News and Notices
Last week saw nine LMBC crews take to the river to compete in the May Bumps. The lower boats suffered from the crew inconsistencies experienced all term and had a mixed week, with some gutsy races taking place. The upper boats had a rather more successful week. The second women ended the week staying level, having been bumped by Robinson, pulling away from a strong Homerton crew who had overlap at Ditton Corner, and bumping New Hall. The first women had an excellent week, bumping Trinity Hall, First and Third and Newnham, narrowly missing out on a bump on Girton when they caught Newnham just slightly too quickly.
The third men bumped Trinity Hall II and Jesus III, but as is often the case in bumps, had two comfortable rowovers when crews in front bumped out very quickly. The second men had a storming week, bumping Wolfson, King's, Caius II and Selwyn to win their blades. They finished the week at the top of the second division. The first men began the week behind reportedly fast First and Third and Caius crews. With crews around bumping out on the first night, the bump on Caius was made on the second night, leaving the crew second on the river. Despite good rows which allowed us to close on First and Third early in the course, we were unable to make the bump for headship.
Many thanks go out to everyone who has rowed, coxed, coached, bank partied and supported the club this year, in particular Raf who has done an excellent job in coaching all crews and keeping the boats and boathouse in such good condition. Raf unfortunately leaves the club after Henley and she will be missed.
This leaves the club in an incredibly strong position for next year - I wish the new committee the best of luck in taking full advantage of this.
May Bumps start tomorrow (Wednesday 11th June), with six men's and three women's crews racing. Full details are available in the Racing section, and updates will be posted during the week. As always, support would be greatly appreciated for what promises to be some exciting racing.
Congratulations to Francesca Yates on being elected Women's Captain for
2008-9, and to Neil Houlsby on being elected Men's and Overall Captain.
The last two weekends have seen many LMBC crews take to the water both on and off-Cam, competing in the Head to Head, City Sprints, Poplar Regatta and Champs Head. M1 came second in S3 at Poplar and made improvements in their S2 race in very choppy water. M2 beat Selwyn and Trinity Hall to win the City Sprints, with M3 beating CCAT and Clare Hall to win their division.
Four men's crews entered Champs Head last Sunday. M4 had a good row, coming fourth in their division beating a few crews starting close to them in bumps, M1 came third overall. M2 and M3 claimed victory once again in their respective divisions - well done to both crews, and in particular to Amy Atkinson who not only coxed the race twice, but also won a coxing prize for her line round Ditton Corner. Training continues for bumps, which run from 11th to 14th June - with these results they promise some exciting racing, and we hope to see many supporters on the towpath!
This week has seen the CUCBC Small Boats Regatta take place. Matt O'Connor raced Magdalene Silver Pairs with David Hopper of Peterhouse, beating a First and Third pair, a CUBC pair and a CULRC pair to win the competition (for the second year in a row). Congratulations to them both.
A slight tail wind greeted the scullers as they advanced on to the Long Reach throughout the day as 5 competitors took part in The Colquhoun Silver Sculls.
Conditions were near perfect, the first round saw Coker of FaT beaten by Morris of Jesus by a margin of 7 seconds (Winning time, 8:08). Gray of LMBC then narrowly lost to Kerr of St Catherines in the next heat by a margin of three seconds.
In the semi final Hopper of Peterhouse, receiving a bye to get thus far beat Morris by 5 seconds with a winning time of 7:57.
The final, rowed with a slightly stronger tailwind at 16:05 saw Kerr pushing off Hopper from the start to claim victory by nine seconds posting the fastest time of the day, winning in 7:50.
A good days racing.
This week saw six LMBC crews take to the river for the Lent Bumps. The big success story is that of the second women, who bumped CCAT, New Hall, Robinson and Peterhouse first boats to win their blades. They now lie third in the second division. The first women managed three comfortable rowovers but unfortunately succumbed to a strong, blading Pembroke crew on Saturday.
