Wow! The season has gone by in a blur, I didn't realise it had been so long since our last post! So quite a lot has happened since March... Deep breath and i'll give you an update:


Training Camp
Once again we went on training camp over the Easter break. We returned to the beautiful Brive la Guillarde in France for 9 days. We took a large group of athletes, including our development squad. We were treated to good weather and lovely water, with progress being made all round.

BUCS Regatta:
Our first regatta of the season was for our student members of the squad. We had a diverse entry, with representation in Sheffield Hallam, Nottingham Trent and Loughborough colours. Highlights included a fantastic fourth and 6th place in beginner singles, and a 5th place in beginner quads, meaning all of our development athletes made their respective 'A' finals. Caitlin also continued her form, winning bronze in championship singles, and then followed this up with an outstanding gold in Champ doubles, with Katie Bartlett. This qualified a double and a single for the European Universities regatta. Caitlin has taken up the single slot, whilst Annie and Fleur will compete in the double scull.

Rotterdam:
Our next destination was Rotterdam regatta, mainly for some early season experience for our non-students. Lucy made a great start to the regatta season winning Junior singes and Ellyce came a very close second in the lightweight singles. Sammy, Kerryn, katie and Wilks all had some fantastic, and came away with plenty of lessons learnt - particularly how to start in a raging crosswind!

Next up we had Notts City:
Star performances were from Ellyce who dominated the elite lightweight singles race from start to finish, and Kate and Georgina in their 2x who won in a similar style. Our development quad of Kate, Annie, Fleur and Georgina had a fantastic first run out on the course in IM1 quads, coming in a close second by a canvas. Wilks also had a chance to put in to practice what she had learnt in Rotterdam, racing IM1 singles, where she came second to a strong starting Agecroft sculler, with Abi coming home in third. Rosie and Kat also started their doubles campaign, having a fantastic heat, and being pipped to the win in the final.

Monmouth Regatta
We spent the weekend at Monmouth Regatta where we had an incredibly successful weekend, again with plenty of side by side racing experience gained for the run in to Henley Womens Regatta. 5 athletes lost their novice status and went for a dip in the river, well done Sammy, Annie, Fleur, JJ and Kristina! This was an incredibly enjoyable regatta, with a lovely friendly feeling, and we will definitely be returning next year!

Next up: How we got on at HWR and HRR...

Another weekend saw another trip to a race to finish a very busy head racing season. This time we were travelling to Lincoln to race under the impressive Lincoln Cathedral. Our development girls were racing in an IM2 4x (Fleur, Annie, Kate and Georgina), and IM2 2x (Carly and Kellie), with Sammy racing both IM3 and IM2 1x. The novice girls were also out racing in force in a quad, double and single.
Once the fog had cleared it was a beautiful day on the river Witham. Despite a few close shaves with the reeds which seemed to be out in force, the girls all had fantastic rows and we came away as the fastest women's crew and also the fastest female sculler. For some of the novice girls this was their first race, and provided an excellent learning experience.

Final results were:
WIM2 4x - First
WIM2 1x - First
WIM3 1x - 2nd
WNov 4x - 2nd
WNov 2x - 2nd
WNov 1x - 2nd
WIM2 2x - 3rd

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!

We had 5 athletes who travelled to Boston to race at the 3rd winter assessment. This was primarily for those seeking Senior, U23 and University World Championship selection. The first division saw Katie, Kirstie, Caitlin, Wilks and Sammy racing over the 5k course. After battling through the wind and waves until the bend, the girls all settled on to a strong rhythm for the final 3k. Top performer was Caitlin, coming in 10th, with Katie less than a second behind in 11th. Katie is still an U23, and this left her well placed as 3rd U23. Kirstie came in 31st, Sammy 36th and Wilks 37th. the girls now wait to hear if they have been invited to the final April selection trials, which are a closed trial in Caversham. 

Meanwhile, just down the road but in significantly nicer conditions, Ellyce, Kellie, Fleur and Grace were racing at the South Yorkshire Head, hosted by Doncaster Rowing Club. Despite only sending 4 athletes, we had a successful day, with Ellyce winning elite singles, and Fleur winning Novice singles. 

The girls have now moved in to 8s in the lead up to Trent Head and Eights Head. We are racing Elite 8s at Trent Head, and we also have some of our novice development girls in a novice 8+. Give us a cheer on Sunday if you are by the river!

