 2: Irina Soica B: Alix McNeil Facing the cold Cambridge morning with a crew formed of three fresher +1s and three members too incompetent to race this arch-enemy in their fresher’s year, the WI8 managed a respectful 13th out of 22 crews, and triumphed a wooping first place in the UH crews(out of 1 hehe)!! After the whole lack of boats saga which left poor committee with no hours sleep, we landed safe and sound in the George’s boat, although there weren’t limits to how many times Maddie nearly chucked herself into the river along the way (can’t be as bad as the Thames hey). With adrenaline pumping, we were off to a great start; Abena coxing her very first Cambridge Head with a broken cox box, still she might’ve given us the smoothest infamous corner turns RUMSBC has ever seen. Is that a M4 overtaking us? Our women didn’t let a few men slow us down – MIDDLE MIDDLE MIDDLE! Powered on by the cheers of RUMSBC, we swept under the bridge into a finish at 11 minutes 50 seconds, too ready for the sPORT waiting for us on the other side. Great start to a year ladies, UH Head we’re coming for you bigger and better! By Grace Yang On a beautifully sunny Bumps-esque Sunday, RUMSBC prepared to show the rest of UH what we're made of, in the biggest race of the year. And that we did, bringing home 3 shiny medals thanks to M4, W1 and W2. Massive congrats to all our crews who raced for giving it their all. We're immensely proud of all the hard work and training we've done over the year and we'll be back and ready to do it all again very, very soon. Have a scroll down to relive the day's excitement with these enthralling race reports... Senior Women Women's Senior 8 Row row row your boat Aggressively down the thames We went out to win some medals and make some happy mems Row row row your boat As fast as we can go Can we see the kings boat? No they’re really slow Row row row your boat Down the course we sped After 20 massive strokes We won UH Head Row row row your boat We’re so glad we won Lots of love to Jenny Budden Our work here now is done .- Claire Shadwell Women's Intermediate 8 This was it. The biggest race of the year. UH head. After months of training and physical preparation (carb loading was an integral part of our regime), we were ready to show the rest of UH what a real “pace boat” looked like. We took suns out guns out to a whole new level on Sunday, not letting the power (or even the rate) drop once for the gruelling 16 minutes in the blistering British sunshine. Not only did we look slick af, but we also left our competitors in our wake, finishing 40s faster than them and overtaking two MS4s to really rub in our victory. It was a well-deserved win. And we celebrated with lots of gin x - Charlotte Withers Senior Men Men's Senior 4 “Down boys” Will calls as we cross the finish line. No time to recover before we have to row on through Chiswick bridge. We paddle, blades on the water, as thats all we can muster. Every body movement feels like you’re pushing through treacle. What a prospect, to row the same race in a smaller boat that feels heavier every stroke for 2 minutes longer than you’ve just done. The order was Sam Gunning, myself, Callum Field, Luke Martin, coxed by, until recently a UH virgin, William Shorrocks, weighing in at 68kg - only 4kg lighter than Luke. If you think thats a heavy lump in an 8, as our Australian bow man would say ”that’s one big boofa in a four”. Squeezing out the lactate with each stroke as we approached the start was just what we needed to prep for the race. As we turned we wished Barts good luck. “Rate 24… good… building to 34 in 3… 2… 1… Go…” Good start. As planned. “Hips in 3… in 2… in 1…”. Settled to rate 31. Chasing Barts down every stroke.500m into the race, “GOOD BOYS you’re catching Barts already… you’ll overtake them at this rate”. Even by a coxes standard putting a good spin on a race situation, we thought this was total bullshit. We nevertheless pressed on hoping to close the gap. Approaching the yellow buoy and we hear the distinctive voice of another boat ahead of us. We dare not look around, we know that we’re chasing down the Barts top 4. Surely that can’t be them 1200m into the race. As we approach and pull side by side with the 4 there is nothing Will can say to stop everyone of us giving the biggest most ridiculously unsustainable push our legs can muster. Sure enough it was Barts next to us. It quickly became Barts behind us. With more than half race to go we went for glory pushing off the Kings top 4 that were chasing us to start with, we watched them fall into the distance. Suddenly, as we approach Kew road pulling our cleanest 10 strokes for no other reason than the pure vanity of knowing that the RUMSBC drone was recording every second, a mystery crew overtakes Barts and Kings in front of us then appears to reduce the gap on us. ICSM Top 4. Not from this year, but from the Henley UH boat 2 years ago. This was now our challenge having seen off Barts and