M1:

Anastasiia Kamenska(Cox),

Chris Craggs,

Tom Durrant (Crew Captain)

David Johns,

Sam Foster,

Andrew Sullivan,

Matt Tasker,

Connor Quinn,

Mark Condos

W1:

Louise Baker(Cox),

Filipa Goncalves de Azevedo,

Evelyn Tichy,

Cara Ferrentino,

Christine Hoyer,

Carmen Jack,

Zhen Sun,

Tamara Steijger,

ZZ Friedman (Crew Captain)

As with current tradition, Wolfson’s M1 and W1 crews for May term are awarded Wolfson College colours in the form of a crew Zephyr so congratulations to everyone included in these crews. I am sure both crews look forward to a term of early mornings, hard training and lycra tan lines to ensure those Wolfson colours are well derserved!

M2 and W2 to be announced shortly!

M1 DAY 1: ROW OVER

M1 DAY2: BUMP UP OVER JESUS II- After being disappointed in their performance on Tuesday, M1 made time for an extra morning practice on Wednesday. Day 2′s race started well for Wolfson with a swift start that put distance on Homerton and took quick ground of Jesus. We slowly reeled in Jesus and despite a grassy gained 3 whistles outside the plough. This was followed by a bump for 10. In taking the rating up we gained overlap on Jesus. In an attempt to save the bump and avoid contact Jesus came out of Ditton wide. Wolfson took a good line increasing their overlap and forcing Jesus wider into Downing and LMB who had bumped out ahead. This is Wolfson’s first bump in over 3 years and with the majority of the crew never having rowed bumps before and a number of novices, this is a good sign for the coming days and year.

M1 DAY 3: BUMPED DOWN BY JESUS II – An unfortunate chain of events meant that as Wolfson pulled clear of Jesus II and closed down on the LMBC crew in front coming around first post corner, a member of bow 4 caught a crab that eventually led to a nifty parking manouver and a bump by Jesus II. The crew was despertaely disappointed with the result as even in the early stages they had looked like closing down LMBC for a second bump.

M1 DAY 4: ROW OVER – While row overs are often uneventful and boring for the bank party, Wolfson’s final day row over was very different. Starting behind Jesus II again and ahead of a blades chasing Pembroke II, M1 knew they needed to push hard from the get go. A steady start saw them hold station with both crews. By grassy Wolfson were within a boat length of Jesus but Pembroke had closed to withn a boat length. Coming out of grassy Wolfson pushed for 10 and took ground off Jesus. However, LMBC faltered and Jesus bumped up leaving a lot of empty river for M1 to cover with a crew breathing down their neck. The call Kill had been designated to finish off the crew in front but on exiting Ditton to relieve the pressure of a approahcing Pembroke crew, the first ‘Kill’ call came and the rating was quickly taken up to 39-40. Pembroke reacted strongly knowing they needed to bump Wolfson to gain their blades and closed to within a canvas and then overlap! However, M1 did not give-up and another Kill call was called….15 strokes later another one……and the same again. Wolfson and Pembroke jostled canvas-overlap-canvas-overlap all the way down the reach! The final push from both crews came by the railway bridge. A massive cheer of pain and joy was released as we crossed the line having spoilt Pembroke’s blades party plans.  This was a huge performance from M1 and they, Pembroke and Homerton (within a boat length of Pembroke) all showed memorable mental strength to maintain the quality and level of rowing for the full course in such a tightly contested competition.

W1 DAY 1: BUMPED DOWN BY CHRISTS

W1 Day 2:  ROW OVER – Though rewarded with a only a row over, W1 had a truly spectacular day of rowing. The crew remained focused amid the chaos of whistles, cannons and flailing (obviously inferior) crews. After the start, we settled nicely into a powerful and consistent rhythm. The crew rowed hard and strong, finding a stride that propelled us towards Christ’s II. We were gaining on them, hungry for vengeance and bumping them back to their rightful place. If it weren’t for the pandemonium in front of us, Clare II crashing into the bank and providing an easy over-bump, the Wolfson ladies would almost certainly have caught Christ’s II. Most impressive however was not the remarkable effort that the crew demonstrated when chasing Christ’s but their resilience after the over-bump. Instead of easing off, Wolfson women continued to row with grit and determination all the way to the finish. Every member of W1 should feel tremendously proud of today’s race. Each of us gave every last ounce of energy and demonstrated that we will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of bumps. As one “sexy” Wolfson boatie (as proclaimed by the bumps programme) put it, “Witness the fitness.”