With 4 trailers loaded, the club arrived en masse to Boston Rowing Club for their head race. First up we had our elite scullers racing over the full 5k course. With results on a live feed, we were quick to find out that Laura had won, followed by Caitlin Boyland and Katie Bartlett, giving us the 1,2,3 in some mild conditions.

After a tight turn around between divisions, Fleur and Annie boated to race a status up in IM3 doubles. After a solid row, they came in over a minute ahead of their opposition, in a very competitive time for the higher status doubles.

In the third division it was wins for the Rosie's, with Rosie Taylor winning IM3 singles, and Rosie Wilkins winning IM1 singles, in her second race of the day.

Overall a great day in Boston. Thank you to Boston for once again putting on a well run race. A lot of the squad will be returning in a few weeks for the February GB Rowing Team assessment, before moving in to the 8+ for WEHoRR.

It has been a busy few weeks, with things only just beginning to settle back down. The beginning of the month saw our senior athletes head of to the first GB assessment weekend. The first day started well, with PBs coming from Rosie Wilkins, Caitlin and Kat, with Kirstie just 0.1 seconds off her PB. All 4 athletes, as well as Katie Bartlett comfortably made the required erg standard to compete on the water the following day, where all girls had solid rows, with Katie heading the Nottingham contingent.
Back in Nottingham, our development squad were competing at the BUCS indoor erg series. For Annie, Fleur and Grace this was their first 2k indoor competition, with all gaining PBs, and Annie taking a massive 11 seconds off her PB to win silver. Our novices all handled the competition environment well, coming away with a win in the beginner event and some promising performances all round. On Sunday, Grace, Annie and Fleur were back in action, joined by Carly, to race novice singles at the Nottingham Autumn Head. Held in foggy but calm conditions, Annie continued her success, winning the event by over 10 seconds. For all this was a great learning experience. Rosie Taylor and Kellie were also racing over the longer 5450m course in the first division, putting down some good performances.

Last weekend, in some blustery conditions, our intrepid IM1 4x took to the tideway to race the Fours Head of the River. The quad of Kat, Caitlin, Wilks and Kirstie weaved through numerous crews to finish 3rd in their division, and 8th womens crew overall, a great performance, and one to build on leading up to the 8s head in March.

Until next time

This must be one of the busiest weekends for the squad, with our senior athletes off to GB trials and our development squad racing at BUCS indoors and the Nottingham Autumn Head. Caitlin, Wilks, Katie, Kirstie and Kat will all be testing themselves against the rest of the country, including current World Championship medallists at the first assessment for GB rowing team candidates, first with a 2k ergo test, followed by a 5km water trial in singles on the Sunday. Georgina and Laura are both sitting out this weekend whilst they recover from a recent bout of illness.

The development group are racing at BUCS indoors on Saturday. This is a regional competition, with results then collated nationally to decide the top 4 athletes in the country on the rowing machine. Racing is held over 1000m for beginners, and 2000m for the girls who have been rowing for more than a year. For most this is their first taste of rowing competition, and all are looking forward to seeing how they compare to their competition.

We also have 6 athletes competing on Sunday at the local Nottingham Autumn Head, raced over 5450m in the first division, and then the shorter 2000m course for our 4 novice scullers from last year. Fingers crossed the weather behaves for everyone racing on Sunday.

After this weekend, focus will turn to the fours head held in London on 7th November, where we have an elite and an IM1 quad entered.

After a long break we are slowly getting the blog up and running, and what better place to start than the British Rowing Championships held at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. All athletes who wish to represent Great Britain at U23 and senior level in the following season are required to race, resulting in a high standard of competition, with club athletes racing against World Champions. This was the squads first test of speed for the 2015-16 season. Due to some illness we had just 3 crews entered:

Senior 2x: Rosie Wilkins and Kirstie Bartlett
U23 2x: Katie Bartlett and Robyn Armstrong
U23 Lwt 2x: Rosie Taylor and Kathryn Aguilar-Agon

The day started with 1900m time trials, with Kirstie and Rosie progressing to the A/B semi finals after placing 11th, Robyn and Katie moving to the C/D semi finals whilst Kat and Rosie moved to the G/H semi final. After some tights racing in the semi finals, the crews progressed to the B, C and G finals respectively. To make for come close racing throughout the regatta, all doubles race based on their speed in the time trials, regardless of sub category. Overall results were Senior 2x 11th (7th in category), U23 2x 15th (4th in category) and U23 Lwt 2x (8th in category). Grace Clough was also racing in NRC colours in a composite 4- with Thames RC and Leander Club and had a successful day at the lake, coming home 3rd in the B final to place her 9th overall.

