DUBC kicked off 2024 by competing in full force at the Tyne New Year’s Head, an event joint-hosted by Tyne United boat club and ourselves. Despite concerns earlier in the week that inclement weather might curtail the racing, the squad arrived at the course eager to start the year on a high and set the new standard of DUBC racing for 2024. Though the weather wasn’t as bad as had been forecasted, the Tyne produced its usual tricky conditions with cold temperatures and a strong cross wind that picked up throughout the day and made for “interesting” racing.
Division one was kicked off by the men’s 1V which stormed down the track, coping with the conditions well and claiming the win in the band one open eights by over 30s, also making them the fastest boat of the day. They were followed by the men’s second eight who put in a strong performance finishing third in the same division. Both eights were followed down the track by two women's fours, who mirrored the men's results by winning both band 1 and 2 open coxed fours. Special mention must go the women's second coxed four which was made up of members from our development squad who made not only their DUBC debut, but their rowing debut too. A win in their first event is credit to all the hard work development coach Holly Young has put into the squad this year. Perhaps it is a sign of more to come as well – two years ago, the devs of the 2021/22 season also took their first win at this event and would go on to become one of the most successful dev years in the club’s history…
Tyne New Year’s head also provides excellent practise for the members of our squad competing in the upcoming U23 British rowing trials. This opportunity was firmly grasped by the DUBC women’s pairs and singles who put down impressive performances to close out the division. A composite pair from Newcastle and DUBC’s own Anna Grace won the pairs category, with a DUBC pair of Daisy Jackson and Izzy Kennedy claiming second place, and Izzy Sellers taking second in the women’s single.
In division two it was the women’s turn to take to the eights. The first eight put in an incredibly strong performance, winning the category over our local rivals Newcastle University by just under 25s. This story was matched by the 2V who beat their Newcastle counterpart by 0.2s, winning band 2 open eights. These wins overturned the disappointing results from earlier in the season at Rutherford head. They were followed by the men's fours who looked to match the women's results from division one. The men’s coxed four claimed the top prize in their division putting in another strong performance, while the two coxless fours finished third and fourth respectively. The day of racing was wrapped up by the men’s trial boats, with George Reed winning the men’s pair in his Newcastle composite crew with DUBC’s Will Morgan-Jones and March Turnbull finishing second, and in the men’s single Charlie Warren won the division by over 25s. Wins across almost all events ensured that over 90% of the squad returned to Durham with some “silverware” (the fabled TURC/DUBC mug).
DUBC now look to build on these impressive results in the upcoming U23 trials as well as looking forward towards defending the overall VL at BUCS head in a few weeks’ time.