SJCBC Society Newsletter Edition 5, Trinity 2010 Edited by Ben Pilgrim and Sophie Carp We are proud to report on a successful term for SJCBC this Trinity. We were able to enter nine crews into Summer Eights this year, meaning that around 80 people in College got to be part of SJCBC. A very enjoyable term was had by all and overall St John s finished 5th in the bumps ranking (in terms of net change in position of our boats). It was our top boats that particularly stood out however. The Men s 1st VIII won blades for the first time in six years and for the first time at such a high starting position since 1989, moving them up to sandwich boat for Division 1. The Women s 1st VIII ended the week an impressive three places higher than they began, finishing 8th in Division 1, the highest ever position for our W1. The Women s 2nd VIII won blades in the Division 4, where they proved themselves to be a great deal faster than all other boats around them, obtaining all of their bumps very early on the course. On the whole it has been a very good term and we look forward to trying to improve again on these positions next year. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the Society members who came to our event on Saturday of Eights and then later made their way to the river. It was great to have so many people around to help celebrate our successes. Eights 2010 At a Glance M1 M2 M3 M4 +4 2 +2 4 W1 W2 +3 +5 The Men s 1 st VIII close in on Wadham below the Gut on Thursday of Eights Reproduced with kind permission from www.jetphotographic.com
News Boat Club Society Dinner Date for your Diary The second triennial SJCBC Society Dinner is to be held on Saturday 16 th April 2011. Attendance at the dinner is going to be limited to SJCBC Society members, so if you know anybody who would like to attend but is not currently a member please do encourage them to join. We hope to send out more details of this event in the near future. Alex Winchester Rows for Charity SJCBC Committee 2010-2011 The new SJCBC committee for the coming year is as follows: Men's Captain and Captain of Boats Alexander Dungate Women's Co-Captains Jessica Cummings and Rebecca Hewstone Men's Vice Captain Matthew Thain Captain of Coxes Caroline Pendleton Secretary Alexander Winchester Treasurer Benjamin Oestringer Water Safety Officer Jennifer Lowe Social Secretary Ruth Hobbs Welfare Officer Kei Hamada Alumni Officer Ben Pilgrim This summer Alex Winchester decided to do more than just try and maintain his fitness over the long vac. He rowed the marathon distance (26 miles and 385 yards or 42,195 metres) on an erg machine every day for 26 days during August. He was raising money for the charity Help for Heroes, which supports the wounded of Britain s armed forces. So far he has raised over 11,000 and there is still time to donate at http://www.bmycharity.com/v2/26by26 Alex had this to say: Although I was sorely tempted to cheat at times I knew that even if nobody else found out I'd know and feel bad about it whenever I remembered the challenge so I wouldn't let myself cheat, no. Finishing was amazing - I felt the adrenaline building as I got closer and closer to the end so I went for a mad sprint finish and it just felt brilliant - a big sense of achievement, but also relief that I managed to complete it according to plan, and smashed the original fundraising target to bits. There were definitely moments where I felt like stopping and not starting again, and mornings where I just wanted to stay in bed rather than get up and go row another marathon. At those moments I just thought back about why I was doing the whole challenge, the people I'm helping, and basically remembered that no matter how tough it is, it doesn't compare to the difficulties faced by British soldiers in Afghanistan. I was surprised at how little I deteriorated physically - my slowest marathon was still only 3 and a half hours, but I think my body just acclimatized to the pain and the effort and got on with it!
