BBLRC - Bitz

12th July 2011

Hello!

Afraid going to start with some gloomy news as I want to be sure it is a message that hits home! As we have reported there have been some odd things going on around the club – reports of women being grabbed on the tow path, Dave’s car being broken into and a car trying to block me in when leaving the club. Unfortunately there is more to add…. When I reported what happened to the police they told me that there have been reports of women being followed to their cars from the Esporta club. They did say they would try and put a police presence about around 8.30/9pm on weekday nights. On top of this there was also a report that someone tried to abduct a child in Barnes last week. Please pass this onto everyone you know not just in our rowing club. I don’t want to scare monger but let’s just be sensible, after evening outings no one to lock up on their own, walk across bridge on their own, walk to car on their own etc.

Ok more exciting news……This weekend we had three crews racing at Henley Masters and 2 crews at Kingston. At Henley Masters we had a Masters B quad (Sue, Lucy, Sarah P, Caroline) racing, sadly they lost out to a very quick quad indeed (believe they were eventual winners and several world champs in the boat). We had a Masters D coxed four (Sue, Hilary, Lesley, Alice and Ali) who won their category, and the Masters C eight (Sue, Hilary, Lesley, Zoe, Jo, Rachael, Ailie, Alice, Ali) also won their category, bodes well when these two crews go to Poznan. Out at Kingston we had a Novice four racing in the morning (Dave, Karen, Holly, Katie, Fiona), and an IM3 4+ in the afternoon (Dave, Kathryn, Marion, Rachael, Leonie), sadly both boats got knocked out in the first round but they both found it an excellent experience. Bring on St Neots!

Sculling
So loads more members of the club are getting out sculling which is fantastic, now what we need to do is start getting people to get the confidence to go out in singles!!! We are hoping to start arranging a few sculling pods when it is low tide to help people get more confident at this, will keep you posted. However those that are already happy to go out in a single we are creating a sculling ladder – basically by the end of the July time yourself out in a single rowing from the flag pole up to Chiswick steps through Chiswick bridge, turn around and row back to flag pole. Submit a time to Neil by the end of July and the ladder will begin. Then there will be set times of when people can go out as a group and race each other.

New people
We've got some new people joining us which always great to see! Please make them feel welcome. Offer them a cup of tea - one of the things we do best!

Coxes
I am pre-empting a bit come the new head season but we are going to be in a bit of a pickle of having loads of rowers and not enough coxes. Please encourage people you know to come down and learn to cox, people you were at uni with who can cox!! Desperate need for them and now is the perfect opportunity to learn!

Boat care
Our new boat Jack Moody already has a rigger hole in it and a small scratch – had it less than a month! Do not take the attitude “oh well”, we need to take care of these boats!!!!

5th July 2011

Lots of people over the last couple of weeks have been out in smaller boats, both sculling and rowing. Got quite a few new people steering too! Anyone steering please be familiar with the rules of the river - these can be in the safety section.

This week and weekend we have several crews racing at 2 regattas.

Henley Masters

First up on Friday at 13.44 is the quarter finals of Women’s Masters B Quad (Caroline, Sarah P, Lucy, Sue). Then on Saturday at 2pm we have a Masters D coxed 4 in a straight final (Sue, Hilary, Alice, Lesley, Ali) and then the eight (Sue, Hilary, Lesley, Jo, Rachael. Zoe, Ali, Alice, Ailie Ord (lady from Strathclyde)).

Kingston Regatta
On Saturday we have a novice crew (Katie, Holly, Karen and Fiona) and a IM3 4+ (Kathryn, Leonie, Rachael, Marion) entered into Kingston. Both crews coxed by Dave. Not sure on timings of their races hopefully the draw will be up soon.

Good Luck to all of those racing, fingers crossed for some medals and pots!

Safety

There are a few odd things going on….. Dave’s car was broken into last week, a man has tried to grab ladies along the towpath, last night a parked just down the way drove up to mine and tried to block me in, 2 guys proceeded to just look at me in my car. I had enough space in front of me to drive round and as I did so they moved off. All could be unrelated but I would much rather we were a little bit paranoid and over safe. Please ensure no one is left at the club by themselves. Those walking over the bridge please do so in groups and those walking up to cars please also do this in more than one. Please if you are worried about anyone ring the police, no matter how small.

Boats

Please do not just take a boat out without asking!

Feedback

Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback around Henley and the season overall. A discussion was had with the coaches about how we can improve things etc, I will be sending out an email shortly summarising this.

BBQ

A nice summer BBQ on Saturday 16^th July (not Sunday 17^th July). Please contact MT for details.

