This weekend our athletes took on one of the biggest races in the North of England; Rutherford Head. The club came away with some promising results as we approach the conclusion of Michaelmas term and begin our post-season training camp.
The first division saw the men's eights race and the women's fours. The weather was fair but brisk, with glassy water blessing all of the crews racing. The 5km course ran from the A1 bridge back towards the boat clubs and finished at the "man with the blade" about 300 metres past the boat house. All of the crews put in monstrous efforts to come away with strong results. The Men's 1st eight came second overall, closely behind the winners; University of London. The Men's 2nd eight were the 4th fastest 2nd eight, propping up the rear of the band. Similarly, our Men's 3rd eight came sixth in their band, putting out a strong performance for a newly formed crew.
Our Women's fours also did very well in division one. We acquired a win in the women's coxed four; a great achievement for our women's squad. We had a number of women's fours place highly in their band, with our women's lightweight four doing especially well in amongst a majority of heavyweight crews.
In the second division, it was the turn of the women's eights and the men's fours. Our Women's first eight came second in their band, coming in closely behind Edinburgh. A very strong result. The Women's second eight came fifth in their band. We gained a win in the Men's coxed four, who happened to be the 2nd fastest four of the division. We had a number of other strong performances from our men's fours throughout the division, with many placing high in their bands.
We also had a number of alumni racing with our crews, which was great to see. The racing was followed by the annual Rutherford Dinner, where a great time was had by all with some celebratory drinks and food. It's always great to catch up with alumni and relax after a tough day of racing. Thank you to everyone who helped organise and allow Rutherford Head to run smoothly.