The fourth men were unlucky to be placed amongst strong crews from the getting on race, and were bumped by Selwyn III, CCAT II and Homerton II. The third men had an unfortunate crab-filled start to the week, being bumped by Girton II and St. Edmunds. Their luck turned on Friday when they pushed away from Clare II who had closed to a canvas at Ditton corner. The second men held their position, bumping Robinson to take a place in the first division before being bumped back to being sandwich boat by First and Third II. The first men had a strong start to the week, bumping Caius and Jesus. Two strong rowovers finished off the week, never being threatened by crews behind and ensuring that the First and Third headship crew didn't have an easy race. We finished second on the river.
Overall a promising set of results which have only motivated the club to intensify efforts for Mays.
For all those unable to get down to the river this week, CUR1350 will be providing race commentary and up to the minute results - find them at the link below.
Next week sees the highlight of Lent term racing – the Lent Bumps. The fifth men and third women race on Friday in the Getting On Race, battling for a starting position next week. Our other crews are first due to race as follows:
M4 – Tuesday at 2pm. Chasing Emmanuel III, chased by Selwyn III.
M3 – Tuesday at 3:20pm. Chasing Christ’s II, chased by Girton II
W2 – Tuesday at 4pm. Chasing CCAT, chased by Sidney Sussex
M2 – Tuesday at 4:40pm. Rowing at the head of division 2, chased by Caius II
W1 – Wednesday at 4pm. Chasing Downing, chased by Newnham
M1 – Wednesday at 4:40pm. Chasing Caius, chased by Downing
We hope to see many supporters on the bank for what promises to be some exciting racing!
LMBC has put in a strong showing at on- and off-Cam races in the build up to the Lent bumps, with good results from the Head2Head, Newnham Short Course, Robinson Head, Bedford Head and Pembroke Regatta – see the race reports section for more details. Results to note are the victories of M1 at Newnham Short Course (taking first and second position overall), and M2 and M3 who both won their divisions of Pembroke Regatta. M1 were the fastest Oxbridge college crew at Bedford Head.
After promising results in the University IVs races, the women’s squad formed an VIII and development IV for the remainder of Michaelmas term. The VIII entered Winter Head, where, despite a disaster at the start, the crew managed to come 13th in the college novice VIIIs division. In Fairbairns, they were the 12th fastest college crew. The development IV put in a good performance, coming 18th overall. The men’s squad responded to the Uni IVs results with increased determination, fielding two VIIIs for Fairbairns. The development VIII enjoyed rowing throughout term and were the 38th fastest college crew in Fairbairns. The first VIII came a promising 3rd in Winter Head, and with the crew settled made significant progress to be the second fastest college crew in Fairbairns. Along with the exceptional novice results, the club looks to be a force to be reckoned with going into the Lents.
2007 has been a good year for LMBC novices. There have been nine crews training all term (six men’s crews and three women’s), entering Queens’ Ergs, Winter Head, Clare Novice Regatta and Fairbairns. Winter Head saw the top two men’s and women’s crews compete in their first race on the water. The second novice men put in a strong performance to come fourth overall, with the first novice men winning their division. A couple of incidents for the first novice women left them lying third in the women’s beginner division, only beaten by the second novice women and a crew from Imperial.
All our novice crews entered Clare Sprints. In the women’s Plate competition, the third novice women made the final, where they were unfortunately beaten by a strong Lucy Cavendish crew. The second novice women were unlucky to be drawn against the eventual winners in the second round. The first novice women had an unfortunate incident in their second round race against Pembroke, which ended their campaign. The bottom four men’s crews entered the men’s Plate competition. The Grad boat and the third novice men both made their semi-finals, where equipment failure caused both to narrowly miss out on the finals. In the Cup competition both the first and second novice men were eventually beaten by Jesus – the second men in the quarter finals and first men in the finals. Overall a strong showing throughout the competition.
Fairbairns also saw a sea of red take to the river. The women’s squad put in a good performance, managing 25th (third women), 33rd (second women) and 4th (first women). In the novice men’s competition, we were the only college to enter a 5th and 6th boat, which, along with the fourth novice men, performed well (44th, 51st and 55th). The first, second and third novice men all managed to be the fastest crews in their divisions, though due to an unfortunate incident with marshalling instructions and the need for a rerow, the first novice men were denied the official victory. A truly excellent set of results which bode well for the future.
