Minerva Bath Rowing Club

Monkton Blue Friars 8th October 2011

2011-11-29T20:29:00.004Z

The local October regatta had a fantastic turn out from Minerva Crews and saw gold and purple dominating the river.

The veteran component produced 2 wins, with Tim Birtwistle and Johnston winning the MasC 2X and Arnold Cooke and Klaus Riekemann not only winning the MasH 2- but also beating the crews in the age category below.

The junior squad, represented by Max Higgins and Mariot Andreassen battled well in their single sculls achieving a 5th and 3rd respectively. Max went on to race in the IM2 2x with Steve Lister to win the category and produce the fastest double scull time of the day. Mariot went on to double with Jack Hawking in the IM3 2x and despite being the only mixed crew in the category they won by over 10seconds.

The women's novice crews were also out in force and faced a strong battle against each other and a third crew from Avon County. The crew of Jeanette Muller, Sarah Moon, Arianna Granziera and Emily Porter faced a strong challenge from the up and coming self titled 'B' crew of Debbie O'Halloran, Kathryn Maidment, Marianna Hunt and Laura Cowen. Racing in different divisions it was a case of waiting for the times to come out at the end of the day. Minerva completed the 1st and 2nd with Jeanette's crew bringing home the pots.

It was then just a case of waiting to see how well the coaches would do. Steve Lister and Jeanette Muller raced in the IM1 2x and raced to victory. With two races not being enough for both of them, Jeanette also recorded a win in the IM3 single scull, while Steve had to settle for 2nd place in the men's IM1 scull against strong competition.

The battle for the Challenge Shield heads to Monmouth

2011-11-29T19:36:00.003Z

It was to be a tense Sunday at Monmouth for the first head race of the season. Only a second separated the Minerva and Alkmaar crews at the AA race in April and Minerva was keen to regain the shield on home ground.

Two crews from each club headed into Wales for the race. The women's 4+ of Laura Cowen, in her first head race, Arianna Granziera, Emily Porter and stroked by Sarah Moon knew they had a tough job on their hands facing a far more experienced Dutch crew. Nerves were starting to show on the way up to race but as the boat turned the crew settled and focused on the task ahead. With every call from the cox the crew responded, managing to stay ahead of the doubles chasing from behind. A good time of 9:30 and an exhausted crew meant that the hard work was over, now it was a wait to see how the other three crews faired in the second division.

The men's Minerva crew of Neil Billett, Ian Burdis, Mike Ashman and Andy Hoyes faced an equally tough race, compounded by the failure of the rudder wire on the way to the start leaving the crews course completely reliant on their luckily very experienced cox Sue Lees. The crew put in an exceptional performance and despite covering slightly more of the course than planned they finished the course in 8:44, nearly 10 seconds faster than their Dutch counterparts.

This left everything to play for as all waited for the women's crew from Alkmaar. They had a strong race, being coxed rather too effectively by Sarah Moon and finished in a time of 9:22. Once again the race for the challenge shield was separated by only a couple of seconds, with this time the victory heading to Minvera Bath.

A great day was had by all and we look forward to the return visit in April for the 25th Anniversary.

Three new level 2 coaches

2011-11-21T16:14:00.001Z

Congratulations to Jack, Max and Charlie for passing their level 2 coaching course: qualified and raring to go!

Postcard from Poznan

2011-11-21T15:58:00.001Z

The last time I was in Poznan was in 1958, to compete in the European Championships. We lodged close to Lake Malta but didn’t venture as far as the city , a mere 3 kms away so, while I noticed that the regatta area had undergone considerable changes in the ensuing fifty plus years, I was a novice as far as the city was concerned.
Poznan is not top of most tourists’ “places to see before you die” list, so I wasn’t expecting much. The drive from the airport provided a crash course in eastern bloc architecture; yet once we pulled up outside our apartment building and saw evidence of cobbled streets, things began to look up. We were lucky to be staying a short walk from Stary Rynek, the picturesque old town square, lined with merchants’ houses displaying ornate gables and colourful decorated facades. The focal point, however, was the stunning Ratusz. This former town hall was a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture - except like most of the buildings it had been heavily restored following the bombing in WW2. In addition to its cultural attractions, Stary Rynek also boasts numerous restaurants and pavement cafes and these became the watering holes for the “après rowing” gatherings. On the first few evenings, it was warm enough to sit outside and meet and greet friends and friendly competitors as we knocked back the local “piwo” and sampled specialities such as “pierogi”, the delicious filled dumplings.
Poznan welcomed us warmly and I’m definitely looking forward to the next Masters at Duisburg where no doubt we’ll all enjoy a taste of German hospitality.

Duisburg - vivid, vibrant and full of contrast
Once known as "Coalville" Duisburg on the Rhine is today a city of full of diversity and has a lot to offer visitors and residents alike.
Fans of history, culture and art, for instance, have four interesting museums to choose between. Classical music lovers may prefer to listen to the German Opera on the Rhine at the municipal theatre which coincidentally celebrates it’s 100th anniversary while the FISA Masters Regatta is going ahead or the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra in the Mercator concert hall at the brand-new City Palais. If it is nature you are looking for, take time to enjoy the extensive Six Lakes area in Duisburg's southern suburbs, or Landscape Park with its abandoned steel-works-turned-industrial-museum in the north. Those interested in gardening can take their pick of two botanical gardens, one in the east and one in the north. The more active can flit along the Rhine or hike through Revierpark Mattlerbusch. Enjoy shopping in the city centre or one of numerous neighbourhood shopping centres. Children will no doubt love a visit to the zoo to see koala bears and dolphins. Of course, the ideal family outing is a a sight-seeing river boat trip around Duisport, Europe´s largest inland harbour

The possibilities offered in Duisburg are inexhaustible of which one is the Sportspark Duisburg, comprising the world famous rowing regatta course renown for its exceptionally fair conditions to every competitor.
Klaus Riekemann

The capsize drill really isn't that bad!

2011-09-27T11:33:00.002+01:00

"Everyone has to do a capsize drill", words that I heard quite early on after starting my Learn to Row course in March, I’m sure the words were said with an evil little smirk – what’s the definition of Schadenfreude – pleasure derived from the pain of others? Or maybe I was just imaging that. I just put it to the back of my mind hoping everyone else would too. You may love being on the water and rowing but who loves to capsize? Maybe if you’re 10 years old ....

But not so lucky, the date was finally booked and loomed (a suitable rowing adjective I think). So about 30 of us turned up at Monkton Combe swimming pool for a capsize drill last week and most people seemed to be terrified; either of having to swim 100m fully clothed with 30 other people splashing around you or having to capsize, right the boat and climb back in and all of that done with an audience not only of fellow capsizers but also coaches plus members of the junior squad a even better a few parents who seemed to have arrived as if for a show, with coffee and sarnies and a ringside seat. It felt a bit like the X Factor moment when you’re up on stage and half the people want you to succeed but the other half are probably hoping for a disaster to occur and have a right old laugh. And of course we provided that in some measure.

Hysterical laughter seemed to be the order of the day which worked to stifle our fear a little and probably meant we inadvertently swallowed more pool water, joy. This is from someone who, as you can tell, is an Earth sign (not that I actually believe in that crap) and pretty keen on remaining on the earth and preferably remaining up "the right way up" so being upside down in the water holds the same appeal as a fart in a spacesuit as Billy Connolly would say. But surprise surprise, it turned out to be not so bad at all. Swim round the pool was over in minutes and by then you were soaking wet and not so bothered about getting more doused again. Then the junior helpers (Charlie, Max and Jack – what a team!) and coach Jeanette managed to be totally fabulous and making just about all of us feel in safe hands (apart from Emily who was tricked by Max and tipped over a little sooner than expected! Revenge at some point will be sweet). Everyone turned out to be rather British, forming an orderly queue and then clapping cheerily as each person went through the drill and survived. So I can honestly say it wasn’t that bad. But we only have to do it once, right?

Laura

Annual dinner - achievements and awards

2011-08-26T13:31:00.001+01:00

Minerva’s achievements for 10/11
Concrete floor in the sheds
The ergo platform has been completed.
Sue, Jeanette and Jack are now power boat drivers and qualified to drive our launch.
Steve has completed his level 2 coaching course so he’s the latest addition to the coaching squad.
Max, Charlie and Jack are halfway though.
Membership is increasing.
We have one junior on the WCS programme
Brilliant new website
“Rowing Club” signs in Bath
Coxing course complete.

Thank you to the committee, without whom none of the above could’ve been achieved: thanks to Arnold, Andy W, Sarah, David, Jeanette, Vicky, Emily, Matthew, Laura and Sean. I’d also like to thank Bethan and Charlie J who are no longer on the committee. Don’t forget though that everyone on the committee is a volunteer and spend their free time organising, phoning and fixing on your behalf.

Thanks to all those who helped out and sat in during the learn to row courses in 2011, especially to Andy H for project managing! We have another course next month, so we will need volunteers once again.

First award is the herding cats award.
• Third place goes to David for captaining the men’s squad. The reason he only gets third place is because the squad is only just starting to get bigger. I think at one point, it was only him and one other person to organise!
• Second place goes to Sarah for organising the women. Sarah has taken up the mantle at a time when the squad is growing and Sarah has to try to accommodate experienced rowers and those who have only just started.
• Last December, Jeanette took over as junior organiser and she tries to get some kind of idea every week how many juniors are going to turn up. Some weeks it works, this could be due to cake bribery, others it does not, but for that reason, Jeanette gets the herding cats award.

We have a number of coaches, as you know, at Minerva and I’d just like to say thanks to them for all their hard work: Andy W, Andy U, Arnold, Steve, Tim and Sue. Again, these people are volunteers!

This brings me nicely on to the top coach award. The award this year goes to someone who has only recently passed his level 2 coaching award and has put it to great use all summer - Steve.

The next award this year is the junior plate. This award goes to two juniors, for stepping up their game and training the hardest and are most consistent in attending, for helping out in the club when asked, for coaching some of the women (and they have coached juniors also), for getting on with finishing their level 2 –Max and Charlie .

All round good egg: someone not on the committee or one of the coaches. This year’s winner has helped out at every LTR course, at the working weekend, mentoring Plus etc: she rows and she coxes. The award goes to Sue.

I’d like to say thanks to Tim B for cutting the grass all summer!

The rowing almanac records a total of 19 wins for Minerva in 2010/2011. However there is one Minerva crew who consistently keep winning year after year and the last 12 months has been no different. The Minerva Crew of the Year goes again to Andy and Gary.

This year's winner of the Individual Cup, presented to someone who is deemed to have excelled in their pursuit of the sport. This year’s winner is Arnold for winning everything at the Henley and the Masters Champs as well as breaking the record for the 2k ergo time for his age group at the national indoor rowing championships.

The final award of the year is usually the Bent Rigger award. This year, it goes to four of the most experienced Minerva rowers: Andy U, Andy H, William and Nic for putting a huge hole in the bows of Fontus!

We have a great, friendly rowing club. If there were an award for cheering, Minerva would get it! With the limited facilities we have, we do a good job. Now, let’s get some crews out racing this winter and be friendly but ruthless! Thanks to one and all!

Best til last at Bewdley

2011-08-05T13:51:00.006+01:00

There was a small party of Minerva rowers at Bewdley this year and success came at the very end of the weekend.

On Saturday, there were entries from Gandy in MasC.2-, Steve in IM1.1x, Jeanette in Nov.1x, Helen and Elaine in IM3.2x and MasC.8+ with Neil, Mark, Mike A, Andy H, Gandy, Ian and Dave S. Sadly, there were no pots on day one, but some close races. On Saturday night, the vets, apart from Andy H, left the scullers behind and went home.

On Sunday, Helen and Elaine went out in the second round but were then able to sit in the sun all afternoon and eat ice cream! The next race was Jeanette's first round in the W.Nov.1x, closely followed by Steve's final in IM1.1x. Prior to her heat, Jeanette found her opposition to arrange a time to meet at boat checking. Amusingly, it was the girl that had kept her up for quite a while the night before as her tent was close to ours and she seemed to be enjoying some loud banter with her team mates during the night. Well it was time for revenge for loss of a good night's sleep which Jeanette did by beating her opposition by three lengths!

Steve's final was very exciting and it was a close call, but his opposition just beat him.

The final race of the weekend for Minerva was Jeanette's final against Bridgenorth. As Jeanette and her opposition raced round the corner, it looked as though Jeanette was every so slightly ahead, but it was hard to tell. As they came closer to the finish line, it was still anyone's race, but the determination on Jeanette's face, you could see that she wasn't going to give up without a fight. And she didn't, going over the line ahead by about half a length.

She didn't stop smiling when she was dunked in the river! Well done Jeanette for winning your novices.

Victory at Exeter Regatta 2011

2011-07-10T21:55:00.008+01:00

Saturday 9th July 2011 saw a large contingent of Minerva Bath rowing club heading down to the South West in search of Silverware.

The mornings racing was devoted to the 4+ events. It was a positive start from the women's squad with both the Novice crew, consisting of Jeanette Muller, Emily Porter, Arianna Granziera and Sarah Moon, and the Senior B crew of Helen Atherton, Beth Smith, Elaine Hoyes and Vicky Fieldhouse, making it through to the finals with ease, both under the expert coxing of Anne Crozier. The novice crew had a hard battle on their hands in the final, finishing second by half a length to the A crew from Dart Totnes. The Senior B women built on a strong start to win, beating off crews from Dart Totnes and Bideford Reds.

The men's squad had crews entered in both the Senior A and B category and both faced straight finals against the South wests finest. The senior B crew of Ali Willet, Mike Glanville, Dave Connell and Rich Wiles-Teoh faced a challenging race against the seasons WEARA leaders Dart Totnes. At the half way point the race was close but Dart Totnes opened the tanks in the second half of the race to gain victory. The senior A composite crew of Jake Tempo, Reading's Aodhan Kelly, Alex Wildy and Charlie Jackson also faced a Dart Totnes crew. The crew's training sessions paid off and they were able to power through their opposition to an easy win in this blue ribbon event to the raucous cheers of the Minerva Bath supporters and the delight of the crowds along Exeter's historic quay.

The senior A scullers faced a tough challenge against commonwealth competitors. Steve Lister and Jake Tempo found themselves in the repechage having placed second in their heats against scullers from Exeter and Dart Totnes. They found themselves battling against another strong competitor from Torquay. It was an exciting race for those watching, with less than a second separating the crews at the finish but sadly seeing the Minerva competitors missing out on the final. Alex Wildy, in the Senior B scull also had a tough race, beating crews from Bideford and Plymouth to make the final, finishing second to a sculler from Exeter.

The sculling continued in the last session of the day with the doubles. Helen Atherton and Elaine Hoyes faced a straight final against two Exeter crews. A strong start put them into contention but the Exeter A crew proved too strong and pulled away from the Minerva double. The junior J18 double of Max Higgins and Charlie Falkus produced a comfortable victory in the heats against crews from Plymouth and Castledore and went on to win the final by over a length.

