Beth Picott
22/02/2013
Rowing BUCS
The LUUBC (Leeds Uni Boat Club) produced some brilliant performances in BUCS this weekend with fantastic contributions from the Novice and Senior crews. The anticipation of the competition built rapidly in the weeks leading up to the race as problems of snow and flooding made training difficult and it initially appeared as if the event would be cancelled.
However, Boston (UK!) was decided upon as the new location and the teams set off. The weekend was fortunately graced with perfect weather that allowed the Novices to thrive on Saturday and the Seniors to flourish on Sunday. The Novice 8+ crews were in a field of over 30 other universities, and the competition was definitely tough, with far better prepared boats from Manchester, Sheffield and York all putting in an appearance.
The Novice girls entered two boats. The second boat was fraught with various problems including steering and blades getting caught in the water, they finished with a strong time of 12 minutes 42 seconds over three kilometers. The first crew finished in an absolutely brilliant 15th place, only two seconds behind York and defeating Manchester. This was an absolutely fantastic performance from the novice crew and makes for a really promising regatta season this summer. The Novice men also put in some solid performances, completing the 3k distance in times of 12 mins 07 seconds and 13 mins 15 seconds.
The Senior Men’s entered a coxed four and an eight into the intermediate event on Sunday. The 4+ was manned by Ben Soni, Alex Wildy, Mark Tarrant and Joe Croisdale, with fledgling cox Rachael Raymond. Despite a profound lack of training as a four the first half of the 5000m race went remarkably well as a bold and heated pace was found early on. But their energy was gradually diminishing, it ended in a tough and brutal slog to the finish. With cries of pain from all rowers Rachael’s support and encouragement held the crew together enough to make it over the line. The 4+ completed the 5k course in a time of 20mins 12secs. Just 10 seconds faster would have landed them in the top eight but the crew finished in 14th place. Considering the lack of training as a four, this was a strong performance.
However, the men had no time to rest and recover. Within minutes of landing the four it was hands on to the eight ready for the second division; now joined by the fresh legs of Dom Casey, Jack Dickinson, Chris Greenop and Chris Green. A steady rate of 31 strokes per minute was found and this solid rhythm held together throughout the whole duration of the course. The 8+ finished in a time of 16 mins 17 seconds, which placed them in a brilliant 8th place out of 27 crews. As always, the Leeds 8+ performed admirably.
The year so far has not been easy for the LUUBC, flooding has limited training options and race cancellations have diminished the potential experience of crews. However these BUCS results show the power of the club and are a commendation to the commitment of its members. The regatta season is fast approaching and we can expect big things.