A Cracking Weekend with ARZV
20th October, 2024
We had a fantastic weekend hosting 24 rowers and visitors from Alkmaar’s ARZV Rowing Club, marking the 39th year of our twinning tradition. The bond between our clubs remains as strong as ever, thanks to everyone who works hard to keep it going.
Things kicked off with a bang on Friday night at the Bath Cider House, where Minerva hosts and our Dutch friends caught up over a few drinks. Special shout-out to the three Dutchmen who cycled an incredible 460km from Alkmaar to Bath in just three days! A win even before the competition started.
Saturday morning saw everyone on the water for a joint training session, followed by an impressive boules tournament in Queen’s Square. With 36 players and plenty of spectators soaking up the sunshine, it was a great afternoon of friendly competition. Congrats to Ali CD and Joost for taking the win!
The festivities continued into the evening with Mike and Amanda’s barn dance, complete with handmade bunting in both club colours. Plenty of laughter, dancing, and celebration made it a night to remember.
Sunday morning offered some downtime before the time trial kicked off in the afternoon. Six crews – three from each club – competed in an exciting upstream (do the Dutch even know what this means!?) race. After some intense competition, MBRC came out on top, winning the trophy in a very close race, with ARZV finishing just 21 seconds behind. Adjustments and handicaps discussed with fonts of all knowledge Arnold Cooke and Andy Wallis.
Final Results:
- ARZV Women’s 4+ 15:09 | Adjusted: 14:09
- MBRC Women’s 8 14:43
- ARZV 2x 14:54
- MBRC Mixed 2x 14:12
- ARZV Men’s 8 11:48
- MBRC Men’s 8 11:35
Combined Times: ARZV: 40:51 MBRC: 40:30
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the weekend a success; the organisers and volunteers; from timers to coxes; rubbish collectors to venue bookers; budget control to race control; activities and back up activities; food and drink; and all those in between. Special mention to Lorna, Katrina, and Laura for pulling everything together.
Here’s to another great year of friendship and competition – bring on the 40th anniversary next year! For more photos, click here,