This term’s novice results have been fantastic, showing great strength and depth in the club. Thanks to Rich and Rhi for being excellent Lower Boats Captains, and bring on Lents!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1aiYsGaMoA
Check out the 1st Novice women storming to the 6th fastest time in the qualifiers (finishing 7th overall). Sorry it's sideways - does anyone have the know-how as to how I can rotate video?
I'll try and get the rest of the video I have up sometime in the near future.
The last week has seen both novices and seniors racing. LMBC fielded 9 crews in Queens' Ergs on Tuesday evening, coming away with a series of positive results - special mention goes to the third novice men who won the men's lower boats division, beating a whole host of second boat crews. The first and second novice men were unlucky to both come in just one second behind Jesus crews, but nevertheless showed their strength - now the hard work goes on to convert this into speed on the water. The women's crews put in some good times, with the first novice women coming 7th overall. The second novice women were the 3rd fastest second boat, and the third novice women just three seconds behind them.
On the water, four LMBC crews contested the University IVs races. The men's second coxed IV were unlucky to lose to Trinity Hall II in the quarter finals, but found a strong base to work from through to Fairbairn's and beyond. The women's coxed IV started the week with an easy win over CCAT, but were unfortunate to lose to Clare in the quarter finals. The light IV had a bye to the final of their division, but were unable to convert this into a win over First and Third. The first men's coxed IV entered the week with little hope for progression on the back of a disappointing result at Autumn Head a couple of weeks earlier. However, they showed immense improvement over the week, beating Emmanuel by 14s and managing to improve their time by 16s to beat Christ's by 3s. They went on to face a very strong First and Third crew in the final, losing in a race we all wished could have been closer. However, the determination shown in reaching the final gives a great base to build from for the rest of the year.
Overall, a pleasing week for LMBC. This weekend sees novices and seniors training together as the focus shifts to training for Fairbairn's.
Tomorrow is the annual novice erg comp. With over 70 novices competing with solid training under their belts, we look to cause some serious damage.
This is a great event for spectators! From 17:00 (1st Women) and 18:30 (1st Men) onwards, come and show off the red in support of all our crews. Races are half hourly, with a Maggie crew in almost every one. The Women's and Men's Finals are 22:15 and 22:45 respectively.
Novices, your time to shine has begun. Good Luck!
Tomorrow sees the start of the University IVs races, which run throughout this week. The racing schedule for LMBC crews is as follows:
Monday - 2nd men's IV+ races Trinity Hall II in the quarter finals
Tuesday - women's IV+ races CCAT in the preliminary rounds
Wednesday - 1st men's IV+ races Emmanuel in the quarter finals
Friday - the light IV races either Clare or First and Third in the final
The full draw is available on the CUCBC website. Race reports will be posted throughout the week so check back for news of how everyone gets on.
Hi all, and welcome to the LMBC website. Many of you who are new to Cambridge and to rowing won't have seen quite how big Cambridge rowing is. Johnians are lucky - LMBC are consistently one of the biggest and best college rowing clubs, and whether you're looking to enjoy a massive social scene, take your sport seriously or just offset a heavy student lifestyle with something fun and active, it can all be found here.
Sounds interesting? Email your Lower Boats' Captains Rich and Rhi for more info and most importantly to try some rowing for yourself. You won't be asked to join the club before you've had the chance to see whether you like rowing, so it's definitely worth a try!
Browse through the website to find out more about the history of the club, the different races we do, and photos of LMBC Boaties in action. If you're not sure where to start, here are some links to recent novice action, the sort of things you would be doing as a novice in LMBC.
Enjoy!
Rich and Rhi, LMBC Lower Boats’ Captains
Race Reports
2006 - Clare Sprints Regatta
A side by side knock out tournament
2005 - Queen's Ergs
Intense sprint racing on rowing machines
2004 - Fairbairn's
A timed distance race where good technique goes a long way
