Results

1st March 2008
Birmingham a shining light of Women's Rowing
Women's Eights Head of the River (WeHORR) on Sunday provided the best result in the history of University of Birmingham Boat Club, winning not only one but two pennants - Durham were the only other university to achieve this feat. WeHORR is held annually on the River Thames and attracts around 250 crews of women (with the occasional male coxswain) - one of the largest events of its kind in Europe. The course is similar to that of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race but is held in reverse, with the tide going out. The grueling 20minute, 6.8km event attracts rowers from around the world: from novices to current and ex-Olympians. Up early in anticipation of a good day's racing, 24 athletes, three coxswains, three coaches and a large complement of support met long before dawn to travel down to London. The morning was going smoothly until, 40 minutes outside of London, the van towing the boats broke down. The future looked bleak for the rowers and they had all but given up hope of being able to race but, amazingly, a race marshal with a tow bar passed and towed the boats to the river. They finally made it to the event running late and had to row hard to make the start. With seconds to spare the crews made their divisions and were allowed to race. The club had very high hopes for doing well at this event, but were not sure exactly how well they might be able to do. The women train exceptionally hard and have proven their abilities at previous races. They won three silver medals at BUSA Head on the 23rd February and two second place positions at Head of the Trent a week earlier. Setting off first in their division, the Women's Senior 4 crew faced stiff competition from Cambridge and Durham amongst others. They were optimistic after their earlier successes and proceeded to obliterate their opposition with a time of 20:24.8, not only winning their division but beating all 58 crews in the division above and finishing 24th overall at the entire event! The novices had drawn high with a starting position of 40, meaning they were surrounded by people who had been rowing for several years and they could also benefit from a stronger tide. The crew had an astounding row, completing the course in 21:24 and leaving the rest of their division in their wake, including former tormentors De Montford and Cardiff who had just inched them out of the gold position at Trent and BUSA respectively. This finish time allowed them to finish 86th overall and would have seen them finish 5th in the senior division above them. All the more astonishing considering that they have only been rowing since November. The ladies of UBBC have set the bar high for the men's squad, who have high hopes for Eights Head of the River (HoRR) after finishing in the top Ten in both Head of the Trent and BUSA Head, and will be looking to do well in their last time trial event before the summer season. Newly appointed club president Tom Cookman said: 'This race attracts anyone who's anyone in rowing and so the girls were up against the best in the country. For them to win their category is an achievement beyond everyone’s expectations. It is well deserved by the girls after all the training they've put in. These results continue to demonstrate UBBC is definitely a growing force in the world of rowing and hopefully this success will continue into the summer season.' The Summer is the most exciting part of the year: 2km sprints pitting upto six crews against each other in multi-lane racing. UBBC will be holding their annual Varsity against Loughborough and Warwick in May and we wish them every sucess during the event.

24th February 2008
Birmingham medal at BUSA Head, three times!
This weekend was the big one - BUSA Head. University of Birmingham Boat Club placed 3rd in the BUSA League last year and were determined to improve their ranking this year. BUSA Head is held on the River Trent at Nottingham's National Watersports Centre and sees the top University Rowing Clubs pitted against each other in a fight for glory. The day started amazingly with the the Women's Champ VIII bringing home a silver medal. Flying down the 6km course in 19:06, UBBC fought off strong opposition from Southampton and Reading, and destroyed the not-so-mighty Loughborough by a massive 1:16. This is possibly the best result that the club has ever seen at a BUSA event and fortifies UBBC's place as a rowing power. The Men's Champ VIII followed this success, completing the course in a time of 18:02 for a respectable 13th place in an incredibly strong field. This result saw them beat Croatia's Zagreb University by 5 seconds and Exeter University by 12 seconds. The Women's Novice VIII raced next, hoping to build on their second place finish at last weekend's Head of the Trent. Storming down the 3.7km course in 12:39 they did, finishing just 3 seconds short of a gold medal. Their determined row saw them overtake Exeter and once again obliterate arch-rivals Loughborough by 1:04. The Men's Novice 1st VIII followed, determined to prove themselves after their third place finish at Head of the Trent. They stormed out of the blocks, taking an early lead over Manchester to finish in 7th place with a time of 11:47. The Men's Novice 2nd VIII raced in the same division, completing the course in 12:32 to equal the time set by Manchester's Novice 1st VIII. The last race of the day was the Women's Champ Coxed IV who posted the fastest time in their division at last week's Head of the Trent. Tired from their earlier success in the VIII the women rowed through the pain to win a silver medal, finishing the 6km course in a time of 20:25. This time was just 10 seconds behind a gold medal and allowed the four to obliterate Loughborough by 32 seconds. BUSA Head was an excellent day of racing, both in terms of it's gripping nature and the results. Three BUSA Silver Medals are an phenomenal achievement and show that University of Birmingham Boat Club are worthy of their status in the rowing world. -- Adam McCarthy

17th February 2008
Birmingham destroys Loughborough and bring home first senior win.
An icy start greeted the UBBC rowing squad on their way to Head of the Trent. The Men's Senior 3 VIII were out first and stormed down the 6km course in a time of 17:43, overtaking Liverpool Victoria and shattering arch-rivals Loughborough by 27 seconds to finish in 6th in the University 1st VIIIs, the best championship eights result the club has had in recent years. The Women's Senior 2 Coxless IV followed this with a excellent row posting the fastest time of their event with 20:22, beating second place York City by 26 seconds. The Women's Coxed IV raced one minute later to finish in a respectable time of 21:59 for 5th place. By far the best result of a day came from the Men's Senior 4 Coxless Quad, who had already raced in the Senior 3 VIII that morning. A time of 11:12 over 3.7km landed them a gold medal, the first senior win of the season. The boys were in a tough division containing the likes of Bristol Ariel and Derby but a triumphant row lead to a win by 3 seconds. We hope to see a repeat of this performance at BUSA Head next week. In the Novice category, Birmingham's 1st VIII chased down Manchester and overtook them after a minor collision, punching above their weight with a very technical row to gain a 3rd place finish in a time of 11:24. This is a promising result and bodes well for the upcoming regatta season. The 2nd VIII also had an excellent row, finishing as the fastest 2nd VIII on the day. The Novice Women's VIII flew down the course, overtaking Nottingham Trent and Strathclyde to finish second in 11:59 - just 5 seconds off a gold medal. This crew beat the not so mighty Loughborough by a massive 2:09, many of the Novice Men's VIIIs and are a major gold medal hope at BUSA Head. The four remaining rowers from the Senior 3 VIII raced in the Senior 2 Coxless IV category. Tired after the earlier success in the VIII, a determined row saw them down the course in 19:14, beating Derby Rowing Club in the process. The final race of the day saw the Women's Coxless IV and the Women's Coxed IV combine to form the Women's Senior 3 VIII. 20:09 gave Birmingham 4th place in the University 1st VIIIs on the day. Overall a very successful day: one Gold, two Silvers and a Bronze. UBBC will be back in force next weekend at BUSA Head! -- Adam McCarthy

