Lent Newsletter 2019
TRAINING WEEK AND WINTER HEAD-TO-HEAD
The members of PCBC started Lent with a week of pre-term training on the Cam, as has now become customary. This was particularly beneficial to last term’s novices, who have joined the ranks of the senior squad, and were able to train alongside senior rowers for the first time. We would like to thank all the coaches who supported the pre-term training, particularly our alumni.
The first race of the term was the Winter Head-to-Head, into which Pembroke entered 3 crews. M2 started their term strongly to finish third in their division and second among the M2 crews. W1 and W2 both rowed strongly as well, finishing 8th and 3rd in their respective categories. This gave all involved invaluable racing experience: W1 had 4 rowers and a cox who noviced this year, and most of the W2 rowers were also novices this Michaelmas.
NEWNHAM SHORT COURSE
Pembroke entered 5 crews into Newnham Short course, which happened a few weeks into term. M1 placed 3rd in their first race of the term, with M2 continuing their streak of success with a first place finish in the M2 division. M3 placed a strong 6th in the Men’s Lower Boats division.
W1 improved from their performance in Winter Head-to-Head, coming 6th in a strong W1 division. W2 recorded a 9th place finish out of 13 crews in their category.
PEMBROKE REGATTA AND ALUMNI DINNER
We were pleased to have an excellent turnout of competitors at Pembroke Regatta this near, with nearly 1000 rowers taking part. Our congratulations go again to the winners of each division, including our own M2 who won the M2 division.
Equally, we would like to extend our thanks to those alumni who took part in the day, both on the bank and on the water. We had a Pembroke alumni crew in both the men’s and the women’s division, and enjoyed hosting our returning alumni for drinks and dinner that evening. We look forward to running the regatta and alumni dinner for many years to come.
ROBINSON HEAD
Robinson head was the penultimate success for our senior Men, with M1 and M2 placing first and second overall along a very windy course! This success no doubt set them up well for bumps the following week.
LENT BUMPS 2019
In a highly competitive top of the first division, M1 had to be satisfied with 4 row overs. Although this was a disappointing result for the crew, they showed their standard of rowing was on par with the fastest crews in Cambridge. They are looking forward to making technical gains alongside our returning triallists in Mays.
Given a slightly nervous start to the term, W1 progressed amazingly with great coaching and a lot of hard effort. They made light work of many more experienced crews to progress 3 places up the bumps chart, only being denied blades by a technical row-over on day 3, where they had gained on all 3 of the boats ahead of them. They are looking forward to a strong May term with many returning triallists, building on the success of last year’s crew.
M2 have shown throughout the term that there is real depth to the Men’s squad – winning Pembroke Regatta, Newnham Short Course and Robinson Head in their respective divisions. Moving up 3 places during their bumps campaign is a testament to how good they are as a crew and it is encouraging to know that near all the crew will be continuing to row with PCBC in Mays and in the next academic year.
W2 was almost exclusively formed out of rowers who noviced in Michaelmas, and they made amazing progress over the course of the term. It was a cruel introduction to bumps for them, coming across some strong crews and some even stronger winds, leading to a double overbump on day 3. However, they were not to be defeated, and their bump on the final day is a testament to their determination. We look forward to seeing their continued improvement next term.
Similar to W2, the majority of our M3 was formed from novices taking the step up to racing in bumps. The crew were superb in qualifying to 7th in the M4 division, and so a row over on the third day means (despite being bumped 3 times) the crew has gone up 1 position since the end of last year’s bumps.
Although they could not race in bumps, our novices this term have formed strong W3 and M4 boats which will look to be very competitive next term. Furthermore, with a large number of returners to our women’s side we are expecting to be fielding 4 of each men’s and women’s boats in May bumps.
M1 =
W1 +3
M2 +3
W2 -7
M3 -3 (+1 from last year’s final position)
PEMBROKE TRIALLISTS IN THE UNIVERSITY SQUAD
Pembroke has been strongly represented in the University Squads this year, with 8 athletes trialling for places in Boat Race crews. Jack Mason (2016) and Jonathan Vibhishanan (2016) coxed and rowed respectively for the lightweight men’s boat, which participated in the historic first lightweight boat race on the Tideway on 23rd March. Laura Stewart (2018) has been selected for the lightweight women’s crew who will race at Henley on 30th March. Lily Lindsay (2018) and Emma Andrews (2016) have been selected for the women’s Blue Boat and reserve crew respectively, and will race on the Tideway on 7th April. Jonty Page (2016) and Rob Harris (2017) are both hoping to row in the Men’s reserve crew, racing on the same date. We wish all of our triallists the best of luck in the upcoming races.
DEVELOPING THE CLUB
Halfway through this term saw the settling in of Seb Matthews as Coordinator of College Rowing. Seb joins us from Leander Club where he was training for the GB lightweight quad which raced in the U23 World Championships, and is being brought in coach all crews, raise the standard of training and help the boat club committee in allowing as many college members as possible to participate in the sport.
We are excited to have the scaffolding in place for the renovation of the front of the boat house. This, along with the installation of new bike parking and boat racks, forms part of our ongoing effort to keep the facilities at the club in top shape for all of our athletes.
Thanks again to King and Spalding, our sponsors, for their continued support. They have allowed us to continue investing in high quality coaching and equipment, as well as injury prevention and recovery for all of our athletes.
THE YEAR AHEAD
We are gearing up for May Bumps 2019 which will be taking place from the 12th-15th June. If you are planning on attending as a supporter, please get in contact at:
sponsorshipalumni@pembrokecollegeboatclub.com
We are planning, as in previous years, to provide refreshments at the Pembroke Marquee (location tbc in the next newsletter) on the Saturday of the Bumps, and would like to extend an invitation to all alumni who are attending. Additionally, if you are interested in booking a ticket for the May Bumps Dinner on the Saturday night, please again get in contact at the above email address.
If you would like to be involved in the ongoing success of PCBC through coaching, please get in touch with any of our captains, it would be fantastic to see our current crews inspired by our previous successes.
captain@pembrokecollegeboatclub.com
menscaptain@pembrokecollegeboatclub.com
womenscaptain@pembrokecollegeboatclub.com
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www.pembrokecollegeboatclub.com
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