M2 DAY 1: ROW OVER – On Tuesday the 1^st May Wolfson’s M2 boat lined up as the first Wolfson crew to compete in the Lent 2011 bumps. With everyone controlling their nerves M2 came off with a solid start, only for chaos to occur on a divisional scale at first post corner! Interesting marshalling had resulted in Hughes Hall, who bumped being told to cross the river into the path of our M2 crew and the resulting carnage led to a re-row of the division. At the second gun M2 again made a solid start rowing with clear water ahead. With the crews behind bumping out we settled in for a comfortable row-over.

M2 DAY 3: OVER-BUMPED DOWN BY CLARE HALL -Thursday of bumps highlighted to all involved how fickle and lucky bumps races can be. As M2 closed on the Addenbrookes boat ahead they bumped the Fitzwilliam boat in front of them on the inside of First Post corner. This forced M2, who had taken an inside line, to react quickly and correct their line going wide around First Post. Unfortunately the line could not be recovered and M2 ploughed into the outside of the exit of first post corner. This resulted in an over-bump for a very good Clare Hall as Queens had despatched the poor FaT boat in-between. This however, sets up a re-race of Day 2 for the final day with Wolfson hoping to bump Fat IV and regain positions in the Div 4 table.

M2 DAY 4: BUMP UP OVER FAT IV – On the final day of bumps Wolfon’s M2 crew were lined up once again behind the FaT crew from day 2; a crew they knew they had the better of. However, there was no complacency and M2 drew cleanly away from the chasing Emmanuel 3^rd boat and closed on FaT. Nearing first post corner, looking for the early bump, a “mini-crab” disrupted the rhythm in the bow 4; however, it was a minor blip as M2 again closed and obtained overlap without contact. M2 then held overlap around first post corner with the FaT cox obviously under orders not to concede early. This was to such an extent that shortly after first post corner the bump was called by the umpire on the bank bringing M2’s Lent bumps to a close.

Overall M2 ended with a -1. This was an unlucky result for a crew that had no prior bumps experience and had esperienced its fair part of misfortune.  However, the crew had a fantastic time and cannot wait till Mays comes around.

NM1:

NM1 put Wolfson in a great position to begin next years Fairbairns with a determined row that saw them finish 13th overall in the men’s category. NM1 maintained a nice long rhythm and some good coxing through the final few corners aided a great race.

NW1:

I have a slightly biased view (as there coach) but possibly the stand out performance of the day came from the women. The highest finishing boat of the day and a position not achieved by an NW1 crew in over a decade (in fact as far back as the online records go!). The girls produced a fine display to finish tied 10th (9th if you exclude St Mary’s girls school). A stunning performance and hopefully one that means good things for Wolfson’s senior women crews later this year!

NM3:

A NM3 crew that had been hampered by absences over the term battled hard over a tough Fairbairns course in severe conditions to beat several crews including Sidney Sussex NM1, Pembroke NM2 and Caius NM3.

NM1 received a bye into the second round. There they met St Cats A. After going behind from the start, the guys pulled back with a mighty effort to make it through to the quarter finals. Here they unfortunately lost to Clare A despite fighting back in the later stages of the race.

WCBC NW1:

NW1 also produced some good performances. In the first round they showed that its not all about the size of the college or fancy boats but the rowers themselves as they stormed to a 4-5 boat length victory over First and Third A. They were unfortunate to meet eventual winners Newnham in the second round but according to the official winning margins, gave them their closest race of the day!

WCBC NM2:

NM2 powered off the start to win their first round race easily by 3 boat lengths against Fitzwilliam College. Their second round race was against nemesis side Trinity and was the race of the day. Trinity took it hard off the start but Wolfson clawed their way back into it. Two unfortunate crabs left Wolfson with just a bit too much to do as a tiring Trinity crew just managed to hold off a resurgent Wolfson – based on today’s performance NM2 can look forward to gaining revenge on the longer Fairbairn’s course!

WCBC NM3:

NM3 also raced today and after a first round bye met Queens college in the second round. After initial technical failures, NM3 put in the effort to hold distance with Queens but it was just too much to claw back the initial Queens lead. A great effort by NM3, not giving up till the very end!

