RCBC News Lent Term 2020

RCBC

L ent

TERM

NEWS 2020

WALLINGFORD WALLINGFORD SMALL BOATS HEAD Most of the senior squad, and four of the J16 squad travelled to Wallingford for the first race of the season on the bendy 4.25km course. The boys were met with challenging conditions in the first division were the J18 4x finished in second position after a solid row. All other athletes were in singles for this division, with Richard Loch taking the honours as the fastest Radley sculler in the J18 category, and March Turnbull the fastest Radley J16.

In the second division two quads raced, a J18 and J16, and the J16 quad took the bragging rights on this occasion by posting a slightly faster time than their older teammates, which was also good enough to place them 3rd in their category. With all other athletes again competing in singles again, it was Peter Denton who posted the fastest Radley time, placing him 6th overall. A very encouraging result, and should give Peter confidence in his preparations for the first GB trial in the single in November.

Overall, some extremely valuable lessons learnt from the young squad over the day as they look to build there fitness and small boat skills in the early part of the season.

2

3

WOODGATE WALLINGFORD SMALL BOATS HEAD

WOODGATE SCULLS On a very damp day, it was great to have a good number of Radley boys out in singles committing to the Woodgate Sculls event. The younger J14 rowers competed over the short distance course, with Somers Elworthy picking up the win and Freddie Thorneycroft in hot pursuit in second. The J16 - J18 boys competed over the full Sandford to Radley course, and a storming performance from Peter Denton saw him take home the coveted Woodgate Sculling trophy to G Social for the first time. Greg Hamlet achieved a strong second showing his constant improvements over the term, and RCBC Captain Freddie Nielsen finished in third.

There were some other notable performances from Guy Jardine and Henry Jones, who were the fastest J16 and J15 rowers of the day respectively.

Thanks, as always, to John Pritchard for the generous donation of the trophy and to all the parents who supported the event. Fingers crossed for slightly sunnier weather next year!

4

HEAD OF THE CHARLES

HEAD OF THE CHARLES We took an eight and two coxed fours to this year's event, partly because it is such a popular event with the boys, but mainly because we have a relatively inexperienced squad for this season so wanted to develop the boys as much as possible in the Michaelmas term. This is the biggest twoday rowing event in the world with over 11 000 competitors and crowds of thousands line the banks of the course to watch this spectacle of rowing. It is a very slick and well-run event and one that most rowers strive to compete in.

Despite only forming the crews a couple of weeks before the event and with a relatively inexperienced group, we achieved some very promising results. Last year we had the benefit of a four day training camp at Dartmouth College, but this year (due to half-term being a week later) we had to fly out on Thursday and race on Sunday with only two sessions in the boat. The boat was also a shape we had not rowed in before, so the crew had to adapt very quickly. There were 86 crews in the Youth Eights event and the Radley crew finished a very respectable 14th place overall and only 11 seconds off the medal positions. This was a very promising result for the crew and is promising for the season ahead as they have many areas in which they can improve. It was clear that everyone in the crew had given a huge effort during the race to achieve the result and congratulations to them on their impressive commitment.

The two fours also achieved respectable results, especially considering that they had many crews around them so had to contend with clashes and additional steering challenges as they progressed down the course. The first of the Radley fours achieved 42nd place overall out of 85 crews (some of whom are the top crews in their respective clubs) and the second Radley crew finished in 60th place overall.

Particular mention needs to made of the three coxes: Johnny Elliott, Harrison Kane and Lachlann Gordon, they all steered very well in what is one of the most challenging races for coxes with four narrow bridges to navigate as well as some very tight bends.

We would also like to thank the Mariners for their support and the parents for their excellent support both at the regatta itself and back home in the UK.

5

6

7

FOURS HEAD

TRAINING CAMP READING TRAINING CAMP

FOURS’ HEAD With a large number of the rowers either ill or injured, we were forced to scratch our top coxed four and our J16 quad from this event which meant that we only entered a "B" coxed four and a senior quad. It was touch and go whether or not the event would take place due to the heavy rain and flooding, so it was good to see fairly good rowing conditions when the crews arrived on the day.

Despite not having any time on the water together in the weeks preceding the race due to the flooded Radley reach, the crews both acquitted themselves well. The senior coxed four finished a creditable 2nd in the Junior B2 division and the quad finished 8th in the Junior B2 division for their event.

The senior squad had a very beneficial training camp before the start of the Lent Term. The camp was attended by 15 boys and we were kindly hosted by Reading University Boat Club who allowed us to use their great facilities during the course of the camp. The boys managed to fit in eight training sessions during the camp made up of water sessions, ergos and runs.

READING

8

9

RCBC Regattas/Tours/Camps 2020 Lent Term 2020 Saturday 18th January:

BASHER Head

Saturday 25th January:

Quintin Head

Saturday 1st February:

Wycliffe Big Head

Saturday 1st February:

Hampton Head

Sunday 9th February: Sunday 9th February:

Saturday 15th February:

South of England Indoor Rowing Champs GB Training – Caversham (selected rowers) Henley 4s/8s Head

Sunday 16th February:

Hammersmith Head

Wednesday 19th February:

Senior Squad Training Camp until Friday 21st (Dorney Lake)

Saturday 22nd February: GB LD Trials (Boston, UK) selected rowers Sunday 23rd February: GB LD Trials (Boston, UK) selected rowers Saturday 29th February: Saturday 29th February:

Reading University Head Bedford Octo Match

Saturday 14th March:

Kingston Head

Wednesday 18th March:

Schools’ Head of the River (Tideway)

Friday 20th March:

J14 Junior Scullery

Saturday 21st March (to Tue 24th March):

GB Spring Assessments - Nottingham (selected rowers)

10

GB TRIALS

GB TRIALS Five Radley boys competed in the GB Long Distance Trials in Boston, Lincolnshire. Unfortunately due to the flooded river conditions the boys were unable to do any training in their small boats so the preparation for this event was restricted to ergometer training on land. We did manage to get in one short session at Dorney Lake two days before the event, but this was to be the only time the boys had rowed in their small boats and combinations prior to the event. Peter Denton finished 79th out of 128 scullers in a race where there were very tight margins (10 seconds covered 30 places in some instances). I have no doubt that Peter would have been much further up the order with some more time in his single. Alex Senior and Pip Chetwode came 4th out of 8 pairs and Richard Loch and Bert Dreyer finished 7th in the same event. Despite their lack of preparedness, I’m sure the experience of racing on the course would have stood the boys in good stead for future trials at this venue.

11