Bedford Modern School Boat Club

Sabaudia: Day 1

We awoke early, very early, extremely early. Upon arriving at the airport, we quickly located the finest dining at the airport. We all chose to have the American Breakfast, showing the start of our team synergy going into this week ahead.

Entering the aeroplane, we were met face to face with the man himself, Vernon Kay. Aaron informed him that we were “Doing rowing”. He laughed at us. We laughed at ourselves. Ethan and Aaron gave a nice rendition of “ Never gonna give you up” and the whole plane knew we “will never turn around and desert you.”

We landed in a very sunny Italy. An hour and a half later, we arrived at Le Palme Hotel. After some tasty Italian cuisine, we rigged up, went out and “did rowing.” We were promised a light “technical session”, it was not… a nice start to the week!! Showing our team synergy again we had a decent session.

We finished the night with some call of duty, Rajesh and Matteo were undefeated in their campaign. Afterwards, we all went to sleep.

Day 2:

We awoke very early, extremely early. Joe Walker reminded us how much he eats, again, annihilating a chocolate tart. We all headed down to the revision room where we worked furiously (I promise mum), and some say we haven’t left yet.

After our brisk walk down to the lake, we were informed of another “Technical session.” This one was slightly more technical as we battle paddled in 6s rather than all 8, and Bav figured out how to work a launch.

After lunch, we headed to town, for revision snacks before entering the revision room once again. We finished off the day with yet another battle paddle in the matched eights. It began sunny, but the weather quickly deteriorated, just like our hands… Hail lashed down with the roaring, thunder and lightning. After a quick run home, on the very dry road, with definitely no thunder echoing around us…

We had dinner, which was beautiful. Reminding us of a day out eating the beach.

Onwards to tomorrow.

The Senior Boys xx

The trailer has arrived and we’re on our way! Rowing is known for operating around some fairly unsociable hours, which I’m sure our parents can relate to, however arriving at school at 02:30am was particularly unpleasant.

During this week I have programmed a fairly relentless set of sessions designed to help our crews improve technically, push them as athletes and build as much cohesion amongst the whole squad as possible as we share many common goals.

Throughout the week the students will also be supported academically with all staff members supervising revision sessions and helping the students prepare for the busy exam season that is now fast approaching. The camp has become known for giving students a final push into this hectic time and allow them to approach their exams as prepared as possible. I can only thank the academic staff that give up their Easter break to attend the camp and support such a vital element of the trip.

The students will be taking it in turns to write a blog post each day, which will hopefully give you an insight of what they’re up to and how they are getting on. Mr Satchwill will also be uploading as many pictures as possible so that you can share your son/daughters experience.

The students are clearly excited, and the staff have definitely been on a count-down to camp for a numbers of weeks now, so fingers crossed for some fine Italian weather and food, which will set us up nicely for the week!

Please check back soon or follow us in Twitter which will guide you to the blog posts.

Mr Bavington

Jess Read had a very successful weekend at her second set of GB trials and produced some fantastic results.

On Saturday Jess raced the 5K course and came 15^th in her single before doubling up with a girl from Marlow rowing club on Sunday. The girls finished in a very impressive second place.

These results will likely gain her an invite to spring assessments, to be in contention for selection to compete at Munich regatta in May.

The rest of our boatclub were also working hard over the weekend, training at home and racing at Nottingham Head of the Trent, where we had a win from our Senior boy’s quad and another win from one of our J15 boys eight.

Our J15 girls and boys also raced very well, getting the chance to practice on a longer course, all in good preparation for Schools Head and the Scullery in March.

All crews did the boatclub proud this weekend.

Well rowed.

#TeamBMS.

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.

Only a week on from an outstanding team performance at St. Neot’s Head, BMSBC were back in action, this time on home water competing at Bedford Small Boats Head. Every member of the boat club showed incredible determination and resilience as they battled the relentless rain throughout the entire day, none more so than our extremely committed Parents Support Group who powered on providing the best wet BBQ ever!!

Our J15 squads all worked hard in a combination of small boats, quads and coxed fours, where they all finished in the middle of the pack amongst some strong opposition. This event offers our 15 squad the opportunity to further their race experience whilst new crew formations are being decided. They all show a lot of promise for the future.

The J16 boy’s squad had a relatively quiet day with their efforts focused on racing two matched coxed fours. Both crews put in a solid row and were only separated by 4 seconds, with the crew of Foster Holt, Will Hartshorn, Miguel Carr, Oliver Little and Ben Cox taking the honours. Within their event the crews beat Emanuel School, Norwich School, but were unfortunately pipped to the event win by a very impressive crew from Twickenham Rowing Club.

The Yr11 girl’s had a great day both in their singles and in their coxless quads; a boat category new to the squad this year, which they have settled into brilliantly. There were excellent performances in the single scull from Emily Watson and Hope Chouffot, who led the way and were only separated by 1 second as well as pushing close to the times of some senior rowers. The single is a tricky boat class and the girls are starting to really thrive in it. The coaching team were really pleased with everyone’s approach with some student’s overcoming a lack of confidence in the boats to perform well. It was the coxless quads where the squad really excelled; the crew of Hope Chouffot, Georgia Smith, Ellen Fletcher and Emily Watson put in one of the performances of the day winning their category by some 24 seconds over competition from Putney High School, Mossbourne Rowing Academy and Guilford Rowing Club. This crew also set the four fastest time from a BMS. Well done to everyone in the WJ16 squad!

As well as our younger squads rowed, it was our senior squads that really excelled on home waters winning five events. Lizzie Rowe won the WJ18 single, as well as doubling up with Boat Club Captain Lara Brittain to win the WJ18 doubles category. Joe Herbert and Matteo Peluso put in a fantastic row in their pair to win a senior pairs event. Joe and Matteo then joined forces with Joe Walker and Rajesh Paul, as all four boys changed discipline to race in a quad scull, which the boys went on to win beating local rivals Bedford School and Star Club, as well as crews from Emanuel School. The senior coxed four of Aaron Smith, Caleb Avis, Ethan Carr, Jake Young, coxed by Sam Szeto were also victorious winning another senior category and beating Bedford School and Oundle Town.

There were many other excellent performances within the senior singles and pairs that impressed the whole coaching team. The rowing squad has had a fantastic first two events and are setting themselves up nicely for the rest of this terms events.

Full results can be view here

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.

Dear Parents/Pupil,

I hope you have all found time to enjoy the summer break and recharge your batteries ready for the new school year and the rowing season!

Our first social event is fast approaching in the form of the Boathouse BBQ. This year the BBQ will be held on Sunday 23rd September at 12:30 in the boathouse garden.  As well as our existing rowers we hope that those families new to the sport this year will come and join us and find out more about the BMS Boat Club.

The BBQ is a relaxed atmosphere where you will have the opportunity to talk to the rowing staff, chat to other parents and the parents support group, compete on a rowing machine, see our future plans for rowing kit and there will also be a boat on display, with the components labelled, so you can improve your rowing vocab ready for discussions across the dinner table!

Please find attached the event poster with details on how to confirm your attendance.

The Rowing Committee would welcome any donations of food for the ‘sides and desserts’ table.  There will be a cash bar for parents, soft drinks are also available.  There will also be some seating available.

I look forward to welcoming many of you to the boathouse for hopefully a sunny afternoon enjoying a sausage bap or burger.

BMSBC Parents Support Group

BMSBC Welcome BBQ – Reply Slip