Saturday 27th January marked the first whole-club tideway race of the 2017/18 season. It was an excellent opportunity for our Novices to experience tideway racing for the first time, and for our Seniors to lay down some times in preparation for BUCS, Hammersmith Head and Head of the River.

A total of 7 crews raced, as follows:

Senior Crews

Novice Crews

All crews put in a great performance, the senior women in particular did well to hold their own amongst many crews racing alongside them. The Senior Men were very happy with how they’ve progressed, putting in a more racy and consistent performance than previous occasions.

The Novice squads had a brilliant time on the water. Whilst pacing was an issue for athletes due to this being their maiden race on the tideway, they definitely held strong, both top eights placing in the top 10 of their categories.

The club is really excited to build off these results & attack our next challenge, this time on the Tyne – at BUCS Head.

Fours Head

Sunday 12th November saw 8 UCL Boat Club athletes take to the championship course for Head of the River Fours 2017. The two crews, A & B put in a great performance, giving a great first indicator of progress for the Senior Men’s Squad.

UCL 1st IV+

UCL 2nd IV+

On Sunday, the A crew placing an amazing 4th place in their division, and the B crew placing 16th. The A crew applied their power effectively to put in a stellar performance. Whilst the B crew could have been racier, they rowed with high quality, and were still able to beat the Kings College London BC Crew.

This Saturday, we move onto the first club-wide test of power and talent. Cambridge Winter Head 2017.

Cambridge Winter Head 2017

This Saturday the club shall be travelling to calmer waters in Cambridge for our first whole club race. With a grand total of 12 crews, 4 Novice and 8 Senior, this will be an excellent experience for the club to bond, get a fresh taste of head races and showcase our talent as a club. The crews are as follows:

Novice Squad

Novice Men

Novice Women

Senior Squad

Senior Women

Senior Men

The second day of racing proved to be an incredibly dramatic and successful day for UCL at BUCS Regatta day II. Today we fielded the MB8+, WB4+, MInt2x and MInt4+.

The crews put in excellent time trial times, with the MB8+ achieving the D final despite having not rowed together for long at all. The WB4+ placed a huge 6th, the MInt2x an even bigger 2nd, and the MInt4+ placed in the C final.

All crews put in an excellent performance to show their strengths in the semi finals, however the finals were by far the most exciting part of the day.

The MInt4+ put in a great perfomance in their finals, moving up two places from their time trail placing to place 4th. These men gave it everything they could in the final and they deserve to be proud!

The MB8+ placed an excellent 3rd, beating their tideway rivals KCL once again. Although disappointed that they hadn’t placed higher, they were made proud by the fact that (due to injury & illness) this was the first time they had raced as that particular crew, and they had come a long way. Hats off to them!

The WB4+ raced valiantly and brilliantly, whilst those on the bank had written off UCL for the medal, as Edinburgh university began to pull ahead by a whole length by 100m to go, the women put in a surge of power never seen before to close the gap to just 0.04 seconds. They are extremely proud of themselves, and so are the club of them. Respect!

The MInt2x had a really strong race. Whilst Oxford Brookes A and B had moved away to claim Gold and Silver, Maximillian and Jaime held off UL to take the bronze medal with pride. Always humble, they stayed focused but confident, and it was a well deserved medal for two of our top athletes.

Day III Crews

Today we are fielding two crews – a MInt2- and a WB8+. Both of these crews are extremely strong, and we can expect to see some excellent racing today.

Men’s Coxless Pair / Intermediate

Sachin Turakhia

Rory Dawson

Women’s VIII+ / Beginner

Cox: Emilie Morrow

Rachel Dumbrell

Catherine Bentley

Ellen Forsyth

Hannah Smith

Claudia Abdallah

Eleonor Frost

Rosie Truman

Emily Nash

Day I Report

A great first day of racing for our three crews. Today saw the MInt8+, the MB4+, and the WInt2- test themselves against vast and strong University competition, notably for the first time in side-by-side regatta racing.

