Author: J. Bruce- Senior Rowing Coach

Two members of our boat club had a very busy weekend, both competing at the Great Britain early identifications trials on Saturday and Star Head the next day.

Jess Read and Joe Walker completed a 5K time trial in sunny Boston, this was their first opportunity to get their name in the mix for a potential selection for the Coupe or Worlds team in the summer.

Joe was first up and with sculling not being his preferred skill, he didn’t let it put him off and still put in a good performance amongst some strong competition. Coming 128^th still puts Joe in contention, however he is pleased to get the chance to perform in a pair for the next set of trials. Along with his solid ergos it’s exciting to see what he will be able to achieve.

Jess had the chance to attend a GB camp in October half term which gave her confidence going into this trial, knowing some friendly faces always helps with the nerves!. After submitting ergo scores putting her near the top, Jess set off in a good position and was determined to finish near the top on the water also. Jess came a brilliant 15^th overall out of 99 scullers which shows a very promising couple of years. A fantastic and well deserved result.

Both scullers did the whole of the Boat Club proud.

On Saturday 3^rd November BMSBC travelled down to the Tidewayt in London where the Senior girls quad of Lara Brittain, Abi Ngwang, Jess Read and Lizzie Rowe competed at the Fours Head of the River featuring in the Junior Challenge coxless quads category.

The weather was looking promising, it was dry and not too cold. After a pot of pasta and a pre-race chat to go through the race plan, the girls were ready to get on the water. Knowing they’d be on the water for a couple of hours, they made sure their pockets were stuffed with Haribo.

Being the first boat off in the category, combined with not bad conditions, the girls were prepared to create some distance between them and the Tideway Scullers crew who were chasing them. Their fitness really started to show through the middle of the race where the gaps were increasing behind them, consequently catching up with the category in front!

Through Hammersmith Bridge, the boat picked up in speed, which was all down to all the supporting parents enthusiastically cheering them on. This really gave them a boost as they came into choppy water, which is always expected on the Tideway. Their new focus was gaining and overtaking the other boats in front of them, which really highlighted Lara’s steering skills.

The last 2K of the race was all about holding on to their blades as the waves became bigger At this point, everyone is rowing in the same conditions but what it comes down to is, who copes the best. Our Girls did just that and went on to win their event.

With a brilliant result like that really shows their hard work paying off. We are all excited to see the continued success.

On Sunday 7^th October the Boat Club attended their first race of the season, and what a successful one it was.

Racing the 2.6K course, the J15 boys got the chance to have their first sweep race, splitting down into two fours, both boats showed their skills in smaller boats. The J15 girls raced two mixed quads which showed their competitiveness and technique. We are looking forward to seeing this year group progress throughout the year.

We had a fleet of singles race the course throughout the day. Our J16 boys switched from their fours to show how they can all perform individually in their singles. Impressive results from Miggy Carr who pushed on towards similar times to the senior boy’s. Special mention to Ben Cox, usually seen coxing the J16 boys and part time sculler, raced down the course to achieve third in his age category.

The J16 girls were put out in their coxless quads, with two different combinations, it was interesting to see who worked well together. Both quads really showed skills which they have been working on in the last few weeks. The J16 boys and girls picked up two wins for the boat club. The 4X- of Ellen Fletcher, Emily Watson, Romy Wharton and Hannah Mackay and the 4+ of Foster Holt, Huw Sheppard, Ivor Luffman and Max Kroon, coxed by Ben Cox received their tankards.

With eight of the wins, the senior squad had a good days’ worth of racing. Jess Read, Lizzie Rowe and Lara Brittain all won their respective categories along with Rajesh Paul and Aaron Smith winning their singles race.

Changing into bigger boats later on, we saw another win from the boys in their coxed four along with a solid performance from the senior girls, resulting in well-deserved tankards. The quad of Joe Herbert, Joe Walker, Matteo Peluso and Aaron Smith, impressively went on to continue the BMS streak of being the fastest crew of the day for the fourth year running.