The heavens looked down favourably on the WCBC NM2 crew (dressed as priests) in their first race as they beat Hughes Hall NM2 by 400m. For a 500m race this was quite convincing to say the least. The men had an untidy but quick start and this put pressure on Hughes Hall who went into the bank after just 100m. The Wolfson NM2 cox and crew showed great respect for their opponents by pushing hard till they had crossed the finish line. However, this was to be NM2’s only victory of the day as they fell at the second hurdle to a good THBC crew that drove hard at the half way point. A lesson no doubt for future races but a good start to the terms racing.

NM3 were unfortunate to face Robinson NM2 but put up a good initial fight from the start. However, by the half-way point, as the crew tired, Robinson found their rhythm and pushed away from the men.  They were unlucky in their final race to lose to Girton NM3.

NW1 learnt the hard way that Emma sprints is not necessarily a fair race. Dressed in arguably the best costumes of the division (Clowns), Wolfson ladies took on home team Emma. Despite some bribery and promises of an even start, Emma received a sizeable advantage (more than a canvas). However, despite a few nervous initial strokes, Wolfson settled down the quicker of the two crews showing superior timing and power. As WCBC clawed back, Emma crossed the centre line of the river and clashed blades. While this threw the rhythm briefly, NW1 quickly recovered and once again started hunting down their opponents. By the ¾ mark they began to take the lead when once more Emma crossed the centre line, clashed blades and drove Wolfson wide. From this point there was no coming back as Emma, with the majority of the river by now, pushed on to win by less than a canvas. NW1 showed their class however in a second round annihilation of Selwyn by over 2 boat lengths. They look to take this form into the less biased Clare regatta.

NM1 were the final crew to race and were unfortunate to be drawn against eventual winners Queens in their first round. Taken by surprise of the start, Queens pressed into an early lead. Wolfson responded well and once up and running, maintained their position a boat length off Queens until the finish. It was an unfortunate meeting and more practice on starts will surely see Wolfson put up a good fight at Clare. Their potential was shown in the second race of the day where, despite a seat malfunction, they stormed to a boat length victory over Girton gaining revenge for NM3’s earlier loss.

For pictures of this event please visit our Facebook Gallery

However, the first race of the term is an introduction to a rower’s nemesis – the erg! On Tuesday 9th November – 24 men and 8 women stepped up to take on Queens’ Ergs. While many of you may have read my over excited live updates on our new Facebook fan page, it is the rowers’ views that count:

First up the Novice Men’s 3^rd Boat:

Coming from the US, I didn’t know what an erg was until I joined the college rowing team, let alone an erg competition. I was told that the environment would be exciting, invigorating, and just crazy. It was that and much more. When we arrived at Queen’s college and saw all the other crews, the excitement began to build. When we walked into the auditorium, it was like we walked into a movie. The lighting, the noise, the music; just an incredible environment. And before I realized it, the race had already started. Luckily I wasn’t first. But our crew wasn’t on the screen? This was the first of several malfunctions that night. Our erg was accidentally disconnected from the computer system so we could not see our progress on the big board compared to other crews. We pushed anyway. After the first 2 rowers, I was next. But in the excitement of the night, the right foot pedal strap was completely removed from the second rower. What did that mean? That meant someone had to hold my right foot as I rowed because it was not secured to the erg. And I was off. There was yelling on my right, left, in my face, it was everywhere. I concentrated on pacing myself because the energy was overwhelming and I knew I had to save some for the last 100m. Fatigue set in, but with my crew yelling at me, it was an afterthought. Then I was done. My crew picked me up and I sat on the side recovering. After about 2 rowers, I was back yelling and pushing my crew. When we finished, the sense of accomplishment was incredible and the bond created unbreakable. To describe the competition in one word: Electric!
Osita Onugha

Next to take on the screaming crowds was Novice Men’s 2^nd Boat:

