Captain’s Update

We are now officially open for the season after our usual Good Friday ceremony. It was great to see so many members, former members, friends and relations present. We fielded 34 rowers on the water for the traditional Easter Egg races which must be a record in recent years.

Can you please read carefully the various topics below as some may require you to take action or perhaps volunteer.

Recent Events

Head of the River and Vets Head

A weekend of contrasts – it was wet cold and windy on the Saturday for the HORR.
The first 8+ Ellie Adams, Paul Sant, Sam Hogsbjerg, Tim Baldwin, Tim Hysom, Andrew Blit, Charles Howard, Lee Adams and Rob Frost after a really impressive training programme finished in 182 place with a time of 19:52. This was an improvement of 93 places and a really great achievement.

We also had 4 representatives guesting in the Essex University 2nd 8+ Dan Cooper, Bradley Tyler, Toby Stock and Ed Butchart. An unexpected last minute request resulted in a great experience for all of them. Ed was possibly the oldest crew member in a University boat on the day (sorry Ed).

The Vets Head on Sunday was warm and sunny for the slightly more relaxed event.
The Vets 8+ Molly Shaw, Mike Arnott, Andrew Blit, Stuart Dallard, Adrian Ablitt, Jeremy Milbank, Giles Stock, Keith Paxman and Paul Adams finished in 102 position in 21:01 with an improvement of 32 places on last year.

Well done to all of our rowers who competed over this weekend and trained so hard through the winter.

National Indoor Rowing Championships 23 March

Our Juniors travelled to Lea Valley Athletics Centre at Picketts Lock to compete in the Junior Indoor Championships. The results are impressive – Amy Bowles came 12th out of 176 in Year 8; Ellie Adams was 21st out of 117 in Year 9; Molly Shaw was 5th out of 103 in Year 10 and Katherine Insull 5th out of 26 in Year 12. Tom Bowles was 35th out of 134 in Year 10 and Dan Cooper, Bradley Tyler and Dan Rhodes all posted good scores in the Year 13 category.

A really great achievement and thanks to coach Matt for getting everyone in shape.

Boston Marathon

We had two crews representing Sudbury at the Boston Marathon ironically on 1st April. For those not aware the course from Lincoln to Boston and is a 31mile event. Jeremy Milbank and Tanya Hunt competing in Masters Mxd C 2X finished in 4:24:19. Pippa Kerry and Rosemary Hogsbjerg completed in W Mas D 2X in 4:35:50 which is now a new course record for this category. Congratulations to both crews on these results.

Bedford Small Boats Head 15 April

The last head race of the season was held on a chilly day. Mike Arnott and Andrew Blit won the Masters E Pairs and Jeremy Milbank and Pippa Kerry posted a really classy result coming second in the Mixed Vet 2X in only their second outing together. Several other good results and a really worthwhile day.

Regatta Dates for Summer 2012

These are the Regattas that we are planning to attend over the coming months. Some may be just a couple of crews aiming for Masters or Henley or Junior events while others will be for the full club

22 April: Lea Spring
6 May: Wallingford Regatta
20 May: British Masters Rowing Championship
26/27 May: Peterborough Spring
2/3 June: Metropolitan Amateur
10 June: Reading Amateur
10 June: Star Sprint
16/17 June Marlow Regatta
23 June: Peterborough Junior Champs
27/30 June: Henley Royal Regatta
8 July: Bedford Quarts
13 July: British Rowing Championships
21/22 July: St Neots Regatta
4 August: Sudbury International Regatta
11/12 August: Peterborough Summer Regatta
2 September: Lea Autumn Regatta
9 September: Cambridge Autumn Regatta
9 September: FISA World Master Championships Duisberg
16 September: Boston Marathon

Entries need to be with Andrew Blit in good time and if planning to enter any events you will need to discuss with your Vice Captain as we need to plan boats and equipment and trailer loading.

Boat Damage

Once again we are reminded how fragile the boats are with recent damage to Jack Spurgeon and The Dunn and two broken blades. Please be very careful when handling and of course look out for other boats when you are on the river.

If you spot any damage to a boat or equipment firstly if it is simple please fix it. If you cannot please report it on the whiteboard in the boathouse and also the Accident and Incident Book in the clubhouse. Also email Tony Moule at boatman@sudbury.rowing.org.

Open Days and Learn to Row

Our open days proved to be very popular and we start two Learn to Row courses on 22 April. Tricia and Katherine are organising volunteers to assist with running these courses over the next 5 weeks. Please all spend a little time giving back some of the effort that has been spent on your development by others. This applies whether you are relatively new to the club or if you are at the elite end of our rowing. It is only by bringing in new members on a regular basis that the club will continue to grow and thrive.

A couple of final points

Evening rowing has started. Club night is Thursday and there will be someone on duty. Juniors row on Wednesdays and members can use the facilities at any time. However please let your VC know if you are planning to take a boat out. Juniors if outside of fixed times must have an adult present and must have permission of Rob or Matt.

If you help yourself to refreshments when the kitchen is not attended please make sure you put the money in the cashbox in the kitchen, the prices are posted there too. We are all on trust.

Happy Rowing

Keith
Captain SRC