It sounds like everyone had a great time at the weekend. We had an awesome number of crews racing, sevearl wins despite tough competition, and lots of crews looking very promising for the future.Let's make sure we get straight back on our training so we can do even better (and have even more fun!) at Peterborough in a few weeks' time. Your captains will be sending the crews out soon.
Saturday
Winners: W.MasB.4+: Heidi, Lou, Alice, Cath, cox: Becky. Beat Poplar Blackwall in semi-final easily. Beat Star by 3 1/2 lengths in final.
Our ladies masters once again showed that their experience and training means they can totally outclass most local clubs, picking up yet another pot. With World Masters just around the corner this is no time to rest on your laurels though!
W.4x: Carolyn, Amanda, Jen, Becky. Lost to Globe in heat.
This was our novice quad, yet due to the rather questionable decision of St. Neots to lump all the quads together instead of banding them they found themselves racing with some much more experienced crews. No matter who you race against though there is always a lot you can learn from how your race goes, and I hope they will do so and keep improving for next time.
Op.1x (Band 2): Ian. Lost to Star Club in heat.
Ian had a good race but couldn't beat the sculler from Star Club, who went on to win the event.
Op.1x (Band 1): Kevin. Lost to Doncaster Schools by 1 length in heat.
It wasn't to be for our famous Swiss sculler, but it was a good, close race. Sadly I believe this may have been Kevin's last race for us :-(
Op.1x (Band 1): Tom. Lost to Peterborough City by 1/3 length in heat.
An even closer race for Tom; just need to find 1/3 length more speed from somewhere for next time!
W.2x (Band 2): Jen, Becky. Lost to Bedford in heat.
Jen and Becky were unlucky to come up against the eventual winners in their heat, who went on to win all their other races by considerable margins. Not to be disheartened they raced again the day after and had a closer race.
W.MasC.4x: Katharine, Lisa, Suzanne, Liz. Lost to Sudbury in heat.
Maybe not the result the ladies were hoping for, but I hope they too will take a lot away from it to work on for next time.
MasE.2x: Steve B, Mike A. Lost to Steve & Rod in heat.
Steve and Mike had a good race and enjoyed it. That other Milton Keynes crew probably cheated or something...
MasE.2x: Steve L, Rod. Beat Steve & Mike in heat. Beat St. Neots in semi-final easily. Lost to Newark in final.
Probably slightly confused by the extra oars, Rod and Steve still managed some good races to beat Steve and Mike and then St. Neots before being beaten by an outrageously fast Newark crew in the final.
W.4+ (Band 1): Clare, Kate, Carolyn, Katharine, cox: Alice. Lost to Lea by 1 length in heat.
Despite having two fairly new sweep rowers in the boat, our ladies found themselves in the top band of coxed fours, where they nevertheless had a close race with Lea, losing by a length. Hopefully they are all keen to keep sweep rowing and keep improving.
Op.4+ (Band 1): David, Shaun, Callum, James P, cox: Steve L. Lost by 3 1/4 (? photo looks closer!) lengths in heat.
Perhaps slightly unsettled by having to do the start twice, our senior men's 4 put in a valiant row but could not beat Newark, who went on to reach the final. It's a very promising looking senior men's 4+ for the future though.
Op.4+ (Band 2): Lee, Leo, Charlie, Richard, cox: Steve B. Beat London Otters by 3 1/2 lengths in heat. Lost to Lea Rowing club in semi-final.
Our brand new Novice 4+ combination had a brilliant row in their heat, smashing London Otters by 3 1/2 lengths, but unfortunately lost to Lea in their semi-final. Nevertheless for most (all?) of these guys this was their first regatta, so hopefully they have gained a lot of experience and confidence from it and are keen to do even better at Peterborough in a few weeks.
Sunday
Winners: Mx.4+: Callum, Shaun, Tara, Lou, cox: Cath. Beat Lea by 1 length in semi-final. Beat Milton Keynes by 1 length in final.