Captaincy

There will be elections at the beginning of August to cover all captaincy positions. If you are interested in any of these roles please speak to the person currently in that role.

Novice Captain (currently Catherine)

Vice Captain (currently Becky)

Deputy Captain (currently Sue)

Captain (currently moi)

That is all from me, once again good luck to all of those racing this weekend!

Jenny

Luckily there were no time trials to be had by any of the crews. The first racing began Friday afternoon with the coxed 4 against Twickenham, luckily a good start put them in front and they continue to gain distance for most of the course. On Saturday Barnes Bridge was out in force (so was the wind and the rain!) first up was the pair who raced Molesey and won comfortably. Then there was the lightweight coxless 4 who put in an extremely strong fight against Marlow but sadly missed out on a win. Next was the intermediate 8, a nail biting race, side by side the whole way down, one crew would edge in front then the other would fight back, sadly they got pipped at the finish line by Vesta - an absolutely gutsy row though! The last race of the day for the Barnes Bridge crews was the coxed four against Marlow, again they got their nose out in front and just kept pushing away and creating distance between them and Marlow. So Sunday arrived ( a little less windy and not so wet) with 2 Barnes bridge crews racing! The pair were drawn up against Vesta and they knew it was going to be a tough race, sadly they were beaten by 1 length. The coxed four then had their semi against Sons, another quick start ensured they got out in front and again just kept on pushing away, after the Barnes crew had moved away the sons crew became acquainted with the booms (maybe the strength of wake pushed them on??). So the coxed four were through to the final. They knew it was going to be a tough race and they were going in as the under dogs, however they went off (I am not too sure why i keep referring to the coxed four as they when i was in it, only just noticed I am doing that and cant be bothered to go back and change it). Sooo we went off with a fabulous start with rate 46 flashing up on rate meter, and got out in front, however on the approach to 500m's Upper Thames had started to push and move through us sadly we just couldn't get back out in front and lost by a length and a half. Although we did not win we know we came off the water having put everything in and quite simply we had lost the the better crew!

As I mentioned last week 2 eights, a pair, a coxed four and a coxless four went off to The Met, not too sure what to expect. A fair more entertaining write up will be on the web shortly so I will not twitter on with no sense – so in a nutshell…..

On Saturday the IM 1 4+ (Sue, Jen, Annabelle, MT, Sarah L) was the first race of the day – a pleasant surprise to be with the pack and come through in second place to go through to the final. Looking at the times of the other heats was expecting to be a bit behind people but off we went and as we moved through the 1000m mark realised we were fighting for 1^st place. Sadly we lost out by not even half a second. On Sunday they were racing again at IM1 with Rachael B in for Annabelle, it was a good row and a bit of a fight for 3^rd place but sadly the crew missed out.

The IM 2 8+ on Saturday had to have a last minute sub in the form of Caroline BS due to Olivia being struck down by a very nasty bug! The crew (lucy coxing, Katy B, Katie C, Jasmin, Charlotte, Becky, Poppy, Caroline, Catherine) had the joy of attaching the 8 to a stake boat in the good old winds of Dorney Lake, they had a good row but sadly were in the fastest heat for the IM2 8’s so did not make the final (been in a different heat could have been a different story). A crew chat afterwards and some changes made ensured a better and more solid row in the IM1 8+ straight final later on in the day. On Sunday they had 3 subs in – Sarah C for Charlotte, Katy O for Poppy and Kate S for Olivia – due to change in things they had a time trial to do instead of side by side racing for the women’s IM2 final – sadly just missed out on a place for the final.

The coxless 4 (Kate S, Sharon, Katy O) raced at Im1 and Senior on the Saturday and on the Sunday they raced at IM1 only. They had Alice in for Ellie on the Sat and Sarah C in for Ellie on the Sunday. Sadly on both days they had steering issues, however when it was going straight it was moving well! So we have had a change over of boats and fingers crossed all is well in the lightweight world again!

Then there is our fabulous pair (Zoe and Jo)! They raced at Senior on the Sat and Senior and Elite on the Sunday. They won (yes that is right a BBL crew won at the met) in both their senior races on the sat and sun, although apparently they had to work a little bit harder for it on the Sunday. In the elite race they came third, but still had a great performance.

The was also another 8 entered on the Saturday in the IM1 category (Hilary coxing, Zoe, Jo, Jen, Annabelle, MT, Sarah L, Rachael, Ali)– sadly we had lane 7 and were buffered about a bit in the wind, still we came third so not too bad!