The day started early with pleasing and promising time-trail results – the men placing comfortably in the top 12 and the Women’s Pair placing 22nd, amongst intense competition from other crews. Both Men’s crews then raced extremely well to place in the B Finals. Then finally both crews raced valiantly, placing 2nd (MInt8+) and 5th (MB4+).

Women’s Pair Results

Men’s VIII+ Results

Men’s IV+ Results

Bloody good race. Some serious strength on show. Led all except Brookes A to the 1k and then just started slipping a little. Bristol were being spoken about at the start as the next big thing. Couldn’t get ahead of us for 3 minutes though! Moving forward, if we work on our second half of the race, and holding off crews that we get ahead of, we’re golden.

– Matt Bromley, in reference of the MInt8+.

Day II Crew Announcement

Tomorrow will see the Men’s Intermediate IV+, the Men’s Intermediate Double, the Women’s Beginner IV+, and the Men’s Beginner VIII+. Take a look at the Crews below.

Words from Coach Bromley

The Women’s squad has a real chance to show what they are capable of. There were glimpses of some huge potential after mixing the beginner women and senior women’s squads, which started at Women’s Head of the River. That potential is now flourishing with the fastest crews we have had all year now vying for position at the largest student regatta in the country. Boat to watch: Women’s Beginner 4+

– Matt Bromley

Crews

Men’s IV+ / Intermediate / TT @10:10

Leone Baron

Jake Figi

Freddie Dewey

Jack Ren

Men’s Double / Intermediate / TT @09:10

Jaime San Miguel Navas

Maximillian Hess

Women’s IV+ / Beginner / TT @08:30

Lauren Johncock

Rachel Dumbrell

Hannah Smith

Ellen Forsyth

Emily Nash

Men’s VIII+ / Beginner / TT @09:50

Vicky Jones

Tom Murarik

Theo Fawcett

Tom Stephens

Joris Simaitis

Well done, and good luck to tomorrows crews!

Tomorrow on Saturday 29th, The Men’s 1st VII+, Beginner IV+ & WInt2- shall take to the water, in what shall be a thrilling show of the club’s progress. Having recently returned from Portugal training camp, tomorrow’s crews will be eager to test themselves for the first regatta of the season.

Words From Coach Bromley

It’s a very exciting time for UCLBC as we look towards BUCS and the crews we have entered. From beginner to senior we have competitive crews at all levels who will be looking to leave a mark on their competition. Since January there has been a huge effort from the athletes to make strength gains and improve their speed and technique, with two training camps and countless hundreds and thousands of kilometres rowed. At our recent training camp in Portugal a number of crews were pushing harder and going faster than they ever have, which is a reflection on the hard work put in.

The Men’s squad really have a point to prove. The Beginner men have struggled with illness and injury and have had to scratch one of their main potential medallist boats. The Beginner 4+ will have the biggest point to prove, and there will be some guys who are out injured or ill who are looking on and hoping the boys do them proud on the water. The Senior men have been mixing it with some big University programs this season, punching well above their weight and getting scalps left, right and centre. With four boats entered, it’s our most competitive Senior Men’s squad in 5 years. Boat to watch: Men’s Beginner 4.

– Matt Bromley, UCLBC Coach

 

Lineup

Women’s Coxless Pair / Intermediate / TT @08:35

Tamsin Howard

Holly Exton-Smith

Men’s IV+ / Beginner / TT @9:40

Men’s VIII+ / Intermediate / TT @10:15

Portugal Camp 2017: The Road to BUCS Regatta from University College London BC on Vimeo.

Two Eights will boat tomorrow for Women’s Eights Head of the River Race 2017. The club is incredibly exited, as this marks the end of the head season for the women. Following such strong performances at Hammersmith Head, they look to strengthen and solidify their position as competitive British women’s crews.

