The Newnham short course was the first race for some of us in a senior crew in W3. We were all very excited to see how much we have improved since novice term. Although one of our crew members injured her back earlier in the week, we managed to find a sub in order to race.
The weather was sunny and warm for February- a perfect day for rowing. We were off to a strong start once the race began, with a great start sequence we had tried to perfect many times during training sessions. We maintained race pace at rate 31 spm throughout the first part of the race. Halfway through the race, some of us were starting to get tired, but with persistence and continued encouragement from our cox and coach on the bank, we maintained the pace and finished strongly with a power ten. This was certainly the best 2km we as a crew have ever done, and even managed to beat a few W2 and one W1 crew in total racing time!
We were all cheering and smiling happily rowing back to the boat house, knowing all the training and fitness sessions have paid off. Special thanks to Päivi for coaching us this term and giving us so much invaluable advice and tips. We are now looking forward to other races happening this term, having the confidence that we can do well.
Vanessa Cheung, 2