While all this was going on at the MET we also had 3 crews racing at Weybridge Ladies – who apparently had very nice cakes! We had a Vet D quad who won their race – yay – congratulations to Ali, Hilary, Alice and Lesley. We also had entered a Novice 2x (Ciara and Helena) –Ciara had a baby about 3 months ago and Helena only just learning to steer had a good race, no calls for them to get back on the course! Then we had an IM3 4+ with Dave coxing, Kathryn, Marion, Heidi and Holy (sadly Liz was ill). They were with them until the 650m mark but unfortunately the other crew just pulled away from them.

So next round of racing is this weekend – Barnes and Mortlake regatta. We have a novice 4 up (dave coxing – Sophie, Leonie, Heidi and Liz). There is also a possibility we have a Masters coxed 4 racing (Kathryn, Helena. Marion, Leonie).

This weekend we the group doing Henley are off to Upper Thames to practise on the course. And then it is race time next week!!! Eeeek. The draw for Henley Womens is out - no crews have to time trial! The first races are below for each crew. It would be amazing if any of you could come out and support.

Good Luck to everyone racing. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the coaches for the time they have put in with the crews plus all of the subbing people have done to help get these crews out on the water.

One person that will be missed is Lucy as she decided to Cycle john O ‘Groats to Lands End. Below is a few pleading words from her for sponsorship

As many of you will know I'm cycling from John O Groat's to Land's End starting this Saturday! I'll be doing at least a 100 miles a day covering over 900 miles before I arrive in Land's End on the 19th...I'm raising money for Macmillian so please visit my fundraising page: http://www.justgiving.com/Lucy-Fry0 knowing that you've donated will keep me going in mile 90 on day 8...and good luck to those of you doing Henley - I'll be thinking of you!

It has been decided to enter an eight into the Remenham Cup. This will have to time trial on Friday 24^th June. The crew is as follows, Sue G coxing – Zoe, Jo, Rachael, Annabelle, Katy B, Sarah L, Jenny, Ali. If they do qualify the first race will be on Friday 1^st July. Cygnet are also entering an eight and a pair.

This leads on nicely to a message about Henley Royal Club Day – Friday 1^st July. Please see below the note from Marj -

As has become an excellent Clubs' tradition, Peter and Pat Sly have invited members of both Cygnet and BBLRC for the club day in their garden at Old Blades on the Friday of Henley, which will be on 1st July this year.

Members and friends will be welcome from noon till end of racing and are encouraged to bring food and drink for a picnic. You are more than welcome to bring your own picnic, or join in in the combined efforts, where BBLRC members each bring a salad (for 4) and Cygnet members bring drinks (for themselves and ANOther) which will be available to all. A small gazebo will be available to cover up the food contributions until all is ready for eating.

To ensure we don't all bring the same food and drink, I would appreciate it if you could let me know what you intend to contribute by Wednesday 29 July, please!

I look forward to seeing you all there! Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information, and for directions to Old Blades!

On the news of kit please can you also make sure you don’t have double anything and the kit you do have is yours. Mel has lost her splash jacket – and it has her name in it. A few gillets have also been lost. I have lost an old all in one, a black sleeved long top, a stripy green long sleeved top, a grey long sleeved top, a pair of leggings… the list is endless! After Henley the ladies changing room really does need to be sorted out. There is will be a kit amnesty! So just as a warning now, start taking kit home (yes this means me too).

J has been doing a stirling job in getting these newbies out on the water, she will be emailing for help please do so if you have the time. Same address as above.

You’ll also be pleased to know a new launch has been ordered! Our coaches will no longer be drowning within the tub! Sadly my idea of painting it pink was rejected!

I am getting a bit lax about these updates – apologies for that! I’d like to say it will get better but not 100% sure it will. It’s going to be a quick one from me…..

Training continues and the crews are off to MET this weekend, with crews racing twice on Sat and once on Sunday (except mental pair who are going for twice)

Intermediate 8+ Cox = Lucy, Katy B, Katie C, Jasmin, Charlotte, Becky, Poppy, Olivia, Catherine (On Sunday Kate S & Sarah are subbing for Charlotte and Poppy)

Intermediate 4+ Cox = Sue, Jenny, Annabelle, MT, Sarah L (Rachael is subbing for Annabelle on Sunday)

Another 8+ = Cox- Hilary, Zoe, Jo, Jen, Annabelle, MT, Sarah L, Rachael B, Ali E

On Sunday we also have a few crews racing at Weybridge Ladies – apparently this was actually a Barnes bridge Ladies favourite a few years back!!

