As exams come to an end, regatta season is now properly underway at the Club.
Saturday at Peterborough got off to a successful start in Division 1 as all but one of the boats entered made it through to a second race, and the boat that didn’t still put in a solid time and race. The Beginner Women’s 8+ got a painful 2nd place, just lacking the legs towards the end of the race. However, a really strong performance against them and they should be positive heading to Durham. The highlight of the morning has to go to the Men’s 4+ who continued their recent good form in successfully securing another pot. However, these were no ordinary pots, they were special limited edition Platinum Jubilee pots!
Division 2 on Saturday started soon after the pots were collected. During the afternoon the crews showed some good quality racing, however, unfortunately many were just pipped by many of their competitors leading to it being an afternoon of many podium positions but not quite pots! Although, this is a great place to be in looking ahead to Durham! The painful highlight of the afternoon has to go to the Men’s pair who when rerigging back in Leeds realised they had probably doubled the weight of their boat as it was full of water! The rowing highlight goes to the Women’s 4+ (B1 Gifford) as they put in a strong effort in their time trial, finishing not far behind Leeds Rowing Club who went on to win the competition. And finally, there is a contribution highlight that goes to Abby Davison and Celia Crosbie who both stepped in to cox, a massive thank you to both!
The weather on Sunday was disappointing and a throwback to Head season! The Club had 3 podium positions over Sunday with the best result going to the Men’s 8+ finishing 2nd. A massive well done to a number of this year's Beginners who raced in that 8+! The Women’s 8+ had another agonising podium finish although good progress is being made for Durham and beyond! Also a really big well done to the Beginner boats in the categories making it to 2nd races against tougher and more experienced opposition.
All in all, it was a successful regatta both in terms of performance but also learning curves as crews are just getting into the swing of regatta season. The Club sits in a good place to push on at Durham regatta!