After their success at Trent Head, the girls searched for some more speed in the following week before heading down to Putney for the Women's Eights Head of the River. After a short pre-paddle to get used to the water, the girls had a break, got their race kit on and headed back out onto the water. The crew was starting 12th, and were aiming to get back in to the top ten. This is the 10th women's head since the clubs formation in 2006, so the pressure was on to maintain the streak of winning a pennant at this event every year. The girls had a really good race, hitting each part of their race plan well, and finishing alongside Exeter University, who started 11th, on the line.
The team at WEHoRR provided an excellent live results service, which meant the girls knew they had beaten closest contenders from last year Cantabrigian and Grosvenor RC. They were also placed precariously in 9th place, with the new entry crews starting further down the start order in 51st onwards. Completed provisional results placed the girls 10th overall and winning the provincial pennant by 37 seconds. This year we had 4 girls who were first time pennant winners, including stroke girl Caitlin, who thought racing 4 1/4 miles was the perfect way to celebrate her birthday!
Congratulations to the crew of: Vicky Atkins (cox), Caitlin, Katie, Kirstie, Wilks, Laura, Sammy, Ellyce and Kat, as well as coaches Dez and Nikki. Thanks also to all those who sat in the 8+ to keep the project going, and also to the Presidents Club for providing us with our 8+, we couldn't have done it without you!