This week coming the training continues, last week of heavy training for those doing Henley Women’s. The weekend of 11^th and 12^th June the Henley crews are off to Henley for a bit of practise on the water. On the Saturday however we have a few crews racing a Barnes and Mortlake.

In August I will be part of a team aiming to be the first to row 1,000km of the Zambezi, from the Angolan border to Victoria Falls. It has never been done before and we will have to contend with crocodiles, hippos and basic survival in a very remote part of the world. In short, there will be: sore hands: sore bums: wildlife: no hot showers at the end of the day… think training camp for twenty days on ration packs, sleeping in a tent with some vicious things snapping at my heels.

We will be raising money for the Village Water, a small charity that does amazing work to eradicate water borne diseases in the area around the Zambezi in Zambia. I have done a fair amount of research into this and can safely say that every single penny donated will be going to a fantastic charity that manages to make a real difference given the modest resources available. When we finish we are going to leave the boats and other equipment for youth and community rowing projects in Zambia and South Africa.

I’m funding all my own costs for the expedition, so everything you contribute through the Just Giving page will go Village Water.

2. As an alternative, or if you would like to split your donation, then you can donate towards the donation of the boats, oars and trailer to grassroots rowing projects in Zambia and South Africa. The boats (I hope!) are pretty robust, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they were still being used many years from now. That translates into a great many kids benefitting from rowing the way I have done. Bank transfers may be made direct to: “Row Zambezi Expedition” Sort code: 20-67-90 Account number: 53370224 (Please mention Rachael in the transfer so that I can identify you and thank you personally for your contribution.)

I could bombard you with plenty more information, but will not do it here! If you want to find out more then please ask me or look at our website at www.rowzambezi.com

Training is still going hard for Henley Women’s, hopefully people are starting to feel the difference now in their fitness, strength and stamina! Away from the crews racing at Henley that has been plenty of other boat activity and race planning.

This weekend we have an IM3 quad racing at Twickenham (Sue G, Helena, Lucy F, Sarah P) plus a novice four (Sophie, Holly, Katie R, Fiona F coxed by Sue G). Good luck to those racing.

Next weekend we have the MET where the Henley crews are racing, still waiting on the draw and as to whether all crews have races. We have also added a new regatta into the mix – Weybridge Ladies. We are entering a novice double (Helena & Ciara), an IM3 coxed 4 (Kathryn, Marion, Heidi, Liz) and a Master D coxless four (Hilary, Lesley, Alice, Ali).

The regatta after this will be Barnes and Mortlake on 11^th June – please ensure Sue and Catherine have the correct availability for this.

Please be aware of the boat and any problems arising and let us know so we can get it fixed, nothing worse than getting in a boat finding an issue and someone announcing oh yeah that happened a couple of weeks ago! Thanks!!!!!

Also think it may be a good idea to give people a lesson on rigging and setting up boats – will keep you posted on when we get this arranged.

Put the date in your diaries – All day Friday 13^th April until Monday 16^th April!

For the first time last year we offered a member of BBL the chance to be put through a Level 2 coaching course, in return the individual would then take the lead for the sessions for the learn to rows in September and the following March. Then continue with their own development of coaching through continue to help out with this group as they join the novices.

If you are interested please contact me so we can discuss in more detail. The deadline would be end of June, so we can award it in July and then person involved can organise their time.

Sunday 17^th July we’re going to have a social BBQ. Sarah P and MT are the queen organisers for this so give them a shout if you want a hand. There will be more information about this shortly. Just put the date in the diary, will start 1pm ish! Tickets on sale soon!

Hello!

Well what a busy couple of weeks for Barnes Bridge Ladies! The crews for Women’s Henley were announced last week and they are as follows

Elite Pair – Zoe, Jo
Elite Lightweight Coxless Four – Kate S, Ellie, Sharon, Katy O
Intermediate Eight – Alex Baldwin (cox), Olivia, Katie C, Katy B, Charlotte S, Becky, Poppy, Jasmin, Catherine O’leary
Intermediate Coxed Four – Sue G (cox), Jenny, Annabelle, MT, Sarah L

It was decided to enter Poplar regatta to give us a gauge on how the crews are doing – oh and what a positive message came back!!!