The end of Brit Champs marks the start of the head season, and from here the High Performance girls will be looking forward to trials on 31st/1st November, whilst the development squad will be racing at BUCS Indoor Erg Champs on the 31st and the Nottingham Autumn Head on the 1st November

Until then it's back in to the singles and hoping the cold weather stays away for as long as possible!

Following their performance through the season, Kirstie and Catherine were selected for England to race at the Home International regatta, this year held in Cork, Ireland. This is an annual match between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Despite some difficulties in the logistics of the event, which resulted in the double having to find a last minute boat replacement, the girls managed to overcome the obstacles and raced well, coming home second behind Scotland. This was Kirstie's first international vest, and sets both athletes up for next season.

We had a large entry of crews into  HWR this year, many of who were looking to gain experience in their singles, racing in an environment which is more intense than the normal multi-lane racing.

The weekend started off early Friday morning with time trials in almost all events - a testament to the increased popularity and growth of the regatta. All crews made it through the time trials successfully and prepared to compete in the main regatta.

The Senior quad of Anna Thornton, Catherine Lineker, Kyra Edwards and Beth Lloyd racing for the Chairman's Trophy were first to compete, beating Star Club with an Easily verdict. They then went on to beat a UWE/UTRC composite on the Saturday before being beaten by a very strong Molsey/Putney Town/Strathclyde composite in the semi-finals.

We had 2 single scullers racing in the senior singles for the Bernard Churcher Trophy. Laura Champion and Abigail MacCartney both raced well, but were both sadly beaten by Pepper from Star and Arrow in successive rounds. Pepper went on to lose narrowly in the final. Rosie Taylor was racing in the Senior Lightweight singles, an event won by Yasmin last year. Rosie is new to the squad this year and had an excellent row, but was ultimately beaten on Saturday by Lewis from Greenbank Falmouth. For all 3 scullers this has given them a chance to see where they stand individually against the rest of the domestic competition, and will fuel their winter training for next season.

Yasmin made the step up to elite lightweight singles this year, racing in an event which contained athletes who were subsequently named in the GB U23 and senior teams. Despite a solid row, Yasmin was beaten by Humphries of TSS on the Saturday.

There were two senior doubles entered, racing for the Rosie Mayglothling trophy. Vicky Jones and Caitlin had found they were an excellent combination through the season, winning at Nottingham City Regatta and forming well as a double. The other double of Kirstie and Nikki were second at Notts City and hoping the extra few weeks training up to HWR would help them improve on this position. Vicky and Caitlin, despite carrying an injury onboard, raced well to hold TSS level through the enclosures, but the Scullers crew dug deep and unfortunately edged the double to the line.
Nikki and Kirstie had a solid couple of rows on the Saturday, giving them the opportunity to practice their race plan and learn to handle the environment at the start. On Sunday they had a good race against Reading RC, and then faced Glasgow Uni in the final. Times through the regatta had suggested this was going to be a close final. The girls went out hard and got themselves ahead by the barrier, where they held their distance through to the finish, to win by 1 1/2 lengths.

Thanks must go to the organising committee for another well run regatta, and also to the programme designer who found the best crew from last year to put on the front cover!

 

Once again Met Regatta was blessed with sunshine and flat water. We had a large squad of athletes racing. Abbie, Laura, Rosie and Yasmin were all racing in singles, with Kirstie/Nikki and Caitlin/Vicky racing in doubles, and lastly Anna, Catherine, Kyra and Beth racing in a quad. The scullers all raced well within their categories, improving as the day progressed and they got closer to the finals. Winners on the first day were the senior double of Kirstie and Nikki, and the senior quad. Laura wheeler also won in a composite 4-.

