Avon County Bluefriars, 5th October
7th October, 2024
Division 1 report by Brodie McAllister
Low CRI op 4x+ (us in Jolly Roger) short course, 1.5km.
We were a relatively experienced crew with one recent Learn To Rower who had never raced before: Brodie McAllister 1, Tim Whelehan 2, Francis Haysom 3, Chris Born 4, coxed by Lorna.
Our competitors were Bryanston School Boat Club and Bradford on Avon RC. With only one pre-race training outing with full crew and cox, two days before, we were happy to give the race a go. With good weather and a good start, we set off with two sets of 10 firm then one more towards the finish. A plan that worked well.
We were pleased with the row and came in under our target time to take second place ahead of BOA and behind Bryanston School BC achieving a top 10 race course ranking that day. No age adjustments were made to race result times. We aim to improve by reducing splashing. Thanks to Lorna for her brilliant, concise coxing instructions.
Division 4 report by Brodie McAllister
Op Masters CF 4+ (us in Quin) long course, 3.25km
In Quin, were Tim Whelehan at bow (One recent LTRer onboard who had never raced a 4+), Brodie McAllister and Andy Stewart in the middle, Chris Born stroking, coxed by Ali CD.
Our competitors were Avon County RC Men’s Masters C and another Minerva Men’s Masters crew (James, Francis, Andy R, Marcelo).
Our pre-race training was going well until Dave Searby badly damaged his leg away from the club. Dave was replaced by Tim – a recent Learn To Row with no race experience.
Conditions were good on the day and our race went to plan with a build up to stroke rate of 33, settling to 29 with four sets of 10 firm at a rate of 30.
We were pleased we had given it our best and came in second behind Avon County, with our other Minerva Masters men crew third. We noted that we could make a few technical adjustments to ensure the blades are off the water and to increase our general fitness levels! Tim really impressed us, handling his race debut in his stride, with clear and reassuring coxing from Ali CD.
Senior Men
This was the first competition for the men’s squad this season, and an opportunity to see how the squad would compete after a tough week of training, including a 30r20 erg on the Thursday evening!
It was great to sit at the start line and see four mens pairs preparing to race. The race was highly anticipated, with pride on the line as the event was made up of just the four Minerva pairs. Will and Jonny came out on top, finishing 11th overall and beating a number of quads, fours and doubles in doing so. A good start to the season. To celebrate the race the squad went to the pub to watch the Bath v Bristol rugby followed by a well deserved day off on Sunday!
Next we look forward to three races in three consecutive weekends in November with Avon Autumn Head, Fours Head, and Bristol Uni Head. The squad will be racing a mixture of fours, quads, and eights. Keep an eye out for results in future newsletters.
Midweekers/Masters Women
Low CRI W MasCDF 4x+
A quad from two squads: Jane, Sarah, Donna and Jacqui (Jules coxing). With no actual outing as a crew and a mix of skills and experience (it was Sarah’s first race), this great combo were relaxed and powerful all the way from start to finish. Rating 30/31 for the whole (short) course, the crew stayed together, even when blustery winds hit at the start, just through the bridge. Their fitness levels at a naturally reasonable level, each of seats could add to the run when asked to ‘give it all you’ve got’ for the last 20 strokes. We came second out of four entries.
Juniors
A great day of junior racing at Avon Bluefriars yesterday. We had 9 junior boat entries taking part, gaining experience and having fun.
A huge well done to Amber and Ollie B who experienced their first ever race. Congratulations to Sophia winning in the j15 1x and Charlotte winning in the J18 1x. Thank you everyone for all of the support and cheering.