Kings, we now had to push of this crew of ICSM boys who formed half the old Henley UH boat in 2017. As we come down the final straight for the second time we execute our tiers once again. “Tier 1 … PRESS SEND”. “TIER 2… LEGS”. “TIER 3… STICK THE KNIFE IN”. We cross the line. One glance up catches the ICSM boat approaching us from the distance. Some time later they wind down… but how much later? Had we done enough? A few hours later, Jerry Mitchell kindly informed us that we had. - Jamie Glenister Men's Senior 8 coming soon, watch this space. Men's Intermediate 8 M2 this year has been something of an enigma, barely scraping together an eight for each outing throughout the year there were many times we queried it's viability and questioned whether there was much to race for. Outings this year have been eerily good, few negative comments to make really went against the grain of our crew consistency. A core of six rowers throughout the year proved steadfast and this would make all the difference come UH Head. With 2 UCL subs and one outing with them, Jaeho and Franz (former Women's Senior Captain, Joy Schmidt's brother - crazy, I know?!) the race didn't look particularly promising. Especially given that the speakers on our boat conveniently decided to stop working the Wednesday before, causing us to resort to The Free Doctors - luckily also a Hudson eight. I know I couldn't have asked any more from the crew on Sunday. Steph, coming in to cox us only from Training Tour 3 weeks ago proved a revelation and gave us that fighting chance we didn't think we would have against George's firsts (in an intermediate category??). I don't think we could have timed our race better, redlining the whole way and overtaking 3 senior women's crews on the way was an added bonus. Losing by 5 seconds to George's wasn't a loss, it was the best race I've ever had for RUMS. Some may say it's down to the Bumps-esque weather but I genuinely think it is from training all year and racing so well with such a great bunch of lads. - Matt Kinsella Novice Men This weekend was eventful for the boys to say the least. Having had a wonderful outing on Saturday where we finally figured out how to row, a truly unfortunate accident left us about half of a rower short. With the squad already having been decimated by illness and injury, our beloved leader Jack Merritt suggested we use dark and ancient magics to summon the unspeakable eldritch might of ANSCHÜL to our aid; we recalled the idea almost immediately, concluding that to release such an uncontrollable force upon the Thames might cause irreversible ecological damage. With no one to replace our fallen brother it seemed Ryan’s Raiders (formerly Melissa’s Marauders) were in a real pickle, but come the morning of UH it was revealed that there had been nothing to fear! Miraculously our own 5’2 Ryan Lin had metamorphosed overnight into a 6’4 man called Jason. Everything was going our way. As we rounded the corner through the start of the race, another fantastic stroke of luck! The George’s boat we were chasing crabbed almost immediately and we overtook them with a wildly cruel Nelson-from-the-Simpsons-esque laugh from our own Will Owens. We continued to paddle hard under the excellent command of Kelly “Capable” Wyatt, whose power-tens and words of encouragement pushed us right till the end; there was a slight hiccup when an unknown member of the crew caught a crab, but this matter was resolved quickly and cleanly and shall never be spoken of again. In the end we did not win the gold we had hoped for, but we certainly did do ourselves proud, leaving nothing in our collective tanks at the finish line. A very satisfying race that bodes well for the future! -Ashirbad Roy Novice Women After weeks of long ergs, large meals and a training tour in Maidstone, we were feeling all too ready for UH head (even though we were banned from erging the day before). The weather was lovely and we were excited at the thought of all the training finally paying off and the fact that we were getting all dressed up for UH dinner afterwards. After a morning of cheering on some of the mens crews and taking some enviable squad photos at the boathouse, we rolled up to Pink Lodge. It was suns out guns on the row up and there were many RUMS teams near us starting before us. After cheering on the senior men and women and seeing their chunky rowing, we were pumped and ready to start our own race. We crossed the start line and put down all the power we could as we rowed the stretch to Brentford Loche, the part of the race we struggle with most in outings. The adrenaline made this easier than normal and we got a second rush of energy as we heard "middle middle middle" from the spectators at Kew Bridge. We were motivated all the way through by Beans, our cox, and our favourite call "Do it for Rosa!" Overall the race felt strong, and it was our best piece to date. We suffered a crab or two but they were small and easily recovered. By