18th November 2007
Silver and a PB for Birmingham Women!
Sunday saw the University of Birmingham Boat Club at the largest indoor sporting event in the country. A grueling 2 km sprint was done by all club members, either the day before to help test the machines or competitively. The men’s squad dominated the lightweight event with 8 in the top 50 and the members in the BUSA Open category battled well against a fierce line up. Three members of the women’s squad made the top 20 in the BUSA lightweight event with Nikki Bartlett coming away with silver despite having been injured recently. The day was topped off with a PB by Rachel Turner thus furthering her success from the coxless four at EUSA. PA

6-9th September 2007
EUSA Silver and Bronze Medalists
The 3rd European Universities Rowing Championships was held in Banyoles, Spain, on the 6-8th of September. It was on the same lake which Spain hosted the Barcelona 1992 Olympics and with a beautiful backdrop of the Pyrenees the lake the setting could not be more idyllic. In the biggest event that has been hosted so far 60 Universities from 13 countries took part, entering a total of 336 athletes in 125 crews the standard of participants was very high, and included several athletes coming direct from the (FISA) World Rowing Championships and also many World U23 & World University Medallists. Our Birmingham university athletes were hand picked to represent GB in these championships because of impressive results at BUSA regatta. The mens lightweight coxless four had won a bronze the previous year, so were looking to consolidate on that success. The crew was the same; Nathan O’reilly, Graham Glen and Charlie Jarvis, with one new crew member Chris ‘sippy’ Mills. As for the ladies crew, made up of Nikki Bartlett, Helen Wood, Kat Perry and Rachel Turner qualifying for this championships was by far the greatest achievement of the university’s womens senior squad in the clubs history. Both crews sacrificed their summer holidays to stay in Birmingham to train, despite the girls crew having to switch from coxed to coxless boat plus Worcester being plagued by flooding; all the athletes committed themselves to hours on ergos, in the weights room, and the gym when they couldn’t get on the water. Despite the grueling training regime, plus work commitments, both teams made to Banyoles fit and healthy and raring to go! A team of supporters; friends, family, girlfriends and boyfriends, flew out to the competition to cheer on the Birmingham crews; this encouragement, combined with dedication to training over the summer and sheer determination of the individual athletes enabled both crews to row to podium glory. The men’s lightweight four replicated the success of the year before gaining a bronze medal and the women’s four took silver ahead of crews containing athletes from the World and the Under 23 Championships. To add to the success of the championship Great Britain were overall championship winners, collecting a total of 16 medals across all of the categories. The BUR team collected four Gold, four Silver and eight Bronze medals to make it the most successful rowing team of the year, beating an international-packed German team to the EUSA Salver by just seven points, a credit to all the athletes, coaches and the management team in retaining the overall trophy for a third year. The mens crew have left us now after successful years in the rowing club and we wish them all the best. Helen wood is underway with training back in reading getting ready for the GB first assessment tests on 20th October. Nikki Bartlett and Rachel Turner may also follow Helens footpath, but have to learn how to scull in just under a month, surely its not possible? We shall see. Good luck to all!! PA & BH

2006-2007 Season
Website Problems!
With the introduction of a new website on a new server there were bound to be problems! Unfortunately the news page was one of the casualties! However it is back and will bring you all the latest from UBBC on the 2007-2008 season, maybe someone will even give you the highlights from 06-07. JW

Sunday 11th June 2006
Loughborough Regatta
As the Sun came up on Sunday morning, the Birmingham rowers geared up for their 3rd regatta in 9 days. Loughborough has traditionally been a successful venue for the club, and also provides an excellent opportunity to go head-to-head against Loughborough Students' Boat Club. The women's squad produced a fine set of results on the day. The 1st and 2nd VIIIs squared up against each other in the senior 3 event. As expected, the 1st VIII came out on top, but the 2nd VIII pushed them hard and finished ahead of 3 other crews, securing a Birmingham 1-2. The 2nd VIII's most important race came in the senior 4 competition, and a strong performance meant that they claimed a further Birmingham victory. In addition to this, 4 of the 8 also raced in the senior 4 IV competition. Their race was the last of the day, and they were able to close the day's racing with an excellent row, claiming yet another victory. The women's double also competed, but were not able to match the victories of the larger boat, despite a strong performance. Due to a shortage of available rowers, the first men's squad crew of the day actually featured a female rower. Hannah O'Sullivan stepped into the stroke seat of the men's novice IV. The reason for this decision was due to Hannah's experience at stroke and also because of her ability to row on stroke side. The boat, christened "Hannah's Thunder", got off to a storming start, but was unable to sustain the pace over the full 1-kilometre course and finished agonisingly outside of the qualifying positions. The next crew boat was a modified "Stallion" IV, dubbed the "Eggplant Wizards". They were coxed by the day's heaviest cox, who weighed in at 87.7kg. A crabbed 3rd stroke by Wizard Antczak meant that the Wizards got off to an awful start, dropping to a length behind almost instantly. They settled into race pace by 250m and started to make ground on the 2 crews ahead. By half-way into the race, they had gained parity with the 2nd place crew, but still had a 1 ½ length deficit on the leaders. By 250m to go, this had dropped to one length, but despite a massive Blitzkrieg finish, they were unable to claw all the way back. In one of the closest finishes of the day, they finished a mere 1/8th of a length from victory, their crab at the start clearly costing them victory. The men's 1st VIII were absent from the event, so the 2nd VIII took over as the figurehead men's crew on the day. However, it was not a good day's racing for the crew. In their first race, the senior 3 category, they finished 3rd behind Loughborough's 1st VIII and a visiting Belfast crew, their equipment costing them a lot of speed. In their second race, they faced Loughborough's 2nd VIII, and whilst they performed far better than in their first race, they didn't perform anywhere near what they were capable of, and finished 2nd. The crew will quickly have to put this weekend behind them. Overall, this was a successful day's racing for half of Birmingham's rowers, but for the others, there was clearly room for improvement, which will no-doubt be seen in the coming weeks. Watch this space.

