Men's Senior 8
coming soon, watch this space.
​

RUMSBC started off 2019's racing season as we mean to go on- with a hat trick of medals courtesy of our Senior Women, literally #medalmedalmedal. Huge congratulations to our Novice Women who reached the final and big love to both the Senior and Novice Men for powerful displays which bode well for the upcoming training tour and of course, the big dog, UH Head. 

Senior Women 
Women's First VIII
After a joyous Wetherspoons-fuelled weekend in Manchester, W1 made it back to the sunny Tideway just in time for the highly anticipated winter sprints race! In the interests of not getting too complacent over our victory at Allom Cup, we managed to fit in a quick prep outing before 9am on Saturday, allowing us enough time in the day to carb-load before the 3-way straight final come Sunday. Ensuring our position on Middlesex side, we drifted into alignment, setting off with a fairly rushed start. We quickly brought back our timing, brought up the rate and finally settled into a strong and consistent rhythm. After an initially very close start, we started gaining on both boats, gaining our confidence to battle out the final stretch. There were a few moments where we lost our rhythm but we brought it back quickly, maintaining our position in first place. With medals in sight, we emptied the tank with a final 10 powerful strokes, achieving a full length on both boats; “Middle Middle Middle!” ​-Anna Shadwell

Women's Second VIII
'When W2 Won Winter Sprints'- a masterpiece by Claire Shadwell
A new year shineth on RUMSBC
And the bladies are raring to go, 
We’ve sank our body weight in pints
And now we’re ready to row

At bow we had the Staggsman,
She’s bold with tiny hands 
her fierce enthusiasm for the sport
keeps her off dry land

Next at 2 it’s Rad the LAD
She’s got a trick or two
She’ll chin that Guinn in half the time
It takes me to do a pre-race poo

At 3 we have the dashing Munro
Churning watts at an incredible pace
Beers, boys, blades and bant 
She’s a weapon in every case 

Princess Ceyda is our number 4
Stores strength in the hair on her head
But go near her with a pair of scissors
And you may just find yourself dead 

At number 5, oh lord alive
It’s Laura Dan the man
Winning medals and winning hearts 
This UCL girl can 

Number 6 is a fiery spark
With a wholesome love of rivers 
Winning is the only option
When your name is Charlotte Withers 

Number 7 is distinctly average 
I can’t even remember her name
Nothing much to say on this
Except her rhyming is truly lame 

Our stroke has made a glorious return 
Rowing as hard as she can peddle
What a wonderful day for Liz Sinclair
bringing home her very first medal

Last but not least it’s Georgie Lloyd 
Without whom this boat would have sank
She inspires us all to reach for glory 
And her coxing is really dank

And finally thanks to Billy Smith
We now know how to hold an oar
And much love to our dearest Jenny Budden
It’s this blady whom we row for

If this poem has left you sad and confused 
I’m afraid I’m not sorry one bit
W2 won Winter Sprints
I’ve got a feeling this year will be lit.

Novice Women
"It’s the weekend after Novice Sprints where some of us proved to ourselves that winning was through team effort and Beans motivating us not to give up. Our novice captain Rosa, had warned us that this weekend of racing would be harder than last week, but we were ready to take on any challenge.
 
An earlier, colder, start this week but with the sun out we got the boat out and paddled to the Middlesex side for our first race against our close cousins UCL B.  
 
We patiently waited for the start signal, adrenaline rushing through our veins….“GO!” Beans yelled the tactics of our start as we pushed down on our foot plates as hard as we could, but UCL B pulled ahead of us. As they pulled ahead by at least a boat’s length, the power and speed dropped as emotions started to creep in. It definitely wasn’t a great race but we discussed what we could improve for our next race: focusing on power rather than speed especially during the ‘settle’.
 
Sadly race 2 was cancelled because our rival crew hadn’t turned up, which fortunately meant we were straight to the repechage! With a positive outcome from a rather disappointing race we made use of our time to recharge before race 3 against UCL C. We were hungry to win but most of all we wanted to give it our all.
 
As we got ready for race 3, the officials told us the UCL C team were nowhere to be found so we waited almost 20 minutes in the freezing cold, Surrey side, patiently waiting for our cousin boat to paddle up to the start. This was our last race, our last chance to give our all.
As soon as the “GO!” was given we put down every bit of power in our legs until we saw the red flag of the finish line. Unfortunately, we were defeated but exhausted ourselves and claimed 3rd place for the novices.
 