the end, we all felt on the edge of death which is how you know you've rowed your hardest. Nevertheless we were happy at our performance but sad that it was over. Unfortunately we didn't win, which was a shame but we gave it our all and the Bladies have never been stronger! -Vaish Sabari RUMSBC started off 2019's racing season as we mean to go on- with a hat trick of medals courtesy of our Senior Women, literally #medalmedalmedal. Huge congratulations to our Novice Women who reached the final and big love to both the Senior and Novice Men for powerful displays which bode well for the upcoming training tour and of course, the big dog, UH Head. Senior Women Women's First VIII After a joyous Wetherspoons-fuelled weekend in Manchester, W1 made it back to the sunny Tideway just in time for the highly anticipated winter sprints race! In the interests of not getting too complacent over our victory at Allom Cup, we managed to fit in a quick prep outing before 9am on Saturday, allowing us enough time in the day to carb-load before the 3-way straight final come Sunday. Ensuring our position on Middlesex side, we drifted into alignment, setting off with a fairly rushed start. We quickly brought back our timing, brought up the rate and finally settled into a strong and consistent rhythm. After an initially very close start, we started gaining on both boats, gaining our confidence to battle out the final stretch. There were a few moments where we lost our rhythm but we brought it back quickly, maintaining our position in first place. With medals in sight, we emptied the tank with a final 10 powerful strokes, achieving a full length on both boats; “Middle Middle Middle!” -Anna Shadwell Women's Second VIII 'When W2 Won Winter Sprints'- a masterpiece by Claire Shadwell A new year shineth on RUMSBC And the bladies are raring to go, We’ve sank our body weight in pints And now we’re ready to row At bow we had the Staggsman, She’s bold with tiny hands her fierce enthusiasm for the sport keeps her off dry land Next at 2 it’s Rad the LAD She’s got a trick or two She’ll chin that Guinn in half the time It takes me to do a pre-race poo At 3 we have the dashing Munro Churning watts at an incredible pace Beers, boys, blades and bant She’s a weapon in every case Princess Ceyda is our number 4 Stores strength in the hair on her head But go near her with a pair of scissors And you may just find yourself dead At number 5, oh lord alive It’s Laura Dan the man Winning medals and winning hearts This UCL girl can Number 6 is a fiery spark With a wholesome love of rivers Winning is the only option When your name is Charlotte Withers Number 7 is distinctly average I can’t even remember her name Nothing much to say on this Except her rhyming is truly lame Our stroke has made a glorious return Rowing as hard as she can peddle What a wonderful day for Liz Sinclair bringing home her very first medal Last but not least it’s Georgie Lloyd Without whom this boat would have sank She inspires us all to reach for glory And her coxing is really dank And finally thanks to Billy Smith We now know how to hold an oar And much love to our dearest Jenny Budden It’s this blady whom we row for If this poem has left you sad and confused I’m afraid I’m not sorry one bit W2 won Winter Sprints I’ve got a feeling this year will be lit. Women's IV Straight after the exhilarating win in the WS8 threeway, the WS4 climbed into our beloved Hudson kindly lent to us by UCL and set off to try and complete the double! It was a straight final against RVC starting by the boathouse. The race got off to an unfortunate start when half the boat didn’t hear the starting shout, but we quickly recovered and settled into a strong rhythm. As we continued to push with all our might, we gradually saw more of the other boat behind us and soon we were into the final push for 10s, trying to make as much space between us and them before crossing the finish line! In the end it was a satisfying win of three lengths and we were proud to have ended such a fun day with a great race and an excuse to throw Georgie in the freezing cold Thames! -Gloria Smith Senior Men
Men's First VIII The UH winter regatta saw the final opportunity for the men’s squad to test themselves over the short-course before the head race grind really begins. We knew it was going to be a tough day, but after the boys had hit the gym hard over Christmas, we were excited to see where we stood. Our biggest challenge was to come in our first race of the day, against the strongest of the UH crews in the form of Barts London. The crew that has been the bane of the RUMSBC men’s squad over the last 2 years proved to be so once again, and despite a strong row, we didn’t quite manage to execute the race we hoped for and ended up falling just short. The repechage against RVC provided us with a strong win, indicative of the positive work that we’ve been doing over the last few months, and a suitable sprints race send-off for the 