Sunday saw an opportunity for Caitlin and Vicky to improve on their performances the day before, which they did, and narrowly missed out on a place in the final of IM2 doubles, a big step up from the novice double they raced as at Notts City. Both Abbie and Laura both continued to improve on the previous days performances in their singles, bridging the gap up to the lead athletes. For consideration for the Commonwealth Regatta team, many athletes were asked to race in Elite and Elite Lightweight Singles. Kirstie and Catherine both raced in the openweight singles, with Yasmin and Rosie racing in the lightweight. Understandably competition was fast, and unfortunately despite some very good racing, none of the girls made it to the final.

Overall it was a very successful weekend, with two wins and everyone stepping on and improving their performances at the higher level of competition. This gives us a good indication of where we are and what we need to work on ahead of Henley Women’s Regatta on 20-22^nd June.

Nottingham City Regatta

O! For a NRCHPS of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of Nottm city
A Hpp for a stage, Thames to Tyne did fall
And NRCHPS to behold the name on the boatman’s victory board.

Can Boyland and Jones ease to victory hold
The vasty fields of Novice scullers?
Within this carbon fibre oar O the very easy heat
That did affright the air at Nottingham

Consideration, like a carrot out of noses and unpaid memberships
And whipped the offending Exeter and Newark out of gold

Turn Boyland a monarch of all novice scullers,
MacCartney and Taylor, that when they row the third intermediates
The air, the water, is still

O noble choppers! That could entertain
With half entries a thorny heat and full forces the full pride of Grand Britannia
And let another half stand rowing by,
All out of work, MacCartney proceeded forward action.

For so work the elite sculling-bees,
Creatures that by a rule in oarsman teach
The act of double sculls of order over watt bike office smelly banter;
They have a match a half past eleven,
Where some, become victors, on home soil
Leading way Maxfield Spencer O to the kilometre
Others, like soldiers, armed in their filippi
Make boot upon the course, Lloyd Lineker
Which pillage they with merry march bring gold home
To the Desmond Atkins of our fearless-leader O to Caversham!
Let us swear,

Our Champion and MacCartney don’ed intermediate two sculls
That those who you call’ed friends, hold hard the breath and bend up every stroke
Whose blood is felt from all of war
Have in these parts from morn till even fought hard, bravo!

Once more unto the lake, dear friends, once more; race again
Or close the final with our Nottingham pride!
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a winner
As modest melt Maxfield claims Intermediate uno singles
Marks and Spencer gracious row truly
Whose limbs were made in England show us here

Even at the turning o’ the tide
All one does is win win win, has rowing on thy mind.
Onwards and forward to journey south, Metropolitan regatta awaits

Translation: 

Catherine and Beth Elite double - GOLD

Kirstie - IM1 1x - GOLD

Caitlin and Vicky - Novice double - GOLD

Caitlin - Novice single - GOLD

Kirstie and Nikki Elite doubles - 2nd

Yasmin - Elite 1x - 2nd

Abi - IM3 1x - 4th 

Vicky Jones - Novice 1x - 4th 

Abi - IM2 1x - 5th

Champs - IM2 1x - 6th

Rosie - IM3 1x - 4th in heat

...you wait 5 months and two come along at once! Firstly a summary since January:

January: The squad raced in singles at Boston Head, with triallists racing in elite over the full 5km course in preparation for trials in early February, whilst the others raced in IM2 and IM3 over the shorter 3km course. Everyone performed well, with the squad coming away with an elite win (Nikki), IM2 win (Laura C) and an IM3 win (Abby). We also jumped in the eight for the first time this season, racing an established Cambridge squad over rate capped pieces. This was a good starting point for us, getting used to the difference in style and technique between the squad. We then had a 5km erg to complete – always a highlight for January. Again, everyone performed well, with all squad members getting a PB. This means each member of the squad has a 2k and 5k PB this year.

February: February was a quite month for us. Trials was cancelled early due to adverse weather warnings which allowed the squad to focus on the eight for Women’s Head of the River Race. We had a variety of illness and injury, along with other logistical problems which meant that the build up to Trent Head and Eights Head were not ideal.

March: March started with an excellent win at Trent Head, giving us a platform to build on leading up to the Eights’ Head a fortnight later. The event was well attended and organised, allowing us to see where we ranked amongst other more established crews. This was our only run out at full speed for an extended distance, and gave us a good idea of how the crew reacted in a race situation. After a pre-paddle on the Tideway to get used to the bouncy water, the Eight of Anna Thornton, Katie Bartlett, Kyra Edwards, Kirstie Maxfield, Laura Champion, Catherine Lineker, Nikki Spencer, Sarah Bonar and coxed by Hannah York set off up to the start with high hopes of a fast race. The crew had a good tussle with Exeter University who went on to win the IM2 pennant. The girls had a good race, but couldn’t quite find the speed they had in training in the choppier conditions, and finished 16th winning the provincial pennant. The top 6 places were dominated by overseas and Olympic composites, with the headship going to the squad composite.