It may not have been our best day of racing, but every race is more experience for the upcoming races in the New Year!"- Celia Gaier, Seat 6

Novice Men
"We got out pretty early for this race and managed to do some sprint starts beforehand, which we think made a huge difference. Our first race was against Royal Holloway Novice A team, who looked very professional with their full kit. This gave us all a bit of a scare on the start line, however, we had better timing than them in the boat. We had a great start, much better than our starts at Novice Sprints, which gave us the opportunity to be in a competitive position to win the race. We managed to do this, and we comfortably beat them and kept them off the entire way. Half an hour later we had our second race against the UCL Novice A team, who were a really great crew. We had a better start than them at the beginning of the race and kept them off for the first 300ish m, however they pulled away from us and beat us. That was their first race of the day, so we can only imagine what could have happened if that was also our first race. Speaking to the UCL crew afterwards they were really shocked as to how good we were in the boat. Our crew as a whole had a great day and we raced really well, easily our best sprint race day so far. Even though we did not win any medals, none of us were disappointed with our performance, we couldn’t have really done any better and we are all in a great mood for UH head." - Arjun Lakhanpal, Seat 4

Novice Women
Cox: Chris Beans Jackson 
Stroke: Rose Maloney
7: Vaish Sabari
6: Celia Gaier
5: Luisa Alamo-Gomez
4: Emer Daly
3: Catherine Napper
2: Mary Baron
Bow: Daniella Wu
 
The second race for some of us and the first for others was the Novice Sprints Regatta for which one crew of eight had been entered. Since Cambridge Head we had been focusing on the speed and coordination of our race starts to pull away from our competitors as fast as we could. Both at the boathouse and in the gym the girls have been practicing their technique to prepare for the races.
 
With a relatively early, cold start after Friday night schenanigans, all the girls were ready to cheer the Novice men before our race. It was all very nerve racking seeing all the other UH crews getting ready but with the atmosphere at our boathouse, our nerves settled and we started getting ready to race. We energised ourselves to take our favourite boat, “the Stämpfli”, onto the water, took the blades out making sure our gates were tightly closed and got ready to race. With layers piled on, cox Beans got us out from the shore to Surrey side to wait for our first race against the Royal Vets.
 
With adrenaline pumping through our veins, we powered past the boathouse towards Chiswick Bridge but were taken down by our competition. Although we had a disappointing defeat, we were through to the next round, hungry for revenge. We fired each other up, chanting before our race against GKT and it was worth it. We SLAYED, powering through the finish line watching our rivals paddle in after us. We did it and were ready to slay some more.
 
Last race was against SGH, time to give it our all although our tanks were nearly empty. If we went down we wanted to go down with pride. With the last bit of energy left, Beans coxed us to the finish line, sadly defeated but with one win in the bag. With a promising 3rd place, we were ready for next week’s Allom Cup ready to SLAY some more.

Men's Intermediate VIII
​
Sunday morning saw the intermediate men take on the intimidating challenge of rowing the first of many sprint races that we’ll be facing this year. Despite the eight in the boat having not rowed as a single crew, we were all feeling confident off the back of some promising training sessions throughout the weeks in the lead up to this race. As is always the case, tensions were high as we jostled for alignment at the start, but the call to attention soon saw us focus in, breathing steady, primed to seal victory within the first twenty strokes.

Suddenly the flag descended and we were off, launching ahead of George’s in mere seconds, willed on by the cheers from ever-shrinking crowd supporting us from the riverbank. As the rate continued to build we pulled further ahead, seemingly securing victory with every stroke. However, much to our dismay, it soon became apparent we had backed ourselves too much and soon we found our power dwindling as we sustained an unrelenting rate 37. Desperate not to relinquish the lead we had fought so hard for early on we pushed as much as we could muster, but no amount of effort could see us maintain our lead unless we dropped the rate. Steadily, George’s began to claw back from near-certain defeat, pushing the boat into further frenzy. Mercifully, we found ourselves crossing the finish line just as the last of our strength was waning, winning by a narrow margin.

​Victory was bittersweet, pleased with the result but disappointed with our performance, as we knew we could do better. After a less-than-brief respite, we got back on the water with a renewed commitment to secure one race we could be wholly proud of and ready to give King’s a challenge. Thankfully, this time round we executed the race as we had hoped, giving King’s no chance for respite throughout. Unfortunately, our effort still wasn’t enough to best them this time, dropping behind in the final portion of the race and ultimately finishing half a length behind. Despite this defeat, we were ecstatic with our performance and are now keen to show what we can do in the weeks to come!

Once again the time has come for RUMSBC to trade in the Tideway of Thames for the calmer waters of the River Cam in the first race of the year- Cambridge Head. As always, the crews have been training hard both on and off the water for what promises to be an excellent start to the rowing season. What's more, what could be more exciting than our Novice's first ever race! Cambridge Head is a solid introduction to the early mornings, adrenaline and cries of 'Middle Middle Middle' that race days inevitably bring.

Good luck to all crews and we look forward to seeing many a spectator at the riverside for support,  and of course some post race drinks.