In the morning the eight (with a few subs – Sarah P, Helena and Kathryn F in for Katy B, Becky and Poppy) raced in IM2 and came a close 3rd in a straight final. The coxless four raced at IM1 and a few issues with which lane they were meant to be in but all came off happy with the racing. The coxed four (Dave in for Sue) raced a straight final at IM2, got into the lead from the start and held it there! Then the wind picked up and the fun really began for the afternoon session…… the eight raced at IM3 and from afar it looked like a close race then all of a sudden another eight was in their lane and they had to swerve to avoid them, however they kept their cool and just powered on to come through for an absolutely blinding finish to win the race!! Slightly worryingly they all were soaked though and it was not even raining! The coxless four unfortunately did not have such a great race as their first race and were really affected by the wind. Then to finish off for the day an eight was entered at IM1 for a straight final against MAA (Dave, Zoe, Jo, Rachael, Annabelle, MT, Sarah L, Caroline, Jenny) – by this point the wind was certainly making its presence known (and felt), from start the eight took the lead and increased it every stroke of the race.

Also the results mean that the club came 3rd in the Victor Ludorum – toot toot!!!!

So a fantastic day for everyone! A thank you to Dave for driving and coxing and Alex for coxing at the last minute. Also well done to Olivia, Sarah L and Jasmin who all de-noviced. However no rest for them as it was straight back onto training yesterday.

The next race on the calendar is Twickenham Regatta (28th May) where we plan to enter an IM3 quad (Lucy, Helena, Sue G and Sarah P) plus some novice crews which Catherine will announce shortly.

Coming up
Wednesday 18th May – Boathouse executive AGM. All invited.

The MET regatta is on 4th and 5th June. We will also be looking to enter crews either up at Peterborough or bringing a new race into the mix – Weybridge Ladies. I will keep you posted on this.

On June 11th and 12th those racing at Henley will be off to Henley for some pre-race training on the course. This will be from 11am – I will email all shortly.

Womens Henley on Friday 17th, Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th. Events over subscribed (probably the intermediate events) will have to time trial on the Friday – we will know more when the draw is out.

Royal Henley 1st – 3rd July. Upper Thames have kindly offered everyone at Barnes Bridge Ladies a free ticket to their new enclosure at HRR. There is an advert in this month Regatta magazine. Enquiries / bookings need to be pre-registered via tickets.utrc@btinternet.com

Learn to row
J has been taking on these learn to rows by herself more or less so far and now the little ducklings are ready to go afloat! Please come forward if you can help, obviously a really busy period for everyone at the moment with all the racing but if we all do a little bit it should actually not be that hard for J to manage.

If you can help please contact her on ltrbarnesbridge@hotmail.co.uk

Further information
From training camp a heart rate strap was left – which I have. A sleeping bag was also left, this is still at the cottage as quite expensive to post. If you do want it though please speak up.

That is all for now!

11 April 2011
Hi

Sorry for the lack of news update last week - rudely my job became quite busy and I had to do that!! Good news is this one is going to be a fun filled one with loads of news to help your Monday going in a blur!

So lets start with the Vets head.....Our lovely Vet C crew won their category plus came 3rd out of all of the women, they have a lovely pennant to join those already won in the bar! We also had a win with Jackie Darling rowing in a composite who won the Vet D category even thought they were Vet F! Our Vet B crew came 5th in their category and report a great row too!

An absolutely fantastic finish to a great head season. Everyone should be really proud of the achievements this year, as individual crews and as a club we have continued to grow stronger, fitter and get better results.

So now we move into the regatta season, first on the plan was 2k ergs! Well done to everyone who did one last week. They are indeed invented by the devil and I think it is safe to say everyone learnt a new pain barrier to work through! Some absolutely fantastic results came out of it. I will send them out shortly. There will be another 2k test after Wallingford and before the MET, I will give you an exact date soon.

The weekend just been was sculling camp, I am yet to hear of anyone falling in or gossip - hopefully our webmistress will have some to put on web shortly. Hopefully we have lots of budding scullers in the club now.

This week starts the seat racing, joy of joys! Just remember to remain calm. If you do end up coxing any of the seat racing - firstly thank you!!!, secondly listen to what the coaches are saying and try and choose the same position and line to steer for each race.

This weekend we have training camp! Very exciting, even more so if the weather stays this good. Remember sun cream! I would like to also say a massive thank you to Becky for organising it, plus to all of the others who are coming down to help us out and do something other than enjoy rowing in the sunshine (David D, Dave G, Ali E, Bev, Jo, Matt - awfully sorry if missed someone, do have a brain of a mushed up lemon at the moment).

Please keep you availability coming into Sue especially over the next coming weeks so we can plan outings and crews etc.

Ta ta for now! Enjoy the sunshine!

Jenny

PS - just realised it wasn't probably as fun filled as I had led you to believe!

29 March 2011
Morning

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine and no one was caught out byt the clocks going forward on Sunday!