Saturday 3rd - Sunday 4th June 2006
Met and Peterborough
On the hottest weekend of the year so far, Birmingham's rowers competed at two regattas. In the run-up to Women's Henley and Henley Royal Regatta, Met Regatta provides an excellent sparring ground for the best University and Club crews around. Many of the crews who expect to compete at the Henley regattas come to Met to see how they compare to their potential opposition. The event was staged at Dorney Lake, Eton, which is set to host the 2006 World Championships in August. Birmingham were due to have 4 crews competing in the Senior 3 category. For some, Saturday morning constituted a 3.30am start in order to help transport the boats from Worcester to Dorney Lake. A number of unfortunate events meant that the weekend began in tragedy for the women's B VIII. The delayed arrival of the trailer meant that they were unable to take their place at the start line and thus missed the day's racing. This was compounded by the fact that, on closer inspection, the calibre of opposition suggested that this could have been a successful day of racing for the crew in the run-up to Women's Henley. The men's B VIII were able to compete, but faced an extremely tough heat against some top quality crews, including Liverpool Victoria, who had been coached by 5-time Olympic gold medallist, Sir Steve Redgrave. Despite pulling a personal best for the 2km course, they finished off the pace in the fastest heat of the first round. The Birmingham A boats both had very strong performances, progressing directly to the finals of the Senior 3 events. Both crews found the strength of opposition in the finals just too high on this occasion, and were not helped by deteriorating water conditions. However, valuable experience was gained, which would be taken to Peterborough the next day. The Peterborough course on the Sunday is a 500m short course requiring raw speed rather than endurance. The day began with the novice IVs. The 'Banjo Boys' of the men's novice IV had been unable to train as a crew due to exam and work commitments, but a gutsy effort meant that they were able to claim a place in the repêchage, a race for the fastest non-qualifying teams of the first round. The women's novice IV had a scrappy start to their race, but had easily the fastest boat speed once they had found their race pace and were able to work their way through all of their opposition to claim a spot in the final. The men's B VIII was to compete in two events on the day. They eased through their senior 4 semi-final to claim a place in the final that evening. Their next race was a straight final in the senior 3 competition. However, they were not to be the only Birmingham boat in the final, as the men's A VIII were also set to line up for their only race of the day. The two Birmingham crews were fastest off the start, leaving Star Club in their wake. The A boat got up to speed quickest, moving out to a lead of a length before the B VIII found their rhythm and began to claw back the lead. The A VIII were able to call on their considerable experience and kept their cool to ensure that they stayed ahead, their lead cut to a half-length by the finish. This secured the first of 6 Birmingham wins on the day. As the day progressed into the afternoon, the races started to come thick and fast and, as ever, the Birmingham support was the most vociferous on the bank. Despite the efforts of the cheering crowd, the Banjo boys were not able to progress to the final of the men's novice IVs event. The senior men's pair were in good form to place 2nd in their final. Helen Wood also performed well in the senior 3 single sculls. The most intriguing race featured the women's B VIII. In what can only be described as an ill-fated weekend for the boat, half of the crew were stranded in London due to car trouble. This meant that a random crew was fielded to race the final. In an extremely close race, they were narrowly edged out by a visiting Dutch crew, losing by a mere quarter of a length. From now onwards, however, Birmingham began to show their strength. The run of victories was kicked off by the women's novice IV. Their traditional poor start certainly masked the true ability of the crew, as they fought their way to their first ever victory, losing their novice points in the process. This was backed-up by a victory from Stuart Heap, who claimed the second of his 3 pots on the day. In their third race of the day, the men's B VIII pulled the fastest time of the day, their time of 1m25s enough to beat York University and Sudbury. This victory constituted the first regatta victory for the majority of the crew. On the back of this win, the women's A VIII dominated the field, cruising to victory, which brought the day's racing to a close. These results meant that Birmingham placed 2nd overall on the day, finishing behind only Peterborough RC, the hosts of the event. The club hope to carry this form through the run-up to Women's Henley and Henley Royal Regatta.

16 -18 June; 28 June - 2 July 2006
Record Stroke of Success for University Rowers at Henley
The University of Birmingham Boat Club (UBBC) have had by far and away their most successful season this year, and have rounded things off with their best ever performance at both of the prestigious Henley Regattas last month. The 16th to 18th of June saw Henley Women's Regatta (HWR) taking place, and for the first time 2 crews qualified in the time trial to go on and compete in the intermediate Vllls category for the PriceWaterhouseCoopers Cup. In the first round the 2nd Vlll got a tough draw and were beaten by Reading Rowing Club, leaving the 1st Vlll to hold the fort. Managing to beat the University of East Anglia and Vesta Rowing Club easily, revenge was then sweet when in the quarterfinals they managed to beat the crew that had knocked out their fellow club members only the day before. This took UBBC to the semi-finals for only the second ever time, where they met officials' favourites to win, Edinburgh University. After a tight race leading to a photo finish, it was finally announced that The University of Birmingham were the winners. From the 38 university and city crews entered, UBBC had made it to the last two, and for the first time in event history, a current University of Birmingham crew were to feature in a Henley Women's Regatta final. Crew Cox and Women's vice-captain Larissa Matley speaks about lining up against Osiris (Oxford University Reserves), "To reach the final at Henley is such an incredible achievement. We had already exceeded our expectations and we were so proud to be there, lining up against one of the toughest crews. Waiting for the start I felt the commitment and determination amongst our crew as the realisation hit, 'we could actually win this!' After a strong start, we saw just how close it was, and the rush of adrenalin and desire to win was immense." With Birmingham supporters screaming encouragement, the crew had yet another tight race with Osiris winning by just 2/3rds of a length. Larissa continues, "With the result being so close we couldn't help but be slightly disappointed. But getting to the final of one of the most prestigious women's rowing events in the world is an amazing accomplishment, and there's only one step further to aim for next year!" UBBC's success at HWR didn't end there. University of Birmingham alumnus Lindsey Maguire, part of the World Class Start and Potential Programme, teamed up with Claire Crozier of Worcester Rowing Club to compete in the elite coxless pairs category. After sailing through 3 rounds against Bath University, University College Oxford and St Andrews Boat Club, the pair found themselves in the final against arguably the top women's rowing club in England, Thames RC. Although close in the first half, Maguire and Crozier stepped up their pace in the second and drew away by two and a half lengths to secure a win and claim the Redgrave Trophy. Later in June Lindsey, representing UBBC, went on to compete at Amsterdam International Regatta in a Great Britain composite including Durham and University of London representatives. 'The University of Birmingham Composite' as it was know throughout the regatta, battled against another GB crew, three Dutch and one Danish, to win the coxless lV category. The 23rd June saw the time trials take place to qualify and compete for the highly contested 'Temple Challenge Cup' at Henley Royal Regatta. With 46 entries and only 16 places up for grabs competition was fierce, and for the first time two UBBC crews tried their luck. Whilst the novice men's Vlll were unlucky, the first VIII, for only the fourth time in boat club history, managed to qualify. The crew returned to Henley on Wednesday the 28th to face Kings College London, where UBBC's successful streak was to continue and another historical moment made. After a tense race they won the 2112m race by one boat length, meaning The University of Birmingham reached the second round in this elite competition, the furthest they had ever gone. On the Thursday the UBBC crew met Trinity College, Dublin, where they narrowly missed out on reaching the next round by only ¾ of a length. Club president James Wilton speaks of the whole clubs recent performance. "Over the past few years UBBC has developed from a small club of limited success to a club that demands respect throughout the rowing community at not only national, but also international levels. In recent months, most notably at Henley, we have had results that previously we could never have dreamed of. Such results are a credit to the past and present members who have worked so hard to help us reach this level. Whilst what has been achieved this year has been beyond our expectations, the standard has now been set for next year and we intend to reach yet higher levels of success." - Lucy Hood