Novice Crews 

Men's Novices
Cox: Greg Gibson
Stroke: Adam Turna
7: Max Fornasiero 
6: Arjun Lakhanpal
5: William Owen
4: James Berg
3: Niccolo Doe
2: Ryan Linn
Bow: Anshul Aich

Women's Novices
Cox: Chris 'Beans' Jackson
Stroke: Rose Maloney
7: Vaish Sabari
6: Celia Gaier
5: Rebecca Jacob
4: Mary Barron
3: Catherine Napper
2: Srishti Agarwal 
Bow: Daniella Wu

"The novices are progressing quickly in the boat in preparation for Cambridge Head, with the introduction of all 8 rowing and feathering having varying degrees of success. Most importantly they are having a great time bonding with their team and are showing good form and commitment in the boat. Its onwards and upwards for the novices, and we are both very excited for the race ahead!”- Jack Merritt and Rosa Mobayen, Men's and Women's Novice Captains 18/19

Senior Men 

Men's Top IV
Cox: Kelly Wyatt
Stroke: Freddie Dewey
3: Jamie Glenister
2: Luke Martin
Bow: Callum Field

Men's Cambridge VIII
Cox: Will Shorrocks
Stroke: Jai Sidpra
7: Matt Kinsella
6: Luca Richards
5: Alex Lane
4: Finn Norris
3: Dawid Akala
2: Adam Jones
Bow: Ben Southgate

“Our men enter their first race of the year at the annual Cambridge winter head race. We’re entering an 8+ looking to get their first racing experience this year and and a 4+ looking to be hot on the heels of our UCL cousins. Good luck all athletes and hope to see as many supporters as possible"- Jamie Glenister, Men's Captain 18/19

Senior Women

RUMS Rangers (Matched VIIIs)
Cox: Gracie Sutton
Stroke: Nadia Eden
7: Gloria Smith
6: Elizabeth Sinclair 
5: Anna Shadwell
4: Millie Walker
3: Annalise Munro
2: Ceyda Oral
Bow: Kate Ellis

RUMS Bladies (Matched VIIIs)
Cox: Georgie Lloyd 
Stroke: Asha Dave
7: Claire Shadwell
6: Charlotte Withers
5: Laura Dan
4: Nicole Skajaa 
3: Jenny Budden
2: Hannah Roberts
Bow: Georgie Stagg

“The first race of the year for the senior women is Cambridge winter head, for which we have entered two matched eights. This has definitely brought out everyone's competitive spirits so it should be an excellent start to the year to see who is victorious - will it be the Bladies or the Rangers? Good luck to both boats and come along to support to see the result.” - Jenny Budden, Women's Captain 18/19

WeHoRR and HoRR was a weekend full of drama and excitement, one that saw some crews soar past the competition and others test the limits of Swiss neutrality. All racing crews knuckled down for the longest race of the year, striving against the pain determined to end the racing season with an effort they could be proud of. On this, we followed through, once again overshadowing our UH rivals. With the sprints and head races now behind us, we can look forward to a couple of months away from the Tideway until we return for Bumps to once again make our mark!

Senior Men

Men’s Second VIII

"Despite the slightly less than enjoyable experience of rowing BUCS hungover a few weeks previously, being back in a senior boat for HoRR was a refreshing opportunity to show the world what RUMSBC are really made of. Suffering from a chronic lack of bow-siders meant that two novices, Joe Catling and myself, were forced to sub in for what would be by far the longest distance we’d ever rowed in a day, never mind raced.

The extreme lengths of time we spent in marshalling were largely uneventful (in stark contrast to M1's experience), but for new bowman Timo's complaints ("Scheiß drauf!" "Schwachsinn!") echoing down the boat. After a smooth start off the line, we were encouraged by the shouts of our Men’s First team, now standing on Chiswick bridge after a disastrous marshalling experience, which saw us push George’s even further into the distance, bringing us some satisfaction despite being overtaken by some stiff national competition, before settling in for the long haul.

After almost 20 minutes of pain, cox Holly initiated the Tier system. With the knowledge that soon the race would be over, we put down every last bit of power we had, emptying our ‘tanks’ so we could cross the finish line in a blistering time. However, as our energy began to waver we learnt that there was in fact considerably longer to go than we thought, and after a few minutes of excruciating pain we rolled across the line, broken, but not defeated, in what had been an enjoyable end to a great year of rowing." - Alex Bloom, Seat 5

Men’s First VIII
​
"After the disappointment of coming a very close second UH head the week before, on the morning of Sunday 11th, a fresh faced and eager men’s crew arrived at the boathouse. Our 6 months of elite, high performance tapering had all been preparing us for this day, and the university pennant was in our sites. Even being forced to dredge up former UL rower and general big boy Neale Marlow could not dampen our spirits, and it was clear the boys were prepared for a smashing day.

On the water you could feel the power surging through the boat. Whilst warming up we were leaving crews trailing in our wake, partly because we were rowing the wrong way towards Kew, but mainly because of the watts being put down by each member of the boat. As we eased past the UL 1st VIII (still going the wrong way) you could see the look of awe in Rich Clarke’s eyes as he saw the physical embodiment of ‘Big Boy Strokes’, and the demeanour of a man who realised he had nothing left to teach us as we were literally perfect. Alas, the time was nigh, the start of the race was nearly upon us, all that was left was for us to row up to our marshalling position. Nothing could go wrong from here. 

As we paddled past the boathouse, there was an eerie calm as we began to mentally prepare ourselves for the 20 minutes of pain we were about to endure. Unfortunately, this calm was swiftly broken by a loud European cry from beyond our bows. It seemed that Yulia had taken her coxing feedback of ‘use alternative overtaking manoeuvres’ a little too literally, and had decided that rowing through the Swiss crew that was sat in-front of us was the most logical way to negotiate the marshalling situation. I can only imagine what this crew, who had traveled hundreds of miles to compete in the largest head race in the world thought when they saw a bunch of college boys coming their way. I can only imagine it was a thought of deep regret for being in the correct position. The Hudson/battering ram ploughed into the crew, and when we finally came to a stop we were faced with textbook Swiss neutrality in the face of overwhelming aggression, until their 6 man broke rank and started hurling abuse our way. 