We're approaching a couple of exciting weeks at Barnes Bridge! This weekend we have the mens head on Saturday - please please offer your time to help J and Mel feed the big hungry strapping men of the rowing world (maybe a bit of ogling too!). I have copied them in for you to respond. Huma is also looking for any experienced timers to help with the timing of the mens head - also copied in.

On Sunday we have the vets head, starting at 9am. We have two crews racing. The Vet C crew of Catt, Hilary, Lesley, Zoe, Jo, Rachael, Annabelle, Alice and Ali, and a Vet B crew of Dave, Olivia, Sue, Sarah P, Sara, Arabella, Huma, Kathryn F, Tara.

Good luck to all of those racing this weekend!

Moving on from that we are then in the week that approaches the 2k erg test. Some people are not doing it on Saturday, please note all times need to be in to me by midday on Saturday. I also really need the availability sheets from all members ideally by Wednesday but at the latest by Friday. A quick note about 2ks please hand in your time AND split, plus your weight. If no one is there to witness it please take a photo.

We also have sculling camp that weekend of erg tests - get in touch with Laurent if interested

Weekend after that we have training camp. Big thank you to Becky for all the organising, even more so as it appears everyone has a bed! Hopefully we can all achieve a lot that weekend.

Plus there will be some seat racing thrown into the mix. I have had a few questions about what is seat racing so here is your explanation!...... You race two boats side by side (in our case it will be 4's). You time the distance between each crew at the finish. You swap one member of each crew over (for example the 2 seat). Then the crew races the same distance again and you time the difference between each crew. You then get a measure of who moves a boat better.

As always selection will not just be based on one thing ergs, availability and attitude will always come into it. We narrow it down and then we seat race. We do not look to seat race every single person!!

AGM
We held our AGM last Tuesday - all is fine and dandy with the club. We voted in our new committee (captains voted for in August), Secretary - Katie Coyle Stepped down and J Mee has taken over, Web mistress - Sue G has stepped down and Helena has taken over. MT continues as social Sec and Lucy continues as treasurer. And just to recap you have Becky as Vice, Sue G as Deputy, Dave G as Helath and Safety officer plus me as Captain. All individuals are cc'd in so if you want to share anything with them or any questions you know where to go. Anyone who wants the thrilling minutes ask our secretary!

I believe that is all for now - please please offer help for catering!!!!

21 March 2011
Well done to everyone who raced at the weekend.
The vets finished 34th in a time of 20.16.18. Once again winning the vet pennant! (Catt. Hilary, Lesley, Zoe, Jo, Rachael, Annabelle, Alice, Ali)

Crew Grobler (number 44, IM2) came 48 in a time of 20.31.78. (Sue G. Jenny. Laura F, MT, Sarah L, Sarah C, Charlotte, Lucy, Catherine

Crew Baldwin (number 122) came 144, in a time of 21.38.00. (Alex B. Kate S, Katie C, Poppy, Rachael H, Becky, Helena, Sharon, Michelle)

Crew Gledhill (number 182) came 162, in a time of 21.48.23, coming second in their category!!! (Dave. Jasmin, Ellie, Heidi, Leonie, Karen, Tara, Jo B, Liz)

As you can see some fantastic results! 2 crews in top 50, a Vet win, novices coming second in category plus all crews finishing top 170!!! I sincerely mean it when I say well done to everyone involved, the training paid off and it bodes well to a successful regatta season.