The mixed events saw mixed fortune. The senior B crew of Jeanette Muller, Mike Glanville, Dave Connell and Sarah Moon, faced a fight to get to the final but grit and determination won through. They faced further tough opposition in the final, a neck and neck race saw the crew having to wait for the announcement before celebrations on their victory began. The senior A mixed crew of Ali Willet, Aodhan Kelly, Arianna Granziera and Vicky Fieldhouse were left waiting at the start for sign of their opposition. In the end they were left to face a row over for an unsatisfactory victory.

And finally to the 8's. The men's squad faced the Dart Totnes Senior A/B combination from the fours earlier in the day and they knew they had a tough battle on their hands. A difficult start put the crew behind and despite pushing hard they were unable to gain ground on their opposition, finishing second. The women entered into the Senior C category. The novice 4 was joined by Elaine Hoyes, Helen Atherton, Sue Lees and Laura Cowen, enjoying her first ever race. A clean start saw the crew facing a tight battle against the crew from Exeter, with both crews level at the half way point. Anne Crozier as cox demanded more from the Minerva rowers who responded, picking up the rating and the power and driving away from the Exeter crew who were unable to respond. A comfortable win of over half a length and a 100% record for Laura.
Another great day of racing over and thoughts turn to the next regatta.

Glover getting a handle on success after breakthrough

2011-07-07T15:32:00.006+01:00

Minerva Bath's Helen Glover says she is determined to be inspired and not intimidated by her rapid rise from beginner to Olympic medal contender. The former Oldfield School PE teacher only took up the sport three years ago but goes into this weekend's World Cup meeting in Switzerland as one half of Britain's most promising crew. Glover and University of Bath graduate Heather Stanning have made great strides since being put together in the women's pair last year and have already won one World Cup title this season. That followed their breakthrough performance in last year's World Championships, where they won silver, and Glover says she feels right at home battling it out for global honours.

"Heather and I were only talking the other day about how we were the underdogs last year and now we are one of the top crews," said the 25-year-old.

"Rather than putting us under pressure, we have to use that as a positive – we are there for a reason and that is because we have put in a lot of strong performances. The pressure comes from ourselves to keep it up.

"Heather and I have put in a lot of hard work to get where we are, it hasn't just happened for us, so to be winning World Cups is very rewarding."

Glover handed over the trophy she won at the World Cup in Munich to Miverva Bath to thank the club for supporting her early career.

"I've still got friends in Bath and it's good to go back and see them when I can but we do not really get much time off," said Glover, who rows in Minerva Bath colours and trains in Reading.

"Minerva Bath are a great club so it is nice to give something back to them. Being a rower is quite a selfish job really, you have to look after yourself, so it's nice to be able to share the success when I can."

Glover also revealed that the seeds of her winning partnership with Stanning were sewn on the River Avon.

"Paul Stannard was my first coach at Minerva Bath and he also worked with Heather while she was with the University of Bath Rowing Club," she said.

"We had never trained together because we were in Bath at different times but, when I got into the British team last year, Paul thought we would be a good partnership.

"It's worked out really well as we have a similar outlook, probably from working with Paul."

Minerva Bath are one of 12 clubs taking part in this Saturday's City of Exeter Regatta, the oldest and biggest rowing event in the South West.

Neil Rose

Sport@bathchron.co.uk

Ironbridge Regatta 2011

2011-07-07T14:54:00.008+01:00

The weekend of the 25th and 26th June saw Minerva Bath venturing up to Ironbridge for this years regatta. After successfully pitching the tents in the pitch black, accompanied by pouring rain, we were woken by the smell of Steve cooking pancakes in the morning. This was just the first of Steve’s many roles over the weekend, along with paddle carrier, flip flop fetcher, car key carer, photographer, boat rigger and loader, he definitely won the prize for the ‘person we couldn’t have done without’ throughout the regatta.

The next couple of days were filled with some fantastic rowing. Sarah, Jeanette, Arianna and Emily won their first heat in the Novice women’s coxed 4, before being knocked out by the Warrington girls, who then went on to win in this category.
Sue came along in her campervan as cox, and was definitely the nicest cox ever, full of calm and encouraging comments no matter whether we were ahead or not!
Helen and Elaine raced in a double, rowing brilliantly but unfortunately losing to the other crew.

Following all the rain on Friday and Saturday, the river rose several feet overnight so this, coupled with much debris and sweltering heat, meant that racing was delayed throughout the day, before eventually being abandoned. Elaine and Helen won their first round in a women’s double, finishing with style as they narrowly avoided a 4 on the landing stage, before being knocked out in the semi final. They then went on to race in a coxed 4 with Emily and Sarah, with only slight hold ups and minimal help from the medics at the end of the women’s intermediate 3 race for a case of sunstroke, mentioning no names . . .!

Jeanette also sculled in the novice women’s class and did fabulously, considering she had sat in a single very few times before going for it and entering the regatta! Max and Charlie entered a J18 double on both days (so 800m and 500m respectively) and Max also entered the J18 single sculls on the Saturday.
Marley, as the pair became known, kept us amused all weekend. They even braved the British weather to camp out on the roof of the van on the Saturday night (whilst Sarah and Emily were partying in the disco tent with DJ Clive!).
The final highlight for Minerva had to be the food, especially our pub lunch on Saturday! All in all, although we didn’t come away with any pots, Minerva were by far the most supportive team present, even cheering when our boats left the landing stage to go up the course, and for the underdogs who seemed to have no cheering from their clubs on the bank.

Emily Porter.

New Website is now open for business

2011-07-06T20:30:00.004+01:00

The latest version of the Minerva Bath website is now available to review, all comments to Vicky please.

Bristol Avon Regatta 2011

2011-05-25T08:48:00.006+01:00

This weekend the 21st May 2011, Minerva Bath took part in the Avon regatta on their own stretch of river with another fantastic result for the juniors and veterans.

The J18 singles saw 3 members of the Minerva junior squad finishing in the top 4, with Frazier Christie beating Jack Hawking in the semi final to go on and race against his team mate Marcus Larbalestier. The final saw Christie coming away with a strong win in a time of 3.41.9, a new record by 2 seconds.

The J18 double of Max Higgins and Charlie Falkus had an unfortunate day, with their race being scratched at the last minute. They were offered a row over but sadly didn't get the trophies they were hoping for.

At the veteran end of Minerva, 'Gandy' started their season on fine form. Andy Wallis and Gary John recorded a win in the open senior coxless pairs. Claiming to have been 'pushed' in the straight final they still managed to beat their opposition by 7 seconds, recording a time of 3.38.9.

Cotswold Regatta Victory

2011-05-18T09:24:00.007+01:00

The 7th May saw Minerva Bath head to Cleveland Lake in the Cotswold water park. There was a strong Junior component and all were keen to start the regatta season off with some wins.

The day was split into two different events with the morning session being devoted to a 12oom head race and the afternoon session seeing a 750m regatta.

The morning head race started well. Frazier Christie and Marcus Larbalestier romped to victory in the J18 2x, posting the fastest time of the session. Christie raced again in the J18 1x winning his category easily to post the third fastest time of the morning. Not to be out done Charlie Falkus won the J17 1x category after coming third with Ollie Williams in the J18 2x.

The afternoon saw the winning streak continue. The J18 2x of Christie and Falkus and to hold off a fight from Larbalestier and Williams in the final to give Christie his third pot of the the day. The clubs other win came from the womens squad with Helen Atherton and Elaine Hoyes sculling brilliantly to claim there first win in the Womens novice 2x.

A brilliant start to the season and we look forward to Avon County regatta.....

Minerva Website

2011-05-16T14:33:00.005+01:00

As many of you will have heard through the grapevine the Minerva Website is in the process of being updated. It's almost ready.........
We going to link the blog to the news page of the website for headlines, so when you add a post to the blog - like this - it will get added to the Home page of the website.

There are therefore a few things that we would ask for in future posts if at all possible.
Firstly if you can label your post to either racing, news or social - these labels are at the bottom of the box as you're typing your report. This will help the computer programme to sort the article to the appropriate place on the website.

Secondly, pictures to support your article would be amazing. The news page will be linked to a picture and while we will endeavour to have a back up picture so there isn't a blank page, a picture linked to what you're writing about would be even better. I'm going to be even fussier for a second - if it could be a landscape shot, sized 500 width and 300 height even better.

Apart from distributing info to the website the blog itself will remain intact so don't panic about not being able to find the stories you're looking for, there will still be a direct link to the blog from the website.

Many thanks

Vicky

Alternative BLOG View

2011-04-19T17:25:00.002+01:00

Alternative BLOG View tab has been added to the site navigation bar, a better way to review the site content.

New world record for Arnold

2011-04-18T11:15:00.002+01:00

Arnold got the world record for the 2k ergo, 70+ lightweight on Saturday at the British Indoor Rowing Championship. He did 7 min 8.2 secs, which beat the old record by 5.2 secs.

Helen is rowing for Minerva

2011-04-12T11:46:00.004+01:00

Helen Glover learnt to row at Minerva with Paul Stannard under the World Class Start programme. She won the silver medal at the World Championships last year. Please see this email she sent us.

"Hi all, I hope things are going well at the club. We are in Italy on a training camp at the moment with some beautiful water and weather so feeling very lucky!

I am just emailing to let you know that I have had the opportunity to change clubs under the GB system (I moved to Reading uni bc to be coached when I moved there last year). I have declared Minerva Bath as the club I wish to represent this year, and hopefully on into 2012!

I feel the silver medal I achieved a the world championships was a great moment and I feel it is only right that the club I started out at gets to share in any international success with me. I will be pleased to be representing Minerva Bath at the GB rowing team trials at Dorney on April the 16th and 17th. Hope this email finds you all well and the club successful.

Helen Glover"

I'm really pleased that Helen has decided to wear Minerva colours.

We wish her all the best and hope to see her at Dorney Lake next year!!!!

Here is an update from Helen after the weekend! "Heather and I had a great weekend and won the pairs event. We set ourselves up well by winning the timetrial by 9 seconds, then winning the semi final ( both on Saturday) and won our final by a length of clear water today. In minerva yellow I was very easy for the supporters to spot!"

Alkmaar 2011 Challenge Shield

2011-03-15T19:10:00.002Z

Crews from Minerva have been visiting and competing in Alkmaar, Holland for over 20 years.

Why Alkmaar?
Basic explanation - Alkmaar is twinned with Bath

Historical explanation - Towards the end of WW2 in 1944/5 Northern Holland was by-passed by the main thrust of war – isolated but still under German occupation the population was close to starving. The people of Bath hearing of their plight raised funds for air drops of food and clothing, the rest as they say is history.

Where is Alkmaar, and how do I get there?
Holland – about 40 minutes North of Amsterdam. There are flights from Bristol (KLM + Easy Jet) to Amsterdam. Once in Holland the trains to Alkmaar are frequent and cheap.

Isn’t it really only for the older club members?
A really important one this. NO.
What keeps the exchange vibrant and worthwhile is ensuring that we get a real cross section from both clubs to join in, whether as hosts or guests. Alkmaar has a large women’s squad and are particularly keen to challenge the Minerva ladies.

I can’t afford it
Ok, so we are in a recession and the £ is pretty weak but there are return flights from under £100 (you will have to fly early in the morning to get these prices) and all you need is pocket money for beer and food.
If you look on it as mini holiday it’s a bargain.

I don’t speak Dutch
Their English is infinitely better than your Dutch.

I am a bit freaked by the thought of staying in a stranger’s house
Exactly what the set up will be varies from host to host but in this world of predictability and packaged experience it’s apparently good to live a little.

I am training and planning for rowing world domination in 2011, a weekend on the lash in May might upset my preparations.
Apart from the argument that a change of scenery is likely to do all you chiselled Adonis’s good, the Dutch have no shortage of water to row on (something to do with most of the country being below sea level). If you are so minded you can spend all Saturday rowing on the network of canals and double up(=13Km) on race day to compete against crews from across Europe

I am not training and planning for rowing world domination in 2011, and a weekend of rowing in May might upset my preparations for quietly going to seed
You’re in luck! you don’t have to row if you don’t want to.

Can I take part in the rowing even if my usual crew can’t all make it over?
Absolutely. It’s great if you want to race as a crew but it’s very rare that those who want to row don’t get an opportunity.

Still not convinced, want to phone a friend? Talk to Mark Smith or Mike Ashman or anyone who has been on a previous trip and check out the Minerva web site for reports from previous years.

Where's Welly?

2011-03-10T11:45:00.001Z

Has anyone seen Gary's wellies?

City of Bristol Head – a day of firsts and lasts

2011-02-24T11:12:00.001Z

Four Minerva crews entered the City of Bristol Head on Sunday 20th February. In the morning division, the women’s IM3 four, consisting of Sue, Jeanette, Jane and Yifat, with Sarah coxing, raced their last race with Yifat in the bows. They had to race at IM2 however, due to lack of competition and there were only two boats in their competition.

Helen and Elaine did their first race in their double as novices, however, there was no competition for them either so they to race at IM3.

In the afternoon division, the novice men’s crew had their first race; Martin, Peter, Gus and Tom coxed by Sue.

The women’s IM2 four with Charlie, Elaine, Helen and Sarah, coxed by Bethan were positioned one boat ahead of the men so both boats had added incentive to race well!

It was a strange day for the women, due to the lack of competition, but the IM2 four came away with a medal.

2010 World Championships Review

2010-11-22T12:56:00.004Z

Five ex-Bath athletes represented Great Britain at this year's World Rowing Championships: Alongside Ex-Minerva members Helen Glover and Vicky Thornley, Bath Uni Alumni Marcus Bateman, Adam Freeman-Pask and Heather Stanning were also representing the region!

All 5 athletes made their respective finals with Adam 6th in the LM2-, Vicky 4th in the W8+ whilst Marcus (M2x), Heather and Helen (W2-) all came away with excellent Silver medals.

For more information read the News Pages on the GB Rowing Team website here: http://www.britishrowing.org/gb/news

All 5 athletes were developed through GB Rowing Team's 'Start' Programme. The programme is a unique talent identification and development scheme which is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 has been sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified 7 athletes for Great Britain teams in the past 7 years including two U23 World Champions and 3 World Silver Medallists. The athletes currently on the programme in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the 'Start' Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Men's Performance Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowingteam.org.uk

Erica raced at World University Rowing Championships

2010-09-21T16:45:00.004+01:00

Ex-Minerva rower Erica Bodman was selected to represent GB at the World University Championships in August. Erica was selected as the Women's Single and finished 5th in a strong field of senior international women.