The aftermath left both crews worse for wear, and sadly for RUMS, it appeared the Swiss had come out on top. A broken bow blade and cracked rigger made for a sorry sight, whilst their eight managed to escape with just a damaged gate and a 3 man who’d been hit with his own blade, presumably in an attempted health insurance scam. We quickly moved off the water, where we licked our wounds and repaired the Swiss boat with scraps from our own, before assessing our options. These were limited to a Vespoli with 4 riggers on it, or the Wintech which was on one of the lower racks, and frankly there was an unacceptable risk of back injury if we bent down to pick it up.

As a result, scratching remained our only option, despite the strong will of Neale, who by the looks of it would have done the race solo given the chance, we headed up to Chiswick to cheer on our second eight as they went on to smash the race. Meanwhile both Oxford Brookes and Leander breathed a sigh of relief as they realised that they’d have a chance of victory.

Most importantly, nobody was hurt on the day and a letter has been sent to David Davis requesting the banning of all foreign crews from entering the race, lest the same fate befall them as did the Swiss." - Alex Lane, Seat 5

Senior Women

Women’s Second VIII
​​
"Despite their best efforts, the Watt Farm had not been successful at UH Head; they may have proved themselves the crew with the highest propensity for crying on the Thames, but that wasn’t quite what they’d had in mind. Nevertheless, with three new novices being welcomed into the boat, they set their sights on a successful Wehorr. However, after having only one outing as a crew, in UCL’s kindly donated bathtub that led to captain Claire throwing in her stroking towel and demanding we go back to the safely on the Stampfli, we were nervous.

​Saturday morning rolled around and we set off with anticipation; the pre-race paddle seemed to be going well until new stroke Millie broke her footplate- clearly all those hour long ergs have been paying off. After some masterful coxing from Beans (and a good deal of panic) we managed to collect the necessary tools and fix the offending footplate - finally we would be ready.

We set off ready to SLAM the race we had ahead of us; as we passed our own W1 crew, encouraged by their chants, we took our first casualty in ICSM. There would be many more. We SLAYed the next portion, powering on through Barnes Bridge, only to meet our rivals from the weekend before. Beans assured us revenge was in sight and with some big boy strokes we put some SEND on the boat, sailing past them and leaving them a mere speck in the distance. Much as their own men had looked the week before.

Spurred on by beating our arch-nemesis RVC the next 3.5k almost seemed easy - then, meters before the finish line, we were told we could make it a hat-trick. We pulled up alongside King’s, and with our bow-woman Georgie ensuring us that we could make it a photo finish. One of our newest members, Serena, turned out of the boat to look into the eyes of those she was beating (or not, it’s still a pint) and over the finish line we took them.

Overall, it’s been a fantastic year so far for W2 - all we’re looking forward to now is Bumps and finally getting ourselves some medals!" - Abi Powell, Seat 5

Women’s First VIII
​
"After W1's triumphant victory at UH head, we were ready to show the rest of the country what RUMSBC women can do at WeHoRR. After a pretty smooth marshaling we were off and despite a slightly wobbly start we quickly settled into a strong rhythm. The first half of the race went relatively quickly, with the boat that was chasing us gaining very slowly. Unfortunately, as we came under Hammersmith the chasing crew came up next to us and we allowed our competitiveness to get the better off us and got distracted. Sadly we didn't manage to bring back the concentration and rhythm after this and the second half of our race was less successful than the first.

We had a loud row back with some 'beautiful' singing from Preena and ended the day with a lovely pub lunch and a well deserved pint, happy in the knowledge that we finished 137, beating all the other UH crews easily, despite not having rowed our best. Here's to moving up to the top 100 next year!" - Jenny Budden, Seat 4

The Women's Eight Head of River Race and ​Head of the River Race will see our crews take on a 6.8km stretch of the Tideway from Mortlake to Putney. This race will see several of the Novices take an early jump into the seconds boat, a chance to see what the next generation of RUMSBC can do at a high level. Fueled by our victories at UH Head, this is sure to be to be an exciting weekend of racing.