April: At the beginning of April we went hunting for some sunshine on training camp in Aiguebelette. The lake and surroundings were absolutely beautiful, with mirror flat water most of the time. We spent 10 days getting faster on the water and slower up the stairs as we got more tired, and coming back to a windy Holme Pierrepont has been a bit of a shock! Yasmin, Laura W and Nikki then headed to trials, where the forecast for strong winds meant racing was condensed into one day. Nikki came 12th in senior lwt, Yaz came 8th U23 lwt and Laura W came 13th. 

May: The students in the group raced at BUCS, the largest rowing event in Europe, racing previous Olympians and athletes at the top of their game. Everyone raced well, with Kirstie winning silver in intermediate singles. 

It feels like we haven't stopped since Brit Champs in October! We have had a race every other week since then, so things have been a little busy.

First off, 2 weeks after the Autumn Head we had the first set of GB trials. This is a gruelling weekend, with a 2k erg on the Saturday, and then if you make the cut-off time, you are entered into a 5km head race on the Sunday. The squad got off to an excellent start, with Catherine and Kirstie both making the time, with Kirstie getting a massive PB and going under 7 minutes for the first time and placing 15th. Laura topped off the heavyweight racing with a PB as well. Nikki raced next in the lightweights, falling just short of her PB but making the cut-off comfortably. Yaz continued with her recent form with a PB and a 4th place finish (2nd U23). Laura Wheeler is still recovering from her back injury, and had a medical exemption from this trial.

Day 2 dawned with an early drive back to Boston. We could not have asked for better water conditions, with almost flat calm conditions. Kirstie raced in the heavyweight division first, having an excellent row to come home in 27th place, in an event won by Jess Leyden, the current junior singles World Champion. Unfortunately Catherine was unable to race due to illness. In the lightweight division, Nikki improved on her ranking from the erg to finish in 7th place, with Yaz claiming 10th position. The winner of the lightweight event, Charlotte Taylor, produced the fastest women's time of the day.

The squad then had a quick transition into crew boats for the Fours Head of the River Race. We were involved in 2 quads, an elite quad of Nikki, Laura, Kirstie and Lindsay raced for time only after having to make more than 50% substitutions from the initial entry. Unfortunately, due to a blade breaking just before Hammersmith Bridge, the crew did not achieve the race they were hoping for, but did benefit from some solid power training, after finishing the race with just 3 rowing (and managing to hold off some crews!) Catherine was joined by Start athletes Sarah Bonar and Kyra Edwards as well as Anna Thornton in an IM1 4x, which had a brilliant race, and rowed home with a comprehensive 12 second victory over their opposition, and placing 5th women's quad overall. This is the second time Catherine has won at the Fours Head, and the 3rd time the squad has won a pennant at this prestigious event.

Having felt like we had only just left Boston, we returned on Saturday 14th December for the second GB assessment. This trial was just the 5km water test, with the inclusion of the squad athletes that raced at the World Championships, resulting in a very high quality field. The U23 athletes were not required to attend this assessment, so Catherine and Nikki were the only 2 athletes to race, and were greeted with a massive headwind for the final 3km of the race. Catherine came 27th in a race won by Fran Houghton, with Nikki improving on her previous result, coming 6th, in a race won by Imogen Walsh, who beat Olympic Champion Kat Copeland. As a result of their performance at trials, Kirstie and Yaz have been invited to a training week in Caversham this week.

The squad now get a small break from racing, and a chance to recharge a little over Christmas, before a busy few months at the start of 2014, with WEHoRR, more trials and maybe a few more races thrown in.

Happy Christmas!

After closely monitoring the river conditions for the week leading up to the Autumn Head, and listening to the high winds on Saturday night, more than a few people were concerned the race wasn't going to go ahead. Luckily Sunday dawned brighter and calmer than forecast, and despite it taking approximately 2 years to get up to the pipe, the Autumn Head went off as planned, and on time!