Erica has been on the GB Rowing Team's 'Start' Programme since August 2008 and is sponsored by Man Group plc. The programme is a unique talent identification and development scheme which is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 has been sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified seven athletes for Great Britain teams in the past seven years including two U23 World Champions. The athletes currently on the programme in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the 'Start' Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Men's Performance Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowingteam.org.uk

Ex-Minerva Women selected to GB World Championship Rowing Team 2010

2010-09-21T16:03:00.000+01:00

Heather Stanning, Helen Glover and Vicky Thornley have all been announced in the team for the World Rowing Championships that take place in New Zealand between 31st October and 7th November 2010.

Heather and Helen will contest the women's pairs event after racing in the world cup series this year. Heather first raced internationally in 2007 whilst at Bath University when she won gold in the U23 Women's Pair at the U23 World Rowing Championships after only 18 months in the sport. After a sabatical in 2008 where she completed her Army Officer training at Sandhurst she competed at the European Championships in the Women's Eight in 2009.

In similar fashion, Helen learned to row in February 2008 at Minerva and made the senior team in February 2010 - after only 2 years in the sport! This will be her first World Rowing Championships.

Vicky Thornley is selected in the Women's Eight who have had a medal winning world cup season to follow Vicky's medal winning introduction to international competition at the U23 World Rowing Championships last summer (2009) where she won gold in the women's eight.

All three women learned to row on the GB Rowing Team's 'Start' Programme. The programme is a unique talent identification and development scheme which is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 has been sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified seven athletes for Great Britain teams in the past seven years including two U23 World Champions. The athletes currently on the programme in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the 'Start' Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Men's Performance Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowingteam.org.uk

Stourport - more pots for Gandy!

2010-08-17T11:13:00.005+01:00

This was our best Mas C race to date. The race distance was 1,200m downstream – about 1,150m actual distance. We had raced the same crew from Stourport three times earlier in the season and were ahead two races to one, our loss resulting from a tactical error over the short course at Bewdley. This time we got our tactics spot on; we were happy to be down by about half a length and they took about a third of a length out of us by about 300m. Two squeezes kept us next to them until we drew level with about 250m to go. At this point we built for home and gradually pulled ahead. With about 120m to go Andy called ‘legs’, which means give it everything! The rating came up to 38, everything clicked and we won by just under a length! Awesome!!! J

The Mas D race was an easy cruise home after North Staffs pushed us quite hard for the first 200 to 300m.

Gandy

Exeter and Llandaf Regattas 10th/11th July

2010-07-18T13:34:00.008+01:00

Exeter Regatta, on the 10th July, held under the rules of WEARA, is the shortest course in the rowing season at a maximum of 400m. It was the first time in many ears Minerva had ventured down into the South West. With a strong contingent of rowers and numerous events entered the club headed down, keep to pick up some pots.

The day started well with both the Men's SB4+, of Charlie Pearson, Rich Wiles-Teoh, Ed Stenner and Mike Glanville - having to race in a harder category due to a lack of competition in their own - and the Women's SB4+, made up of Helen Atherton, Vicky Fieldhouse, Jess Whistance and Charlie Wooton, making it through to their respective finals. The men's crew had a strong start in the final and began to push away from the competition of Paignton, and last years winners Exeter, coming home almost a length ahead to pick up the first win of the day. The women also started well, and were neck and neck to the half way point when an unfortunate crab stopped the boat and meant the crew finished in second place to Exeter.

The second session saw Helen Atherton take part in her first single sculling race, despite covering almost twice the distance of her competitors Helen finished only a length behind in third place.
The last session saw the most racing. First up was the mixed 8 in a straight final against Paignton and Dartmouth. Minerva took the lead off the line and had a hard fought race to maintain the lead, only narrowly beating Paignton, and winning the clubs first trophy of the day.

The next race saw the mixed senior C 4+, of Sarah Moon, Dave Connell, Ali Willet and Yifat Padan, coxed by Alex Wildy avoid a crash at the finish line from the other two crews, but unfortunately they were forced to head back up to the start line for a three boat re-row, coming in an impressive second place.

The mixed SB4+ event saw two Minerva Bath crews battling it out with a crew from Bideford. The B crew of Charlie P, Mike, Jess and Vicky suffered a ramming from the Bideford crew, who were promptly disqualified for poor coxing, leaving a re-row between the two Minerva boats. The A crew, of Helen, Ed, Rich and Charlie W, lived up to their title and stormed away of the start line, convincingly beating the other crew by a good length.

The two women's novice double sculls had an unfortunate race, seeing both crews of Sarah Moon and Yifat Padan and Helen and Vicky, failing to make it to the start of the race on time due to the re-row's in the mixed events, but at least they managed a nice leisurely row back down the course to a splattering of applause. The final two races saw Jake Tempo and Alex Wildy storm down the short course to pick up an impressive trophy in the 2- event, and then go on to beat the double of Rich and Ali in a straight final after their other competition had scratched. It was deemed a successful day by all and there is hope to head back down again next year to defend the titles.

Sunday 11th July saw the sole Minerva representative at Llandaff Regatta, Club Captain-Andy Hoyes won the Open Masters C Coxed Fours on Sunday 11th July in a composite Minerva/City of Bristol crew beating Ross RC in the final.

Henley Vets

2010-07-18T13:23:00.004+01:00

The Henley Vet Regatta, taking place one week after Henley Royal Regatta on the 9th and 10th July, saw two representatives of Minerva Bath make the journey.

Arnold Cooke
H4- I was in my normal composite four, which has been together for nearly 10 years, though we only train together for about 10 outings a year. The four is Mervyn Theaker (bow) Henley RC, John Stoddart 2 Sheffield, Arnold 3, Tim Lincoln str Henley RC. Merv and I first met at the World Championships in Bled, Slovenia, in 1966 when he was rowing at Derby and I was in a double from Leander. I have known John from schooldays as he was the top sculler in another local school. Tim I met up with after the FISA Masters in 1988 and we have doubled off and on since then. At Henley Vets we raced against Nottingham in a straight final of the H4-. We beat them at the British Masters Champs in June in the H4+. At the start, I came off my seat on the second stroke – a thing I have not done for 20 years – but we still ended up ahead by stroke 10. Merv did a fantastic job keeping the boat straight as I jumped back on to the seat. After that, we drew away steadily and dropped the rate right down, managing a win by 3 lengths.

G8+ This was a composite of our four and the Derby F4. We rowed together in the Vets Eights Head in March and were well beaten by Occaquan (30 secs behind). Racing Occaquan again, though a different combination, we went up right from the start. The Derby four in the stern took us off at 44, still doing 40 at the end of 1 minute, strode to 36/37 in a head wind. We pulled ahead to a length lead by halfway, at which point the oldies in the bows (my four) were knackered. However we hung on rowing what I felt was half strokes, and came home safely about 1 length up. Very encouraging as we had all rather expected to lose.

Tim Birtwistle

After winning two rounds on Fri 9th July Tim lost the saturday MasD1x final by 1/3 length to Duncan Gwillian who won silver at the British Masters, it was a really tough race into a stiff headwind, Tim was leading up to last 30 strikes but could not hold Duncan off as he did a massive push for the line. Both our times were faster than MasC1x finalists showing the high standard of our event.

Henley Qualifiers

2010-07-04T20:34:00.006+01:00

Armed with razor sharp catches and an abundance of enthusiam, the men's coxed four of Charlie Pearson, Charlie Jackson, Ed Stenner, Mike Glanville and cox Vicky Fieldhouse made their way down to Henley for the friday qualifiers:

The Britannia Cup (for club coxed fours) is no easy event to qualify for and the guys knew this as they went head to head with 17 other crews fighting for 1 of 6 places.

After a morning practice to familiarise with the course, anxiety started to rise as the time came closer to boating. The crew "pushed off" in plenty of time and after a couple of practice starts, the Minerva four assembled above Temple Island waiting for their start. Olympic medallist and MBE; Kath Grainger was co-ordinating things at the marshalling area as the guys waited in the hot sun for their moment. Time seemed to pass slowly, but before long they were called forward, assembled at the start and under starter's orders to go.

After a quick half pressure stroke, Vicky called the "GO" then a "DRAW, DRAW and Wind it up..." With adrenaline flowing, there was no problem getting the rating into the 40s and before the end of the island the crew lengthened out to a more relaxed 36 - exactly as planned.

The start could have been tidier, but it certainly wasn't the worst, and coming down to the barrier the crew had settled onto a more relaxed 34 with a much better rhythm. The crew maintained a steady pressure in the water and Vicky kept things in check holding a safe course.

Coming into Fawley, Vicky called for more pressure and a rhythm change, the Charlies took the rating up a couple of pips before lengthening out, Ed and Mike provided extra power to back up the stern pair and the boat settled to a good rhythm and a solid platform. 4 minutes into the race, adrenaline was used up 3½ minutes ago and the crew needed every bit of motivation holding onto the pressure as they powered their way down the course. The next milestones went remarkably quickly, before you knew it the Remenham club was gone, then the little bridge and the crew were rowing down past the public enclosures.

With cheers starting to ascend from the increased number of spectators, the crew dug deep knowing the inevitable "Hole in the Wall" was approaching and with it the final charge for the finish. At this point Vicky called the rating up 2 pips, before long, Vicky was calling again for "MORE POWER", 2 MORE pips on the rating and the crew were up to the Scoreboard with just 10 strokes left. At this point, the call they've been anticipating.. "EMPTY THE TANKS" is bellowed out and with all their resolve; everyone sacrificed the last reserves of energy. Knowing each and every stroke could make a difference, the crew "lifted" and accelerated the boat forward again before crossing the finish...

After taking the boat off the water and racking in the blue and white boat tents there were mixed emotions of exhaustion, excitement and anticipation. A few minutes past, then announcement came: "The following crews have qualified for the Britannia Cup"

The successful clubs were read out in alphabetical order... Grosvenor, Kingston, London, were all announced and everyone "willed" the next club to be Minerva. With baited breath and a pause which seemed longer than before... "Nottingham" was announced, and with it, the realisation that they wouldn't be competing this year.

Minerva had finished pretty much halfway in the pack of non-qualifiers ahead of City of Cambridge and Bristol Ariel.

Having just 6 weeks together and an unfamiliar boat, the crew knew qualifying this year was always ambitious. Henley is notoriously difficult to qualify for, especially for small clubs, but then if it were easy to get in, it wouldn't be the premier event it is.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". Minerva will be back next year and next time Henley needs to be ready for the Gold, Purple, Black and White of Bath.

Ian Townsend

Reading Regatta

2010-07-04T20:22:00.002+01:00

Sunday the 13th June found a very lonely Minerva crew car topping its way to Reading regatta. The 1100m course was tackled by the crew of Helen Atherton, Bethan Smith - switching to a bow side position, Elaine Hoyes and Charlie Wooton under the coxing skills of Sue Hamilton.

With only three crews in the race the crew were hopeful about making the final, although they were up against strong competition to get there in the form of Cambridge City Rowing club. It was a stake boat start and both crews started strongly, neck and neck down the course. At the half way point a gaggle of geese out for a Sunday paddle misjudged the speed of the Minerva boat and failed to get out of the course in time. Both bow side blades ended up trapped under numerous geese giving the Cambridge crew the opportunity to push away from Minerva and take the lead. Despite a valiant fight back the girls were unable to recover, coming in second to the eventual winners.

The Met

2010-07-02T17:09:00.007+01:00

Next stop was Dorney lake on the 6th June, the site of the 2012 Olympics. Both the men's and ladies coxed fours had been training hard since Nottingham and were ready for a race. The regatta took place over two days on a 2K course.

The Saturday saw near perfect weather conditions as the ladies took to the course. The crew consisted of Helen Atherton, Daz Harding, Elaine Hoyes and Anne Crozier, coxed by Bethan Smith. At such a prestigious regatta there are no easy heats and the girls first race was no exception. Competing against Marlow, Moslesey, Agecroft, HSBC and a London composite it was always going to be a tough race. The girls set off well with a good start and were still in the pack at the 500m marker. From there the other crews started to pull away leaving Minerva to battle through the wash. It was a hard slog down the course, with Bethan motivating the girls all the way, finishing 6th in a time of 8.25.73.

The men's crew also faced a tough race. The crew line up remained unchanged from Nottingham but Anne Crozier took over the reins as cox. The drew were pushed into fourth from the start and remained there throughout the duration of the race, keeping in contention with the crews above and pushing further away from the remaining 2 crews, finishing in a time of 7.18.27. This finish position ensured a second attempt at the final through the repechage. Facing their old foes Kingston and new crews, in the form of two Cambridge boats and one from Queen Mary, the race promised to be tense from the start. After a positive start the crew struggled to find a comfortable rhythm and with difficulty applying the power they slipped back into forth place, unable to find form to push back from this position they finished in a time of 7.34.86, failing to make the final.

Sunday; a new day and very different weather conditions. With a strong tail wind down the course, which gradually increased throughout the day, both crews knew they had to perform. The men took the stage first and with the fastest crews from the Saturday in their heat, they knew they were in for a tough race. After a slower start than hoped the crew found their rhythm and settled well onto the course. There was a positive change at the 750m marker with the catches sharpening up and the crew started to pull back into the pack. In the end it was a head to head race against Twickenham and Cork for the third spot and the chance to get into the final. After a final push from the 500m mark the crew looked to have claimed third and waited anxiously for the results. In the end they finished 5th, only 2 seconds separating the three crews.

The girls were up next with a change in the bow pairing from the previous day. The crew now consisted of Helen, Daz, Bethan Smith and Vicky Fieldhouse with Anne Crozier coxing. With 7 crews in their heat, including Marlow, HSBC, Limerick, Kingston, Nottingham and York the girls knew they had to go all out. Ranked 4th at the 500m mark the girls picked up their catches and settles into a positive rhythm and by half way the crew was closing in. They continued to push hard through out the middle section and stroke by stroke they pulled the crews in, squeezing past Nottingham in the last 500m to finish in third place behind Marlow and HSBC in a time of 7.44.02.

And so to the final, with weather conditions worsening and waves to battle against the nerves started to show through. A slower start than the other crews left the girls struggling to pull back into the park but by the 1K marker the girls were racing strongly, back within 2 seconds of third place. Tiredness started to show through and technique wavered causing the girls to lose time and the other crews. In the end they finished 6th in a time of 7.53.28.

Nottingham City Regatta

2010-07-02T15:09:00.004+01:00

Regatta season is upon us again and the top two crews in the club head off to new pastures in search of a challenge; which they found at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham on the 22nd May (sorry for the delay in posting!!!). The national water sports centre was the setting for both crews first 2K race in a coxed four and provided an exciting setting for the days events.

Conditions couldn't have been better, bright sunshine and only a hint of a breeze made the water conditions perfect. The first crew to race was the ladies IM2 crew, consisting of Helen Atherton, Daz Harding, Bethan Smith and Charlie Wooton with new cox Vicky Fieldhouse. The ladies had a strong start, driving away from the stake boat with the rest of the crews. Helen set a good rhythm and the girls kept in contention for the first 500m. It was at this point that the stronger crews started to pull away and leaving Minerva isolated in the middle of the course, only able to look back on a failing Nottingham crew and unaware that they were still in a battle for third place with Chester University and Kingston rowing club who were locked in their own battle on the other side of the course.