Senior Men

Men's Second VIII
​
Cox: Holly Joyce
Stroke: Martin Furlepa
7: Ben Southgate
6: Jack Illingworth
5: Alex Bloom
4: Jack Merritt
3: Joe Catling
2: Adam Jones
Bow: Timo Rodi

Men's First VIII
​
Cox: Julia Negreskul
Stroke: Freddie Dewey
7: Will Wilson
6: Sam Gunning
5: Alex Lane
4: Connor Price
3: Neale Marlow
2: Louis Robertson
Bow: Jamie Glenister (C)

​Senior Women

​Women's Second VIII
​
Cox: Chris 'Beans' Jackson
Stroke: Millie Walker
7: Claire Shadwell
6: Asha Dave
5: Abi Powell
4: Hannah Roberts
3: Laura Dan
2: Serena Lu
Bow: Georgie Stagg

​Women's First VIII

Cox: Preena Patel
Stroke: Livi Drewett
7: Nadia Eden
6: Eimear McKavanagh
5: Mattie Williams
4: Jenny Budden
3: Jen Whitehead
2: Libi Hawkes (C)
Bow: Tintin Larsson

RUMSBC have once again proved themselves to be champions of the Thames, bringing home medals in four of the eight categories entered. Whilst no-one of certain of results and Sunday evening was filled with tension, the atmosphere soon lifted when Jerry called out the one word we were all anticipating..."RUMS!". Three more times we heard our club called out, each time followed with rapturous applause and chants of 'Middle! Middle! Middle!', with the Novice Men, Novice Women A, Men's Seconds and Women's Firsts being bestowed with United Hospitals' finest hand-crafted pendants. Falling just shy of this honour were the Women's Seconds, Men's Firsts and both Four's, whose stellar efforts earned them the distinction of second place against some stiff competition. This is a result we can all be proud of (massively), truly reflecting the hard-work and dedication put in throughout the year. However, we're not finished yet, with HoRR and WeHoRR just around the corner we have even more chances to show what we can do when given an oar and a boat to sit in.

Men’s Novices

Men’s Novice VIII

"We huddled together in a circle, arm around each others shoulder. In Zak's case, this was more to stop him from falling over than any sign of camaraderie. Hannah looked nervous; perhaps this was because it had dawned that her time being able to shout at and boss around the big-people in the world (i.e. everyone) was drawing to a close. Matt’s face was one of a man facing the impossible task of trying to appear solemn hours after exceeding his alcohol limit. It was a truly tense moment.

'The winners of the novice men's category is…'

                                                                       *              *              *

We arrived at the boathouse at 8am. The knowledge that this was most likely our last time rowing together made me sad - even the 6:00am starts were going to be something to (almost) miss. Already there were nerves; BUCS hadn’t been ideal preparation. From the reports, enough crabs had been caught to stock a seafood restaurant, and throughout the race the boat was sat lower than Jamie’s 2k split. Still, there was reason for optimism. The silver lining - there always is one - is that from BUCS the team somehow emerged as the best novice boys medical school team in the country. And to claim otherwise is fake news. It meant that we weren’t just defending our pride at UH - we were defending our UK no 1 spot. 

On the water, we cheered on the W1 and M1 team who raced before us. But all too quickly - despite wanting that little more time to prepare, just another second to go through the plan - our time to race had come. Even though we knew that the pain would come faster, we gave into the adrenaline and caffeine and kicked off from the start hard. The difference being that this time, unlike the other pistes, when the pain did hit, not one of us stopped committing. By the time we got to Kew Bridge the sound of heavy breathing was constant. Photos taken at that point show that even Joe wasn’t trying to look good for the cameras. Yet watching the George’s crew disappear from sight was like a mouthful of ibuprofen, and not once did we drop from the rate thirty that was set in the first minute. Having M2 cheering us on between the bridges helped too, meaning that with the aid of a couple of power tens we were speeding past the boathouse to the chant of ‘middle middle middle....’

The final sprint wasn’t pretty. But neither was it meant to be. If we had been able to execute a perfect final 750m then no one had been pushing hard enough previously. However it was effective, and even the catching of a very small crab only served to focus our minds. By the last ten strokes we had all emptied our metaphorical wells, with only Hannah’s countdown and Zak’s surprisingly effective shouts of ‘go faster’ having any sort of effect. And then - it was over. We were paralysed by the pain for a second - before immediately worrying about where we had come. 

                                                                       *              *              *

Back to the results: huddled in the circle, arms around each others shoulders, hoping…

‘ 'The winners of the novice men's category is…boat twenty…one! RUMS!'

HELL YEAH! 

They say that history is written by the victors. While it might be a little presumptuous to claim that we made history (Sunday 4th March, Chiswick, London, 10:00, if any historians are interested), it is true that I can write whatever I want about this race and you’d have no choice but to believe it. Luckily, the actual facts are all that’s needed for great reading; finishing almost a minute ahead of the next best UH team, beating KCL, beating UCL B, and being just beaten by UCL A - a team of individuals whose degrees require about as little time as the margin they beat us by: 6 seconds. Well done to Hannah, Luca, Alex, Joe, Zak, Will, Chris and Swopnil. We absolutely dicked them." - Sam Wray, Seat 6

Senior Women

Women’s Second VIII

"Rise and shine, back to the grind. A hazy sun breaks the horizon, and a new day dawns on the Watt Farm. The final harvest. 

Arriving at the river at 6:30, not another crew was in sight. A good sign, commented Anna - “the early bird catches the crab after all.” Down in the bay, we re-assembled the combine for one last heavy yield. The crew did the usual warm up paddle down to Putney and back, and left the river feeling confident that they had gained enough length to complete the race in roughly 45 strokes.  

