BUCS Regatta May 11th, 2009
Bank holiday weekend saw a sea of purple invading Nottingham’s National water sports centre to compete at this year’s BUCS regatta. A beautiful day on the Saturday brought about some brilliant results for the club; both the novice men’s 4’s and novice women’s 8 reached the final of their beginner event with the men gaining a very respectable 3rd and 4th place whilst the women’s VIII finished 5th. The senior men’s squad pulled in the first points of the weekend finishing 5th in the championship 8’s final, gaining 5 points. An achievement made all the more impressive after having a tough route to the final knocking out UWE, and Newcastle among others and being unlucky in drawing Cambridge in both the heat and the semi. The Cambridge boat containing half of the crew that rowed in the boat race went on to win the final, beating Oxford Brookes.
Monday’s racing however was over shadowed with extremely difficult weather conditions bringing about a break in racing and leading to many straight finals from heats. The Manchester 4’s did well enough in their heats to secure a place in the final though. The Men’s 4 finished 6th struggling in the weather conditions out in lane 2; despite this they got 3 points for their efforts. The women’s 4 battled through their heat while other boats took on water and got through to the final to finish 3rd, receiving a bronze championship medal and 10 points. The total 18points we earned from the weekend is yet another improvement on last year’s performances and a sure sign that club can only go forward. An endorsement from event commentators on our striking purple kit can only help!!!