A lot of effort was also put into the after celebration drinking too. I returned to the boathouse this morning to find a BB lady asleep/ passed out on sofa plus 2 buckets of sick (at the time they did not belong to said passed out BB Lady, such a treat for me!!!)
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to J Mee for the huge catering effort she did on Saturday. She arrived at 8am in the morning and probably left about 7.30pm. She also had help from Jackie D, Angela, Julia and Isabelle (apologies if I missed anyone out). It’s blooming hard work, especially for such a small team of helpers so a really big thank you from me and the club. Hopefully come the Mens head there will be a lot more people about to help!
Our next aim as a club will be the Vets head. We have a Vet C crew entered (Catt, Hilary, Lesley, Zoe, Jo, Rachael, Annabelle. Alice and Ali) and a Vet B crew entered (Dave, Olivia, Sue G, Sarah P, Huma, Arabella, Sara, Kathryn, Julia J). This race is on the 3rd April.
If you are not doing the vets head there will be no outings next Tues, Wed or Thurs, also no one is expected to go near an erg! Wooo.
DON’T FORGET THE AGM TUESDAY 22nd APRIL AT 7PM.
Your chance to listen to what is planned for the club, a round up, financial information plus vote in treasurer, social sec, webmistress/ master and secretary. At the last list no one had put their name down for social sec or secretary.
On Saturday and Sunday (26th and 27th) there will be outings early on for the racing crews but then at 10am on both days there will be a learn to cox session, where it will be turn up and row. More information about this will be out shortly.
The week commencing 28th March there will only be outings for the crews racing at the Vets head. However I do have a little treat for you all in preparation for the 2k test on 9th April. They are as follows
Warm up 10 minutes. 4 session ergs below
Erg 1) 1 x 30mins rate 20
Erg 2) 3 x 7 mins @ 26
Erg 3) 2 x 4ks rate 20
Erg 4) 6 x 500m (2mins rest in between) race rate
The weekend 2nd April will be Mens Head and a request for catering help will be put out, then on 3rd April it is the Vets head – lots of support will be needed for that too!
The week commencing 4th April we are back to water sessions (Tues and Thurs for Seniors/ Intermediates and Wednesday for novices) The ergs for the week commencing 4th April are as follows
Erg 1 ) 1 X 1000m, 2 x 500, 1 x 250. (Hold target split for all apart from the 250 - low as you can on that)
Erg 2) 1 x 1000m, 1 x 250 (as above re split)
Then the erg test at the club on 9th or 10th April – please book a slot with me.
Erg Test - 9th April - test (good warm up is critical. 10 - 15 mins. Good number of bursts etc)
Below is a request from Ali about housesitting….
Ali (ali.elliott@btinternet.com) would like to hear from anyone willing to live in her house and feed her cat from Thursday 7th April till Wednesday 13th April, give or take a day either end. She is off to France with Emanuel and concerned that Sparky will be lonely and that left to her own devices will wreck the place! Location is not too far up White Hart Lane, so a 10 min or so stroll to the club. Although there are plenty of bedrooms there is only one bed!
Lastly a slightly belated “congratulations”, but congratulations to Ciara who gave birth to a little girl last weekend.
See you all at AGM tomorrow

Jenny

7 February 2011

Well what a week for Barnes Bridge and not in a positive way!! Sadly we have had two accidents with our two newest boats - Annelise got damaged on Tuesday and the Jo Bynre got damaged on Sunday. In both cases it was at low tide, with experienced steer people with large rocks that were submerged in a good distance from the bank. I am fully aware that accidents happen and I truely feel in both cases this was the case and it was not don to careless steering. However I do feel it should be at the forefront of peoples mind that extra care is needed at low tide, my guess is with the heavy rain and fast stream it is pulling more silt and rocks away from the side into the stream hence these two accidents. If you are steering please take extra care when going up the side of the river, if you are not happy as a cox or as a bow steerer please speak up. I would much rather we did technical rowing, looping around the same part of the river, even in rolling pairs if needed than damage any more boats.

Both Annelise and Jo Byrne (boats not people) are out of action until further notice.

More sad news I am afraid..... Flic who has been coaching now at Barnes Bridge for nearly a year has resigned. Her last session will be with us on Thursday and I am sure everyone will join me in thanking her for her excellent coaching over the last year. I genuinely think she has been a positive influence on the club and the improvement in some rowers due to Flic's coaching has been immense.

I am currently on the look out for a coach, if anyone has any suggestions please pass my email or phone number onto them for that person to make contact with me. I will keep you posted on how this position develops.

The crews for the following upcoming races are below. The crews for the vets head will be announced by the beginning of March. Please note that it is recommended that those who wish to do Henley give themselves a full break and give themselves time off between Womens Head of River and the 2k test.

26th Feb (Bruges)
Cox = Sue G. MT, Laura, Katy B, Sarah L, Sarah C, Charlotte, Lucy, Catherine

27th Feb = Hammersmith
Vetc C - Cox = Catt McLeod, Hilary, Lesley, Zoe, Jo, Rachael, Annabelle, Alice, Ali
IM2 - Cox = Matt C. Kate S, Jenny, Caroline, Sarah P, Poppy, Katy O, Sharon, Katie C
Novice - TBC

19th March = Womens Head
Vet A - Cox = Catt McLeod, Hilary, Lesley, Zoe, Jo, Rachael, Annabelle, Alice, Ali
IM2 - Cox = Sue G. Jenny, Laura, MT, Sarah L, Sarah C, Charlotte, Lucy, Catherine
IM2 - Cox = Matt C. Kate S, Michelle C, Caroline, Suzannah, Poppy, Rachael H, Sharon, Katie C
Novice - TBC

From across the board (including the novices even though a decision is still being made on crews) we have some really strong crews this year that could have some excellent placings in the upcoming races. However for this to happen everyone needs to work hard and commit to the training on and off the water. Only 5 weeks to go!!!!