The pre-race routine began with a round of espresso shots on the captain, and a pack of yum-yums. Millie Walker swapped her broken paddle for a tungsten reinforced blade, whilst Georgie Lloyd stocked up on amiodarone, and applied a final layer of diprobase. Fernanda was crushing peanut shells underfoot as she surveyed the stream, whilst Asha Dave pondered where would be best to bury the other crews afterwards. The morning air was filled with the sweet sweet tones of Claire Shadwell’s rendition of ‘The one an only’, only now several octaves lower as a result of all the steroid injections. In the distance, Abigail Powell was practising swift arm and leg movements, an alternative interpretation of Rich’s power strokes that would later take form on the dance floor to the rhythmic call of whuubang, whuubang. Christopher was stood with his usual pensive look, sinking the remaining contents of a Heinz tin of beans. 

It was time to face the music, and as W2 motored down to pink lodge, several crews capsized in the wake. A quick glance at the boat behind left us assured the competition were unfamiliar with lycra or creatine. On the sound of Jerry’s bellow, Chris Jackson stepped on the accelerator, ranking the beast up to rate 42 to cross the start line in a supersonic blur. The crew moved together as one, like the integrated parts of a well-oiled machine. At Brentford lock, George Lloyd  pulled out her telescope to survey the crew behind. A mere speck they be. Approaching Kew Rail, it was time to pull out the aggressive card. At bow, the tiny-hands-man Georgie Stagg lead us on with fire and fury, whilst 7-seat completed her transformation into the incredible bulk. The crew steam-rolled under the bridge with the sort of strokes that Rich will assure you could only have belonged to some very, very big boys. But the race was not done yet - an overtake was in sight! The crew ahead crumbled and cowered in the blinding sight of the Watt Farm approaching. “Be thee angels?” they cried. “Nay, we are but men.” Left sobbing in our wake, cox Beans called to begin the final attack as we powered into the final straight. We must have come near to the speed of light, as in an impressive warp of time and space, we somehow managed to finish before the finish line. Unreal scenes. 

Approximately 25 pints later that evening, the results were announced to reveal that the Watt Farm had narrowly lost to the neighbouring pig farm. The crew assembled in kidney bean formation and wept in synchrony. Passers by likened it to the final scene of a greek tragedy. Minus Asha Dave who had already fallen peril to 2 bottles of wine, and Anna Shadwell who was spooning vomit off of her chocolate brownie. But not to worry - Fernanda Guiseppe Fenn Torrente has sworn those pesky dog doctors won’t be around for much longer. Apparently her great grandfather once described revenge as ‘a dish best served cold’, or something like that..." - Claire Shadwell, Seat 7

*UPDATE* Following an error in time calculations, the Senior Women's Second VIII have been awarded medals!

This is it. The day we've all been waiting for. It's time to take on UH Head, the race that all those eye-watering ergs, all those early morning outings and night-time paddles, all those circuits and all the races we've had this year have been working towards. All crews have had their shares of victories and defeat this year; tomorrow it's time to bring together the lessons learned from all those occasions, work together as a crew and cheer on our fellow team mates. Let's show them what RUMSBC are made of and make this another night of domination. Middle! Middle! Middle!

Men's Novices

​Men's Novice VIII
Cox: Hannah Hickingbotham
Stroke: Luca Richards
7: Alex Bloom
6: Sam Wray
5: Joe Catling
4: Zak Mansell
3: Will Shorrocks
2: Chris Anetekhai
Bow: Swopnil Lamchane Gurung

Women's Novices

​Women's Novice VIII Boat A
Cox: Kelly Wyatt
Stroke: Hannah Roberts
7: Annalise Munro
6: Serena Lu
5: Laura Dan
4: Ceyda Oral
3: Alex Robinson
2: Yemi Talabi
Bow: Fiona Chegwidden

​Women's Novice VIII Boat B
​Cox: Greg Gibson
Stroke: Federica Ezennia
7: Maddie Sanz
6: Gracie Sutton
5: Alisa Rasch
4: Melissa Nelson
3: Sophie McWilliam
2: Radhika Kumar
Bow: Riya Gosrani

​"It’s been a stressful week, struggling against the weather to get one final outing together as a crew before the big day: UH head. Despite the ice snow and wind, we’ve still been training hard! The novice girls are super excited for their first UH head race and ready to give 100% on the water. We smashed it at Newcastle, and know we have the endurance and power that we need. Now we’re on our home territory and nothing can stop us now!" - Nicola Skajaa, Women's Novice Captain 17/18

Senior Men

Men's Second VIII
​
Cox: Holly Joyce
Stroke: Martin Furlepa
7: Ben Southgate
6: Jack Illingworth
5: Ben Wardner
4: Jack Merritt
3: Timo Rodi
2: Adam Jones
Bow: Ollie Marwood

Men's First VIII
​
Cox: Julia Negreskul
Stroke: Freddie Dewey
7: Will Wilson
6: Sam Gunning
5: Alex Lane
4: Connor Price
3: Rory Shadwell
2: Louis Robertson
Bow: Jamie Glenister (C)