5th years that have led the squad throughout the year. Whilst the sprint season has not yielded the medals we had hoped for, there is no doubt that the competition for UH is still alive and kicking. Our attention now turns towards the Head season, which culminates in just 5 weeks’ time when we take to the tideway for UH head. With the desire to elevate RUMSBC back to the top of the pecking order undented, this men’s squad is not to be underestimated. - Alex Lane Men's IV The Men’s intermediate four’s bid for gold on Sunday the 20th at winter sprints could only be compared to a feat of immense rowing prowess. After only having one outing the day before as a boat with Jai Sidpra stroking, Ben Southgate at 3, Adam Jones at 2 and Felix von Spreckelsen at bow we were completely unprepared. With only a short paddle up to the start where we were unable to practice a sprint start but instead were showered by an inconsiderate launch and gained about 6.5 litres of water on board. Our adversities were still however not over, for as we tried to bail out some water whilst turning in the river for the start of the race a nightmare only true rowers will appreciate occurred. A buoy was heading straight for Adam jones! Like the Norse God Loki he thought quickly and with precision he grasped the top of the boy and submerged it under the boat, letting it pass underneath and pop out the other side narrowly missing putting a hole in our boat. As we rowed up to the start we were rattled to say the least and of course although our start was ok the st George’s A crew were up on us from the start. Regaining confidence as we found our speed we start to fight back and a small overlap appeared which we held for 3/4 of the race. But to our dismay in that last crucial 200 meters the George’s crew pulled away to win with about a lengths difference. Into the repechage we went never the less against no other than George’s B crew. With boosted confidence that if we only lost to the A’s by a length we stood a chance against their second boat we waited at the start line with fire in our bellies, eager to prove ourselves. From the sound of the starting gun we flew out of the gates with the best ever race start we had done to date. Swiftly we took a one length lead which they held for half the race, and then, as if some primordial energy had brewed inside of us we just started to pull away, putting an extra one percent into each stroke, sending the boat across the finish line with about four lengths between us. We were so far ahead when the George’s four finally finished and did their three cheers we couldn’t actually hear them. A truly joyous occasion until all we realised was that we had secured third. But do not fear this four has a lot more to give and prove. Imagine what we can achieve under the watchful eye of Will Shorrocks our cox and Jamie Glenister our captain. Who knows, if we had had a few more water sessions as a four before the sprints we may have even taken the George’s A crew. Till next time. -Felix Von Spreckelsen Novice Women Women's Novice VIII We arrived at the University of London boat house, excited for what would be the first race of the year, but our last sprints race as novices. Despite the weather being a bit chilly, it was a bright and sunny morning, and this helped elevate our competitive spirits. Although one member of the crew hadn’t rowed in sprint races for a while, and another needed to switch sides, we were still determined that we’d perform better than ever before. Our cox for the first race, Georgie, gave us an extremely motivational talk beforehand about how important it was to maintain our focus, keeping our eyes in the boat and always on the person in front of us – this would ensure we were always winning mentally and therefore have better chances of winning the race overall. We knew that our first race against RVC would be a tough one. Having raced against (but lost to) them during Novice Sprints last month, they were potentially our greatest competition. Fuelled with adrenaline and Georgie’s crew talk, we rowed onto Surrey side. We had a great start against our opponents and for some time we were neck-and-neck. Knowing that we wanted to win and make our captain, Rosa, proud our determination powered us on, and we managed to win by 1 ¼ lengths! It was extremely rewarding to see that by working on our weaker factors, such as the timing of the first three strokes and erging in-between outings to build power and endurance, we could improve by so much and achieve great results. Unfortunately, the crew for our opponents didn’t turn up, but that meant we were straight to the final! This was an exciting first for us, since we’d never previously been so close to winning medals – we’d only raced in repechage finals before. Whilst we were waiting for our final race, we joined in the cheers of “Middle middle middle” and supported the senior women and men during their races. As soon as we heard “GO” we pushed