UYBC raise the bar at BUCS

This weekend witnessed the controversial absence of rowing from Roses 2010; Lancaster and York Boat Clubs both opting to attend the annual BUCS Regatta at the National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham. Faced with sea-like conditions as the notoriously temperamental lake was stirred by vicious winds, it is without doubt that UYBC stepped up a gear from previous years in the competition and did themselves justice.

Sunday morning presented an early start for both the Novice and Senior Men’s Squads as their respective events of Beginner 8’s and Intermediate 4’s were over-subscribed. This meant time trials had to take place between massive amounts of crews; the Men’s Intermediate 4 needed to come top 24 in a field of 60.The Novice Men had qualification snatched from them, coming second out of the non-qualifiers. The crew were understandably gutted having trained hard over Easter for this, yet were able to take consolation from having beaten Lancaster’s Novice boat. This will undoubtedly have given the men further drive for later in the regatta season, looking to be the strongest Novice Men’s squad the university has fielded in some years.

The Men’s Intermediate 4 blasted through previous years of frustration to come a commendable 12th in the time trials, comfortably qualifying for the heats in their Alumni bought Wintech. It should be noted that Lancaster failed to qualify the three boats it had entered into this event. Heat 1 witnessed UYBC come through 1500m in 3rd place, cox and President Ashley Haycock strengthening the crew to blast a final push which placed them 2nd, within touching distance of 1st place at the 2km mark. Consequently the crew were through to the semi final, where they pushed through to 5th place, narrowly missing out on BUCS points. Captain Dan Steele was quick to credit crew member Johnathan Appleton as a “man mountain”, concluding that BUCS had been a successful performance, and that he looked forward to racing with his boys again.

Having faced the chopping and changing of opposing university entries, UYBC’s Senior Women’s top 8 were finally placed in a strong Heat to start their day’s racing against the likes of Southampton and London, both renowned for their rowing facilities. Heads held high the crew battled for 2nd position, cox Ngaio Simpson furiously working the girls across cross the line making the University of London crew console themselves with 3rd place. Finishing the 2km in a time of 7.29.67 placed York in good stead for the semi-finals later in the day; there was an upbeat mood all round.

The draw for the semi-final was such that York was placed next to Lancaster, the grudge match was on. Unfortunately for York, half way into the race they were faced with technical difficulties; the cox box battery went and some of the crew were unable to hear Ngaio’s best efforts to call for pushes during the last 1 kilometre of the race. Frustratingly the crew came 4th, just over 1 second from qualifying for BUCS points. Nonetheless, Captain Sophie Mottram was quick to acknowledge the crews improvement. “It’s good to see that we are now in the pack on a national scale and it is a very promising sign for races to come.”

After an exhausting days racing, Sunday concluded with some of the best results York has seen in its recent rowing history. Monday witnessed UYBC’s Novice Women’s Regatta debut, and they did York proud. Having been missing a rower only the day before, hero of the hour was undoubtedly Cesca Baguley, who had travelled down to Nottingham last minute as a crew member dropped out. The Women’s Beginner 8 trooped through their time trials, comfortably qualifying for further racing. Controversially in their Heat the marshal set off crews before York was in-line, nonetheless the crew put in an impressive performance storming into 6th position. There is no doubt that the women will have gained a wealth of experience from this encounter.

Bank holiday weekend certainly bore witness to UYBC setting the bar for a summer of hard regatta racing. Without a doubt there will be silverware in the boat house before this term is out. Watch this space.

Crew Lists: Novice Men; Ellie Donaldson (cox), Freddie Dawes, Richard Nixon (captain), James Finn, Sam Agass, Tim Lowden, Edd Talbot, Karl Slater, Tom Whitehead

Senior Men; Ashley Haycock (cox), Daniel Steele (captain), Johnathan Appleton, Oscar Neilson, Tom Bulpitt

Senior Women; Ngaio Simpson (cox), Alex Mahan, Charlotte Bentley, Hannah Kirton, Emily Harrington, Rosy Temple, Becca Robinson, Laura MacFarlane, Lara Wainwright

Novice Women; Ellie Cooper (cox), Becca Kay, Miriam Moester, Tasha Behan, Sara Rider, Marie Mills, Leanne Good, Steph Jones, Cesca Baguley

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