At half way the power started to slip from the crew, technique pulling them through the third quarter of the race. With the end in sight the girls dug deep pulling back into contention with every stroke. At the finish Minerva came in fifth, half a boat length behind third place Chester and only 0.4seconds behind Kingston. With the focus shifting onto future regatta's the girls knew the training levels had to be upped to compete at this level.

The newly formed men's coxed four made Nottingham regatta one of it's first outings. The crew, consisting of Charlie Pearson, Charlie Jackson, Ed Stenner and Mike Glanville had upped their training in the pursuit of a spot at Henley Regatta later in the season and this was the first test. On the stake boats there appeared to be strong competition, with both the Nottingham and London Rowing club crews looking strong. On the starters orders Minerva powered away, neck and neck with Kingston leaving the other two crews standing. From that point on it was a two boat race with Minerva battling Kingston down to the line. With only 500m to go the crews were level but Kingston managed to step up another gear pulling away to a 2 second victory.

The final race of the day fell to Bethan Smith who took the opportunity to scull the daunting 2K course. Facing strong opposition from World class start rowers Bethan started well but got caught on a buoy half way down the course, giving her a large deficit to make up. Finishing strongly Bethan came in fourth, only 3 seconds off third place.

Next stop: the Met.

2010-06-16T22:16:00.002+01:00

2010 Rowing World Cup 2 - Munich, Germany
Once again, ex-Minerva members Vicky Thornley, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover were all selected into the GB Team for the second World Cup of the 2010 season. Again, Vicky rows in the Women's Eight whilst Heather and Helen race in the Women's Pairs.

Fellow Bath Alumni include Marcus Bateman who won Gold in Bled in the men's double sculls and Adam Freeman Pask who won bronze in the Lightweight Men's Pairs. Both will be looking for medals again at this World Cup Regatta.

The GB Rowing Team's Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified six athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including two U23 World Champions. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Men's Performance Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowingteam.org.uk

Plenty of medals at the Nat Vets (masters)

2010-06-15T11:30:00.005+01:00

Anyone who follows rowing will know that it is not just a youngsters’ sport, as our ‘Masters’ rowers proved on Sunday. Our vets won four gold medals at the British Rowing Master Championships at the National Water Sports Centre near Nottingham. Arnold won three gold medals: in a single scull (masters G), in a coxed four (masters H) and a coxed eight (masters G) (the latter two were composite crews from other rowing clubs). Tim won gold in the masters D single scull event. Gandy narrowly missed out on a bronze in the masters D pair.

2010 Rowing World Cup 1 - Bled, Slovenia

2010-06-01T10:47:00.003+01:00

Ex-Minerva members Vicky Thornley, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover were all selected into the GB Team for the first World Cup of the 2010 season.

Vicky won Gold in the Women's Eight whilst Heather and Helen finished 3rd in the B-Final of the Women's Pairs.

Whilst Vicky and Heather have both raced internationally before, winning Gold at the U23 World Championships in 2009 and 2007 respectively, this was Helen's first International Regatta and her first GB vest.

The GB Rowing Team's Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified six athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including two U23 World Champions. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowingteam.org.uk

Alkmaar 2010

2010-05-24T09:03:00.001+01:00

The Amstel share price soared on April 23rd as a group from Minerva arrived in Holland for a long weekend of rowing, beer, cheese and Dutch hospitality.

The trip started on Friday with an early flight to Schipol. On arrival in Amsterdam the girls mentioned the words shopping and shoes so a boat trip round Amsterdam's canals was swiftly organised. An international incident was narrowly averted at the lunchtime cafe when members of the group questioned the variability of beer measures the look the barmaid gave Brett was a sight that few will forget.

On arrival at Alkmaar we were kitted out with hire bikes and guided to the Alkmaar Boathouse. After a very welcome Chinese and a few beers we were allocated to our hosts.

Saturday started with a chance for to try the course. The rowing in Almaar takes place on wide, straight canals the Dutch must marvel at the twisting Avon. In the afternoon a boat trip round Alkmaar’s picturesque canals with a fiendishly difficult (after a few beers) quiz.

Sunday was the main event participation in Alkmaar's 6km head race. This was somewhat special as the Dutch club is celebrating their hundredth year. The Alkmaar boat stage became busy with at least 100? boats of various nationalities racing in the two divisions - in particular the boat handling technique of the French womens u21 8 seemed to warrant particular attention from the Minerva men.

In the morning division Andy Hamilton, Mark, Wendy and Elaine gave good account of themselves. In the afternoon it was the turn of the men's 8, pitted against an Alkmaar crew for the Alkmaar shield. Initially we pushed up against the Dutch crew, but they pulled away over the second half and it was difficult to judge which crew was faster. Eventually, it emerged that Minerva had prevailed.......by two seconds! Nevertheless the shield will stay in Almaar as we had (apparently) incured a two second penalty from the quiz on Saturday.

The competitive event of Sunday night was the award for building the best glass of Amstel from the Alkmaar club bar. This was convincingly won by Yifat although the fresh barrel was deemed to be a major factor. As the evening wore on, Chris Fry's stories about the exploits of the GODS 4 during the 1990s got more exotic had they really turned down a place in the UK squad for the Seoul Olympics because they had to stay in and wash their hair that night?

Thanks to all who helped organise the weekend, particularly Yifat for coxing the eight, Mark S and our Dutch hosts for their great organisation and warm welcome. Book a slot in your travel plans for Alkmaar for spring 2011.

Photographs are now on Facebook and Flickr - links on the menu top right.

Assault On Lake Windemere

2010-05-24T08:32:00.004+01:00

Tim Birtwistle and his doubles partner from Royal Chester (Paul Johnston) decided to double scull the shoreline of Lake Windermere. Tim initiated this as he learnt to row on the lake 43 years ago at his grandparents lakeside home, this was initially in a inflatable but progressed quickly to a plastic tender. How things have moved on!
The Early May bank holiday weekend (30th April to 3rd May) was chosen as it allowed the most contingency for poor weather. We stayed in a wonderful log cabin near Wray Castle. Our bank support team consisted of Ann, Chris and Miho who would cycle down the paths and minor roads of the west shore of the lake down to Lakeside.
We went for a 40 minute paddle late morning on Sat 1st May up to Waterhead (Ambleside) and back in flat calm conditions and the sun on our backs.
We decided the big scull would take place on Sunday 2nd. At 7.50am we put the riggers on and waded out into the cold waters eventually setting off at 8.10am into a brisk cold northerly wind up to Waterhead. Stopping for 10 mins in the shelter to prepare for 11miles of downwind sculling. The wind was picking up but we soldiered on into the south lake via Bowness Bay, we took a look at the chart to make sure our route would avoid any rocks. We sped past the cable ferry into the roughest part of the lake as it was so exposed to the wind, our Carl Douglas was almost surfing down the waves and we started to get wet by spray being thrown up by the riggers. We were hoping for some shelter behind Storrs Hall Temple but there was none worth looking for so we ploughed on past my grandparents old boathouse (the actual house having being demolished 15 years ago and replaced by a very grand new house), we still had 3 miles to go and has to go through some very rough water and had to stop a couple of times for the steamer wash to die down. A great day for sailing I thought! Arriving at Lakeside at just after 10am we decided to miss the last 100 meters as the waves we just too big and we could not guarantee to miss a number of moored yachts. Our support team we waiting next to the steamer jetty with cakes, we could not go ashore without risk to the boat. After 20 mins we set off back up into a force 3 cold northerly wind. Even though the Carl Douglas has excellent buoyancy we still shipped loads of water which is not pleasant when sloshing around your feet, we stopped 6 times to bail out and rescue Paul's drinks bottle which has knocked his speed coach off. All I can say was for the next 1 1/2 hours was like having a cold bucket of water thrown over you every 5 minutes as the large waves came flying off the bows and riggers. We made it back to Wray cold, wet but happy to have completed this challenge after 3 hours 50 mins, total distance was 33.3km.

New Coxes Required.

2010-05-20T21:34:00.003+01:00

If you know anyone who fancies a go at coxing 8 strapping Athletes or alternatively one of our mens crews, we are keen to let them have a go. It's very easy, you will meet lots of friendly people and most importantly have a laugh. And it's free.

Visit the Minerva Website for more information..

Alkmaar 2010

2010-04-29T09:27:00.003+01:00

Please watch this space for details of this years trip especially the infamous 'International Beer Incident'! It makes Gordon's latest Gaff look tame.

And guess what?...Gary really does like lots of emails so keep pressing that 'Reply to All' button!

WeHorr 2010

2010-03-28T21:29:00.006+01:00

Mid March saw the ladies squad heading up for the Head of the River race on the Thames. The gruelling 4.5 mile course is the pinnacle of the national head racing season, making it the main event for crews up and down the country.

With competition getting harder each year the girls knew they had to row at their best to come away with a good result. Unfortunate last minute injuries saw Daz Harding having to sit out of the 8 and becoming the crew's cheerleader and official photographer. This saw Yifat Padan making a last minute entry into the crew as super sub, taking the bow seat.

With some very powerful crews starting directly behind them, the Minerva crew knew they had to get a positive start and managed to power away from the first bridge. With Helen at stroke the crew maintained an excellent rhythm throughout the race and found some extra energy to push off from Hammersmith bridge with only 9 minutes remaining of the course. Richard Tyler steered a fantastic course, coxing his first head of the river race, motivating the ladies to give everything in the last quarter of the race, pushing past another crew in the closing stretch.

(The crew from left to right; Yifat Padan, Anne Crozier, Jen Watt, Charlie Wooton, Vicky Fieldhouse, Elaine Hoyes, Bethan Smith, Helen Atherton and cox Rich Tyler)

The final result showed that the crew had improved by over 50 places to finish 175th out of nearly 400 crews, in a time of 21.36. Fingers crossed the squad can continue to improve. We now look forward to the men's Head of the River race in 2 weeks time.

Avon County Head

2010-03-23T16:38:00.009Z

The beginning of March saw the head race season come back to our stretch of water for a 3250m race. Being on home ground Minerva was very well represented in all divisions.

The women's 8, with a special appearance from Nicolette Hayward in place of the injured Daz Harding, managed to post the fastest women's 8 time of the day, holding off some strong competition, finishing in a time of 12.36. The ladies now head off to the Head of the River race up in London in a weeks time.

The first division also saw entries from two junior double sculls, with Frazier Christie and Oliver Williams rowing in the J17 category and Max Higgins and Charlie Falkus rowing in the J16 age group. The J17's managed to come in a very respectable 3rd place in a time of 13.40.6. Unfortunately the J16 pair ended up in the water after becoming tangled with another boat under the half way bridge. This was a blow for the pair who were trying for selection for the junior inter-regionals.

The second division had a good turn out by the single scullers, with the second Minerva win of the day going to Tim Birtwistle, in a time of 12.55. As if this wasn't quite enough Tim then went on to run the Bath half marathon the following day finishing in a time of 1.29.57 - all in a weekend's work!

Stu Barron continues to improve in his scull, coming second in his category, only 12 seconds behind Tim. Arnold Cooke also managed a second place in his Vet category, coming in only 0.9seconds behind the winner, in a time of 13.49.0. A following win came from the Vet men's 8 with the crew of Brett Hardy, Ian Burdis, Mike Ashman, Mark Smith, Neil Billett, Andy Hoyes, David Searby and Andy Ursell. Their first head race of the season and a positive row. They were aiming to challenge the men's crew who rowed in the third division, unfortunately due to a slight collision with the mid way bridge we will never know the true outcome of that race.

The novice girls were back in action and back to their original line up, with Verity Strudwick stroking. It was a gutsy performance by the girls, who had to put up with a lot of shouting from their cox and they managed to come in third place in a time of15.45, only narrowly missing out on the second place spot by a few seconds.

The third division saw finals performances from the senior men's 8 and the J17 quad. The quad was made up of Higgins, Christie, Williams and Falkus who put in an excellent performance to come away with second place, behind Monmouth school, in a time of 11.59.5. The senior men's 8, posting another new line up, managed to secure Minerva's final win of the day. The crews first race in the Vespoli created a very good foundation for the Head of the River race on the 28th March.

Ruth's coxing success at Cambridge

2010-03-23T13:42:00.000Z

Hi,

Just thought I would send you a quick note to update you on my rowing exploits.

As I am sure you know, I trialled with the Lightweight Mens squad for coxing. I carried on trialling and managed to get the Blue boat! This means that I will be racing next weekend at The Henley Boat Race against Oxford lightweights. Sorry I have only just told you, been a really crazy term, getting up at 5am 5 days a week meant I was pretty hectic (and quite tired). Just want to say a quick thanks to Minerva, especially Arnold, as without you I would never be in this situation. I have been wearing my Minerva cap with pride!
Doing lightweights is amazing, takes up a lot of time and it sometimes manages to kill my social life, but is so much fun. Which isn't going to stop as next term we will be training for BUCS Regatta, Henley and hopefully a trip to China!

Hope all is well at Minerva, hopefully see you in the not too distant future, am off back to Henley tomorrow, after 1 day at home,

Ruth

Minerva Bath Annual Dinner Dance 2010

2010-03-18T18:51:00.005Z

The venue and date for this years Dinner and Dance has been chosen;

Francis Hotel - Queens Square

Saturday 15th May 2010

Starts at 7.30pm

Please see the link below for more details

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=393979645836&ref=ts

Racing News

2010-03-12T14:10:00.002Z

I've popped some new posts up on the website about the last few head races the club's made it to.

If anyone's got any photo's or videos please let me know.

Thanks

City of Bristol Head 2010

2010-03-12T12:23:00.004Z

And so to Bristol. A slightly shorter course than the Wycliffe head earlier in the month at 3500m and with a couple more weeks of practice under our belt and a new 8 to row in, confidence was running high.

Unfortunately things never quite run to plan and the senior men and women's squads were back in the blue 'bath tub' but hopefully for the final time.

The ladies started the day with a new light weight cox, Rich Tyler. A slight change in the bow of the boat saw the return to racing of Wendy Lloyd in the number 3 seat. The race started well and the crew found a good rhythm. Local rivals, City of Bristol, were starting directly behind the crew giving a visual boost when the work was getting tough, and the crew managed a second place behind another another local club, Bristol Ariel in a time of 13.24.

Both the senior men and the ladies novice four were rowing in the second division. Rich Tyler took the helm in the men's crew with a whippy rating as the Australian 'now pro' cox showed his stroking prowess. The race went well, albeit a little scrappy in the final half against a strong head wind, with a slightly different line up of Rich, Mike Glanville, Stu Barron, Charle Jackson, Antonio, Matthew Bone, Ross Watkins and David Connell. Coming third out of four, the crew still struggled against some mighty school boy crews, but the level of improvement and rowing increased as the crew pushes on towards the Head of the River race.