hard, focused on rowing the best we could. Unfortunately, we were defeated by ICSM, but having claimed 2nd place overall, we left feeling happy and excited for the upcoming races this term! Seeing the senior women in particular perform so well, with W1, W2 and WS4 all deservedly winning medals gave us extra motivation towards preparing for our next big race, UH Head, next month. - Daniella Wu Novice Men Men's Novice VIII What a day for the Nov Boys. Matched with Queen Mary’s finest in our first sprint, this race can be summed up by the following: (Beans, with his hand in the air) “Ok Nov men, just a littl... WE HAVE ALIGNMENT, GO! ... ‘I’m so sorry”. Caught off guard by the marshals, the race was off to a shoddy start. Although disheartened, we tried not to let our emotions get the better of us; powering through to chase the lengthens with a mighty power 10, to then settle on a steady rhythm (motivated by the loud groans of Ash as he pulled the blade). As we picked up speed, Beans reported we were gaining on Mary’s! - motivating us to squeeze harder and harder, using every last drop of power and energy we had, until we sped past the red flags that signalled the end of the race. Sadly unsuccessful in a victory, we finished a boat length and a half behind Mary’s. Yet despite the odds, we fought well and pushed through. A running theme might be gathered now, as in our second race, pitted against George’s Medics, began with a beautiful air stroke from 8; disorientating the timing of the boat. Nevertheless, we once again settled into a strong, steady rhythm and, in the face of another loss, Beans and the boys did a brilliant job at keeping calm and riding the race through to the end. However, not is all doom and gloom for the Nov Men; for these two races has taught us two things: for one, we need Bergy back at stroke! And secondly, most importantly, our crew has demonstrated the ability to push, maintain, and settle on an impressive rate. With a month to train and to refine technique, the outcome to UH head looks very promising indeed. Let’s give the other teams a run for their money, shall we? - Will Owen Novice Women
"It’s the weekend after Novice Sprints where some of us proved to ourselves that winning was through team effort and Beans motivating us not to give up. Our novice captain Rosa, had warned us that this weekend of racing would be harder than last week, but we were ready to take on any challenge. An earlier, colder, start this week but with the sun out we got the boat out and paddled to the Middlesex side for our first race against our close cousins UCL B. We patiently waited for the start signal, adrenaline rushing through our veins….“GO!” Beans yelled the tactics of our start as we pushed down on our foot plates as hard as we could, but UCL B pulled ahead of us. As they pulled ahead by at least a boat’s length, the power and speed dropped as emotions started to creep in. It definitely wasn’t a great race but we discussed what we could improve for our next race: focusing on power rather than speed especially during the ‘settle’. Sadly race 2 was cancelled because our rival crew hadn’t turned up, which fortunately meant we were straight to the repechage! With a positive outcome from a rather disappointing race we made use of our time to recharge before race 3 against UCL C. We were hungry to win but most of all we wanted to give it our all. As we got ready for race 3, the officials told us the UCL C team were nowhere to be found so we waited almost 20 minutes in the freezing cold, Surrey side, patiently waiting for our cousin boat to paddle up to the start. This was our last race, our last chance to give our all. As soon as the “GO!” was given we put down every bit of power in our legs until we saw the red flag of the finish line. Unfortunately, we were defeated but exhausted ourselves and claimed 3rd place for the novices. It may not have been our best day of racing, but every race is more experience for the upcoming races in the New Year!"- Celia Gaier, Seat 6 Novice Men "We got out pretty early for this race and managed to do some sprint starts beforehand, which we think made a huge difference. Our first race was against Royal Holloway Novice A team, who looked very professional with their full kit. This gave us all a bit of a scare on the start line, however, we had better timing than them in the boat. We had a great start, much better than our starts at Novice Sprints, which gave us the opportunity to be in a competitive position to win the race. We managed to do this, and we comfortably beat them and kept them off the entire way. Half an hour later we had our second race against the UCL Novice A team, who were a really great crew. We had a better start than them at the beginning of the race and kept them off for the first 300ish m, however they pulled away from us and beat us. That was their first race of the day, so we can only imagine what could have happened if that was also our first race. Speaking to the UCL crew afterwards they were really shocked as to how good we were in the boat. Our crew as a whole had a great day and we raced really well, easily our best sprint race day so far. Even though we did not win any medals, none of us were disappointed with our performance, we couldn’t have really done any better and we are all in a great mood for UH head." - Arjun Lakhanpal, Seat 4 Novice Women