Crew Reports Men s 1 st VIII them along the Green Bank. On Thursday, after an amazing start, they bumped Wadham by the gut, (a crew who were very highly rated going into Eights week). The success continued on Friday with a bump on Keble college midway along the Green Bank. On Saturday they bumped Exeter for blades in a similar place. A video of this bump can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsldhp5s084&feature =related Following on from a good 1 st Torpid, the strength of our men s squad was bolstered by the return of four people from university squads and other commitments. Competition for a seat in the 1 st VIII was fierce and there were some impressive erg scores during trials at the beginning of term. Training at both Radley and on the Isis, under the watchful eye of Barrie Mulder, the 1 st VIII quickly gelled together as a crew. Seeking some external racing experience, they entered the College Eights category in Bedford Regatta. A slightly poor race in the first round against University College 1 st VIII (6 th in Division 1 in Eights) saw them knocked out of the main draw and into the Plate competition. There the first race was against Merton College 1 st VIII, whom after a much better start than in our previous race, were beaten easily by four lengths. The semi-final of the Plate was against Wadham College 2 nd VIII, who performed well for a second boat, but again were no match for them. The final was against Wadham 1 st VIII. As they were positioned two places above St John s in Summer Eights, both crews took this as a chance to lay down a strong marker for later in the term. Come the race, it was St John s who made the better start, and although Wadham made a push towards the end, we won by ¾ of a length. This meant that the 1 st VIII won the College Eights Plate competition. This bump moved them up to the top of Division 2, the highest we have been since 1997. This gave our 1 st VIII the opportunity to race again in Division 1. Unfortunately, the boat had suffered some damage during the bump on Exeter in Division 2 and frantic repairs were necessary in the hour between the races. Despite this unsettling situation, the 1 st VIII raced very well in Division 1, but were denied the bonus bump into Division 1 by Worcester bumping out very quickly on New College in front. Nevertheless, they managed to gain huge ground on St Edmund Hall (three places in front), but unluckily did not have enough for the overbump. Men s 2 nd VIII Anticipation was high going into Eights week. On Wednesday the 1 st VIII were being chased by Queen s College and chasing Trinity, one of our long-term rivals and a crew who had eluded St John s for several years. Queen s were never a threat and fell away quickly off the start. The 1st VIII gained steadily on Trinity and bumped
Our Men s 2 nd VIII this term contained a real mixture of people, comprising some oarsmen from the 1 st Torpid but also some with only one term of previous rowing experience. This illustrated a problem that had been plaguing SJCBC all year of a lack of depth and experience in the men s boat club. Nevertheless, the crew banded together well and trained hard. The 2 nd VIII had a week of hard racing in Eights. On Wednesday they were chasing Hertford II and made a decent push on them off of the start. The pair of crews behind the 2 nd VIII bumped out, leaving them free from the threat of being bumped; but they were unable to press home any advantage on Hertford II, who pulled away again as the race went on. On Thursday they eventually fell victim to a blade-winning Balliol II despite offering decent resistance during the early part of the course. Again on Friday, another fast crew were behind them, and our 2 nd VIII were caught by the blade-winning Lincoln II. Saturday saw the 2 nd VIII desperate for a row over to maintain their place in Division 4 and avoid falling to the Division 5 sandwich boat. This they managed after a gutsy performance, holding off the rising Merton II in a tense race. This means that overall they finished 12 th in Division 4 (down two places). Men s 3 rd VIII The Men s 3 rd VIII this term were a graduate boat consisting largely of novice oarsmen. With most graduates still in Oxford throughout the Easter vacation, they capitalized on a couple of months of empty river to learn the basics so that they could hit the ground running at the start of Trinity term. They trained hard in the weeks preceding Summer Eights and were justly rewarded with the 4 th fastest time during qualification. Unfortunately a quick claxon in Division 6 on Wednesday of Eights prevented them from making any progress that day. They also rowed over on Thursday after St Hilda s 1 st VIII (yes a 1 st VIII!) bumped out in front of them. Friday saw the grad boat finally get a bump upon Worcester III. They also rowed well on Saturday and caught Mansfield II under Donnington Bridge. This meant that they finished 6 th in Division 6. Men s 4 rd VIII Again this summer we were fortunate to be able to field a beer boat to entertain the Eights crowds. This year the costume choice was morph suits and the crew certainly knew how to pose for a photo. Like the 3 rd VIII they were also rowing in Division 6, and so they too had their race claxonned on Wednesday, preventing any progress. Things took a turn for the worse on Thursday. Although they made a good start, a bad crab upon exiting the Gut caused them to fall victim to an overbump by Wadham IV which dropped them down to the Division 7 sandwich boat. On Friday they succumbed to St Hilda s II, but they did manage to row over on Saturday ahead of St Antony s II. This meant they finished 2 nd in Division 7 (down four places).