The novice ladies four experienced a last minute substitution due to injury and rowed with a new stroke from City of Bristol. As the crew had only managed one practice outing prior to the race the balance was fantastic as they battled their way along the course. With the finishing line in sight the girls raised their game to a strong finish in front of cheering fans, coming in 4th in a time of 17.46, a massive improvement from Wycliffe.

Wycliffe Big Head 2010 - 4500m

2010-03-12T11:54:00.008Z

Minerva headed to it's first head race of the year on a cold, grey february day in Gloucestershire. Despite the condition the event was supported by both the senior ladies and mens squads and an entry from the novice ladies crew in their first ever head race.

The men started the racing in the first division in the morning, with Charlie Pearson stroking on his return to rowing after injury. It was a learning curve for the mens crew, which consisted of Charlie P, Mike Glanville, Stu Barron, Charlie Jackson, Connor Vincent, David Connell, Gavin Bohan and Matthew Bone. Despite a technically clean row there was an incidient with a lost course map and the crew, under the steerage of Anne Crozier, failed to build for home, finishing the course in a time of 18.19.

The women took over in the second session, starting from the middle of the pack with a slightly heavier than average cox in the form of Charlie Jackson. Added to the local crews were a couple of boats from Oxford university, which stiffened the race competition. Helen Atherton was stroking the boat and set a demanding pace from the start. With the second Oxford boat following, grit and determination were high in the boat and the cox was eager to get the best out of everyone in the boat. The crew, made up of Helen, Charlie Wooton, Bethan Smith, Vicky Fieldhouse, Elaine Hoyes, Daz Harding, Jen Watt and Anne Crozier caught the Bangor University boat early in the race and managed to hold off Oxford until just after the last bridge, finishing a respectable 3rd to the two Oxford boats in a time of 18.59, beating their local competition, City of Bristol into 4th place by over 30 seconds.

The Novice crew consisted of Verity Strudwick, making her debut at stroke, Kathryn Maidment, Sarah Moon and Yifat Padan. They started towards the end of the second division but despite this, and a few early nerves, they were able to pull together and settle into the course, leaving them powering down the last quarter of the race, with encouragement from cox Matthew Bone to finish a very solid row in third place in a time of 24.28. A very positive start to the racing season.

Tideway Training Camp November 2009

2010-02-09T08:58:00.004Z

Minerva held a successful training camp on the Tideway in preparation for the Fours Head at the beginning of November. Unfortunately the race was cancelled 2 weeks later but never the less the training was invaluable especially as the majority of the athletes had not experienced rowing on the Tideway before. We were very kindly hosted by Furnivall Sculling Club who handed over their excellent club house, boats and facilities to us for the weekend. Everyone, rowers, coaches and coxes benefitted from coaching by ex GB Rower and double Olympic Gold medalist Andy Holmes (the tall guy at the back of the group).

Picture taken outside Furnivall club house

Minerva Calendar

2009-11-24T19:38:00.003Z

It's finally arrived, the 2010 Minerva Calendar featuring a number of the younger male members of the club. An ideal Christmas present for the female members of your family or even a Secret Santa present for a work colleague.

An absolute bargain at £10 with the added benefit of raising some cash for the club.

To reserve a copy contact Elaine of Yifat, but be quick, this limited edition masterpiece is selling out fast.

Ergo Score Calculators

2009-11-11T20:55:00.002Z

Please take a look at the website for the Ergo Handicap and Score Estimator calculators. The Handicap calculator was designed to allow male and females of all sizes to compete on an ergo ladder. The handicap is scientifically calculated and based on scores of male and female international rowers over 2000 metres plus a small adjustment for female club rowers. Basically it gives lightweight rowers (especially women) the chance to compete against bigger rowers in a competitive environment.

The Score Estimator does what it says, enter any two values from Distance - Time - Rate and it will give you the third.

Simple as that...

Worcester 2009

2009-09-15T15:45:00.002+01:00

100% success at Worcester. Congratulations to Max for winning the J16 single sculls.

Gloucester Regatta 2009

2009-09-01T20:44:00.004+01:00

There’s just no stopping Minerva at the moment: four wins at Gloucester...

Gloucester regatta is split over two days with the vets and junior races on the Saturday over 600m and the senior races on the Sunday over 750m. Andy and Gary were the first pot winners of the weekend in the Vet D pair. On the Sunday, the weather was autumnal and the canal rather choppy. Despite this, after three hard rounds, the men’s IM3 coxed 8 won: Ali, Jake, Alex, Mike, Rich WT, Stu, Ross and Matthew, with Ruth coxing. Stu won his novices but was spared a dunking until his novice four had raced.

The next win was for the men’s IM3 quad which consisted of Jake, Alex, Matthew and Rich WT. Matthew and Rich were not spared a dunking for getting thier first sculling point. The last pot of the day went to the men’s novice four of Stu, David, Will and Rich T with Anne coxing. By all accounts, the water was cold.

Ross Regatta 2009

2009-09-01T20:32:00.002+01:00

And three more at Ross...
Ross regatta is also split over two days with the vets and junior races on the Sunday and the senior races on the Monday. Both days are over 750m but at Ross there is a very interesting and totally baffling staggered start and finish. Again, Andy and Gary won their Vet D pair’s race on Sunday. On Monday, there was a slight re-jig to the men’s quad owing to all the points being amassed, so they raced at IM1 and won. Not bad to say that Jake, Alex, Rich WT and Steve hadn’t actually sculled together.

And last but not least, after a tough semi final, the women’s IM2 coxed 8 easily won against the home team: Kate, Jenny, Helen, Vicky, Nicolette, Nicole, Elaine and Anne with Ruth coxing.

As ever, thanks to all those who helped get the boats there and back, and especially to Andy W and Gary who had to traipse back and forth numerous times.

Stourport Regatta 2009

2009-08-26T21:18:00.009+01:00

It was an eventful and successful regatta for Minerva and the pots keep rolling in.
The first win of the day on Saturday in the 1100m, boy was it a long way, was for the open Vet A novice coxed fours: Andy H, Bruce, Steve B and Matt H. John Wiggins from Bradford on Avon kindly stepped in to cox. And although they won a pot, they didn’t get a point as it was an invitation race.

Gary and Andy won their straight final against Stourport. Both crews were neck and neck for the first 900m until Gandy pushed for the finish and won a hard race by a quarter of a length. The men’s IM3 8 probably would have won their final if it weren’t for a boating malfunction, however, all was not lost when the same crew had a row through for the IM2 race and later claimed their pots without points.

The women’s IM3 8 made it to the final and were sure they had won, however, the umpire said otherwise and claimed a dead heat and therefore a re-row. But, just as the boat went over the start, Yifat at bow had a smack to the head from a double’s blade. Despite that, the crew raced again but came second. What do you expect if part of the crew is concussed?

On the Sunday in the 600m sprints, Jake and Alex won IM3 double sculls after three rounds.

Gary and Andy won again and beat Stourport off the start and maintained their lead all the way.
As ever, thanks to everyone who helped get the boats to Stourport and back and well done to all those who competed. Next stop, Gloucester/Ross.

An unexpected win by the underdogs

2009-08-26T20:42:00.008+01:00

It was a lovely, hot sunny day on 9th August when we enjoyed our scratch regatta and bbq. The afternoon started with a photographer from Bath Chronicle taking photos of club members having a picnic on the landing stage. This is for the charity Send a Cow.

Vicky T then opened the champagne to name our new heavyweight single ‘Bladud’ (not bladdered).
Whilst Mike A scientifically organised the scratch crews, names thrown in a hat, Andy U fired up the bbq, the salad dishes started to take over the table and Helen and Steve began cooking.
The racing started soon after; some saw it as a bit of fun, others took it very seriously. Each crew had the chance to race at least twice as there was a ‘trophy’ and ‘plate’ round. The course was short, from the marina entrance to the middle of the landing stage and if crews were really lucky, they were allowed to practice one start.
After an eventful couple of hours racing – crashes, clashes, easy wins and close finishes, the final was between the winner of the trophy and the winner of the plate.

The winners of the trophy round and favourites, Andy H, Lucy, Paul and Ross with Helen G coxing, were outclassed by the underdogs, Andy W, Yifat, Alex and Heather with Sean coxing who won by a length.
Once racing was over, it was beer o’clock.
A great day was had by all. Thanks to all those who took part and also took the time to cook, shop, marshal, race, cox and drink.

Victoria Thornley - U23 World Champion

2009-07-28T09:22:00.002+01:00

On Sunday Victoria Thornley won gold in the GB Women's Eight at the U23 World Rowing Championships held in Racice, Czech Republic.

Victoria has only been rowing for 19 months having been identified through GB Rowing's Sporting Giants Talent ID scheme and World Class Start Development Programme.

The Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Bewdley Regatta 2009

2009-07-28T08:01:00.013+01:00

Another successful regatta last weekend for Minerva Bath with a lot of wins and a few firsts.

On Saturday, in the 800m, the women’s IM3 coxed four won after a gruelling four rounds. Well done to Helen, Vicky, Cassie and Anne with coxing by Sue. Jake and Alex won novice double sculls and were duly dunked in the river later that day. Andy and Gary won their Vet D pair competition against Hereford (Vet C!) despite an exciting clash of blades.

Although the weather was a bit grim to start with on Sunday, it didn’t stop Minerva winning more pots in the 600m sprint. “Wily old buggers” Andy and Gary won again against Hereford by about a length.

Nicolette won Vet C single sculls.

The men’s IM3 8 won, which consisted of Ali, Matthew, Charlie, Ross, Mike, Ian, Jake and Alex (coxed by Victoria from Trafford RC).

We had a really big turn out at Bewdley with about 24 Minerva members competing. Yifat bravely volunteered to cox at the last minute and it was her first experience of race coxing.

Here we have gruelling pre-race warming up that is essential for pot winning.

Well done to everyone who competed and thanks to everyone involved in getting the boats to Bewdley and back. Next stop: Stourport!

World Under 23 Rowing Championships 2009

2009-07-21T19:11:00.004+01:00

Random photo gallery:

Bridge of death!!!

W4- at the start

The start!!!

Vicky is in the women's eight sitting at 4.

Paul is coaching the women's coxless four.

20th July 2009 - arrived in Czech Republic. Hotel ok. We've pretty much got the place to ourselves. Food good. Only short drive on dodgy coach to the course. Course dug quite deep into ground so pretty sheltered. One practice session today.

Blade painting:

The course:

21st July 2009 - two outings today. One in the AM at about 0800. One in PM at about 1600. Lake getting busy. Most nations here now. Germans turned up as we were leaving with their full team of 21 boats so tomorrow will be even busier!

22nd July 2009 - practice

Having predicted it would be busier today we (W4-) were the second boat on the water this morning and it was great!!! The Kiwi Men's Coxed Four got off the water as we got on and we had 7500m of uninterrupted training on a still, calm lake. 3 boats boated just as we finished the last 500m of our 8k session.

GB W4- boating onto the deserted lake at Racice this morning:

Vicky's eight pushing off for their practice session today:

23rd July 2009 - heats

24th July 2009 - reps

25th July 2009 - semis

26th July 2009 - finals

National Rowing Championships 2009

2009-07-21T14:43:00.007+01:00

On 18th/19th July 2009 the World Class Training Group were racing at the National Championships in Nottingham. Highlights of the weekend included two Golds and two Silvers. Minerva Bath: Winners of W4x

(Anna, Helen, Erica, Lucy)

Bath University: Winners of U23 W2x

(Nicola, Gabbie)

The silver medals came in the Open Women's Singles - Lucy, and U23 Women's Singles - Gemma.

Minerva Bath: Silver medal WU23 1x

(Gemma Akers)

Bath Chronicle Newspaper Article - Henley Royal Regatta 2009

2009-07-21T14:39:00.001+01:00

Please follow the link: http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/news/Royal-date-new-quad/article-1147726-detail/article.html

Henley Royal Regatta - Result

2009-07-07T07:49:00.004+01:00

Helen, Erica, Lucy & Anna in the Princess Grace Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta '09

Photograph by Peter Jowitt © Henley Royal Regatta/PJ Pix and © Wokingham Photographic.

Well, the Chinese were a bit quick really. Mixed reports of their competence had been filtering through in the weeks prior to the event but in the end the crew contained one of the Gold Medal winning quad from the Olympics, one from the 4th placed double, a top Under 23 rower and a new talent.

The women put up a fight but never really found their rhythm and the Chinese pulled away to win comfortably.

However, it was great experience for the women who (apart from Anna) have never raced at the Royal Regatta.

Bath Chronicle Newspaper Article - Women's Henley

2009-07-07T07:39:00.001+01:00

Please follow the link: here.

Henley Royal Regatta 2009 - Women's Qualifying Video

2009-07-01T18:54:00.003+01:00

Courtesy of RowTV: !!!CLICK HERE!!! (Starts at 38 seconds.)

Ironbridge Regatta 2009

2009-06-30T12:51:00.023+01:00

Many thanks to all who made last weekends trip to Ironbridge such a success especially all who helped out with loading and unloading boats which was a great help to the weekends proceedings.

3 crews successfully won pots and almost all crews celebrated at least one win. The womens IM 3 Coxed 4 - Elaine, Anne, Vicky, Cassie and Sue, had an excellent win and despatched 4 crews on their way to winning the final of the 1000m race on Saturday.

We had 2 more pot winning crews in the 500m sprint on Sunday. Jenny and Nic put on a very strong performance to win in their Womens Novice Double Scull.

And Andy and Gary, shown here crossing the finishing line, sucessfully beat very strong opposition from Stourport to win the Open Vet D pairs.

As well as the racing success we had a great time; in fact at times some Minerva members became a little confused thinking they were actually at the Glastonbury festival. No girls that's not the sort of 'Pot' you get at Glasto!

Full marks go to Anne and Andy U for their tribute to the dancing of Michael Jackson!

Personally I thought my rendition of the funky chicken was pretty cool!

Don't forget it's Bewdley next on 25th/26th July so get your dancin shoes ready!

Minerva Girls Qualify For Princess Grace Challenge Cup

2009-06-30T12:09:00.005+01:00

PRINCESS GRACE CHALLENGE CUP HISTORY

The Princess Grace Challenge Cup is an event for women's quadruple sculls at Henley Royal Regatta. It is open to female crews from all eligible rowing clubs. Two or more clubs may combine to make an entry.

The race is named after Grace Patricia Kelly (later Grace, Princess of Monaco; November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) who was an Academy Award winning American film and stage actress. Upon marrying Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956, she became Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, but was generally known as Princess Grace of Monaco. Princess Grace maintained dual American and Monegasque citizenship after her marriage. The principality's current Sovereign Prince, Albert II, is the son of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace.

A year before the Princesses untimely death in 1982 she was invited to present the prizes at the Royal Regatta. The Princess Grace Challenge Cup was first presented in 2003 by The President of the Australian Olympic Committee John Coates. In 2004 Grace's son Prince Albert of Monaco gave out the prizes at the Royal Regatta.