Cox: Chris Beans Jackson Stroke: Rose Maloney 7: Vaish Sabari 6: Celia Gaier 5: Luisa Alamo-Gomez 4: Emer Daly 3: Catherine Napper 2: Mary Baron Bow: Daniella Wu The second race for some of us and the first for others was the Novice Sprints Regatta for which one crew of eight had been entered. Since Cambridge Head we had been focusing on the speed and coordination of our race starts to pull away from our competitors as fast as we could. Both at the boathouse and in the gym the girls have been practicing their technique to prepare for the races. With a relatively early, cold start after Friday night schenanigans, all the girls were ready to cheer the Novice men before our race. It was all very nerve racking seeing all the other UH crews getting ready but with the atmosphere at our boathouse, our nerves settled and we started getting ready to race. We energised ourselves to take our favourite boat, “the Stämpfli”, onto the water, took the blades out making sure our gates were tightly closed and got ready to race. With layers piled on, cox Beans got us out from the shore to Surrey side to wait for our first race against the Royal Vets. With adrenaline pumping through our veins, we powered past the boathouse towards Chiswick Bridge but were taken down by our competition. Although we had a disappointing defeat, we were through to the next round, hungry for revenge. We fired each other up, chanting before our race against GKT and it was worth it. We SLAYED, powering through the finish line watching our rivals paddle in after us. We did it and were ready to slay some more. Last race was against SGH, time to give it our all although our tanks were nearly empty. If we went down we wanted to go down with pride. With the last bit of energy left, Beans coxed us to the finish line, sadly defeated but with one win in the bag. With a promising 3rd place, we were ready for next week’s Allom Cup ready to SLAY some more. Men's Intermediate VIII Sunday morning saw the intermediate men take on the intimidating challenge of rowing the first of many sprint races that we’ll be facing this year. Despite the eight in the boat having not rowed as a single crew, we were all feeling confident off the back of some promising training sessions throughout the weeks in the lead up to this race. As is always the case, tensions were high as we jostled for alignment at the start, but the call to attention soon saw us focus in, breathing steady, primed to seal victory within the first twenty strokes. Suddenly the flag descended and we were off, launching ahead of George’s in mere seconds, willed on by the cheers from ever-shrinking crowd supporting us from the riverbank. As the rate continued to build we pulled further ahead, seemingly securing victory with every stroke. However, much to our dismay, it soon became apparent we had backed ourselves too much and soon we found our power dwindling as we sustained an unrelenting rate 37. Desperate not to relinquish the lead we had fought so hard for early on we pushed as much as we could muster, but no amount of effort could see us maintain our lead unless we dropped the rate. Steadily, George’s began to claw back from near-certain defeat, pushing the boat into further frenzy. Mercifully, we found ourselves crossing the finish line just as the last of our strength was waning, winning by a narrow margin. Victory was bittersweet, pleased with the result but disappointed with our performance, as we knew we could do better. After a less-than-brief respite, we got back on the water with a renewed commitment to secure one race we could be wholly proud of and ready to give King’s a challenge. Thankfully, this time round we executed the race as we had hoped, giving King’s no chance for respite throughout. Unfortunately, our effort still wasn’t enough to best them this time, dropping behind in the final portion of the race and ultimately finishing half a length behind. Despite this defeat, we were ecstatic with our performance and are now keen to show what we can do in the weeks to come! Once again the time has come for RUMSBC to trade in the Tideway of Thames for the calmer waters of the River Cam in the first race of the year- Cambridge Head. As always, the crews have been training hard both on and off the water for what promises to be an excellent start to the rowing season. What's more, what could be more exciting than our Novice's first ever race! Cambridge Head is a solid introduction to the early mornings, adrenaline and cries of 'Middle Middle Middle' that race days inevitably bring.
