VIIIs at Bedford
UCBC Women’s first VIII racing at Bedford Head Race
Sunday 12 February saw UCBC take our Men’s and Women’s first VIIIs up to Bedford for a day of racing 鈥� this was to be our last competition before Torpids kicks off in fifth week, and both crews were excited to make a statement.
Despite the early start (and some Milton-Keynes-roundabout induced car sickness), everyone was in high spirits and raring to go as we arrived, racing first in Div II at 1030. A 鈥渟hort and sharp鈥� course, to quote our head coach Jono, both crews set off hard, although the men rapidly discovered it was not quite as short as promised; the final 500m or so are best characterised as hanging on for dear life. Despite that, both VIIs moved really nicely, and clocked impressive times; the women clocked exactly 6minutes, just three seconds behind the top crew in their category, and the men put in a 5:05, beating current headship crew Oriel college.
UCBC Men’s first VIII racing at Bedford Head Race
After a short debrief and a break for lunch, both crews had a second crack at the course in the afternoon, with the goal of making changes from the first race and ideally going a bit faster. Alas, the weather had other ideas, cruelly causing conditions to take a turn for the worse. Despite this, the women matched their time exactly, putting in another 6-minute effort, and the men only lost one second between their efforts, a strong performance for both.
Overall, it was a highly positive day of racing, with both crews making positive changes between races, and some very positive results – the men were the fastest Oxford college there and, perhaps more importantly, only lost to one j16 crew (ie, boat of 16-year-olds)! Similarly, the women put in a huge performance, and gained valuable race experience ahead of this term’s bumps campaign.
Our focus now turns to Torpids 鈥� a lot was learnt at Bedford, and we’re excited to carry this momentum forwards (ideally, into the crews in front of us).
听
Lloyd Arnold (2020, Computer Science and Philosophy), UCBC Men’s Captain
Published: 22 February 2023