The squad were racing in their singles in the first division, resulting in a starting order where we chased each other down the course. Despite some pre-race reconnaissance of the course, the wind and stream seemed to have other ideas, with some of us taking some creative racing lines. With two weeks left to go before trials, this race came at the end of a tough training block, and provided the perfect practice for the 5km water trial.

The squad came away with 2 wins, Yaz won Senior singles, and Laura won IM2 singles with Kirstie coming second in the same category. Nikki came second in Elite singles, behind Junior World Champion Jess Leyden from Hollingworth lake, followed by Start athlete Katie Bartlett, then Catherine in 4th and Lindsay in 5th. Abby came 3rd and Caitlin 5th in IM3 singles. Whilst the rest of the group enjoyed a nice cup of tea and some cake, Laura headed back out onto the water after a late call up into an IM2 quad which came second in their category over the shorter course in division 2. The girls then tried their hand at start marshalling, which is more difficult than it looks when you can't see half the crews and/or their race numbers, but I think everyone managed to get off in the right order!

Congratulations to anyone that managed to make it up to the start line - it's great to see so many people sculling up to race, and thanks to everyone that helped make the day go so smoothly, from the race organisers, marshals and safety team, to everyone that made cakes and manned the food stall.

A very overdue blog post - it's been a busy week!

The 19th and 20th October saw the British Championships being brought to the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. This is the first time that the event has been held at this time of year, in the format that was trialled at the Diamond Jubilee in 2012; with doubles and fours racing on the Saturday, and quads and eights racing on the Sunday. Heavyweights, lightweights, U23 and U19 all raced together, with medals awarded to the top 3, and pennants to the winners of the sub categories. All athletes wishing to represent GB in the summer were required to race at least one day, whilst anyone on funding had to race both days, ensuring that racing was of a very high standard at the top end. Each day starts with time trials to allocate which semi-final you were to race, with the top 12 going to the A/B semis, 13-24 to the C/D semis and so on. This format means that you are guaranteed close racing whatever your standard, as you are divided into groups of similar speeds. It also means that you are guaranteed 3 races, and come away with a final ranking, whether that be 1st or 31st.

The squad had 2 doubles entered on the Saturday, with Yaz and Nikki racing as a lightweight double, and Kirstie and Laura C racing in the heavyweight double. The time trial is raced over 1900m, and knowing this could decide how your day is going to pan out, with the threat of missing a higher semi final by a small margin hanging over you, it definitely wakes you up! After a tense wait, the light double were to race in the C/D semi, whilst the heavy double were in the G/H semis. In the C/D semi the light double had a close fight with two U23 bronze medallists, who just pipped them to the line, but ensured a close race for the C final. The heavy double had an excellent semi-final where the top 3 boats almost crossed the line together, and they ensured their place in the G final, where in a strengthening cross head they rowed a hard race and left everything out on the water. In the C final, the light double couldn't match the strength of the heavyweights in their final off the start, but slowly clawed their way back through the field, pushing past the Leander C boat and the U23 lightweights, and finished second - giving a finishing position of 14th, in an event won by VML and Fran Houghton, and 4th lightweight boat overall.

On day 2 the heavy quad of Cathers, with Start athletes Katie, Sarah and Beth, came out to play, whilst Nikki joined fellow lightweights from MAA and Putney Town RC in a composite quad. Both boats made it through to the A final, and were drawn in adjacent lanes. The favourites from Tees lead from start to finish, whilst Wallingford pushed out into second, leaving the Nottingham and Mortlake quads to fight for third. Through every timing marker the quads were level, with both crews being able to hear and respond to the other boats calls. At 250m to go the composite had their noses in front, but in a final move to the line, the Nottingham quad managed to push through and take a hard earned bronze medal.

                                                          Photo by Naomi Baker Sports Photography

Overall the weekend was a great success, it is a well organised event with close racing. The only thing missing were a few more spectators! There has been a lot of debate about the format of this event as a 'true National Championships', with nrod.wordpress.com summing up opinions well if you are interested.

The squad have a busy few weeks up to Christmas, racing on the 3rd November at the Small Boats Head, followed by GB trials a fortnight later, then 4s head 2 weeks after that, and then trials again 2 weeks after that.

A little snapshot of some of things the squad got up to last season. Worth watching!