The Princesses father John Kelly, Sr. shown here was the youngest of 10 children born to Irish immigrants from Newport, County Mayo, Ireland. He won Gold in the Single and Double Sculls at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp and a Gold Medal in the Double Sculls at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Both times he won gold in the Double Scull he teamed up with his cousin Paul Costello who is also a 3 time Olympic Gold Medalist. He is the only rower who is a member of the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

The Princesses brother John Kelly, Jr. won the Henley Diamond Sculls in '47 and '49, and a Bronze Medal in the single sculls at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. As a wedding gift, he gave his sister his Bronze Medal from the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. In 1985 John Kelly, Jr. was elected President of the United States Olympic Committee, the appointment was short-lived. Kelly died unexpectedly later that year.

Philadelphia erected a prominent statue of John Kelly, Sr near the finish line of the Schuylkill River course that Kelly rowed. It is located just off of the scenic "Kelly Drive," which is named for Kelly's son Jack Jr. Every year, USRowing bestows the Jack Kelly Award on an individual who represents the ideals that Jack Kelly exemplified including superior achievement in rowing, service to amateur athletics and success in their chosen profession.

Previous Winners
Year - Champions
2008 - Wallingford Rowing Club & Reading University, England
2007 - South Australian Institute Of Sport, Australia
2006 - Marlow Rowing Club & University Of London, England
2005 - TSSKA Ukraine, Ukraine
2004 - Leander Club & University Of London, England
2003 - TSSKA Ukraine, Ukraine

WCS outboard engine stolen - £reward for safe return.

2009-06-28T09:13:00.003+01:00

Between 1430 on Saturday 27th June and 0745 on Sunday 28th June the WCS launch was stolen, taken upstream from it's mooring and had the outboard engine removed. In the process the bungling thieves managed to leave behind a pair of pliers and a couple of partial finger prints. If you saw anything please contact Paul, the club or the Bath Police quoting reference 82312-09. A cash reward awaits the person who provides information that results in the return of the engine and the prosecution of the thieves.

Minerva Bath / Rob Roy Women's Quad qualifies for Henley Royal Regatta 2009

2009-06-28T08:50:00.004+01:00

The women's quad of Helen, Lucy, Anna and Erica (from the WCS centre in Cambridge) had to attend the qualifiers at Henley on Friday to earn a place in the competition proper. Only 3 crews could qualify via this route as 5 international crews have been pre-qualified including 2 GB, 2 New Zealand and 1 Chinese crews. Facing some tough domestic competition mainly consisting of crews who raced at Women's Henley, the women secured a place and will race the Chinese National Squad on Friday.

Crews and supporters wait for news of Qualification outside the Crew's Enquiry Office

Women's Henley 2009 - Pictures

2009-06-23T10:44:00.002+01:00

Anna Davidson and Lucy Ryvar - Winners of Women's Senior Double Sculls

Helen Glover - Winner of Women's Senior Single Sculls

Gemma Akers (left) - Winner of Women's Elite Coxed Fours

Minerva Vets Excel at Nat Vet Champs

2009-06-23T10:27:00.004+01:00

Crews from Minerva recently took part in the National Veteran Rowing Championships held at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham on June 14th and did rather well!

Arnold Cooke led the medal tally with 3 golds in his composite Vet G eight, Vet G coxless four and his Vet G single scull.

Tim Birstwistle excelled by winning a silver medal in his MBRC/NRC composite Vet D coxed four and finishing a credible 4th in his Vet C eight.

Finally Minerva's crew of the year 2009, Andy and Gary gave a stirling performance and finished 5th in their Vet D coxless pair.

A very big well done to all.

Women's Henley 2009 - Results

2009-06-22T13:17:00.006+01:00

A weekend of excellent racing conditions drew to a close at Women's Henley Regatta 2009 yesterday. Minerva Bath did rather well!

With 5 women in 5 events the chances of some good results were high. To cut a very long story short, basically, Vicky was knocked out in the semi's of Elite Singles, Gemma made the final of Elite Eights but was beaten by Yale and every other boat won. An impressive set of results all round.

First win of the day was Gemma's Elite Coxed Four.
Second win was Lucy and Anna's Senior Double.
Third win was Helen in the Senior Singles.

All rather impressive really.

Gemma and Vicky now go into the mix with some 'seat racing' at the end of the week at Caversham with the other Under-23's. Helen, Lucy and Anna have started some frantic, last-minute training in a quad for Henley Royal Regatta where they are entered into the Princess Grace Challenge Cup for Women's Quads. They will have to go through the Qualifiers on Friday where 3 crews will go through from the 10 required to qualify. Their time trial will start at 1830hrs this Friday if anyone wants to come and give them a shout!

The Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Women's Henley 2009 - Crew announcement

2009-06-04T12:26:00.004+01:00

The following crews will race at Women's Henley this year on 19th to 21st June 2009. If anyone from the club could come down to cheer them on it would be much appreciated!!! For more info visit the Women's Henley website here: http://www.hwr.org.uk/

Elite Single Scull - Victoria Thornley
Following on from her win in the Senior Single Sculls in 2009, Victoria is now taking on the Elite Women in the top single sculling event.

Elite Coxed Four and Elite Eight - Gemma Akers
As part of the GB U23 Squad's initiative to give people experience in the eight this season, Gemma is racing in a composite four that will "double up" into the eight.

Senior Single Scull - Helen Glover
This will be Helen's first time racing on the Henley course and the one on one racing will suit her competitive nature.

Senior Double Scull - Lucy Ryvar (str) and Anna Davidson (bow)
Anna raced in this event a couple of years ago but for Lucy this will be her first time racing on the Henley course. This double has just started training together and will face some stiff opposition from some established combinations. They are likely to have to qualify via a time trial on the Friday.

The Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Metropolitan Regatta, Dorney Lake - 30th to 31st May 2009

2009-06-04T12:15:00.003+01:00

On the Saturday Gemma and Vicky raced in two Elite Coxless Fours (different combinations to Essen) finishing 2nd and 1st respectively. They then hopped into an eight and won that as well! Job done. Home in time for tea and cakes... well, nearly!

Anna and Helen raced their singles finishing 2nd and 5th in their respective events. The conditions for the small boats was particularly challenging with a strong (some might call it unfair!!!) cross wind which meant that if you were in the high numbered lanes you had to fight to stay straight let alone go fast.

On the Sunday, the conditions were calmer in the morning leading to some fairer racing but by the time the finals came around the "challenging" cross wind was back. Helen performed much better in her Sunday Final, going out hard and fighting al the way to the line. Her race was won by a woman in the mill pond that was lane 1 whilst Helen was battling the wind in the centre of the course.

Anna was joined in Intermediate 3 singles by Lucy and they both duly won their heats to qualify for the comfiest lanes in the final. Lucy decided it would be a good idea to wait a couple of seconds on the start when the buzzer sounded but managed to row herself back into contention and then into the lead to win. Anna was pushed into 3rd by Erica Bodman who is on the WCS programme in Cambridge but who is moving to Bath shortly to train here.

All in all a good weekend of hard racing following a hard week's training. The next racing for all the women will be at Women's Henley on 19th to 21st June 2009.

The Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Essen Regatta, Germany - 15th to 17th May 2009

2009-06-04T12:08:00.002+01:00

Vicky and Gemma represented Minerva Bath in the International Regatta at Essen in Germany last month. The event is effectively 2 regattas on consecutive days and the women raced in 2 fours and an eight each day.

On the Saturday Vicky's four won whilst Gemma's was 4th behind a Dutch and German crew. The eight ended up racing a German Club composite that is in training for their National Sprint Regatta Series over 250m. As a result they had a race on their hands out of the blocks but soon moved away.

On the Sunday, some more German crews entered the fours event and one Dutch and two German eights came into the eights event.

Once again, Vicky's crew pulled ahead to win whilst Gemma's crew finished 7th. An hour later they were racing together in the eight where the German first eight and the Dutch pushed them back into third place.

All in all a weekend of valuable racing experience on the International Stage that should stand them in good stead for later in their careers.

Gemma and Vicky are athletes on the World Class Start Programme. The Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Minerva Annual Dinner 2009

2009-05-12T08:35:00.011+01:00

Minerva held it's Annual Dinner and awards on Friday 8th May at Bath Racecourse. For those of you who could not attend and missed the Captain's speech and awards, excerpts are reproduced below so you can see who won this years awards and what for.

To see all the photos go to http://www.facebook.com/

Minerva has a lot to be proud of. As well as a stable of fine athletes, we have new boats, the latest a HW single waiting collection from Royal Chester, and we have further improved our second boathouse installing racking and electricity since the official opening ceremony in October which was performed the Mayor of Bath. Our plans to build a new clubhouse have recently taken a step forward: Arnold’s persistence is starting to pay off and a small team of volunteers has come forward to think about how we start fund raising. So thank you to Nicole, Nicolette and Mark for volunteering to help.

In the last 12 months we have trained 3 new UKCC level 2 coaches, well done Bruce, Gemma and me; and 3 new launch drivers having gained their RYA PB2 qualification so well done to Cassie, David and Elaine.

While I am on the subject of coaching I would like to remind you that Bath & NES sports coach of the year for 2009 is our own Arnold Cooke so well done Arnold for winning this prestigious award. I would like to thank all of our regular club coaches for their time and effort over the past 12 months, especially, Andy U, Andy W, Tim and Arnold and not forgetting Sue, Dave Searby and Tim Bryan who all help out with the juniors and Sue again for organising the Mentoring Plus coaching sessions.

And that brings me nicely on to the first of this evening’s awards, our own Minerva Bath Coach of the year. His hard work and patience during last year's learn to row courses and the follow up Sunday morning/Wednesday evening sessions for adult beginners, and coaching the winter men’s novice eight resulted in the formation of 2 new men’s fours and a women’s novice four which are still going strong. He has demonstrated his continued commitment to bringing on new rowers having just started off the new adult beginners sessions this week. This year’s coach of the year award award goes to Tim Birtwistle.

The LTR courses are something else we can be proud of, we do them very well, the latest course last month was fully subscribed and 5 of the 6 participants are continuing with their rowing. This is only achieved because of your support. I would like to thank Tim, Arnold, Sean, Elaine, Cassie, Nicole, Bruce and Sue who all provided coaching over the weekend and also to Jo, David, Will and Glyn who took the time to come down to help out if needed. The next course is on 20/21 June and I already have 6 interested people so please try and help out if you can.

By providing opportunities for people to get involved in sport the LTR courses help to increase our standing in the community; so does partnering with and assisting many local charities and organisations such as B&NES Council, Mentoring Plus, Access Sport, Mencap, and the Anthony Nolan Trust; these partnerships also raise our profile, help us to tap into grant funding, and hopefully influence the planning department to look favourably upon us.

As well as taking on new adults we have a steady stream of juniors coming down to the club to try out rowing; some stay around but some don’t. The juniors that stick with it however only tend to last about 5 years before they go off to University or start jobs at around 18. At Minerva we have been very lucky because over the last 5 years we have had a consistent group of juniors who we have watched develop and mature. Unfortunately this Autumn we lose 3 of that group when thy all go off to University. I would like to thank Ruth, Jake and Alex for all their efforts in support of the club and congratulate them on their racing successes, most recently for Alex and Jake winning at Novice in their double at Monkton Bluefriars Head in October and Ruth winning in WN1x at Bewdley This brings me on to the next 2 awards. The first is the ‘Junior Plate’ which this year is very deserved for her continuing commitment as the junior rep on the committee and her unrelenting hunt for a pot which culminated in her novice win at Bewdley, well done Ruth.

Every year we give an award for being an all round good egg, someone not on the committee or one of the coaches but someone who has just raised their head above the parapet and excelled themselves by providing their support and free time to support the club, this year that award goes to someone who, since turning 18, has spent most of his Saturday and Sunday mornings coming down to the club to help coach the juniors, sometimes on his own if Arnold has had other commitments, happily giving back some of the time and coaching he received when he was a junior. This award goes to Alex Wildy.

This year the rowing almanack records a total of 40 wins for Minerva in 2008. Racing successes have been boosted this year by our partnership with the ARA WCS scheme. Gemma, Vicky, Helen and Lucy have all had great success and brought much kudos to Minerva while Rachel has helped out by coaching one of our men’s novice crews while she has been injured. We hope to see Helen, Vicky and Gemma in the GB U23 team later this summer. However there is one Minerva crew who consistently win pots year after year and this year they recorded 10 wins and just missed out on a Silver Medal at the National Vets which makes them particularly deserving of our next award, the ‘Minerva Crew of the Year’ which goes to Andy & Gary.

There is another consistent achiever at Minerva who is this year's winner of the ‘Individual Cup’ presented to someone who is deemed to have excelled in their pursuit of the sport. This year this award is even more poignant as the winner has showed extreme resilience in his pursuit of rowing, recovering from serious illness to get back to the top of his game and winning in his Vet G1x, 2x and coxless 4 at the National Vets and in his Vet G 2x at the Vets Pairs Head. This years award goes to Arnold.

Another area where we can claim success is our twinning events with Alkmaar. These exchange visits have continued for around 25 years and continue to be successful due to the efforts of Mike and Mark who do most of the organising. Our recent trip to Holland, which resulted in Minerva winning back the coveted challenge shield, was a fantastic weekend. The Dutch pulled out all the stops and we enjoyed excellent hospitality and generosity. It would be great to attract a large Dutch party this October and to make this year extra special. We have already started planning for this with the formation of an organising committee consisting of Mark, Mike, Andy U, Elaine and Vicky so please think about any ways in which you may be able to help them out.

All of this success could not be achieved without the loyalty and effort of our members. Our committee are all volunteers and provide their time free of charge so please don’t forget that and make sure you put things in perspective if you feel that you have something to complain about. As well as the committee members we have many other helpers, our team of grass cutters Tim, Cassie, Glyn & Will and Gary all keep the lawn and paths looking tidy, Steve Best our new boatman has made a start on boat repairs will be looking after the boats , our team manger, Tim, who makes sure all crews are entered correctly and paid up for their races, Andy W our safety advisor who ensure we all keep safe on and off the water and Sue Lees our welfare officer. Our new social sec Vicky has made a great impression over her first few weeks and has succeeded in getting a club members socialising together on Friday evenings, however she needs your support so don’t forget every Friday at 7.30 so please make the effort. On top of this there is the organising of the annual dinner which, as you can’t please everybody all of the time, can be a thankless task, so I hope you will all join me in thanking Elaine for her hard work in the difficult task of finding a venue in Bath where we can have a room to ourselves, have a 3 course meal, bar and dancing all for £30.

The final award for this evening is the ever popular ‘Bent Rigger’ award presented for the most amusing incident; it can be either on or off the water, maybe holing a boat loading it on a trailer, breaking a boat in 2 while carrying it on the roof of your car or hitting the landing stage and snapping of the bows trying to land?