​Senior Women

​Women's Second VIII
​
Cox: Chris 'Beans' Jackson
Stroke: Georgie Lloyd
7: Claire Shadwell
6: Fernanda Fenn Torrente
5: Abi Powell
4: Millie Walker
3: Anna Shadwell
2: Asha Dave
Bow: Georgie Stagg

​Women's First VIII

Cox: Preena Patel
Stroke: Livi Drewett
7: Nadia Eden
6: Eimear McKavanagh
5: Mattie Williams
4: Jenny Budden
3: Jen Whitehead
2: Libi Hawkes (C)
Bow: Tintin Larsson

Whilst some crews managed to achieve success upon the Tyne, BUCS Head was found to be a mixed bag overall, with unplanned substitutions, unfamiliar boats and unfortunate weather conditions adversely scuppering the chances the remaining crews from performing to the best of their ability. Regardless, we reveled in the success we did achieve (with the novices fully committing to post-race celebrations on Saturday night) and resolved to learn from the shortcomings of the weekend to make sure we bring it for UH Head!

Men’s Novices

Men’s Novice VIII

"Before the race had started, we sat in the freezing gust of winds and looked our competitors on the left, failing to fathom how any of them could be novices and causing our hearts to sink deeper than the W2 boat. This was reminiscent of our race against King’s during Winter Sprints, but on a much bigger scale – we knew tragedy lay ahead. Starting 9th on the course as UCL A (‘arrogant medics’), our captain boosted our morale by warning us that “we would get overtaken at some point” and that “we had no chance of winning”. But it had not even crossed our minds that we would have a major crab only 2 seconds into the race. Well, that is exactly what happened! Fully knowing that we had messed up – big time – we froze with hopelessness and despair as did our boat came to a halt. We could only watch as UWE went past us with a grin. I could feel it burn into my soul.

Only the day before, Will had asked how much faster we would go if we didn’t have a cox? I soon found this question answered, when, upon this race, I realised their importance within the boat. We were suddenly revived by the sounds of Hannah, screaming with calmness and encouragement, calling “power 10s” and telling us to “empty our wells”. However, we did have 3 more major crabs that resulted in being overtaken by 3 more boats – but this did not matter! Eventually, we made it to the finish line.

We were determined to win with hard work, and in the end we came out at the top, securing our place as the best medical school in the country at BUCS Head in Novice Men division (edit: we actually came 23rd out of 24th). Bring on UH Head!" - Swopnil Gurung, Bow

Women’s Novices

Women's Novice VIII Boat A

"The journey to the BUCS competition was a long one, filled with a myriad of challenges set to test our mettle and build us up for the big day. From 2k trials to ergs to practice pieces spanning a more than healthy portion of the Thames to the long, grueling, cramped 14:30 train up to Newcastle, every challenge was met with optimism and a determination to put our best foot forward.

On the race day, the winds were forceful and the water was choppy, but spirits remained high as the early glow of morning sunlight basked the landscape with an ethereal light that promised good fortunes and positive expectations. With feet set, blades in rigors and all eight in the boat, we rowed up getting our first taste of the River Tyne’s force and fury. Even as choppy waves caught our blades, our focus was high as we rowed, with the pride and grace that one could only expect of ‘Kel’s Belles’ up the River Tyne. Once into position we waited for our turn to race, maneuvering – with Kelly’s expertise coxing – between the less intellectually gifted rowing boats that threatened to capsize our boat.

At last the moment came for us to race, we began to spin our boat and built up our speed to race pace up to 33 strokes per minute. ‘Legs one, legs two, legs three….’ came the call that saw the formidable force of Kel’s Belles rear up in all its RUMS glory and send the boat flying down the river. Each stroke saw the WNA boat attacking the rough tide of the River Tyne, getting the boat closer and closer to the finish line. The halfway mark reached, each girl maintained the focus on technique, the separations, the engaged cores, the tap downs that would make all the difference in the minutes and seconds that would mark our BUCS head position. As the pain seeped through our muscles and the finish line loomed within our reach, the uplifting calls of Middle, Middle, Middle, gave us the boost to push our boat over the finish line and into 23rd place. With our BUCS achievements secured under our belts, we look forward to next week, where we hope to smash UH Head and bring home the win for RUMSBC." - Yemi Talabi, Seat 2

Women's Novice VIII Boat B

"Hearing the horror stories the seniors candidly shared about the infamous rowing conditions of the river Tyne, we were understandably apprehensive as we arrived in Newcastle. Encouragingly, on race day, we were welcomed by a shining sun and not too cold weather. Taking this as a good omen, we paddled our way towards the start line full of optimism.

It was during this paddle that we discovered that the seniors had not been lying to us. On the river we were met by a strong and freezing wind, choppy waters and waves that flooded the boat. Very encouraging though was the fact that thus far no one had yet crabbed! Not even our very own Novice Captain Nicola, who was forced to sub in at bow (despite her past as stroke) when we did not have enough rowers to compete with.

