Race Reports
Robinson's Revenge
We knew today would be a tough race.
Our morning outing was nervy, but the starts were strong.
In our race, we had a strong start, getting us an extra half-length of clear water, but then Robinson's faster base-speed showed, and they reeled us in methodically, foot-by-foot. We had a strong push into Ditton to get us the clear water we needed to get the good line, but so did they, and our stern just clipped their bow. We didn't feel it in the boat, but the umpire had seen it, and eventually communicated it to our cox as we came onto the reach.
It was a frustrating end to the race, but we'd rowed well, and given our best.. tomorrow we get another chance at Christs, and we're going to enjoy it...
Sometimes there's nothing you can do
Essentially there was an equipment failure so we had to forfeit, as the micrphone didn't work. Newnham II were awarded a technical bump. It was no one's fault, it just happened. And a big well done/ thank you to Emma for valiently trying (and so nearly succeeding) in getting the replacement microphone to us in time :) The result of this is a massively psyched W2 who are itching to prove themselves tomorrow. Bring it on.
W1 - down but not out!
Second day of bumps and with the first day having not gone quite to plan we were even more determined to prove ourselves.
We took to the water and the first two starts were clean and powerful. The row up was tidy with Emilys calls for extra pressure being responded to well.
At the start we spun and pulled in. The bank party's work was tidy, we allowed more time to complete everything and it was a lot less panicked. As a result our start was great, we pushed into Newnham and eased away from Peterhouse.
Row-overs galore
We started with a strong row, racing the race we knew we had to; FAT II came at us hard, gaining half a length or so at most, but we rowed well, kept our technique together, and were never really worried. After FAT II were bumped out around Ditton, we raced the rest of the course, preparing mentally for the next race.
Pulling in by the P&E, we took shelter from the rain in the control tent, then rowed up to the start. A couple of good practice starts set us up well. We then introduced our new plan to help us deal with the rough water we were not used to under the motorway bridge. No whistles even if we deserved them until after the bridge to let us focus on our race.
W1 - tough first day
After a stirring pre-race chat W1 took to the water with grim dtermination. We knew that what was ahead of us was going to be tough, Newnham were good and had proven themselves quicker than us earlier in the term in other races.
But Selwyn W1 are not quitters and we went out to catch Trinity Hall and give Newnham a tough race.
A nice tidy row up to the start. Our first practice was a little rocky - nerves - but the second was great, quick and powerful. Feeling good we prepared for the start.