Sunday 7th May 2006
Birmingham vs Warwick Varsity
The River Severn hosted the first ever Varsity event between The University of Birmingham University and Warwick University last Sunday. This event has often been discussed between the rowing teams of the two Universities, but this was the first time that the event has taken place. Worcester Rowing Club kindly hosted the event at their boathouse, providing the perfect location for the day's racing. Birmingham's rowing squad have been training in Worcester for the past 6 years and were determined to perform well on their 'home patch'. Ten races were held through the course of the day, with Birmingham claiming overall victory by 7 races to 3. In addition to the day's racing, a barbeque and a cake sale were held, and the bar at Worcester's Boathouse was opened to spectators. Overall, the day was a great sucess, with a number of exciting races, and hopefully, the event will continue to take place in years to come. We hope you come to watch and enjoy the day's racing next year in 2007.

Sunday 5th February 2006
Birmingham Rowers Claim Victory After Victory In Stourport
Last Sunday, the University of Birmingham's Boat Club competed at Stourport Head, which has traditionally been the club's first event of the year. The majority of our rowers came from the Development Squad, and have only been rowing for a few months, having begun rowing at the start of this academic year. At their last race, the BUSA Splash and Dash event held just before Christmas, they were able to claim victory in the men's VIIIs and so were hoping to build on this success in Stourport. The squad also sent a few senior rowers to compete in the tougher categories, and overall the results very very impressive, with the club claiming 6 victories for the University, as well as a number of other top 2 finishes. Our pairing of Mark Halford and John Hayward are knocking on the door of the Great Britain Under 23s, and claimed victory in the Elite Pairs event, and their time of 13.48 was substantially faster than some IVs and VIIIs. Also representing our club was the Scottish champion, Lindsey Maguire, who was also victorious at Stourport, her time of 15.34 enough to win the senior 1 category. Our other seniors rowing were the senior 3 pair or Andy 'Tiny' Riach, and James Greswell, who finished 2nd, and Tom Penny 'the Welsh dragon' who finished in a time of 16.04 in the senior 3 category. The men's novice A VIII finished first in the men's novice VIII category, with their time of 12.59 enough to claim victory by a mere second. This crew doubled up to race again in a higher category against some tough opposition, but were still able to claim 2nd place. The men's novice B VIII also competed very strongly in the novice category, claiming 3rd place. Four of this crew raced a second time, however this time in the men's novice 4 category. They were pitted against some other very good novice IVs but were still able to claim 4th place in a time of 15.14. The women's novice squad produced even more impressive results, claiming three victories, and two second places. The women's novice A IV raced in both the novice category, and the senior 4 category, and were able to win both with two fantastic performances. The women's novice B IV also produced a brilliant row, despite having never rowed in that combination to finish second in the novice category. Their time of 16.26 would have been good enough to win both the novice and senior 4 categories, had it not been for the presence of our A boat. This result alone hints at the strength and depth of the squad. The women's novice A VIII also claimed victory over some good club crews in a time of 14.10. They also finished 2nd in the category above, their results matching those of the men's novice A VIII. The women's B VIII also competed at Stourport, and despite some last minute crew alterations, were still able to finish in the top 4. With the BUSA Head race a mere 2 weeks away, we hope that these excellent results suggest a taste of things to come, and will provide a springboard for the upcoming season. -Alex Darby

Sunday 26th February 2006
Birmingham Rowers Strike Gold at BUSA
The day began with a challenge from Loughborough via Radio One. DJ Spoony delivered the message, 'We're gunning for you Birmingham'. The gauntlet had been thrown down in front of the nation, and the Birmingham rowers were more than ready to prove their mettle. The conditions were amongst the worse seen this year, with a strong headwind causing some big waves on the River Trent, but every Brummie crew took to the water with fire in their hearts, and a determination to put Loughborough in their place. The first division featured our small boats. With such torrid conditions there was a possibility that the event would be cancelled. However the decision was made to press ahead, and whilst the Birmingham contingent found it tough going, they were still able to post some good results. The second division featured 5 Birmingham boats on the water at the same time. The men's Championship VIIIs event is traditionally the most prestigious event of the BUSA Head event. Oxford Brookes' crew featured a number of international rowers and once again they claimed victory. The Birmingham Championship VIII competed strongly in this very tough category. They were locked in a head-to-head battle with Cardiff for much of the race, which spurred them on to finish in 11th place, in a time of 15.43, beating the Cambridge Lightweight crew and more importantly, Loughborough. The Women's Championship IV also raced in the second division. They were up against some very strong opposition from solid rowing universities such as Durham and Imperial College. They battled hard in a very competitive division to beat the likes of Bath and Sheffield, amongst others, to finish 10th. The 'Mighty Stallions' of the Men's Novice VIII also raced in the second division and had their best ever performance. They were able to overtake the Manchester VIII, and fought tooth-and-nail to the finish line, holding off their opposition despite the poor conditions and having far inferior equipment to work with. The elation within the crew was evident at the finish line, and cox Alex Darby said he was 'proud to be part of such a gutsy crew'. They also finished in 10th place, but claimed some notable scalps such as Durham, UWE, and the aforementioned Manchester. The Women's Intake A VIII stormed the course, leaving 4 crews in their wake, and taking the deteriorating conditions in their stride, to finish 24 seconds ahead of the second place crew and claim an extremely convincing gold medal. Their race was blighted by equipment failures, but nevertheless the women cruised to victory, even passing a Loughborough crew who were competing in a higher category, and had started 5 boats ahead of them. The Women's Intake B VIII were the last Birmingham boat to race in the second division. Their cox, Suzie Kent, was very proud of her crew for passing one other boat and dealing extremely well with the hailstorm that hit them as they approached the finish. They had a strong row to finish in 4th place, cementing Birmingham's position as the premier university in the country at nurturing new rowing talent. The third division saw our second gold medal performance coming from the Men's Intake VIII. They weren't at their best, but sheer grit, determination and will to win carried them to victory. They ploughed through the rough sections of the course whilst other crews were succumbing to the conditions to win by a mere second. Their time of 16.04 was an outstanding effort, and maintained their run of victories, adding to previous victories at the BUSA Splash and Dash event, Stourport and Trent Head. The Women's Championship VIII also featured in the third division. Their category included some very strong crews from Universities such as Durham, Imperial and Nottingham. They had an awesome race, finishing 4th in the most prestigious women's event of the day. There was some controversy as the results were announced, since some of the timings had been mixed up. However, these errors were corrected, and the dream was realised as two Birmingham crews were pronounced victorious. The cheering from the Birmingham squad was deafening as the the Men's Intake VIII and the Women's Intake A VIII went up to claim their medals. The whole squad performed magnificently, and the medals won were certainly deserved after 5 months of hard training. We hope that these results will springboard Birmingham up the rowing ladder and also to carry this good form into the summer season and claim more victories. - Alex Darby