Good luck to all crews and we look forward to seeing many a spectator at the riverside for support, and of course some post race drinks. Novice Crews Men's Novices Cox: Greg Gibson Stroke: Adam Turna 7: Max Fornasiero 6: Arjun Lakhanpal 5: William Owen 4: James Berg 3: Niccolo Doe 2: Ryan Linn Bow: Anshul Aich Women's Novices Cox: Chris 'Beans' Jackson Stroke: Rose Maloney 7: Vaish Sabari 6: Celia Gaier 5: Rebecca Jacob 4: Mary Barron 3: Catherine Napper 2: Srishti Agarwal Bow: Daniella Wu "The novices are progressing quickly in the boat in preparation for Cambridge Head, with the introduction of all 8 rowing and feathering having varying degrees of success. Most importantly they are having a great time bonding with their team and are showing good form and commitment in the boat. Its onwards and upwards for the novices, and we are both very excited for the race ahead!”- Jack Merritt and Rosa Mobayen, Men's and Women's Novice Captains 18/19 Senior Men Men's Top IV Cox: Kelly Wyatt Stroke: Freddie Dewey 3: Jamie Glenister 2: Luke Martin Bow: Callum Field Men's Cambridge VIII Cox: Will Shorrocks Stroke: Jai Sidpra 7: Matt Kinsella 6: Luca Richards 5: Alex Lane 4: Finn Norris 3: Dawid Akala 2: Adam Jones Bow: Ben Southgate “Our men enter their first race of the year at the annual Cambridge winter head race. We’re entering an 8+ looking to get their first racing experience this year and and a 4+ looking to be hot on the heels of our UCL cousins. Good luck all athletes and hope to see as many supporters as possible"- Jamie Glenister, Men's Captain 18/19 Senior Women RUMS Rangers (Matched VIIIs) Cox: Gracie Sutton Stroke: Nadia Eden 7: Gloria Smith 6: Elizabeth Sinclair 5: Anna Shadwell 4: Millie Walker 3: Annalise Munro 2: Ceyda Oral Bow: Kate Ellis RUMS Bladies (Matched VIIIs) Cox: Georgie Lloyd Stroke: Asha Dave 7: Claire Shadwell 6: Charlotte Withers 5: Laura Dan 4: Nicole Skajaa 3: Jenny Budden 2: Hannah Roberts Bow: Georgie Stagg “The first race of the year for the senior women is Cambridge winter head, for which we have entered two matched eights. This has definitely brought out everyone's competitive spirits so it should be an excellent start to the year to see who is victorious - will it be the Bladies or the Rangers? Good luck to both boats and come along to support to see the result.” - Jenny Budden, Women's Captain 18/19 WeHoRR and HoRR was a weekend full of drama and excitement, one that saw some crews soar past the competition and others test the limits of Swiss neutrality. All racing crews knuckled down for the longest race of the year, striving against the pain determined to end the racing season with an effort they could be proud of. On this, we followed through, once again overshadowing our UH rivals. With the sprints and head races now behind us, we can look forward to a couple of months away from the Tideway until we return for Bumps to once again make our mark! Senior Men Men’s Second VIII "Despite the slightly less than enjoyable experience of rowing BUCS hungover a few weeks previously, being back in a senior boat for HoRR was a refreshing opportunity to show the world what RUMSBC are really made of. Suffering from a chronic lack of bow-siders meant that two novices, Joe Catling and myself, were forced to sub in for what would be by far the longest distance we’d ever rowed in a day, never mind raced. The extreme lengths of time we spent in marshalling were largely uneventful (in stark contrast to M1's experience), but for new bowman Timo's complaints ("Scheiß drauf!" "Schwachsinn!") echoing down the boat. After a smooth start off the line, we were encouraged by the shouts of our Men’s First team, now standing on Chiswick bridge after a disastrous marshalling experience, which saw us push George’s even further into the distance, bringing us some satisfaction despite being overtaken by some stiff national competition, before settling in for the long haul. After almost 20 minutes of pain, cox Holly initiated the Tier system. With the knowledge that soon the race would be over, we put down every last bit of power we had, emptying our ‘tanks’ so we could cross the finish line in a blistering time. However, as our energy began to waver we learnt that there was in fact considerably longer to go than we thought, and after a few minutes of excruciating pain we rolled across the line, broken, but not defeated, in what had been an enjoyable end to a great year of rowing." - Alex Bloom, Seat 5 Men’s First VIII "After the disappointment of coming a very close second UH head the week before, on the morning of Sunday 11th, a fresh faced and eager men’s crew arrived at the boathouse. Our 6 months of elite, high performance tapering had all been preparing us for this day, and the university pennant was in our sites. Even being forced to dredge up former UL rower and general big boy Neale Marlow could not dampen our spirits, and it was clear the boys were prepared for a smashing day. On the water you could feel the power surging through the boat. Whilst warming up we were leaving crews trailing in our wake, partly because we were rowing the wrong way towards Kew, but mainly because of the watts being put down by each member of the boat. As we eased past the UL 1st VIII (still going the wrong way) you could see the look of awe in Rich Clarke’s eyes as he saw the physical embodiment of ‘Big Boy Strokes’, and the demeanour of a man who realised he had nothing left to teach us as we were literally perfect. Alas, the time was nigh, the start of the race was