Boat Club Bulletin July 2017

Summer 2017

Boat Club Bulletin

PUTNEY ROWING SUPPORTERS’ NEWSLETTER

SUMMER OF SUCCESS The summer term has rounded off an exceptional year for rowing at Putney. The success of our crews on and off the water is a testament to the strength of the squads at every level. Those that have not won silverware this year have trained hard and had their own personal victories.

YEAR 7 Limited to indoor rowing and ‘learn to row’ courses, the potential in the year group has been apparent with students being selected to represent Wandsworth and Richmond boroughs in the London Youth Games.

YEAR 8 The summer term finally saw the girls take to the water. The year group has demonstrated good team work, technique and potential across many events with over 30 girls representing the school. Congratulations to Bella Conroy, Lily Cochran, Eloise Scambler and Saskia Maini who won silverware at the Ball Cup, Weybridge Ladies Regatta and Blenheim Regatta.

NEW BOAT HEAVEN This year the Club invested in a fleet of nine new Kanghua boats, thanks to the exceptional generosity of FOPHS, the ongoing support of the PHSRSA, and our three-year sponsor, Accenture.

FOPHS said, “We were thrilled to fund a fleet of three boats to expand curriculum rowing at Putney. Now the school has its own boathouse, rowing is becoming increasingly popular among the pupils and this £19,500 investment will allow even more girls the opportunity to get out on the water and to compete.”

Regatta where the Year 9 quads won gold and bronze. The students finished the season with a win at Barnes and Mortlake Regatta after an exciting dead heat in the final.

YEAR 9 The arrival of the new boats has allowed the Year 9s to flourish. Three of the four crews entered into Thames Ditton Regatta made finals. At National Schools’, the A boat finished fourth in the country. The other four crews did well in the B event with two boats in the B final and the C boat winning the C final. Wandsworth and Hammersmith boroughs selected all Putney crews for the London Youth Games

YEAR 10 The Year 10s have shown great ability in both rowing and sculling. The novice double of Amy Small and Lucia Wickham kicked off the season with a win at Hammersmith Regatta. Good performances at Thames Ditton meant the girls went into National Schools’ with momentum.

The girls raced well making the A/B semi-finals in both the quad and the four.

Two weeks later seven girls won pots at Barnes and Mortlake Regatta in the double and novice coxed quad. A special mention goes to Alice Bridges who won silver while representing London in the single at the Junior Interregional Regatta and another silver in a single at the Junior Sculling Regatta.

HENLEY WIN FOR J16S Henley Women’s Regatta is one of the most prestigious allfemale events still running in the UK. This year, a J16 four (Anna Brehony, Imogen Bantick, Annabel Zedda James, Jasmine Moore and Lucy Miles) made Putney High School rowing history by being the first crew to reach the final and, furthermore, to win and break the course record.

It was a truly phenomenal result. The same crew has been selected to represent GB in the Great Britain v France match, a series of regattas for J16 rowers.

Putney High School 35 Putney Hill Putney SW15 6BH ● phone: 020 8788 4886 ● email: putneyhigh@put.gdst.net ● www.putneyhigh.gdst.net

SHORT AND LOUD BY SUZIE LONGSTAFF My 10-year rowing career has left a lifelong impression. I have coxed crews at university, World Championship and Olympic level, and I have been very fortunate to have some amazing coaches and teammates.

I consciously collected every piece of knowledge and advice that was offered to me during training. One bit of advice that has stuck with me is to ‘control the controllables and don’t worry about the uncontrollables’. Although strikingly simple, it has changed how I approach everything and that is to focus on what I can control.

I started by controlling my behaviour: I learned that if I appeared calm and focused my crew would perform better on the water. Next I focused on learning about my crewmates. I came to learn who struggled at what points on the course or with which technical parts of the stroke. I could make the right calls to the right people at just the right time because I knew what made them tick.

I also started to consider every scenario: what if we have a bad start? What if one of my crew catches a crab? What if our pushes aren’t hard enough or our rate isn’t fast enough? Preparation is key to winning and I even taped my race plan to my leg!