Sunday Feb 19th 2006
Rowers Battle Wind and Rain to Claim Nottingham Glory
Fog and traffic conspired to make it a frantic start to the Head of the Trent race for the Birmingham rowers on a cold and grey day in the East Midlands last Sunday. However, a lightning-fast rigging session ensured that the men's Senior 3 VIII and the women's Senior 3 IV were at the start on time to battle against other top University crews such as Cambridge, Loughborough, and Nottingham, as well as some strong club crews, for the days' honours. The VIII got off to a good start and were involved in a 3-boat battle by the time they reached the half-way mark. They overtook both of these crews and completed the course in a time of 19.01, to finish in 4th place. The IV looked a much improved boat compared to previous outings, and battled strongly to finish in 3rd place. As the second division approached, conditions deteriorated, rekindling memories of an infamous quote made at the event last year by experienced bow-man, Alex Darby, who compared the conditions to the sea. Despite being banned from carrying their lucky horse mascot on the bow of the boat, the "Mighty Stallions" of the men's Novice B VIII had a storming first ¾ of the race, closing the gap on the Nottingham University crew to a few seconds. However, they were forced wide by a pleasure cruiser and were hit by a barrage of waves in the last kilometre to finish in 7th place. The men's Novice A VIII fared better with the conditions to continue their unbeaten run to claim joint-victory, their time of 12.58 on the shorter course good enough to equal Loughborough's novices, and beat York and Nottingham amongst others. They will certainly be hoping to carry this form into the BUSA Head event this coming weekend. The women of the novice squad also had some good results. The women's novice VIII had a brilliant start, and had soon rampaged past the York Uni crew. They continued this to the finish to end in 2nd place, 16 seconds behind the winning crew, Nottingham, who were racing on their home patch. This comes off the back of a victory and a second place at Stourport Head a couple of weeks earlier. This result was complemented by gutsy performances by the A IV and the B IV, who finished in 4th and 6th place, despite the gruelling conditions. In the final division, the women's Senior 3 VIII were up against some strong opposition, including three Cambridge University VIIIs. They battled throughout the race, beating Nottingham, Glasgow and Liverpool to finish in 21.20, and 5th place, with only the three Cambridge crews, and a Reading Boat Club crew ahead of them. With results such as this, and the BUSA Head event taking place this Sunday, we have high hopes for the squad, particularly in the Novice categories, and touch wood, will be bringing medals back to Brum. Alex Darby

Sunday 20th February 2005
TOUGH TIMES ON THE RIVER TRENT
The UBBC rowing squad returned empty handed, but in high spirits after an icy day of competition on a blustery stretch of the River Trent in Nottingham. Fresh from their victory at Stourport Head, the Men's Novice VIII took second place. They may have finished victorious, but for an equipment failure. Finishing only 8 seconds off first place, they effectively had to row the last kilometre with only seven men, as James Greswell's seat became jammed. The Women's Novice VIII produced a very fine row, finishing in a very credible second place behind winners Newcastle, with only a small distance between the two crews. As the wind began to pick up, and with water conditions deteriorating even further, the Women's first VIII and Men's first IV took to the water. Despite a spirited performance, the women were beaten into 22nd place by a strong field of established rowing university crews. 'It was like rowing at sea' commented Men's first IV bow-man, and experienced oarsman, Alex Darby. In spite of this, the first IV dug deep, and powered through the choppy water to claim a respectable sixth place. Injury has been a constant companion of UBBC rowing in recent times, as the necessary heavy training regimes take their toll. No boat in the club has suffered more from this than the Men's fist VIII. In the week preceding the race a number of key personnel declared themselves unavailable, with the VIII eventually finishing in eighth place in their class despite being awarded a 30 second time penalty. The cause of the penalty was a dubious decision by a race marshal. Further bad luck ensued with the disqualification of two Senior Women's squad boats for the late arrival at the start line. Unfortunately their appeals to be reinstated were turned down even though poor organisation of boats ahead of them was the reason for their late arrival. Captain of the Men's squad, Tom Francis said he was 'very proud of all the performances, especially in such challenging conditions. This solid performance gives us the springboard we need for a successful BUSA campaign' Nathan O'Reilly

Sunday, 27th February 2005
BUSA HEAD 2005 - The pride you gain is worth the pain
On Sunday, 27th February, the University of Birmingham Boat club took part in BUSA Head, a 5km time-trial, which pits the countries best university rowing crews against one another. The day began brightly, with John Hayward and Mark Halford finishing 3rd and 5th respectively in the championship single scull, outstanding performances from 2 competitors that would have to tackle the 5km race for a second time, a few hours later. In the early afternoon division, 2 women's VIIIs and a men's IV were in action. The women's intake VIII, comprised entirely of rowers who began the sport in September of last year, rampaged down the course, passing crews from Loughborough and Cardiff, to finish an agonising 3 seconds from gold. This outstanding performance meant that they finished in a slightly faster time than the senior women's VIII, who performance was a vast improvement to that at the pre-cursor event to BUSA Head, the Head of the Trent, stage one week earlier. Despite the absence of key squad members, their time of 17.59 secured 9th place in an extremely tough division, which included some very strong crews from Nottingham, Oxford Brookes and Imperial College. The men's Championship coxless IV raced in a higher division than expected, and experienced a few steering issues, but battled hard on every stroke, to punch well above their weight, and finish in bronze medal position, in a time of 17.08, securing valuable BUSA points for the University. The 3rd division saw the Sun hide behind the clouds, and 4 more Brummie crews take to the course. The men's Championship VIII featured in a division with extremely accomplished opposition from the likes of Imperial, and Oxford Brookes, whose boat comprised of international squad rowers. The eight fought hard with the likes of Cardiff and Leeds to finish in 15m18s, and 10th place. The men's Intake B VIII produced an excellent performance, and looked unrecognizable from the crew of one week earlier. They flew through one crew right off the start, and continued to make good gains, finishing in 10th place. This much improved performance was slightly overshadowed by the men's Intake A VIII, who ransacked their way down the course, taking the scalps of Uni's such as Sheffield, Exeter, and Cardiff to finish in silver medal position in a time of 16.01. The Women's Championship IV also faced tough opposition from Oxford Brookes, Cambridge, and Imperial, but were able to finish in an extremely respectable 7th place. This series of outstanding results, coupled with wins at Bristol Head, and Stourport Head, suggest an extremely promising year for the club. -Alex Darby (Cloud Strife)