If viewing on a mobile you might need to go to the video via youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pOhORVZY6s&feature=youtu.be

A warm, flat lake produced some fast times and good racing for the 51st Home International Regatta held at Holme Pierrepont on Saturday. This is an annual match between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with countries taking it in turns to host the event in their country.

Pippa raced first in her single, finishing off the season with an excellent win against some fast opposition in a time of 7.53. Next down the course was Nikki racing in a lightweight pair with Anastasia from Mortlake Anglian and Alpha BC. They were closely tracked down the course by defending winners from Wales, but held off a strong finish from the Welsh pair to win. Nikki then joined fellow lightweights Fran, Anna and Charlie from MAA and Putney Town to race in the openweight quads. The quad had a strong row to win comfortably, in a time of 6.51.

This brings an end to a lucrative 2013 season for the squad. Bring on 2014!

Notable wins and achievements for the 2012/13 season include:

Diamond Jubilee Regatta - Silver in women's fours
                                         - bronze in women's quads (composite)
Fours Head of the River  - Win in senior 4s (record time)
Eights Head of the River Race - Winners of the provincial pennant, 6th place overall (record time)
Nottingham City Regatta - Women's lightweight singles 1st and 2nd
                                         - Women's heavyweight singles 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Met Regatta - Winner IM2 singles
                     - Winners IM1 quads
Henley Women's Regatta - Winners senior quads, senior single, senior lightweight single
Henley Royal Regatta - A quad and 3 singles racing
Home International Regatta - wins in W1x, WLwt2- and W4x for England.

Laura Wheeler has been invited to train full time with the squad at their base in Caversham.
Alumni Vicki Meyer-Laker won the W2x World Cup series. Monica and Tina have both been competing in the W4x at this seasons World Cups.

7 of the squad returned to Henley to compete in the madness that is Henley Royal Regatta. The winners of senior quads at Henley Womens were already in the regatta with only 8 entries for the Princess Grace at HRR. Laura Wheeler pre-qualified her single on the back of an excellent season where she has been invited to train down in Caversham, whilst both Pippa and Nikki took the last two remaining spaces in the draw for the Princess Royal Cup for singles- meaning NRC athletes represented almost 40% of the total athletes making it through to the regatta in this event.

With only 8 crews in each event, the girls all had to wait until Friday to start racing, so spent a couple of days soaking up the atmosphere, cheering on the mens' crews racing for NRC and resisting the urge to stop rowing after 1500m at the HWR finish. All 4 crews had a tough draw, with the quad racing the current squad 2- and 2x (containing NRC alumni Vicki Meyer-Laker) who had joined forces for the regatta. Laura was to meet fellow squad athlete Vicky Thornley who has been racing her single at the World Cups this season, whilst Nikki drew 2x Olympic silver medallist Debbie Flood. Pippa had been practicing her starts after drawing reigning Olympic singles champion Mirka Knapkova.

In the blazing heat the girls boated. First to race were the quad, who gave it some beans off the start, but ultimately ended up with an 'easily' verdict against them. This caps of a (brief) but successful season in this boat for them. Other NRC alumni Tina Stiller and Monica Relph were also racing and were knocked out in their semi-final. They have been competing in the quad at the World Cups, coming 5th in WC2. The composite quad went on to win the regatta - well done VML!

Next up was Laura, who showed how much boat speed she has gained this season to lose by just 2 lengths. Pippa, (surprisingly) lost to Knapkova, but has shown she is well on her way back from an injury plagued season. Nikki, despite pushing the limits of how quickly you can respond to a starter and gaining about half a length in 3 strokes, lost by 4 lengths to Flood by the finish.

Thanks to everyone who came and supported - it really does make a difference!

Based on their performances over the season, Pippa and Nikki have both been selected to race for England at the Home International Regatta, which this year will be held at Holme Pierrepont NWSC on Saturday 27th July. The rest of the squad are now having a break before returning to training to try and make the 2014 season even bigger and better.

Friday:

This was where racing began for the weekend with single file time trials for the senior doubles and senior quads. Racing in the senior double was Laura Champion and Ellie Whittle and the senior quad was made up of Lindsay Marshall, Catherine Lineker, Sarah Bonar and Beth Lloyd.