nearly upon us, all that was left was for us to row up to our marshalling position. Nothing could go wrong from here. As we paddled past the boathouse, there was an eerie calm as we began to mentally prepare ourselves for the 20 minutes of pain we were about to endure. Unfortunately, this calm was swiftly broken by a loud European cry from beyond our bows. It seemed that Yulia had taken her coxing feedback of ‘use alternative overtaking manoeuvres’ a little too literally, and had decided that rowing through the Swiss crew that was sat in-front of us was the most logical way to negotiate the marshalling situation. I can only imagine what this crew, who had traveled hundreds of miles to compete in the largest head race in the world thought when they saw a bunch of college boys coming their way. I can only imagine it was a thought of deep regret for being in the correct position. The Hudson/battering ram ploughed into the crew, and when we finally came to a stop we were faced with textbook Swiss neutrality in the face of overwhelming aggression, until their 6 man broke rank and started hurling abuse our way. The aftermath left both crews worse for wear, and sadly for RUMS, it appeared the Swiss had come out on top. A broken bow blade and cracked rigger made for a sorry sight, whilst their eight managed to escape with just a damaged gate and a 3 man who’d been hit with his own blade, presumably in an attempted health insurance scam. We quickly moved off the water, where we licked our wounds and repaired the Swiss boat with scraps from our own, before assessing our options. These were limited to a Vespoli with 4 riggers on it, or the Wintech which was on one of the lower racks, and frankly there was an unacceptable risk of back injury if we bent down to pick it up. As a result, scratching remained our only option, despite the strong will of Neale, who by the looks of it would have done the race solo given the chance, we headed up to Chiswick to cheer on our second eight as they went on to smash the race. Meanwhile both Oxford Brookes and Leander breathed a sigh of relief as they realised that they’d have a chance of victory. Most importantly, nobody was hurt on the day and a letter has been sent to David Davis requesting the banning of all foreign crews from entering the race, lest the same fate befall them as did the Swiss." - Alex Lane, Seat 5 Senior Women
Women’s Second VIII "Despite their best efforts, the Watt Farm had not been successful at UH Head; they may have proved themselves the crew with the highest propensity for crying on the Thames, but that wasn’t quite what they’d had in mind. Nevertheless, with three new novices being welcomed into the boat, they set their sights on a successful Wehorr. However, after having only one outing as a crew, in UCL’s kindly donated bathtub that led to captain Claire throwing in her stroking towel and demanding we go back to the safely on the Stampfli, we were nervous. Saturday morning rolled around and we set off with anticipation; the pre-race paddle seemed to be going well until new stroke Millie broke her footplate- clearly all those hour long ergs have been paying off. After some masterful coxing from Beans (and a good deal of panic) we managed to collect the necessary tools and fix the offending footplate - finally we would be ready. We set off ready to SLAM the race we had ahead of us; as we passed our own W1 crew, encouraged by their chants, we took our first casualty in ICSM. There would be many more. We SLAYed the next portion, powering on through Barnes Bridge, only to meet our rivals from the weekend before. Beans assured us revenge was in sight and with some big boy strokes we put some SEND on the boat, sailing past them and leaving them a mere speck in the distance. Much as their own men had looked the week before. Spurred on by beating our arch-nemesis RVC the next 3.5k almost seemed easy - then, meters before the finish line, we were told we could make it a hat-trick. We pulled up alongside King’s, and with our bow-woman Georgie ensuring us that we could make it a photo finish. One of our newest members, Serena, turned out of the boat to look into the eyes of those she was beating (or not, it’s still a pint) and over the finish line we took them. Overall, it’s been a fantastic year so far for W2 - all we’re looking forward to now is Bumps and finally getting ourselves some medals!" - Abi Powell, Seat 5 Women’s First VIII "After W1's triumphant victory at UH head, we were ready to show the rest of the country what RUMSBC women can do at WeHoRR. After a pretty smooth marshaling we were off and despite a slightly wobbly start we quickly settled into a strong rhythm. The first half of the race went relatively quickly, with the boat that was chasing us gaining very slowly. Unfortunately, as we came under Hammersmith the chasing crew came up next to us and we allowed our competitiveness to get the better off us and got distracted. Sadly we didn't manage to bring back the concentration and rhythm after this and the second half of our race was less successful than the first. We had a loud row back with some 'beautiful' singing from Preena and ended the day with a lovely pub lunch and a well deserved pint, happy in the knowledge that we finished 137, beating all the other UH crews easily, despite not having rowed our best. Here's to moving up to the top 100 next year!" - Jenny Budden, Seat 4 |
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December 2022
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