Saturday 27th November 2004
Alex's Report (Director's Cut) - Bristol Head - 'Avon calls as Birmingham storm Bristol'
Ten weeks into term, it was finally time to let the beasts out of their cages. The new breed of Birmingham University rowers took to the water for the first time in anger at Bristol last weekend, to take on the new intake of rowers from uni's such as UWE, Exeter, Southampton, and, of course, Bristol. 6 Brummie crews raced the 1.6 km course on the River Avon, 4 of which were made entirely of rowers that only began the sport in October. The men's novice A VIII finished joint-2nd in their category, a mere 4 seconds from victory, in a time of 4 mins 24 secs. The B boat finished a further 6 seconds behind in joint 4th position. Either one of these crews could have claimed victory with slightly cleaner races, a couple of minor crabs costing both crews valuable seconds. Morale: no pausing at the finish. Spin those hands like some kind of Dutch windmill. The women's novice VIII had a grueling race. 2 of the ladies' seats came off of their runners, but in spite of this, they battled on to finish in a 4th place time. However, a 10 second penalty for foul language (rumour has it that someone was referred to as a cunt. Can't say i'm suprised. 'Cunt' is, cumulatively, THE most used word in the squad, closely followed by pimpmobile) dropped them into 5th place, their final time 5m 21s. The women's novice IV finished 4th in a time of 6m 02s with a spirited row in a very competitive division. (What's that smell?) The men's novice IV faced last second drama as (cursed) bow-man Nathan O'Reilly fractured an ankle on the warm-up run. This in a long line of pre-race injuries, dating back to the dawn of time. Despite this, Tim Colley, Tom Keevil, Tom Francis and super-sub Alex Darby (quite possibly the greatest subsitute in the history of substitutes, perhaps even a hyper-sub, or magno-sub) showed all on the River Avon how it was done with a stunning performance, finishing 30 seconds ahead of their competition, and only 3 seconds behind the fastest VIII. In a post race interview, all of the crew agreed that they could've gone 15-20 seconds faster. 'We were good, but we were wank. The crowd cheering us on really made us go fast.' (ah, i've got it, that smell was bullshit) The only senior entry raced over the longer 3.5km course. Jamie thought they had won, even sending voicemails to the 'victorious' crew, along with the promise of pots. However, the men's senior IV finished in 2nd place, a narrow, and also annoying, 9 seconds behind the winners. This was a very successful weekend for the University's Boat Club, and in particular the Senior-Novice boys (hey, you can't spell hollow-victory, or cheap victory, without victory) ,and is hopefully a sign of good things to come in 2005. (You guys better win, or beatings will be dispatched) -Alex Darby (Cloud Strife)

Saturday 27/11/04
Pete's Report - Bristol Head - 'UBBC Unleashes 2004s Novice Squad on Bristol'
Early on a damp and muddy Saturday morning the University of Birmingham Boat Club arrived in Bristol. The event was Bristol University's own race; the intention was to beat Bristol on their own river. The novice squad, who were all new to rowing this September, has been training hard since selection finished some 8 weeks ago. Now they were ready to put up a fight against whatever the clubs and universities from Bristol, Southampton and Exeter could muster. Racing began at 12.00 with the men's novice eights. The club had entered 2; they were a joy to watch as they calmly shrugged off the competition to finish joint 2nd and 3rd, matching the best of what hosts Bristol uni could wheel out. The shouting from the bank was as loud as ever, drowning out all other supporters and showing off the incredible support the club always brings. UBBC also entered a men's novice four, but would it be able to compete? Following their warm up drills, bowman Nathan O'Reily fell victim to his own adrenaline. Stroke-man Tim explains, "We were ready to race, Nathan was jumping on the spot, shouting excitedly. Unfortunately he landed in a pot hole and broke his foot." The club's boathouse manager Alex Darby stepped up to meet the challenge as Nathan was carried to an ambulance. Incredibly, considering the circumstances, they finished 1st stealing victory from Bristol uni by an embarrassing 30 seconds over a distance of only 1.6km. Next came the women's novice boats. Birmingham's girls displayed the kind of gutsy grit and determination the club is famed for. Despite equipment failure and an unfair time penalty the eight still finished 5th and the four finished 4th. Who can say what these girls will achieve next year? Later in the afternoon a small contingent of senior men took to the water in a four. Racing at "Senior 3" level the crews at the start looked like they'd been genetically modified. Did this bother our guys? A little. But they took a lesson from the girls whipping out some UBBC grit to finish 2nd of 10, losing to Exeter uni by just 7 seconds over the 3.5km course. Once again Bristol uni were beaten on home water, making do with 3rd. The Boat Club intends to further strengthen its position over the rest of this academic year. From these early results it seems Birmingham will be a powerful force when the full might of the latest novice squad is unleashed on BUSA this Easter. -P.S.