This year’s fopah was on the water and is awarded to the boat's cox. This particular cox had already seen the offending branch causing an obstruction as she steered her crew safely downstream and commented, ‘I had better steer well away from that on the way back’. Unfortunately her excellent attention to critical coxing detail did not last until the way back upstream and she promptly hit the offending branch with her bow man, Ian Burdis who took the brunt of the impact followed by his Bow rigger which took the rest. Both Ian and his rigger where pretty battered but luckily both are now fully recovered. This year’s Bent Rigger award goes to Sue Lees.

We've had a great year and I hope next year will be just as good, or even better. Minerva is a great club and is only made so by you, its members so dig deep and make an effort. The regatta season is upon us and I encourage you to all to get to it, happy racing!

Wallingford Regatta 2009

2009-05-07T09:11:00.005+01:00

Four of the Bath World Class Training group represented Minerva Bath at Wallingford Regatta at a rather windy and wavy Dorney Lake on Sunday 3rd May 2009.

Anna and Helen raced in Intermediate 2 and Intermediate 1 singles with semi's and finals in both events. In Int 2 1x both women won their heats to qualify for the final where Anna finished 3rd and Helen finished second.

In the tougher Int 1 category, Helen won in the final with Anna in second.

Gemma and Vicky were also in attendance. They were entered in Elite and Intermediate 1 coxless fours but unfortunately only got to race in Intermediate 1 as the Elite category was cancelled due to a lack of entries. The women were representing Minerva in a composite crew with Thames and Leander Rowing Clubs. All four women are aiming for places in the Great Britain Under 23 Team this summer. They won the heat comfortably and did the same in the final.

Gemma and Vicky now look forwards to Essen, Germany where they will be racing on 15th - 17th May 2009. This will be in two fours and an eight as we build towards selecting the GB U23 team for this summer.

All four women will be racing at the Metropolitan Regatta at Dorney on 30th-31st May. Again, Helen and Anna will be in their singles whilst Vicky and Gemma will mix things up with the other aspiring U23 Women.

Gemma, Helen and Vicky are all athletes on the World Class Start Programme. The Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Learn to Row Couse April 2009

2009-04-20T21:33:00.011+01:00

During the the weekend of April 18/19 Minerva Bath successfully ran a 'Learn to Row' course for adults. This was our first course of 2009 and the next one is planned for June 20/21. We had six participants, who had not previously rowed before, out on the water within an hour of arriving at the club and by Sunday afternoon they were all rowing in a fine racing boat. The weather was fantastic and we all enjoyed lunch sitting in the pub beer garden on both days. Well done to Stuart, Nick, Jane, Blake, Verity and Paola who all did extremely well. We follow up on the Learn to Row courses with regular adult beginner training sessions on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings for the rest of the summer.

WCS Update March < April 2009

2009-04-20T14:09:00.003+01:00

Phew! Well, rather a lot has been going on recently! Since my last post Gemma, Helen and Vicky have finished 3rd at the Women's Head of the River.

Gemma, Helen, Vicky and Anna all came out to Paris with me for a training camp i organised for a group of WCS athletes. We hooked up with the WCS group that trains out of Tees RC and spent 10 days on a 2k lake just outside Paris. The weather was great, the water was great, the poeple were great, the food was great.... the hotel was... an educational experience!

Off the back of the camp Vicky and Gemma travelled straight to Belgium to the lake at Hazewinkel for the Great Britain Senior/U23 Trials where they competed in their pair. They finished 7th overall, winning the B-Final. This was a solid performance from them after such a short time in the sport but we were a bit disappointed not to have made the A-final and finished higher.

Following the trials in Belgium we were up at GB's training lake near Reading for a week's assessment to sort out the Under 23 crews that will race in Germany at a top European regatta in Essen in a few weeks time. Gemma and Vicky are now both on strokeside and are competing for places in the U23 boats for the World Championships in Racice, Czech Republic this summer.

Heather was also out in Belgium following a late invitation to the trials. Due to her Army commitments Heather wasn't planning on trialling this year but ended up back in a pair racing in Hazewinkel. She finished a creditable 5th overall.

Helen and Anna will be racing at Wallingford in their singles as they continue their campaigns to race for the Senior Women's Singles title at Women's Henley this year. We're hoping Minerva can retain the title after Vicky won it last year! Gemma and Vicky will be racing at Wallingford as well but will be in a GB U23/Development boat that i've organised so they get some more experience of fours racing.

Lucy continues her fantastic progress back into the boat and is now paddling (quite fast!) on the river for a few km's at a time. Rachel had been making similar progress but appears to have slipped back a little in her rehab and is undergoing further physiotherapy input.

The Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens is a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past five years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Friday Night Drinks

2009-04-17T10:42:00.001+01:00

Friday Night Pub night starts TONIGHT!

Raven 7.30pm

See you all there

Vicky

Minerva Annual Dinner

2009-04-01T13:49:00.001+01:00

Minerva Annual Dinner

Friday 8th May

Bath Racecourse

Tickets £30 per seat.

3 course meal, coffee and a disco

Black Tie

For the most fun you'll have this year contact either Elaine or myself for tickets. Sadly we are limited to 70 places for this event and due to the popularity already we are going to have to operate a first come policy.

Hope to see you all there.

We need to collect the money for this event as soon as possible as the venue requires a deposit. There will be a few of us around this weekend to collect money down at the club.

Vicky

Arnold Cooke - B&NES Chair's Community Sports Coach of the Year 2009

2009-03-30T09:52:00.009+01:00

Sports people of all ages who have made a positive difference to their communities were rewarded at the Chair’s Community Sport Awards, organised by Bath & North East Somerset Council (Monday 9 March at The Guildhall in Bath). The awards recognised the contribution made by volunteers, coaches, clubs and teachers to community sport in Bath and North East Somerset and were hosted by Cllr David Bellotti, the Chair of Bath & North East Somerset Council with Bath Rugby players Matt Banaham and Jonny Fa'amatuainu and Beijing Paralympic 100m (T36) silver medalist Ben Rushgrove.

Individuals, sports clubs and organisations were invited to nominate people who they believe have invested their time, energy and commitment to sports provision. Over 50 individuals and four clubs have been nominated this year – a record. Cllr David Bellotti said: “This is an opportunity to highlight the many unsung heroes who support community sports – I would like to congratulate all the winners.”

Minerva Bath Junior Coach Arnold Cook was named as Sports Coach of the Year and below is an excerpt from the award presentation speech by Martin Pellow, B&NES Sports Development officer:

"Arnold is President of Minerva Bath Rowing Club and works hard for the sport of rowing. He is awarded for his enthusiasm, energy and commitment to the youngsters he coaches. Not only is he a great coach but also a role model. Over a 50 year career he has represented the UK at Olympic and Commonwealth games winning medals along the way and is still winning races at national level. Last year despite having a serious illness he continued with his coaching commitments".

Although Arnold is used to winning medals this is his first award for coaching; well done Arnold!

Womens Eights Head Of the River Race 2009

2009-03-03T16:46:00.008Z

Further to Paul's post last month, a composite crew from Minerva Bath and Bath University rowing clubs will be entering the WEHORR next Saturday 7th March after all. Rowed from Mortlake to Putney on the River Thames the race is the same course as the University Boat race but in reverse.

The crew is:

MBRC
Elaine Hoyes
Nicole Fellows
Vicky Fieldhouse
Helen Atherton

BUBC
Sophie Ellis
Stephanie De Smedt
Sam Street
Caroline Woollet

Cox: Ginette Titmuss

Good luck girls

Learn to Row Courses 2009

2009-02-23T15:19:00.003Z

Minerva Bath Rowing Club Learn to Row Courses 2009

Come along this Spring / Summer and learn how to row at Bath’s premier rowing club
Confirmed Course dates:

18/19 April
19/20 June

A third course on 1/2 August may be run
subject to availability

Cost: £45 for two days (50% refundable on joining the club)

For full details contact: Andy Hoyes
email: andy.hoyes668@mod.uk
tel: 01225 421976
web: http://www.minervabathrc.org.uk/

Change of crew for WCS women to race at Women's Head 2009

2009-02-23T13:44:00.002Z

After plans to race in a Minerva Bath, Bath Uni, Army composite crew had to be shelved due to injury and availability issues, some of the WCS women have lined themselves up with some replacement crew mates.

Gemma, Helen and Vicky are now going to race in a new composite from Marlow, Minerva Bath, Reading Uni, Thames and Oxford Brookes. They will go off 180th in the 300 strong event as they are a new entry. (Last years results dictate the state order for this years race.)

The seating order has yet to be confirmed but includes numerous Olympic medallists and World Champions: Katherine Grainger, Sarah Winkless, Beth Rodford, Carla Ashford and Cath Bishop. The eight will be coxed by Caroline O'Connor who has coxed the GB women's eight in recent years and at the 2008 Olympics.

Gemma, Helen and Vicky are athletes on the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Great Britain Rowing Trials - February 2009

2009-02-23T13:36:00.002Z

Once again, Gemma and Vicky made the trip up to Boston for the third Long Distance Trial of the year. Even more Olympians were in attendance and this time Vicky finished 17th overall (6th place U23) with Gemma in 22nd place overall and 9th fastest U23.

These performances got them invited to a closed trial at Caversham (GB Rowing's 2k Training Lake near Reading) on Friday 20th February 2009 against the top performers from the 3 trials so far this season.

Vicky finished 3rd in the 'C Final' which ranks her 15th overall and 3rd fastest U23. Gemma was 6th in the 'C Final' which puts her 18th overall and 6th fastest U23.

Both girls are athletes on the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Great Britain Under 23 Training Camp - Nantes, France - January 2009

2009-02-23T13:23:00.005Z

Following their performances at the two Great Britain Rowing Long Distance Trials so far this season Gemma and Vicky both got invites to a training camp in Nantes, France from 3rd to 13th January 2009.

The focus of the camp was to do some quality training in crew boats with the aim of getting the girls rowing in a similar way so that when the team is selected in the summer for the World U23 Rowing Championships the girls all know each other, have rowed with each other and have some experience of spending a large amount of time together.

When we arrived there was a fair amount of ice on the water but we hoped it might thaw!

But it didn't...

Due to some really cold weather blowing in from Siberia the ice just got thicker and thicker and we didn't get a look in! Some of the locals decided to walk on it though!

As a result the focus of the camp shifted and the guys and girls did over 180km of training on the ergo. The majority of these were long ergs (18 or 20k) with some half hour max tests and some power strokes thrown in for good measure. There was also a large amount of time spent with the physio and coaches working on flexibility, core strength, and technique - again, on the ergo.

Only two girls completed the whole training programme. One of them was Vicky and Gemma only missed one session. Great stuff!

Both girls are athletes on the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Great Britain Rowing Trials - December 2008

2009-02-23T13:18:00.004Z

Vicky and Gemma both made the trip up to sunny Boston, Lincs to race at the second round of the Great Britain Rowing Trials. This was the first trial with some of the 2008 Olympians back in action so it was a great chance for them to see how they compare to some of the best rowers in the world.

As the results came out Vicky was in 16th place overall (5th fastest U23) with Gemma just a couple of places behind in 21st place overall and 7th fastest U23.

This performance earned them both an invite to an Under 23 training camp in Nantes, France in January 2009.

Both girls are athletes on the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

2009-01-26T10:07:00.003Z

Alkmaar 2009

It is hoped to see a large Minerva contingent going to Alkmaar thie year. It would be fantastic to enter 2 or 3 crews in the AA race which is on Sunday 26th April. Our Dutch friends are expecting to host us from Friday 24th until Monday 27th. It is a fantastic weekend of great racing and partying!! and I can personally recommend it having lost my Alkmaar virginity last year.

http://roei.arzv.nl/AARace/Index.php

This year the Dutch are keen to do something very cool in Amsterdam on the Friday we arrive so are asking that we get the KLM early flights as opposed to Easy Jet which are later in the day, (Cost today is £83 KLM).

There is a KLM 6.15 and 10.00 flight from Bristol on the 24th and a civilised mid-day one back on the Monday.

Q&A - All you ever wanted to know about Alkmaar and were afraid to ask….err possibly

Why Alkmaar?
Basic explanation:- Alkmaar is twinned with Bath

Historical explanation:- Towards the end of WW2 in 1944/5 Northern Holland was by-passed by the main thrust of war – isolated but still under German occupation the population was close to starving. The people of Bath hearing of their plight raised funds for air drops of food and clothing, the rest as they say is history.

Where is Alkmaar?
Holland – about 40 minutes North of Amsterdam

How do I get there?
There are flights from Bristol (KLM + Easy Jet). Once in Holland the trains to Alkmaar are frequent and cheap.

Isn’t it really only for the older club members?
No No NOOOOO!

Isn’t it really only for older club members?
See above. A really important one this.
What keeps the exchange vibrant and worthwhile is ensuring that we get a real cross section from both clubs to join in, whether as hosts or guests.

I can’t afford it
Ok, so we are in a recession and the £ is pretty weak but KLM have flights from about £80 and all you need is pocket money for beer and food.
If you look on it as mini holiday it’s a bargain.

I don’t speak Dutch
Their English is infinitely better than your Dutch.

I am a bit freaked by the thought of staying in a stranger’s house
Exactly what the set up will be varies from host to host but in this world of predictability and packaged experience it’s apparently good to live a little.

I am training and planning for rowing world domination in 2009, a weekend on the lash in April might upset my preparations.
Apart from the argument that a change of scenery is likely to do all you chiselled Adonis’s good the Dutch have no shortage of water to row on (something to do with most of the country being below sea level). If you are so minded you can spend all Saturday rowing on the network of canals and double up(=13Km) on race day to compete against crews from across Europe

I am not training and planning for rowing world domination in 2009, and a weekend of rowing in April might upset my preparations for quietly going to seed
You’re in luck! you don’t have to row if you don’t want to.

Still not convinced, want to phone a friend? Talk to Mark Smith: Mark.Smith1@LloydsTSB.co.uk Anne Crozier: Anne.Crozier@banes-pct.nhs.uk any of the committee or anyone who has been on a previous trip and check out the Minerva web site for photo’s and reports from previous years.

Winter Training - Update

2009-01-26T09:19:00.002Z

Club Ergos nights continue on Tuesday and Thursday evenings until March. The first session is 6pm and the second is 6.30pm. The only times when these will not happen is if the temperature is below freezing and the ergo's are not safe to use.

Tim has put up a board next to the ergos so you can monitor your and others ergo scores and rank yourselves against your clubmates so please use it and record your baseline scores as soon as possible; remember a low score is not necessarily a bad score; it makes improvement much easier the next time!

We have started a club Pilates class on Wednesday evenings at the main school hall, Beechen Cliff School; cost £5. Please try an support this as we need 15 people to cover our costs and it is excellent for improving flexibility and core stability.