Women s 1 st VIII Women s 1 st VIII for example, is now almost an entire division higher than when she started. We wish Freyja all the best for the future. Women s 2 nd VIII The Women s 2 nd VIII this year proved themselves a force to be reckoned with in Division 4. On Wednesday they bumped St Edmund Hall II within about 30 stokes, easily before Donnigton Bridge, which was an impressive feat starting from bungline 5. The story throughout the week proved remarkably similar with none of Pembroke II, Hertford II or Linacre II being able to offer significant resistance. With a lot of people wanting to row in Trinity and the return of a couple of people from varsity crews, there was good competition for places in the Women s 1 st VIII. Like the men, the women also sought some external race experience and so entered Bedford Regatta a couple of weeks into term. However, they had to have some substitutes on the day due to certain crew members having other commitments, meaning they were slightly below full strength. Their first race in the College Eights category was against St Peter s, where after a fairly close race, they lost by one length. This moved them into the College Eights Plate competition where unluckily they were drawn against the very strong Magdalen 1 st VIII. Magdalen went on to win the race by three lengths, knocking St John s out of the competition. However, the race experience gained by the crew would prove beneficial later in the term. On Wednesday of Summer Eights the 1 st VIII were starting ahead of Somerville and chasing New College. The girls pulled quickly away from Somerville and started to gain on New. They were a quarter of a length away shortly after Donnigton Bridge and bumped in the Gut. They put in a similarly impressive performance on Thursday, bumping Oriel with ease. Unfortunately on Friday, although they gained on Magdalen, Magdalen theselves managed to bump out on a slower Hertford crew, leaving our girls with no one to chase. On Saturday therefore, they had the opportunity to chase Hertford, who our girls bumped quickly to finish off an excellent week. This means that they finished 8 th in Division 1, up three places, and our highest ever finishing position. We also this summer say goodbye to Freyja Cox Jensen who leaves as Women s Head Coach after four years. She has put huge effort into SJCBC during her time and has one of the most successful coaching records at the club. The The bumps were never in doubt, the only uncertainty was whether the best place to watch for one was from Donnigton Bridge or by the Gut. The bump on Linacre II on Saturday placed them at the top of Division 4, gaining them an extra race as sandwich boat for Division 3. They were chasing Wadham II to secure a place in Division 3. Although Wadham II managed to put up significantly more resistance than their Division 4 counterparts, they were still no match for St John s and they were bumped by our 2 nd VIII along the Green Bank. This placed our girls 12th in Division 3, the third highest second boat on the
river and the highest ever finishing position for St John s W2. Women s 3 rd VIII The Women s 3 rd VIII were unlucky to just miss out on qualification for Summer Eights. However, as many of them were novices and only in their first year, the term provided a lot of valuable experience which will hopefully be very useful to the boat club in the coming years. Women s 4 th VIII The Women s 4 th VIII or Lambrini VIII again were unfortunate to miss out on qualification for Summer Eights. However, they had a very enjoyable and lighthearted term. Bumps at the Other Place Ben Pilgrim reports on a day out at the May Bumps in Cambridge. Although bumps racing is rather rare in rowing, it dominates the sport in both Oxford and Cambridge due to the narrowness of the rivers, which makes side by side racing very difficult. The May Bumps in Cambridge are run in a very similar way to Summer Eights, with essentially the same rules, however the differences between the Cam and the Isis have shaped how the competitions differ. Whereas in Oxford the course is limited by the placement of locks, Cambridge have a longer rowable stretch, meaning that both the course itself is longer and 18 boats can row in a division. (An upshot of which means there is also a staggered finish in Cambridge depending on where in the division that you start.) However, this longer stretch of river in Cambridge is quite far out of town. The college boathouses do not line the course either; but with plenty of grassy banks and a well-placed pub, there are certainly good places to watch from. The grassy banks also mean that you can get very close to the races, making being a spectator all the more fun. Women s 5 th VIII The Women s 5 th VIII were a graduate boat, largely full of novices. Although they had fun in a few outings during Trinity term, they did not qualify for Summer Eights. The Cam is a significantly smaller river than the Isis. It is also significantly bendier. Just as many Oxford coxes get nervous about the Gut, Cambridge coxes fear Grassy corner. At Grassy Corner the river bends sharply by almost 90 degrees. It requires full rudder and some well-timed pressure calls on one side of the boat to get round. However, the weak stream in the Cam gives the Cambridge coxes much more freedom with their lines. Whereas in Oxford, the best coxes will steer so that there is only a foot or so between the blades and the bank, in Cambridge coxes can stay nearer the middle for long periods, with their sole
concern being getting a good line for the corners. The narrowness of the river also has implications for crews that have bumped out, with spectators often having to help pull them in to the side so others can pass. There is the tradition for crews that bump to decorate themselves with foliage gathered from the bank, so that when they row back to the boathouses after the race the spectators will know how they have done. Also crews that have won blades on the Saturday are given the college flag for the cox to carry. There are plenty of good places to watch from in Cambridge. Grassy Corner itself is among one of the best places to watch. It is situated far enough from the start to be in with a good chance of observing some bumps and the bend proves a test for even the best of crews. Slightly earlier on the course, 1 st Post Corner is a good place to view the earlier divisions and the carnage that often ensues on a crowded river. I also had the pleasure of attending the Bumps Dinner at St Catherine s after the racing on Saturday. There was the usual amount of revelry, along with the delights of everyone doing cutlery free dessert. I was also fined (repeatedly) for being from Oxford, but I think that was to be expected! Like Oxford, Cambridge has certain colleges that are the rowing powerhouses. 1 st and 3 rd Trinity and Caius have dominated the Men s side in recent years, whereas Pembroke and Jesus lead on the Women s side. The photo below shows Caius coming round Grassy Corner on Saturday, chasing down 1 st and 3 rd Trinity for the headship on Saturday.