Sunday 4th May 2003
Brum take Bronze at BUSA in Men's Novice VIII
This is just my personal opinions and thoughts taken from the seven seat of the boat. This report does in no way reflect the views of all those present. Today we won a BUSA bronze medal in the Novice VIIIs, division B. It was fucking hard, but it was worth it. We progressed through our first heat [lane 3, start 1336] in 2nd place behind Nottingham. Basically we wound down after 750m of the 1500m race. Initially we had started off at 1750m due to absolutely diabolical conditions at the end of the 2k course, but a collision between lanes 4 and 5 meant a red flag, and a restart. We were pissed off since we had made a beautiful start, but despite the conditions and the tension, we progressed to the semi-final without the need of the repechage. The general consensus was that it was scrappy, and a bit tense. EK said it was "a gutsy row". Junior reckoned we all needed to have a wank just to calm ourselves down, to chill it out a bit. Barrie came over to me to say 2 things. Firstly, "Alex, if you wear that bloody Brazil shirt on the way to the start, you're out of the boat. I'll put bloody Wheels in, or someone. You ONLY wear University of Birmingham kit to the start", and secondly "I put you in the 7 seat because I like your technique, and your control, but you have to go with stroke. I know he's fitter than you are, but you have to go with him. I don't care if it kills you, you WILL go with stroke, otherwise I'll have to switch it around". Went with Sunny to get some water from the main building, (2 cups of water, drank the left one first) then sat on the large step-seats behind Kate Cherry and her family, and watched some races. We were on the water queuing up for the start of the semi-final [lane 3, start scheduled for 1636, delayed to 1740] for an absolute age. We finished second to Imperial College over the full 2k course this time. They finished quite a bit up on us, but then we were a long way up on everyone else. However, they were subsequently disqualified, and so technically we had won the semi. It seemed very harsh to me, but I wasn't going to complain. As Phil (Sunny's mate) put it, it was like "someone had taken Imperial, bent it over, and shafted it". There was quite a while until the final, so we were told to relax, stay out of the sun, and stay hydrated. Me and Sunny went up to the main building to get some water. I got 2 more pint glasses of water, and told Liz and Ian, "I'm doing exactly the same as before the semi-final. 2 cups of water, drink the left one first". I also hung out with Lauren for a while, she noticed that my shirt had her name on the back, and said that she felt really honoured. Anyway, on to the final. Junior had fired us up, and got us thinking that we could win. Mark was 100% convinced we could do it. Let's face destiny, and make it happen. Lane 1: Nottingham Lane 2: Exeter Lane 3: Birmingham Lane 4: Newcastle Lane 5: Southampton Lane 6: Loughborough (Scum) Bow: Junior/Rasheed (James Kilner) 2: Marti (James Marti) 3: The Bear (Pete Smith) 4: Rich Jones 5: Big Gay Mark (Mark Halford) 6: Andy Parker 7: Zen Master (Alex Darby) Stroke: Josh Brown Cox: EK (Elanor Kilner) BOAT: James Hewson (Stelph); BLADES: Braça-Sport (Green and Yellow Stripes). The full 2K course again. I think we were pretty much 3rd off the start, and held it pretty much all the way. We might have been a foot behind Newcastle until 1250m to go when we did our 25 stroke push early. When EK called it, I thought "Jesus Christ, no!", then we did it, and then the 1250 marker went past, but we had made up ground on Exeter in second, and had gone to about a length up on Newcastle. (A whole length gained in a 25 push, in hindsight, that's phenomenal). But they wouldn't fuck off. EK was now going manic. She felt that the boat was dying, and she was going mental. "Don't die on me, don't you fucking die on me. This is a BUSA final. This is one of your only chances for a BUSA medal. Do it for me, do it for yourselves, do it for Birmingham University". Through 1000m now, still close on Exeter (apparently), but holding Newcastle. EK - "I want that fucking medal!" Don't think I'd ever heard EK swear before. This really fired us all up. EK wanted it up on the catches, we did that. Boat still seemed fast. 750m left, still holding Newcastle. The next 250m, I don't really remember. I think it all went into a bit of steady state, but still going hard. 500m, we knew we were near the finish line. Balls-out now. I screamed out "YES!!", Mark was giving it some, "COME ON, LADS!". "2 minutes" - EK. 250m, and I could hear our supporters. I couldn't pick out any individuals, and I wasn't going to look out of the boat, but they must've run with us the whole way, because they were with us at the finish line. Think that with about 150 metres to go, we knew Newcastle weren't going to make a decisive move on us, but i was feeling really tense. I was just thinking "no-one crab!, no-one crab!". EK was now going crazy, screaming with joy. And then the air horn! We had finished! 3rd! A BUSA medal! We went crazy in the boat. I swung my right arm down and around, with the intention of smashing the water, missed in the main part, and whacked the crook of my arm into the blade handle. Josh leaned forward and hugged EK, then leaned back and we put forehead to forehead. Mark shouted "I feel like I wanna hug all you guys when we get out this boat. I fuckin' luv ya!" We rowed over to collect our medals, then took the boat back over to the landing stages. I had my medal in my mouth, and nearly contrived to drop it in the water by opening my mouth whilst leaning out of the boat. At this point i promptly put the medal in my lap. Lucy was on the landing stage in tears, Heappy came along and said well done. I jumped on Marks back. Josh Buckingham aka Curious Bosh came and slapped us all on the back. The landing stage was packed. But it was worth it. But I think what meant the most to me was that the members of the men's 2nd Novice VIII, the boat I had been in all year up until only 2 weeks earlier, came over and said well done. I still felt as though I was one of them, and not in the boat above at all. I had my football shirt back on by now. Barrie - "Alex, you and that bloody football shirt" I told Barrie it was a Cameroon shirt, not a Brazilian shirt. It was lucky, a bit of African magic. Barrie said he couldn't complain too much. One of his relations' husbands was the minister for sport in Cameroon. "It's a small world, Barrie". 2 CUPS OF WATER, DRINK THE LEFT ONE FIRST; Result: BUSA Medal. -Alex Darby (Cloud Strife)

22 February 2004
Trent Head
In the worst conditions known to man, the UBBC seniors had a encouraging few races up on the Trent. In the morning the Girls went up in two IV's to race in the Senior 4 category and race over 3,700m and also survive the wind and waves. Whilst the came down in the chaotic race a men's VIII sank and so did a women's IV and many thought the race would be called off. The girls finished well and although Sally's IV had started well, over taking a lot of crews, they fell foul of all the panic and were caught up in all the boat pile ups and had to stop and unattach themselves from a men's VIII. Emma's IV on the over hand stormed through the pack to finish 2nd in the division behind Leicester Univer...Poly. The Guys sat on the back waiting eagerly to hear if the second division was to go ahead due to the conditions. After a half hour delay the go ahead was given and from Holme peirpoint the elite of university rowing boated. First out were The University of Birmingham 1st VIII, then Cambridge 'Poly' University Goldie and also Oxford 'We're not even a poly, more of an after schools club' Brookes. In a hard race the Birmingham boys stood strong and destroyed all around them. The loosers from Warwick 'poly' University B boat who had challenged us were left for dead and although they crashed into us to slow our overtaking down they could not stop us flying threw. The 1st VIII finished a more than respectable 6th in the senior 3 VIII's beating the poly's of Warwick B, Loughbrough (The biggest poly of them all), Newcastle and Edinburgh (which is less of a poly due to it's fine city and culture). Also even though confusion mounted over where the finish was and the Warwick B's desperate attempt to stop us we did draw with Warwick A. This weekend at BUSA we'll put them to rest a mile behind us. Another successful weekend for the UBBC as the build up to the Head's of the river continues.