One year at Women’s Henley, we sat on the start line next to Washington University. As the start signal went off, I knew we had got off to an unusually slow start and I realised with dread that Washington had benefited from a fantastic first few strokes. I knew the crew relied on my knowledge and energy to get them through to the finish line.

As I saw Washington pull ahead, I knew we had what it took to win. I had studied the course intricately and this had been one of my ‘what if’ scenarios. I called a big push, we took the lead and a few hundred metres later we crossed the finish line first – we had won!

Twenty years on, my responsibilities are still the same. I am still steering a crew, albeit a larger one on dry land.

My formula for success is still the same today. I strive to always be prepared.

I constantly consider the ‘what ifs’ and do my best to control the controllables although I no longer tape my notes to my leg!

SQUIR-ROWING What’s it like to be a Putney ‘Squirrel’? Megan

Champney Steele and Ellen Hodges explain

“I love being a squirrel as I am able to row for pleasure, rather than competitively. I am able to train amongst the top rowers, getting the same levels of support and coaching, without the pressure that comes with many competitive sports. My friends row with me, and the boat club cultivates a warm and friendly environment that encourages us to succeed while still involving the social and fun aspects of sport. We are given all the same opportunities to enter races and compete, which drives us to always push ourselves physically. To me, being a squirrel means having fun with your friends while taking part in an active sport.”

“Being a squirrel is great! We have the opportunity to take part in regattas and competitions that we choose without the pressure of doing solely competitive rowing. It’s a good social sport because we are able to have so much fun whilst getting a decent amount of exercise. We have our own training session on a Sunday morning as well as both PE lessons giving us a substantial amount of time to train together. It’s also great to be part of such a close team all working at the same standard and feeling so involved with a sport.”

SENIORS: THE ROAD TO HENLEY Wallingford Regatta was a real test. The day was windy and not ideal for racing but the girls came out in force with the J16 4+ racing in the semi finals placing a strong second.

The afternoon’s finals were cancelled so results were based on the times from the semifinals times, and both the J16 4+ and the J18 4+ crews finished second giving them confidence moving forwards.

Bedford Regatta saw three crews racing (J16 4+, J18 4+ and J16 4x). The J16 4x had a phenomenal start but the tricky wide bend on the Bedford stretch caught the girls out. After an unfortunate clash they were unlucky to finish one length behind their opposition. Some tough races ensued for the other coxed fours, but both crews showed their class, and went on to win their categories in style and receive shiny tankards. We then sent a J16 4x to the National Sculling Regatta where the girls sculled beautifully and went on to win and set a new course record.

At the National Schools’ Regatta on 26, 27 and 28 May, we had crews in different combinations racing over the weekend to increase our chances of medal success. Nipped to the line by 0.2 seconds the J16 8+ were very unlucky not to progress to the final. The J18 4+ finished a strong 5th place in the final. The Sunday saw our small boat skills with a J16 pair, J18 pair, J16 quad and J16 4+ all racing. The standout performance was the J16 coxed four who, in a very tight field, came home with a silver medal behind Emiskillen Boat Club and ahead of Headington School; Putney’s first National Schools’ crew medal!

Ball Cup Year 8 and Junior Sculling Regatta, Years 9, 10 and 11

Coaches in conference

Winners of National Sculling Regatta Hanging out and racing at National Schools

Boat Club Annual Dinner

Bedford, Seniors

Hammersmith, Year 10 Barnes & Mortlake, Years 9 & 10

Sports Awards Dinner

Thames Ditton, Year 9

ROWING ASSOCIATION UPDATE CAPTAIN’S COLUMN This club has been my home for seven years and I feel so privileged to have been part of it. I may be leaving but you’ll never be rid of me: once a Putney rower, always a Putney rower.