Tomorrow the rest of the club shall be meeting at the Rutland Arms at 12pm, armed with our banner, to cheer on the women through Hammersmith Bridge. Location is below.

Here are our Crews, and we hope to see you at the Rutland Arms!

1st VIII

Stroke to Bow – Tamsin Howard, Kyla Damman, Holly Exton-Smith, Tegan Foister, Hattie Leigh, Emily Hopper, Rosie Truman, Hannah Smith. Cox: Lauren Johncock.

2nd VIII

Stroke to Bow – Rachel Dumbrell, Rosie Mason, Ellen Forsyth, Emily Nash, Claudia Abdallah, Isabella Wermbter, Marion Hervé, Natalie Milmoe. Cox: George Jack.

University College London Boat Club will take on Kings College London Boat Club for the second time ever on the 15th March 2017, as part of the annual London Varsity Series.

the UL Boathouse, where UCLBC resides, is only a stone’s throw away from Tideway Scullers, which houses KCLBC – yet neither club has raced each other directly since the last Varsity Race, of which UCL comfortably won 4-2. These races will be high pressure, high intensity rowing and the best club always shines through.

The racing shall consist of 6 regatta-style races. These will be:

The racing will commence at 13:30 at Tideway scullers school, directions can be found on the event page:

London Varsity Series 2017 – Rowing

This event is a part of London Varsity Series 2017. For more information visit the London Varsity Series website.

 Senior Crews

Women’s VIII+

Stroke to Bow – Tamsin Howard, Sophie Dooley, Holly Exton-Smith, Tegan Foister, Isabella Wermbter, Marion Hervé, Hattie Leigh, Natalie Ohene. Cox: Lauren Johncock.

Tamsin Howard

Sophie Dooley

Holly Exton-Smith

Tegan Foister

Isabella Wermbter

Marion Hervé

Hattie Leigh

Natalie Ohene

Women’s IV+

Stroke to Bow – Tamsin Howard, Hattie Leigh, Holly Exton-Smith, Sophie Dooley. Cox: Lauren Johncock.

Tamsin Howard

Hattie Leigh

Holly Exton-Smith

Sophie Dooley

Lauren Johncock

Men’s VIII+

Stroke to Bow – Maximillian Hess, Oscar Frith, Jaime San Miguel Navas, Ludovic Lenders, Freddie Dewey, Jake Figi, James Dyson, Jack Ren. Cox: Florrie Beard.

Maximillian Hess

Oscar Frith

Jaime San Miguel Navas

Ludovic Lenders

Freddie Dewey

Jake Figi

James Dyson

Jack Ren

Florrie Beard

Men’s IV+

Stroke to Bow – Maximillian Hess, Jake Figi, Jaime San Miguel Navas, Ludovic Lenders. Cox: Sean Cannon.

Maximillian Hess

Jake Figi

Jaime San Miguel Navas

Ludovic Lenders

Cox: Sean Cannon

Novice Crews:

Women’s VIII+

Stroke to Bow – Rachel Dumbrell, Catherine Bentley, Ellen Forsyth, Hannah Smith, Rosie Truman, Rosie Mason, Claudia Abdallah, Emily Nash. Cox: George Jack.

Rachel Dumbrell

Catherine Bentley

Ellen Forsyth

Hannah Smith

Rosie Truman

Rosie Mason

Claudia Abdallah

Emily Nash

George Jack

Men’s VIII+

Stroke to Bow – Rob Farthing, Theo Fawcett, Joris Simaitis, Tom Stephens, Nick Robbins, Cyril Geismar, Shay Sharma, Alec Walker. Cox: Vicky Jones.

Rob Farthing

Theo Fawcett

Joris Simaitis

Tom Stephens

Nick Robbins

Cyril Geismar

Shay Sharma

Alec Walker

Vicky Jones

Whilst power changes hands in the US, Over on the Tideway UCLBC crews are transferring their power to the water in record numbers. A grand total of 120 UCL rowers from UCLBC, RUMSBC and ULBC will take on the famous Quintin Head Race course, which starts at Hammersmith Bridge and finishes just west of Chiswick Bridge.

