The Senior Men’s and Women’s squad final race of 2021 was the culmination of the techniques developed and the individual lessons learned from the semester 1 sculling and small boat training block. Head of the Lune not only celebrated the commitment of both squads over what can be the most relentless period of winter training, but also provided some clear indications for the next stage of squad development heading into the Spring of 2022.
Senior Men
For the senior men, the earlier divisions of the day featured smaller boats only with Felix Rummel’s single scull; Rokas Ramancevičius’, Colm Mcdaniel’s, Charlie Jones’, and Antonin Rat’s quad; and Conner Beacotte’s, Darioush Jalili’s, Matthew Baker’s, Rob Mercer’s, and Tijana Stephenson’s coxed four taking to the water first.
Despite the thermal challenges faced from sub zero tideway style boating, all crews quickly adapted to the conditions faced on the Lune to deliver very good results. Felix dominated his boat class to take home gold. The quad and coxed four came a very respectable second place, with the latter sweep boat missing out by a mere 4 seconds over the 3 km course. Fantastic effort from all of the boys!
Next came the double scull of Colm McDaniel and Rokas Ramancevičius who also put in an immense effort to win gold their band of racing. Huge effort from them in their first ever race in a double scull!
The last event saw the awaited return of the eight, with the crew of the coxed four, Antionin Rat, Charlie Jones, Dan Watson, and Felix Rummel reintroduced into the larger crew boat in the week’s preperation before the race. The scratch crew nature of the eight served as an opportunity for the boys to demonstrate their individual skills learned in smaller boats and finally apply them to a much larger environment. The confidence gained served as an important stepping stone into the larger crew focus of 2022.
A very close race unfolded, with the eight claiming second. The boys are certainly excited to see how far they can build upon their winter baseline.
Senior Women
Smaller boats similarly remained the focus for the senior women to continue the emphasis of individual athletic development.
The first race saw the debut Mwee van der Meer’s and Evie Innes-Lewis’ double scull. The girls put in very a strong performance to gain fourth in their division under some difficult competition.
Last up were the two coxed fours of Kitty Johnson, Miara Pipe, Alice Watts, Frankie Austin, and Nicole Leslie Charria; and Vicky Haines, Zara Rahim, Anastazja Nowacka, Elvire Perkins, and Mike Walmsley. Both crews put in a great performance to collect gold and fifth respectively. Massive congratlutions to the girls!
Overall, some immense racing from all of the competing crews with a perfect opportunity provided to reflect on the progress made over the past months and indications on the lessons to build upon in the 2022 season. Enormous well done to both squads!
A special mention also to MUBC’s GB Start athletes Lauren Auchterlonie, Jake Lambert, and Freya Webley who also competed and medalled across the events!
Full Results:
Op 1x Band 1 (Felix): 1st
Op 2x Band 2: 1st
Op 4x: 2nd
Op 4+: 2nd
Op 8+: 2nd
W 2x: 4th
W 4+ (MU A): 1st
W 4+ (MU B): 5th
As always, here are some behind the scenes snaps from the event:
Photos by Mike Walmsley, Matthew Baker, and Matthew Layton.