I’d like to thank the school for their incredible support. When I was in Year 7, rowing was seen as a minor sport and rarely mentioned in the same light as other sports. Seven years on we are a most successful sport, with amazing support from Mrs Longstaff and the school who have helped us achieve success.

I’d like to thank those people who turn up in droves come rain or shine to watch us row and who are always proud of us whether we win or lose. This club has been built in large part by the relentless effort from our parents. I hope we never forget the immense contribution that our parents have made to the success of the club.

I’d like to thank the coaches. It is very rare to have a team of coaches with such diverse experience and talent. Pete, Ashley, Rachel, Ollie, Jess and Donald, all of us are truly thankful for everything you do for us on and off the water.

My last thank you is to the girls. Thank you to all those who have rowed with me, who’ve carried me across the line, pushing me to be the best I can be. I cannot think of a more entertaining, determined and hard-working group of girls.

So I’ll leave you with this quote from Ratty in The Wind in the Willows: “There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing, as simply messing about in boats.”

Pippa Savage, Year 13

What a wonderful way to conclude a brilliant year of rowing, with the PHS Boat Club Dinner on 24 June. It was a pleasure to see so many new faces and old friends.

The theme for this year’s event was “Celebrating the Past, Present and Future’. We celebrated alongside our senior rowers and newest supporters. We reflected on the 30-year history of Putney Rowing and how it has shaped our passion to succeed today. We look forward to the club’s future and to continuing to make history.

Thanks to the generosity of all those present, and those who couldn’t attend but still donated or bought raffle tickets, we estimate that the dinner has raised more than £5,000 – target achieved! We will use these funds for the last instalment of the Kanghua fleet of nine new boats this year, co-funded by FOPHS and Accenture.

We thank over 100 businesses and supporters who donated and worked tirelessly to collect prizes, produced the beautiful brochures, decorated the Performing Arts Centre and organised the food and drink.

Thanks to the growing generosity of Douglas & Gordon, we were able to delight all with a champagne reception and a stunningly decorated Performing Arts Centre. The Balance Me goody bag was such a treat!

Thank you to Accenture for their three-year sponsorship which has been crucial to the success of building the core fleet. We are looking for a new sponsor to help us over the next three years, so get in touch if you know of any interested companies.

As we look forward to 2017/2018 and beyond, let’s remember the theme of ‘Working as One’.

We heard in Jess’ speech how much more was achieved when the crew members of the Womens’ Eight started to consider themselves as a team rather than nine individuals. We look forward to supporters from across all year groups bringing this shared commitment to support our girls in the future.

We are now looking for a new Chair of the Rowing Supporters’ Association, ideally from current Years 8 to 10. When I started in this role in 2014, there were just 50 rowers sharing facilities in Barn Elms, rowing in 30-year-old boats with Pete as the only full time coach. Now we have more than 100 rowers with an amazing boathouse on the Tideway. Many boats have been added to the fleet including more than a dozen new ones, all supported by a team of full-time coaches.

Putney High School is now one of the top girls’ rowing schools thanks to the efforts of all those involved. To continue on this path to success, let’s continue to pull together.

EASTER CAMP This year’s annual rowing training camp took place in Banyoles, Northern Spain for a week during the Easter Holidays and 16 girls from Years 10 to 13 attended.

The purpose of the camp was to improve crew formations and develop more boat speed as we approach the summer racing season. The lake in Banyoles offers a perfect retreat away from what can be a choppy, fast moving stream on the Tideway. It provided opportunities for the coaches to work closely with the athletes on technical aspects in smaller boats.

We wish Pete all the very best with his new family. Thank you Pete for bringing together the Putney Rowing family, for dreaming and for giving our girls their love of rowing.

Irene Ho-Moore Chair, PHSRSA

FUN AT HENLEY ROYAL REGATTA

Current rowers celebrating the naming of the new fleet of boats at Henley Royal Regatta. The new fleet consists of nine boats which will boost curriculum rowing sessions.

Alumnae join current rowers, parents and staff in the Cricket Pitch at Henley Royal Regatta for the new fleet boat naming.

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