As the first race of 2017, the club is looking forward to measuring our progress and giving ourselves our first taste of tideway head racing this season, in preparation for Head of the River.

Take a look at messages from our squad captains below:

Despite injury and illness affecting the squad this term, we are excited to be fielding a strong VIII+ at Quintin. This should be an excellent test to see where we stand after some strong results at last term’s races, and I’m anticipating some solid rowing and a result we can be proud of amongst the challenging competition.

Holly Exton-Smith, Senior Women’s Captain

Crews: One

With three mighty eights being sent out, the Novice girls are ready to attack Quintin head with the power and energy of an army. This being their third head race so far (Cambridge, Rutherford), they’ve had the experience, they know what to expect, and now they’re in their home city. Balancing uni and rowing is always tough, but despite this they’ve been pushing themselves in all of the training and getting out on the water as much as possible, so I’m excited to see how they approach their first race of 2017, I expect big things and, as ever, I know each crew will do me proud.

Hattie Leigh, Novice Women’s Captain

Crews: Three

UCLBC Senior Men are hitting Quintin hard, putting out our first set boats of the season. Finally moving away from matched VIII+’s in races we can really see where we stand against some of our biggest rivals. In previous years (especially 2016) Quintin Head has been one of our most challenging races, but this year we’re aiming higher, hoping to place in the top 30 boat with the men’s 1st VIII. However, the men’s 2nd VIII will be looking to chase the 1sts and place as close to them as possible. Some big chat around the boathouse includes claims that they may even be looking to beat the 1sts. Strong words from a strong boats. Yeah UCL!

Jake Figi, Senior Men’s Captain

Crews: Two

Boy, have the Novice Men been waiting for this moment. Months of committed hours on the tideway and the boys are ready for their maiden race on this famous stretch of water. The Club has not seen this level of member retention and commitment of athletes in years, and I know full well that every rower involved in this race will hit the water flying, proving once again that UCL is one of the #1 Universities to take up rowing.

Patrick Pflughaupt, Novice Men’s Captain

Crews: Three

• Novice Men 1st VIII+ Place Second, solidifying their position as one of the top novice crews in the country
• Novice Women Place Fifth, overcoming crew changes and strong competition
• Senior Women VIII+ place second by only 10 seconds despite large field 
• Senior Men smash targets of 80% of winning times, showing massive improvement from Cambridge

The November 26th weekend saw University College London Boat Club make its way to wintery Newcastle-upon-Tyne for its second head race of the season, Rutherford Head. 
Racing over the same BUCS Head course, the club sought to build upon its performance at Cambridge Head using lessons learned. Due to poor weather conditions, Rutherford Head 2015 was cancelled, so this race was new for many of the athletes, both novices and seniors. 

For the novices, all crews rowed with greater quality by making technique tweaks and improvements. Both did particularly well by coping with last minute crew changes, showing their resilience. The crews learnt a lot about the importance of pacing and timing, as this race is a whole two kilometres longer than their last. 

The Senior Women, having won Cambridge Head in the week prior, new that they needed to stay as a leader in their category, and they were extremely pleased to have placed second. 

The Men however, had slightly more mixed results after Cambridge Head, having missed out on a potential win in the VIII+. However the men were delighted to have raced incredibly well in all boats (two matched VIII+s, two IV+s), with an VIII+ achieving 97% of the winning time, and one of the IV+s winning their category. 

This weekend also saw a massive turnout from the Bentham Boat Club – our Alumni club. They formed an VIII+ with some of the greatest athletes the club has seen in recent years. 

Overall, the club is extremely happy with the performance of the athletes, overall much more professional, organised and with greater team spirit. We’d like to thank Tyne Amateur Rowing Club for hosting, and luck for providing such great conditions!