The Victor Ludorum, which is always up for grabs, is a trophy for the most successful club of the day and with 27 tankards, in total awarded this year, it went to us. A massive well done for all those who raced, a good day had by all.

On the morning of Saturday 12th May the weather was looking promising, or so we thought. A full days’ worth of racing was ahead of us at one of our favourite races of the year, Bedford Regatta, an event where every squad in our boat club gets the chance to compete side by side, all in good preparation for National Schools Regatta in two weeks’ time.
It was an early start for our J16 and J15 boys who both competed in their eights before splitting down to race in their fours later on. The competition at Bedford Regatta has certainly exceeded in its standard of racing. With tough draws for the boys they kept their focus and had strong performances. The J15 boys eight had a bittersweet result, losing to Eton by a foot.
Our J15 girl’s squad entered both of their quads they have been training in. Due to an unfortunate steering incident off the start the A quad girl’s day came to an early end. These four girls now need to stay confident that they’ve done the training to have a good weekend at Nat Schools. Our B quad had a boost in confidence after rapid start which brought them up level with their opposition. Both girls’ boats now need to believe that with hard work they can gain results they deserve.
Our J16/senior girl’s squad also had tough competition, up against crews that had beaten them the previous weekend, they were determined to make a comeback. Losing by half a length touched a sore spot but an experience to fuel their last few weeks of training.
The Senior boys had a full on day of racing, the squad split up into two fours for the majority of the morning, getting through each round, the boys were off to a solid start. The senior boys eight got together and raced a confident row, coming off the water they were pleased with their performance and ready to hop back into their fours. Already racing four times, our J18 4+ made it through to the semi-finals along with our op.4+ making it through to their final. A win for our op.4+ lifted spirits in the very damp conditions.
Once all changed into their shiny new all in ones, the J14 squad were excited to race in their very first regatta. Both squads had a pretty successful day with both boys and girl’s octos getting the chance to race and put into practice what they’ve been working so hard on. One of our highlights of the day were our J14 girls coxed quads who both made it through their rounds to compete in the final, this is a huge achievement and one they will remember for a long time. Not to mention one of our WJ14 4X+ win against St. Edwards was a fantastic end to the day.

This day wouldn’t have been possible without our Parents support group who clearly had THE BEST set up, food and decoration at the regatta that others were defiantly jealous of. When asking the rowers which part of the race they felt went the best, the answer was always ‘the roar past the parent’s tent’. It really does make all the difference, especially when it rains for most of the day.
Well rowed BMS.

BMSBC took two girls quads to compete at The Junior Sculling Regatta. Taking place at Dorney Lake in Eton, it gave the girls an opportunity to get some quality multi-lane racing practice in to kick start the Regatta season.

After a sociable leaving time of 5:30am, we arrived to perfect conditions. Both crews raced a ‘head race style’ time trial to determine either an A final, B final or elimination.

First up, the WJ18 4X- of Lara Brittain, Jess Read, Lizzie Rowe and Imogen Eales had aimed high to compete for a place in the A final, with most of them competing two years higher, they would have to work hard to achieve this. After a brave performace, they had made the A final, coming in 4th place.

Over to the WJ16 4X- of Abbie Davis, Hannah Heappey, Katie Gell and Lauren Burchell. For a crew that hasn’t been able to go out as much, Abbie steered a great line, Lauren set a solid rhythm, with Katie and Hannah backing eachother up, they made it through the time trial achieving a well earned place in the B final.

It was fantastic for both crews to make both their finals. The WJ16 4X- held nothing back and put a gutsy effort in. Unfortunatly, other crews were just that bit faster but with the condtions staying on their side, the girls put up an excellent fight all the way through the line, finishing 6th.

A very nervous WJ18 4X- knew they were in reaching distance of a bronze medal. Only being less than a second slower per 500m  than third place, they were determined to ruin someones day. Off the start the girls were sneeking in and out of 1st and 2nd place. As the race progressed, they could see the stronger crews edging away. Using the crews around them, they managed to stay fully involved in the competition. Finishing  in 6th place, the girls were dissapointed but has only made them more determined.