29/11/03
The University Of Bristol Head of the River
The entire UBBC squad descended south west to Bristol for our first race of the year. The men's squad still in the process of finding the best 1st VIII sent evenly matched crews to compete against each other as well as the rest of the field in the Senior 3 division of the VIII's. The Blue VIII stroked by Jonny Wober and with President Josh Buckingham in the powerhouse seat of 3 finished 3rd overall although crashing on the tightest corner (along with many others that day). The Red VIII stroked by Men's Captain Chris Baker were held up by Cardiff Uni at the corner and lost considerable time, however they finished impressivley. The Novices in there first ever race carried on the proud and impressive tradition of producing great rowers from new comers to the sport. The women's novice VIII demolished a strong field winning comfortably. The Mixed VIII, were reduced to six when 2's seat broke but they still powered home to win. The men's novice VIII fought hard but were beaten by an impressive Bristol crew. The afternoon saw big wins for the women's 1st VIII racing in the senior 3 diviosn and the men's senior 3 IV, comprising of Chris Baker and Chris (Redders) Burnell from the Red VIII and Josh Buckingham and Oliver Harvey from the Blue. Expertly coxed by Rachel Meek they stormed to victory leaving the following crew way behind and overtaking the crew in front. The autumn term has been weighted heavily on training and these results promise much for the forthcoming VIII's season

14 June 2003
Reading Regatta
In a tough field: The S4+ of Joe Silvester; Bruce Hampton; Darrel Ormerod and Chris Burnell with Sam Searle coxing eventually lost to ISIS. The S38 went out in the first round but only narrowly after going behind 2 lengths off the start to loose by less than a canvas! Crew: James Kilner; Chris Lamb; Josh Buckingham; Larry Brisgefoot; Pete Smith; Jonny Wober; Tim ; Chris Baker Coxed by Rose Atkinson The S38 Womens crew also put up a brave fight but lost out in the first round.

June 15th 2003
Loughbororugh Regatta
An awsome years rowing culminated in Louborough Regatta where the University of Birmingham had a hotly contested set of events against local crews and the old enemy themselves, Louborough uni. Results: S24+ Came 3rd, beating Loughborough's 1st 4 crew: Joe Silvester; Bruce Hampton; Darrel Ormerod; Chris Burnell (Redders) with Sam Searle coxing S48 Won!!! Beating Loughborough into second place! crew: James Kilner; Chris Lamb; Josh Buckingham; Larry Bridgefoot; Mark Halford; Jonny Wober; Tim ; Chris Baker with Rose Atkinson coxing Coxless Pair of James Kilner and Ben Adams won!!

17th June 2003
Henley Qualifiers
Having trained 10 times per week for around 10 months, the UBBC Henley four containing Redders, Brucey, Silky Joe, Daryl and our amazing saviour, Oxford cox Tim, faced the toughest and most important race of the season as on friday night they rowed against 53 crews from clubs and universities to try and claim one of the 15 spaces available in the Royal Regatta. Having surveyed their form against the competition at lufbra and Marlow regattas it was clear that the 4 were improving race by race but would have their work cut out to claim that place. This being the single most important aim for the crew there was no need for any motivational preparation, they had been preparing all year and were faster than they ever had been. Rowing the best, most controlled, and exhausting 2,122 metres they had ever rowed the crew gave themselves the best chance and were proud to find that they had beaten the likes of Nottingham university, Southampton University and York University first boats having lost to them previously at BUSA and Marlow. In fact the James Heappey boat was only 1.2 seconds slower than the Worcester RC entry which contained four members of the worcester boat that came 25th in the 8's head. Unfortunately the UBBC crew's final time was just short of the cut off time for qualification and bitter dissapointment ensued. With 3 of that crew still around next year, and a very strong senior squad developing from our now famous novice programme, the future is looking bright for UBBC.

Sunday 2nd February
Stourport Winter Head of the River
A massive UBBC entry gave over thrity athletes their first experience of racing and they did not disappoint. Three excellent wins and a number of other good performances made this a fantastic day all round. The 2nd VIII (J. Kilner, Harvey, Goodwin, Bridgefoot, Wober, Baker, Adams, Lamb, and Atkinson) racing at Senior 4 had an excellent row to win their category in a time that was just 20 secs behind the 1st VIII. The 3rd VIII (Warlow, Marti, Smith, Parker, Halford, Jones, Cooper, Brown, and Hood) racing as the Novice 'A' boat controlled their first race nerves well to power down the course well ahead of all their rivals. The Women's 1st VIII (Lesiscka, Challis, Waddington, Hogan, Jones, James, Carey, Meek and E. Kilner) rowed wonderfully to finish minutes ahead of the rest of their opposition at Novice, and in a time that would have also won Senior 4 as well! Other UBBC crews at Stourport were the 1st VIII who finished 3rd in the Senior 3 event, the 4th VIII who finished 4th in Novice, and the Women's 2nd VIII who finished 2nd in Novice. With almost sixty UBBC athletes racing and others still waiting in the wings Stourport Head looks to be a good sign that great things are to come as the season progresses.

Sunday 9th December
Wallingford Head of the River
Racing against a very strong stream this was always going to be a stern test for the UBBC's most senior crews. The Men's Senior 2 4+ finished 4th in their event, the Men's Senior 3 4+ finished 6th, and the Men's Senior 2 4- finished 3rd. The Women's Senior 2 4+ finished 5th.

Saturday 30th November
Evesham Head of the River
UBBC scores its first wins of the season with three victories at Evesham Head. The Mens Senior 3 4+ (Standen, Burnell, Silvester, Ormerod, Searle) led the charge with an excellent win over local rivals, Warwick University. The Women's Senior 2 4+ (Kilner, Best, Humphry, Mills, Lesiecka) showed their class with a solid row that put them over a minute clear of their opposition, whilst the Women's Novice 4+ (Lesiecka, Spanswick, Carey, Meek, Kilner) rowed with great composure to win their first ever Head Race. Other UBBC crews included the Men's Senior 4 4+ who finished 4th, the Men's Novice 4+ who finished 7th, Women's Senior 4 3x who finished 3rd, and the Men's Senior 4 'B' 4+ who did not finish after equipment failure.

Sunday 17th November
British Indoor Rowing Championships
With UBBC members helping with the administration and organisation of the event the club was delighted to see one of it's own rising stars on top of the medal rostrum. Fresher, Lucy Clarke, had already represented Great Britan at the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston last year. Now racing in University of Birmingham colours she produced a personal best time of 7.34 to win the J18 Lightweight Category and become National Champion.

Sunday 3rd November
Kingston Head of the River
Racing in Fours and Quads the UBBC headed for Kingston looking for some good performances at this, the first race of the season. The Senior 3 4+ produced a strong row to finish 2nd in their event, whilst the Senior 2 4- also finished 2nd. The Senior 3 4x finished 5th against some strong opposition, but nonetheless showed some good early season speed. The Senior 4 4+ finished 8th out of a large entry, with an assured row and gained some valuable experience. The Womens Senior 3 4x finished an excellent 2nd with some fine sculling. All round a good curtain raiser, showing excellent strength in depth on the mens side, and potential for some good results later in the Year.