Both crews were off to a great start qualifying into the last 16 to then race over the Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday:
This was the first main day of side by side racing for all high performance crews. Along with the quad and double there was also Yasmin Marks in senior lightweight single sculls, Louise Hart in senior single sculls, Lucy Mason in junior singles and a junior double made up of Kyra Edwards and Olivia Kay, coached by Lauren Fisher.
The Senior Double race got off to a good start racing Ironbridge, winning by three quarters of a length, although they got off to a leisurely start they then romped through in the last 300m to take the win. This set them up for a race against a Thames double later in the day, and despite a strong effort couldn’t continue the winning streak. The Thames double then went on to be overall winners of the event.
Yasmin Marks in the lightweight senior single, was in fine form winning both her races by significant margins and setting her up for some good racing on Sunday.
Louise Hart in the senior single also got off to a strong start, after having a row-over in the first round she then went on to win her second round and progress to Sundays racing.
Continuing the Nottingham sculling domination on Saturday, the quad raced Mortlake Anglian and Alpha in the heats and then Marlow in the quarterfinals, winning both comfortably and progressing to semi-finals on the Sunday.
The Junior 2x made up of Kyra Edwards and Olivia Kay, progressed from the time trial into racing and again progressed to the Sunday having gained some good race experience and confidence for the following day.
Lucy Mason was racing in the junior singles and despite this being her first ever race on the Henley course showed steely determination and conquered the nerves with a solid  win to progress to Sunday.
Finally Caitlin Boyland was part of an Academic coxed four who came up against, bravely battled and unfortunately lost out to the eventual winners from Exeter University.
The High Performance Squad finished Saturdays racing on a high after only two crews losing out and Sunday promised some much tougher racing and the chance of some silverware!

Sunday:

With 8 crews racing on the Sunday of the regatta, it was lining up to be a busy and exciting day (if a little nerve wracking for Dez).
Nikki met her previous doubles partner in the semi final, Lizzie Polgreen of Isle of Ely and despite a close contest and an impressive wind at the finish, was pipped to the post on this occasion.
The Junior double of Kyra Edwards and Olivia Kay came up against international crew Norske Studenters - Norway in their final. Despite a solid performance from our girls the junior double was out gunned to the finish line. The Norway crew have been selected for The Junior World Championships.
Lucy Mason took on the Junior singles in the semi finals racing Upper Thames, Lucy took on an epic wind with a late surge at the finish closing the gap from four to two lengths on the finish, a great performance for her first Henley experience.
Katie Bartlett was leading out the Under 23 8+ from the stroke seat. The eight raced Boston College in a straight final and finished the race with a convincing lead. 
Louise Hart raced the senior singles final against McCarthy of Walbrook rowing club. Louise led the race from start to finish, showing off her boat moving ability in the tricky conditions yet again versus other, much larger scullers.
Yasmin Marks raced the Senior lightweight singles final, she raced Johnston of Tideway Scullers and maintained her winning streak with a convincing win of 4 lengths over the tideway sculler.
The Senior quad met Molesey in the semi final, the crews having met previously at coronation regatta with a win for Nottingham, Molesey were keen to redress the balance.  Both crews went out hard with Molesey taking the lead off the island. The Nottingham crew were a length down with 500m to the finish when Lindsay called to wind for the finish (and then some!). Molesey made Nottingham work for every inch but were unable to hold off the onslaught and Nottingham won with a verdict of 2ft.
The senior quad then met Wallingford in the final, both crews closely matched from the semi final times. Nottingham committed off the start and had half a length off the end of the island. Wallingford suffered from some erratic steering through the middle of the race resulting in some clashing of blades, but Nottingham held their line and pushed on to the finish winning in a verdict of 1 and 2/3 length.
Pippa Whittaker took on Kris Johnson of Leeds, in the elite singles, both of whom train on Holme Pierrepont at Nottingham. After a brief reunion on the start line the racing began in earnest, with both crews going out hard, Kris took the lead pushing hard. Pippa wound early and pushed Kris all the way to the finish line, but unfortunately just missed out.

Nottingham therefore finished the day with a win in the senior singles, senior lightweight singles, senior quadruple sculls and as part of the winning composite U23 Elite 8+.

As a squad we would like to thank all the organisers, officials and fellow competitors for making this, the 26^th Henley Women’s Regatta as special as ever. Also a special thank you to Lauren Fisher for helping out with coaching duties over the weekend.