After a very long marshal, where the wind kept trying to push us against the wall, we made friends with the University of West England boat and our cox Greg entertained us with his singing, before eventually setting off with a really good race start. The results of all the hours spent both on and off the water training shined through as we kept up speed and power throughout the race, only being overtaken by two boats. Still this kept us motivated to only push harder to keep other boats from catching up to us, although this may have led us to rush up the slide a bit too much and cause Greg to become exasperated with us in the middle of the race. But in the end we did ourselves proud with a time of 12.54s, better than UCL’s own 2nd team!" - Federica Ezennia, Seat 4

Senior Men

Men’s Second VIII

"M2 were already prepared for a less than ideal performance at BUCS Head, with my own health being in something of a dire state and our esteemed captain of Novices being drafted in in place of an absent Timo. Prior to the weekend Matt had promised that he would 'take it easy' at over the weekend, although it remained to be confirmed whether this was in reference to Saturday night's celebrations or the race itself - a query that was quickly answered upon a cursory glance at the snapchat story on Sunday morning. Nevertheless Matt stayed true to his heritage and failed to be bested by a few beverages, turning up in a better state than many of the freshers (despite youth being on their side).

However, things continued to stray further from 'ideal' when it was revealed one of our own would have to be surrendered to M1, after a purulent finger forced Luke drop out, and thus we bid farewell to Ben Southgate and welcomed Alex Bloom into our boat.

When we did finally make it onto the water to face a shortened course, we agreed to red-lining it throughout safe in the knowledge we had nothing to lose and any ground made would be an extreme embarrassment to other crews. Upon setting off we managed to hold our rate well at 32s/m, but a number of large waves did their utmost to disrupt our rhythm, meaning we failed to get the desired send on the boat. Continuing with steady progress in spite of this, we found the momentum we had built over the race halted towards the end when a loose seat resulted in a crab, leaving us motionless but for the action of the waves. Endeavouring to recover from this blow, we pushed hard against the heavy water but it was too late to make up the necessary ground. Unsurprisingly, we placed last, but victory is sweetest when you have known defeat, so we can only hope this makes UH Head feel all the better." - Adam Jones, Seat 2

Men’s First VIII
​
Pending...

Senior Women

Women’s Second VIII
​
"W2 had been feeling apprehensive about BUCS, due to a combination of only having had one previous outing as a whole crew, and the horror stories of our bow seat, who has had a couple of very difficult races on the Tyne. We were prepared for anything: the freezing northern temperatures, the rough waters from the Saturday, even colliding with a Men’s VIII. And yet it all went smoothly. Perhaps the only thing we hadn’t prepared for was our cox having a pre-race wee over the side of the boat while marshalling (but we all admired his dedication to minimise the weight in the boat).

As the race started we settled in to a good rhythm behind our new stroke, and came away strongly. We spent most of the rave making gains on the boat in front of us, though never quite caught them, finishing a respectable 34/44th. Though we ended strongly, we all felt we had not quite emptied the tank. We look forward to racing UH this Sunday with a crew that we have trained in and we intend to leave it all out on the water this time – medal medal medal!" - Millie Walker, Seat 6

Women’s First VIII
​
"UH Dress rehearsal aka BUCS Head. A race that, it can be fair to say, a fair few of our club lament. Alas, with UH Head only a week away, this was definitely massively going to be the time we proved to Rich that we were angry, aggressive, full of fire, hostile, frustrated, aggressive choppers.

Sunday came around and I must say you couldn’t miss the excitement in everyone’s eyes. Glittering, coruscating in fact. Thankfully, marshalling was significantly warmer than last year. Although it was shrewdly observed that we were the only crew not in long sleeves. But this just immediately propelled us with a confidence that we were racing püssi like crews. With some enormous bay parking tekkers from Preena, it wasn’t soon before we were off. Thirty seconds before starting – DISASTER STRUCK! We still weren’t up to race pace due to a minor footplate malfunction which left us rowing in sixes with 10 seconds to go before the start. But these big boy ladies got us up to 32 in a mere stroke!! It was more a state of mind even. Be thirty two…and it was done. Know thyself. Our 30 seconds at 32 felt super speedy and light, like rowing on Vaseline or another hydrophobic emollient cream. We settled into a nice chunky rhythm and with all nine lives remaining we began the Way of the Warrier!

Now you might think this would be a dramatic tale, with lives lost on every choppy wave, off stroke and a heroic effort to take us across the line with one last life. BUT YOU’D BE WRONG! Because we are frickin Tideway RUMSBC women. and every cheesy chip smelling wave that his us, we just hit back even harder. There were times in the third quarter where I wasn’t sure if we were in Newcastle or Utah.... just kidding my eyes were in the boat! But jokes aside, a strong overtake in this section and Eimear’s Irish wizardry let the mitochondria of the boat on and pushed us away. The final straight was in sight but we were dismayed to hear that we still had 5k to go according to Preena. Despite this, we tried to keep it as together as one for the last stretch and with the sweet sweet cry of middle middle middle as we approached the end, we managed a big ass accidental overtake - the best kind. Some dodgy marshalling and precarious boat handling later, we were done - 9 lives remaining and ready to SMASH UH HEAD. We know what we need to improve on and we’re ready to get massively Turnt in this final week to get us those tasty medals.

Shout out to our baby the Wintech - we love and miss you, we’ll be back with you soon." Nadia Eden, Seat 7