Champs Head 2009:

1st Men

Time: 4:52.2
4th (of 14) in Mays M1 division

After last week's poor showing at Poplar, we came into the last major event before Bumps keen to set matters straight. Coming on the back of a week of steadily improving outings, we had a good paddle to the marshalling point. Instead of hanging about getting cold, we paddled down to the lock and back before we began. The start itself was pretty tidy, and we strode well past the Plough, settling into a rhthym of 33. The killer swan fortunately decided not to get itself involved in the action, and Ditton was taken smoothly. Knowing the race was deceptively short, we learnt from last year's mistake and kept pushing through the middle 500m. The push for the line reached rate 35 and was much smoother than in some past pieces we have done, though there is still a little more speed to be gained.

Though not quite the top 3 spot we were aiming for, a pleasing result nonetheless. Coming into bumps, it is satisfying to see we are faster than the crews around us. However as exam period looms, we must keep the hard work going, or else the efforts so far this term and over training camp will be wasted.

Written by Tom Wilson

2nd Men

Time: 5:09.3
1st (of 8) in Mays M3 division

2nd Women

Time: 6:26.3
1st (of 8) in Mays W3 division

3rd Men

Time: 5:46.7
7th (of 12) in Mays M5 division

3rd Women

Time: 6:53.0
2nd (of 6) in Mays W5 division

Luckily for us our race managed to be the only break in the sun that day - so out came the shades!
We had a reasonable start although it took a while to settle in to it. Coming on to the reach we were ready for the wind to stop us dead, but we sat up and pushed through it and the rhythm felt good. Once we were out of the wind and under the Railway bridge we started to push for home and you could feel the boat pick up speed, perhaps next time we can keep that up for a little bit longer?! Overall a good race and the results confirm this as we are 2nd in our division. Thanks go to Fran - our last minute sub.

Written by Kate Husband

4th Men

Time: 6:20.6
5th (of 7) in Mays M6 division

Our crew set off in good spirits, with the promise of a far less gruelling piece than the previous weekend, albeit upstream. The third division unfortunately met the second one coming back from the race, and a scene ofepic carnage ensued, which allowed Steffi to demonstrate some excellent coxing, and we avoided any frustrations. Spinning by the motorway bridge, we prepared ourselves for a competitive race: ahead was LMBC V, already in the fifth bumps division, astern however was Sidney Sussex M4, a crew against whom we are competing for the GoR. Starting off in a flurry of blades, we soon got a good rhythm together and pulled right past Grassy with exactly the right line. Once we pulled round the corner into the Reach, we met with incredible gusts of wind, slowing the boat down depressingly. However we churned ahead against all odds, and pulled past the P&E with our heads held high, and a good time. While Sidney had given us a run for our money, technically beating us by two tenths of a second, our performance compared well with other boats such as King's III, who clocked in almost a full minute behind us. Additionally, we have found a definite look for the boat, demonstrated by Chris, Andrew, and Sam: the terminator sunglasses look, along with indigo shirts. Our hopes remain high for getting-on to bumps!

Written by Alex Küng