Along with the rest of the Boat club, these girls are very excited to compete on their home turf at Bedford Regatta on Saturday.

Well Rowed BMS.

Another full day of racing continued the next day at the National Junior Sculling head where we had every girl’s squad compete, along with our J14 boy’s octo.

This race was a very different set up compared to Schools head. Held at the Olympic Venue, Dorney Lake in Eton, crews raced two legs of a 1800m course, 3600m in total.

As well as it being the J14 boy’s first race, it was their most important one of the term. Itching to get out on the water to show off their new sculling skills. The boys came home with an excellent result of 35/57 which they were very happy about, especially at such a tough event. As well as having the day off school, beating Bedford School B,C and D boats was the highlight of their day.

This was also a big event for the J14 girls, competing at National level against the fastest girls in the country in their age category. Moving on from their performance at Bedford Head the girls have shown massive improvements in their timing, focus and performance. Coming 41 out of 49. Taking into consideration that the J14 were competing against some that have been rowing for nearly a year longer, they had done us coaches proud. All in all, the J14 year group had such a good experience of what is yet to come.

Moving to the J15 girls, we had two quads compete in a very busy division of 60 boats. Our first quad gave a very lively and gutsy performance staying very consistent with only 2 secs separating the first and second half. Finishing in 27^th place these girls were pleased with their row. Our second Quad also had feisty row, this showed by their second half being a lot faster. Both quads are eager to keep making positive gains through an intense week of training at camp during Easter.

Our J16 girl’s quad came off the water pleased with their row, especially the first leg where they raced a brave first half. They described their second 1800m as tough, with not a lot left in the tank, however feel that they have a lot more to give and are very determined to crack on with their training leading into the regatta season.

The senior girls competed at J17, a category where they compete against girls more their own age. Racing into a strong head wind to start set them up for a challenging first half. The girls kept their technique and stayed in control setting them up nicely for their second half. The girls were chased the whole way down by Putney which worked well in their favor, coming in at 7^th/22 again. A very positive result for them to take home.

A fantastic couple of days to end the terms racing.

Well rowed BMS

BMS Boat Club have had a full house of fixtures this term with both Boy’s and Girl’s squads getting the chance to race almost every weekend, all in good preparation for our main events for this term, Schools Head of the River and The National Junior Sculling Head.

BMSBC had a very busy and successful couple of days racing. Schools Head came around first where we saw four Boys Eights and the Senior Girl’s quad race the famous 7km Oxford v’s Cambridge Boat race course.

The first eight came off the water feeling pretty happy with the performance they had given. Early morning sessions before school were key for their preparation where they spent quality time gelling together and making their final adjustments before getting the work done on the Tideway. This had paid off coming 12^th in 1^st Eights. Their time shows just how small the margins are between the crews in front of them, which really puts them in the mix in the top end of first eights.

J16 is when training and racing starts to get serious, which then prepares them for their senior years. For the J16 boys this race was a big one where they curious to see where they stand on the results table coming into the regatta season. Finishing comfortably in 6^th place in J16 1^st Eights, only 27secs off a bronze medal position. As well as beating two J16 Champ eights, it shows, with a couple more months of focus, hard work and determination, these boys are on the right tracks to make up that time for an exciting regatta season.

After such a successful term, the J15 boys had high expectations for themselves. Coming 6^th, they had finished half way down the pack, beating Bedford School, again, by a close 5 seconds. Another fantastic result for these boys. The J15 boys second eight had a lot of competition, most of which matched J16 First Eight times. These boys were slightly disheartened about their 24^th place, however, hanging on to the fact that they still beat Bedford Schools second eight.

Our girl’s J16/Senior Quad were in a tough event, Girls Championship Quads. Competing against the fastest quads in the country over a long course, the girls were confident that they had done the training to achieve the best result they could. Finishing 7^th/22 was a result that these girls deserved. Coming away on a high, they were ready to smash the Scullery the next day.

Very well rowed BMS.