This race was of great inspiration to everyone watching and cheering on Wolfson.  The crew looked relaxed when they entered the Queens’ Erg arena and un-fazed by the screams and mayhem surrounding them. The calm exterior soon changed as the race began. In the early rounds Wolfson NM2 held pace with an Anglian Ruskin crew who went on to finish third overall. As time passed and rowers passed out they became involved in a fantastic battle with Jesus NM2. Third place shifted back and forth during the efforts of three rowers barely a few metres in it the whole time. The final leg was due to be something epic and NM2 knew it – jumping up and down in front and around Wolfram Bosbach as he went bow-to-bow with Jesus they inspired a fantastic performance. As WCBC coaches we continue a tradition, a mantra passed on from our novice coaches and in the past few years this has been the ‘Inches’ speech by Al Pachino in Any Given Sunday. The words of this speech were optimised by the performance by NM2 – watching from the balcony, It was obvious everyone had  given it everything and that this final row was going to be no different. As Jesus faltered, NM2 attacked, closing them down and, on the final stroke, over-hauling them to win by just a metre! Emotions ran high as Wolfram collapsed into Coach Tom’s arms and this will surely bond a crew and give them belief in more epic battles over the coming weeks.
David Johns

The Novice Women finally stepped into the arena at 8.30pm:

The race seemed to be over in an instant! With the non-stop encouragement from Mark and David, all of the girls pulled out personal best times and, having given it their all, looked truly shattered. There wasn’t a team that tried harder than NW1 both individually over the 500m and together, cheering on every girl as she rowed her heart out.  All the girls appeared to have their own unique style to get them through their 500m race:  ZZ taking over the role of the coaches screaming out 1, 2, 3…; Ash throwing her head back to get as much power as possible; Rebecca collapsing into the arms of her team-mates; and Katie’s look of sheer determination.

It was a great night. Only just finishing outside of the final was a fantastic effort. Everyone can be very proud of NW1’s achievements already this term. Well-done girls, bring on the next race.
Carmen Jack

NM1 were the last to face the crowds:

AWAITING FULL REPORT

SUMMARY: Wolfson NM1 made the final of the Men’s first division and produced a fantastic, gutsy display. Of particular note are performances by Michiel Marck (4th fastest mens time) and Andrew Sullivan (12th fastest mens time).

You can relive the all three races in their entirity on YouTube (with more details about the race):
Quarter-final: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfchkcAh4XA
Semi-final: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Mcns3zisU
Final: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_RIp_HYwOI

Thanks go to Sam Foster for the filming; David Dillon for the moral support (and the water carrying); Jeremy for the coaching from the bank; and Bek for the awesome coxing!

The weather was perfect for racing as we marshalled, and the crew enjoyed the sight of watching the other competitors set off as we slowly made our way towards the starting line. Once upstream of Chiswick bridge we stripped down to our racing kit and prepared to spin the boat towards the start line. We set off and had a controlled wind to get the boat up to racing speed in time for crossing the line and starting the 20min race. It didn’t take long before we had settled into a steady 32spm rythm and the cox started to announce that we were closing down on a crew in front. The distance between us and the slower crew continued to decrease and we started to make the overtake around a quarter of the way into the race. As we counted the seats of the opposition boat past our cox we stayed firm and relaxed and kept the controlled push on. We strove on determined not to let anyone past us whilst also wanting to hunt the rest of the crews ahead.

As we passed under Hammersmith bridge load cries went up for Wolfson from the various collections of supporters positioned with cameras at the ready. Many in the crew stayed resolute in their determination to row through the distraction but some couldn’t resist the opportunity to look up and give a smile to the cameras (shocking behaviour). Coming out of Hammersmith we knew we where on the way to the finish and we had a crew within reach, but it would be a real task to catch them. So we sat up and increased the pressure. Coming down the last stretch of the course we worked between pushing off a fast crew threatening to come up on and gaining on the crew in front. We didn’t give the chasing crew an inch and they sat a good 3 lengths clear of our stern without being able to further close the gap. The crew ahead we managed to gain on but were just under a length short of our second over take as we crossed the finish line.

The row back to Tideway Scullers, at the start line, was long but the crew pressed on and we even toyed with a river patrol boat at one point showing that our eight blades were more than a match for their twin diesel propellers. The result of the day was promising for our M1 crew + 2 substitutes from St. Edmund’s college. Starting in 377th position we finished with a time of 19:34.68 putting us at 242nd, which put us 11th out of the 54 Novice category crews that entered. We’d also managed to scalp some other Cambridge College crews, showing Wolfson aren’t just a harmless graduate college that fill up slots in the bumps divisions. Scalped: Magdalene M1, Selwyn M1, Trinity Hall M1, SelwynM2, FAT M2, Homerton M1, Christ’s M1, Churchill M1 and Hughes Hall M1.

Well done to the crew and thanks to all involved in coaching the crew and especially to Tim Rhodes for transporting the boat to and from the competition.