With Shaun and Callum along for the ride, Lou and Tara powered their crew to two successive victories and a win.
Winners: W.MasC.4+: Heidi, Lou, Tara, Cath, cox: Steve L. Beat Star by 3/4 length in heat. Beat Star again by 1/2 length in semi-final. Beat Peterborough by 1 1/2 lengths in final.
Another day, another slightly different Milton Keynes masters crew, another display of classy rowing, and a win.
W.1x (Band 1): Alice. Lost to Bedford by 2 lengths in heat.
This was also Alice's first race in a 1x in a while, and I know she will be very happy to have stayed dry!
Mx.8+: Carolyn, Clare, Suzanne, Helen S, Kate, Leo, Lee, Richard, cox: Alice. Lost to Lea by 3/4 length in heat.
A fun mixed 8 in a 500m splash and dash - exactly what St. Neots is all about! They didn't quite manage to win but hopefully all really enjoyed it.
MasE.1x: Mike A. Lost to Star by 3 1/2 lengths in heat.
Mike's first 1x race for a while (or ever?), so while he didn't win he will definitely have taken a lot away for next time.
MasE.1x: Steve L. Beat Peterborough by 1 3/4 lengths in heat. Beat Tyne by 5 lengths in semi-final. Lost to Star by 2 lengths in final.
Some brilliant sculling by Steve saw him to progress easily through to the final, where unfortunately he lost out to a faster sculler from Star Club. Roll on Peterborough!
Op.1x (Band 2): Shaun. Lost to Maidstone Invicata by 1 1/2 lengths in heat.
This was Shaun's first race in a 1x and he did really well, losing to a more experienced sculler who went on to make the final. I'm sure he's learnt a lot to take away for next time.
W.2x: Jen, Becky. Lost in heat by a couple of lengths.
I was told the girls had a much better race than the day before, so they were happy. Onwards and upwards!
W.2x: Kate, Carolyn. Lost in heat by a couple of lengths.
A good result for a crew with only a few practice sessions together! Hopefully they will keep it up as they have a lot of potential.
W.4+: Karen, Paula, Helen S, Suzanne, cox: Becky. Beat Leeds in heat by 2/3 length. Beat Maidstone Invicta in semi-final by 1/2 length. Lost to (a different) Maidstone Invicta in final by 1 1/4 lengths.
Our Masters E crew were a little hesitant about racing in the senior category, but they did themselves proud, getting through to the final against some much younger crews.
Op.4+ (Band 2): David, Leo, Richard, Lee, cox: Steve B. Beat Maidstone Invicta by 4 feet in heat. Beat Leeds by 1 1/2 lengths in semi-final. Lost to (a different) Maidstone Invicta in final.
Our Novice 4+ was out again (with one interloper), and they had some equally brilliant racing as the day before, getting right through to the final. It's been great to see them training consistently over the last few weeks, and I hope they can keep it up for Peterborough.
Mx.4+: Karen, James P, David, Paula, cox: Heidi. Beat Ancholme by 1 1/4 lengths in semi-final.
An experienced and technical crew (with the notable exception of the cox ;-)), they cruised their semi-final but came up against the other MK crew in the final and couldn't quite beat them.
MasC.2x:Steve B, Ian. Lost to Peterborough in semi-final.
An unfortunate collision didn't help these guys chances, but it's still really useful race experience for them in their preparation for Bled later in September.
W.4x: Becky, Jen, Amanda, Liz. Lost to York City in semi-final.
Our (almost) novice ladies quad came up against the eventual winners in their first race and couldn't beat them. Considering this was a combined women's quad category with all levels of experience, and 3 of our ladies only started sculling last year, that's nothing to be ashamed of though!
MasE.4+: Roger, Mike P, Chao, Phil C, cox: Callum. Lost to Leeds in semi-final by 1 1/2 lengths.
A good race, but the crew lost out to the eventual winners. It's really good to see a men's masters 4+ out racing again; I'd love to see one again at Peterborough too.
Thanks
Chris