Remember 5k erg test is due to me next Wednesday 9am. It is capped at rate 26, please book a slot with me if you hope to do it Monday night.

Have a good week!

12 January 2011

Just a quickie.....

8's are out in full force, trying different combinations. Availability sheet is out up to Vets head - please get this back as soon as possible to Sue for seniors and intermediates and as always Catherine is on the case with the novices.

Please remember if you put yourself down as a yes on a race day we will assume it is because you can (and want to of course) race and not because you want a morning outing. Races vary in times due to tides so have a quick search on web for times if you are unsure whether you can do a whole day. Also we will be needing up to date ARA numbers!

5k erg test is due in next Wednesday by 9am. Please book in your slot for Monday evening from 5.30. I am trying to decide whether to do it with a nose bag to collect the drips (sorry if too much information) and cover self in vicks vapor rub - delightful. I know it isn't going to be fun but it will still feel better than the one you did in September plus think of all of the extra calories you will have burnt! You have plenty of notice so if you can't do it Mon or Tues do it earlier.

Right thats me done on the news, I am off to stick head in vat of olbas oil. See you all in the week sometime.

Jenny

Morning!

News
This week has been manic with lots of decision making and planning for the upcoming races. The crews for Quintin were announced on Monday. The race starts at midday so if you want to come along and cheer on the crews then it would be great to do so. Followed of course by a quick drink or 6 in the bar (sadly I won’t be in the bar as I need to go and supervise the house mending – I came home last night to find half of the kitchen had been pulled out!!!!) The crews are as follows;

IM1 – cox = Catt. Hilary, Lesley, Rachel, Jo, Zoe, Paula, Ali, Alice
IM2 – cox = Sue G. Jenny, Laura, MT, Sarah L, Katy B, Charlotte, Lucy, Catherine
IM2 – cox = Alex B. Kate S, Katie C, Caroline, Helena, Poppy, Rachel H, Sharon, Suzannah
NV – cox = Dave. Jasmin, Ellie, Heidi, Leonie, Karen, Tara, Jo B, Liz

It is a credit to the club and how it has progressed that we are having such deliberation over crews as we have such a plethora of people to select from (not sure if the word plethora can be used in that way but I like how it sounds).
I had wanted to announce the senior/ intermediate crews this week and Catherine wanted to do the same with the novices but after speaking to the other captains and the coaches we feel we need another week looking at individuals and possible crews. So I am afraid the announcement of crews had been put back to Monday 7th February. This will also delay when we move some of the seniors for the second vet crew to Wednesday nights.

Training, outings and coaches.
Please can people start bringing trainers to outings (at weekends as well) as the coaches may want to do some technical erg work before the outing. Plus as the training plan says there are runs after the outings on Saturday.
To recap coach wise we have Jo who will be focussing on the first eight, Flic focussing on the second eight and David and Lesley focussing on the novices. When we have the second vet crew sorted they will fall under David, Lesley and Flic.

Money/ Fees
Please make sure you pay subs as soon as possible or contact us if you have problems paying them. It would be nice to think we do not have to do any chasing this year…….
Money for training camp is also due so if you have put your name down for that please pay the money through.

Messages and notes
From me….. anyone willing to lend an all in one please get in touch. Need a range of sizes from small through to large.

The Quiz is this Sunday at 2pm. So you will be able to have an outing. If you wish to participate please contact matt (cc’d in)

Circuits tonight….Circuits this Wednesday will be a moderate session because of Quintin Head at the weekend. As it will be a less intense session it would also be an ideal time to start circuits if you haven't already - 6.45 at the club or 7.00 at the school. Also nobody has volunteered to cook afterwards this week so if anyone (of the regular diners) want to get that out of the way, please feel free.
Ali B is back from having a bit of TLC – please take care and let’s try and go longer than a month before a scratch appears! Remember boat care is everyone’s responsibility!

From Jasmin - I bought a new pair of running shoes back in Germany, but unfortunately they are slightly too big. I wore them once for 30 minutes, they are completely new. I would sell them for £42, which is half of what I paid. I could bring them to the club, if somebody wants to try them on. The details would be the following: adiSTAR Salvation 2.0 Size: UK 6 or 39 1/3. Contact her if you want them -258647@soas.ac.uk

Think that is it for the moment! Good luck to all of those racing and keep up the training!