By Emily Harrington
WINTER TERM has been a hard-working and successful one for the University of York Boat Club. The huge intake of freshers at the start of the term resulted in strong crews for both men and women, while the varying weather conditions kept the rowers on their toes, training in the gym when the river flooded. The two main Head Races this term – Fours Head of the River in London and York Small Boats – both proved successful for UYBC.
FOUR HEADS OF THE RIVER
Despite the late return to university and coping with a flooded Ouse for a significant part of the term, UYBC managed to send three senior crews to race on the River Thames at Fours’ Head of the River, on November 14th.
The men’s squad put out a strong four, made up of Tom Bulpitt, John Appleton, Oscar Neilson and Sam Agass, and coxed by Alice Taylor, whilst two women’s crews made up of returning seniors took on London: Hannah Kirton, Pip Maloney, Catherine Oliver and Lara Wainwright, coxed by Ellie Cooper, and Alex Mahan, Charlotte Bentley, Rosy Temple and Laura Macfarlane, coxed by Ngaio Simpson.
The three crews were prepared early and were able to enjoy some of the morning’s racing before switching on their own racing mindsets. The weather held off for the crews as they battled through the gruelling seven and a half kilometres of tidal river, on the same stretch of the Thames as the famous Oxford-Cambridge boat race between Chiswick and Putney bridges.
For most of the rowers, this was the first time that they had competed on the Thames in a four, making it a completely different experience to the Eights’ Head of the River, held before Easter over the same course.
On top of the demanding race, the crews then faced the return journey to the boathouse against the river’s stream, and the rain that had been threatening finally arrived. In spite of this, the morale of all crew members remained high throughout.
In a sport where success is not easily recognisable, the Boat Club has provided itself with a solid platform to start the season: all three crews placed significantly higher in the results than their starting positions, leaving captains John Appleton and Ngaio Simpson with high hopes for the next few months and, indeed, the rest of the season.
YORK SMALL BOATS
Sunday 21st November proved to be a great day for the University of York Boat Club, as the York Small Boats Regatta, held on the River Ouse since 1982, resulted in great victories for both the men and women squads.
In the morning division, the men’s squad were victorious in Division 1, winning both the IM3 4 and IM3 4+ category. The IM3 4 crew consisted of Tom Bulpitt, Oscar Neilson, John Appleton and Sam Agass, coxed by Alice Taylor. Will Robinson, Elliot Rippon, John Underwood and Darren Smith were the IM3 4+ crew. A strong IM3 4 composed of Freddie Dawes, Richard Nixon, James Finn and Adam Walmsley, coxed by Ros Wood came a respectable 9th out of 17 crews. Sadly the other men’s IM3 4 of Ollie Houlden, Andrew Bruckner, John Underwood and Paul Lloyd, coxed by Alice Taylor, experienced the slight disaster of their fin falling out of the boat, causing them to pull out of the race.
Senior Men’s Captain John Appleton had nothing but praise for the men’s squad though: “To have wins from two crews so early in the season is a fantastic result. The coxed four was the fastest coxed crew of the day, notably beating all Lancaster crews, and such a strong showing is a testament to the experience and training attitude of the whole crew.
“I was delighted with the performance of the quad as they had a very short time to train together but showed real quality on the day. All crews raced hard and put in solid performances against tough opposition, showing the strength in depth of the squad.
“I am very encouraged by the results of this weekend, and I’m looking forward to a season where we build on these early wins and move from strength to strength.”
In the women’s squad, strong performances were given by all from the IM2 4 crew of Hannah Kirton, Charlotte Bentley, Rosy Temple and Lara Wainwright, coxed by Ellie Cooper who came third, successfully beating a Durham College boat and the IM3 4 crew of Alex Mahan, Sharon Montgomery, Amy Matthews and Erica Emond, coxed by Ngaio Simpson who came second to rival Leeds.
FUNDRAISING
With these successes behind them, UYBC are now focused on keeping up fitness throughout the Christmas holidays. Both novice and senior crews will endure freezing cold mornings and evening gym sessions all in the name of good spirit and preparation for next term.
UYBC will also be focused on fundraising until the end of term, with bag-packing for the Christmas shoppers of York in Marks and Spencer having taken place in Friday of week 8, and a sponsored row for 12 hours in the York Train Station on rowing machines today. We wish those taking part the best of luck!