Please remember that during the winter the water temperature is dangerously cold, even when the air temperature is warmer the water will remain as cold as when it has been below freezing. Please make sure you have a plan before you go out on the water just in case you do capsize or fall in. Things to be aware of are: you need to be out of the water in less than 5 minutes; have you done a capsize drill? will you be able to get back into your boat in extremely cold water? check beforehand the locations where you can get out of the water and onto the bank safely? do you have thermal blankets in your boat? do you have dry clothing to change into? will you be able work hard enough to warm yourself up on the row back to the club? will you be able to open the padlock to get back in the boathouse if you are shaking from the cold?

Remember don't go out on your own, at the very least make sure there are other rowers out who you can stay close by! If in doubt don't go out - do an ergo!

Wycliffe Small Boats Head 2008

2008-12-09T13:15:00.004Z

The morning of Saturday 6th December saw a crisp autumn morning in Bath with beautiful clear skies and a light dusting of frost! The day continued in the same way with blue sky all day but with a bit of a nip in the air and Arnold commented that they were some of the best racing conditions he'd seen at Wycliffe.

With the trailer overflowing (Arnold generously took two boats on his car) Minerva headed off to Wycliffe. With numerous singles, pairs and the occasional double, our onslaught on the medal table went quite well and by the end of the 3 divisions we came away with 7 Golds, 6 Silvers and 2 Bronzes making Minerva the most successful club at the event if organizing the medal table the way they do it at the Olympics!!!

In the process, Vicky notched up a new course record in WS1 1x, Lucy did the same in WS3 1x, Helen in WS4 1x and Vicky and Gemma in WS2 2-.

Max and James finished just outside the medals in J15 2x and stepped up to the challenge well in S4 1x finishing 5th and 6th. Ruth and Katy battled their way down the course finishing 8th in their respective singles categories whilst Gary and Andy snatched Gold in S2 2- and 2nd in E2-.

Gemma and Vicky on the way to setting a new course record in WS2 2-.

Fuller's Fours Head of the River 2008

2008-11-10T14:02:00.003Z

Saturday 8th November 2008 saw the Fuller's Fours Head taking place on the tidal Thames between Chiswick and Putney. The race is on the same course as the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race but is run with the stream instead of with the tide and has 500 crews racing.

Minerva was represented by a Men's Senior 2 Coxless Four and a Women's Senior 2 Quad. Minerva was also listed in a third crew which was a composite of Army, Bath Uni and Minerva rowers. In the end though, no Minerva rowers were in this crew.

The conditions were forecast to be pretty awful around Hammersmith with 20mph winds blowing from Fulham Football Club all the way up the straight to Hammersmith. In the end though, the conditions were pretty good as the wind wasn't as strong and the rain wasn't as heavy as forecast.

Top honours go to the Women's Crew of Lucy, Vicky, Gemma and Helen who overtook 11 other crews on their way to winning the Senior 2 pennant, beating 39 other crews in their event and a number of Elite Crews as well. They finished 137th overall, were the 5th fastest women's boat and were only beaten by Olympic and World Championship level athletes.

The men's crew of Matthew, Ross, Jake and Alex gained valuable racing experience in their event finishing 335th overall and 40th in their event.

All of the results can be found here: http://www.hor4s.org.uk/results.htm
Pictures of the winning crews here: http://www.hor4s.org.uk/2008winners.htm

All of the girls are athletes on the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club. For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Great Britain Rowing Trials - October 2008

2008-10-28T14:11:00.002Z

Well, it's that time again. The first set of Great Britain Rowing Trials of the new season and the 2012 Olympiad have already crept up on us.

As is now the standard format for the first trial of the year, the first day of the trials weekend in Boston, Lincolnshire is a 2000m erg test which is held in the sports centre just outside the town. The results of the ergo dictate the start order for the following day and there is a cutoff time which has to be acheived in order to race on the water. For more info on the GB Trials system go here: http://www.ara-rowing.org/gb/trials

Minerva Bath had three representatives involved; Gemma Akers, Lucy Ryvar and Vicky Thornley. All three easily made the erg cutoff. Lucy pulled the quickest time overall and Gemma and Vicky were in the top eight overall. Not bad going!

This then allowed them to race on the water on the Sunday. The time trial is held on a drainage ditch and is run out of Boston Rowing Club. It's straight, apart from one large(ish) corner and is a fair bit wider than the Avon so steering isn't really an issue.

Lucy finished 5th overall - pics here: http://www.bigblade-photos.com/rowing/events/2008/busbh08/bydivision/124%20Minerva%20Bath%20W1x%20Ryvar.html
Vicky finished 6th overall and 2nd fastest Under 23 - pics here: http://www.bigblade-photos.com/rowing/events/2008/busbh08/bydivision/131%20Minerva%20Bath%20W1x%20Thornley.html
Gemma finished 12th overall and 5th fastest Under 23 - pics here: http://www.bigblade-photos.com/rowing/events/2008/busbh08/bydivision/129%20Minerva%20Bath%20W1x%20Akers.html

Two of the Bath Uni guys were also in attendance in the form of Merrick Odam and Sean Bathe-Taylor. Merrick finished 13th overall and was the 3rd fastest Under 23. Sean was 42nd overall and the 20th Under 23.

Merrick pics - http://www.bigblade-photos.com/rowing/events/2008/busbh08/bydivision/74%20Bath%20Univ%20M1x%20Odam.html
Sean pics - http://www.bigblade-photos.com/rowing/events/2008/busbh08/bydivision/87%20Bath%20Univ%20M1x%20Bathe-Taylor.html

All of the girls (and Merrick) are athletes on the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion and is run by Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club.

For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Monkton Bluefriars

2008-10-20T21:54:00.002+01:00

Alex and Jake bring home the Pottery in the first win for the new double Fontus. Well done boys. Nice name by the way!

Lock to Lock to Lock pictures - 18 October 2008

2008-10-18T18:10:00.004+01:00

Saturday, 18th October 2008 saw the second of this season's @'s or Lock to Lock to Lock time trials with scullers and crews from a number of clubs in Bath taking part.

Getting the boats ready before the safety briefing:

Merrick Odam - winner of Men's Singles and fastest boat overall

Lucy Ryvar - winner of Women's Singles

Provisional dates for the next time trials have been emailed out. See you there!

2008-10-16T15:16:00.034+01:00

On Sunday 5th October the Mayor of Bath (Councilor Tim Ball), members of Minerva Bath Rowing Club and their guests from the ARZV Rowing Club of Bath’s twin town, Alkmaar in Holland, braved the poor weather to officially open Minerva’s new boat house. Other guests included representatives from Ralph Allen School who witnessed one of Minerva’s new boats named after them.

The ceremony was a culmination of many years’ hard work and determination to expand the club facilities for the benefit of the community and is testament to the dedication of many Minerva members past and present, particularly former Captain Vince Whetherly and Club President, Arnold Cooke. (Not forgetting - Steph Bailey-Cooper, William Wadsworth, Andy Wallis and finally Chris Fry and Guy Whetherly. Many of the newer members will not remember the many late nights and lost summer holidays spent putting up the wood framed boat house in those very early days at Newbridge. ''Never in the field of boat house construction was so much owed by so many to so few'')

Minerva shares its new facilities with the University of Bath, the World Class Start programme which identifies and develops potential future Olympians, pupils from Ralph Allen & Beechen Cliff Schools and charities such as Mentoring Plus, a youth crime prevention project, and Mencap who have recently started canoeing at the club.

Along with the opening ceremony the Mayor was asked to name several new boats which were bought through funding from Youth Bank, a UK-wide grant making initiative run by young people for young people, as a result of several months’ hard work to secure the funding by Minerva Junior members Jake Tempo and Alex Wildy.

National Championships 2008

2008-08-11T13:55:00.004+01:00

After their narrow defeat at Reading Amateur, the WCS girls were eager to race the crew from the University of London again and we knew that they would be racing at the National Championships. After some more training in the quad with a bit of pairs training for Gemma and Vicky and singles for Helen and Lucy we headed off to sunny Nottingham with some of the Bath Uni WCS boys as well.

The forecast had predicted a bit of a cross wind and sure enough, the waves were building down and across the course so that Lane 1 was more "character building" than Lane 6.

Upon arrival on Saturday morning, it became apparent that the Women's Quads was going to be a straight final on the Sunday as one crew had withdrawn. As a result, the girls had the opportunity to "Row Over" which they duly took full advantage of. The National Championships uses the traffic light system as used at World Championships and so it was good that they were able to see the start procedure in effect before
their first real race!

Later on Saturday, the girls had their heats in the U23 singles (Helen and Lucy) and in the Women's pairs. All four girls showed that whilst their training is going well, there is another step to be made as their more experienced opposition pushed them into the Repechage. In the reps, the girls raced well with Helen making easy work of her opposition to progress to the final. The pair had a better row but struggled with the conditions and found themselves out of the running for a place in the final. Hopefully, however, the experience will stand them in good stead for next year.

Sunday dawned with finals for all four girls int he quad and Helen in her single, shortly after the quads race. Whilst the bulk of races had been re-drawn to take into effect the cross wind, the quads race (as a straight final) was randomly drawn and the challenging Lane 2 beckoned. With orders to go out hard to the 1000m marker to make sure that they were in a position to win it, the girls duly got on with their task and ploughed their way to the halfway point in second place behind Imperial
College in Lane 6.

Through the halfway marker IC and Bath pushed simultaneously which saw the two crews move away from the rest of the field. Shortly after this, Bath move into the lead for a short while but couldn't hold off Imperial in the closing minutes but they gamely stuck it out to hold onto second place and a Silver Medal at the National Championships. Not bad in their first year!

Helen then had to head on out for her singles final. Drawn in Lane 2 and with a hard race in her Legs already, Helen couldn't make the impact she wanted to in the final but did well to finish 5th at the National Championships after only 5 months in the sport!

All of the girls are athletes on the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion and is run by Paul Stannard,
Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club.

For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme
please contact: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

2008-07-07T08:18:00.008+01:00

During the the weekend of June 21/22 Minerva Bath successfully ran a 'Learn to Row' course for adults. This was the second course of 2008 and a further one is planned for the end of August. We had five participants who had not previously rowed before out on the water within an hour of arriving at the club and by Sunday afternoon they were all rowing in a fine racing boat. Although the weather could have been better, we managed to escape any serious rain, and managed to eat lunch in the Pub Beer Garden on Sunday afternoon. Well done to Yifat, Oli, Will, Drew and Marc who all did extremely well acomplished a greta deal over the weekend. We follow up the Learn to Row courses with regular adult beginner sessions on Wednesday evenings and Sunday morning training sessions for the rest of the summer.

Metropolitan Regatta (31st May and 1st June 2008)

2008-06-24T11:29:00.000+01:00

After Lucy and Helen's trip to Monmouth in the mud, Gemma and Vicky headed off to the site of the 2012 Olympic Regatta at Dorney Lake where they hope to compete in a few years time!!!

The weekend saw much better weather and good racing conditions on the 2000m lake and with both girls entered into Women's Senior 3 Singles, the prospect of some close racing was very exciting. The field on Saturday saw 27 women competing in 4 heats followed by semi finals sorting out the 6 who would race the final. Both girls raced well to make the final where Vicky finished 3rd in 8:08 with Gemma in 5th in 8:19.

Sunday saw a slightly smaller field but with tougher racing as only the first two scullers progressed from the heats into the final. Vicky and Gemma both won their heats before finishing 3rd (Vicky 8:21) and 4th (Gemma 8:23) in slightly slower conditions than the previous day.

Both girls learned a lot from the two days, multi-lane racing and grew in confidence knowing that they can race hard in 5 races over 2 days and be competitive at a National Level event in such a short space of time.

Gemma and Vicky are both athletes on the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion and is run by Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club.

For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme
please contact: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Women's Henley 2008

2008-06-23T18:59:00.007+01:00

Off the back of their recent training camp in Germany and the previous weekend's racing at Reading Amateur Regatta, Friday 20th June 2008 saw Vicky and Gemma start their first Women's Henley experience with wins in the Senior Singles category. Of the 19 entries 6 had races on the Friday, 3 of whom were from Bath with Gemma racing Bath University's Anna Davidson. In a moderate headwind Anna took the early lead whilst Gemma waited patiently for the last 250m where she powered through for the win, by 1 length. Vicky's Friday race was the first in a line of easy wins which continued through the regatta.

Gemma proceeded to encounter tougher opposition in the form of fellow World Class Start athlete Jennie Farmer from Molesey Boat Club on Saturday morning. In similar to fashion to Friday's race, Gemma stalked Farmer for the length of the course before pouncing in the last 250m again to win by 3ft in a time of 6:18 which proved to be the fastest time of the event. This time also beats the previous U23 singles record which was set in 2004 by current GB Women's Eight rower, Jess Eddie.

After another round of racing where both girls won easily, the semi finals loomed on Sunday morning with a raging headwind straight down the course. After leading her opposition for 1250m, Gemma fell foul of the wind in the last 250m where she caught 5 crabs in a row whilst her opponent took advantage of this to row through and win by 1 1/2 lengths to deny us an all Minerva final.

Meanwhile, Vicky calmly despatched her opponent to progress smoothly through to the final where she blasted out of the blocks to lead Claffey from University College Dublin from start to finish. At the barrier, Claffey looked over her shoulder to check Vicky's progress and appeared to quickly resign herself to the fact that the race was already over. Vicky continued to plow through the waves to record an 'Easily' verdict. Rather impressive for someone who has been rowing for 7 months!

Vicky and Gemma are both products of the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion and is run by
Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club.

For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme
please contact: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Munich Training Camp - 3rd to 13th June 2008

2008-06-23T18:56:00.003+01:00

On the 3rd June the girls all headed off to Munich for their first training camp. They tagged along with the Bath University Boat Club who have been to Munich 3 times in the previous 4 years. This was the first year that the group took their own boats and Paul and Nicole drove the 20 boats out on the 2nd June.

The camp was predominantly based on the water at the Olympic Rowing Lake that was built for the 1972 Olympics with a couple of weights sessions thrown in for good measure. The girls trained three sessions a day for two days and then had 2 sessions on the third day. This pattern repeated through the camp to allow the girls time to recover. The camp ended with a 2000m performance piece where the boats that had been training on the camp got together and raced side by side.

The girls made good progress and the camp was a great success. They got out in a mixture of singles, pairs, fours and quads and the improvements they made are very clear to see. Hopefully we will be going back next year!

Reading Amateur Regatta 15th June 2008

2008-06-23T18:52:00.001+01:00

With one day off between their training camp in Germany and Reading Amateur, all the girls arrived at Reading looking a bit tired! Unfortunately our plan of winning every Women's Singles event backfired when Reading cancelled WS4 1x, WS2 1x and WS1 1x leaving Helen in WN 1x and Vicky in WS3 1x. Luckily we had also entered the girls into Women's Senior 2 Quads so everyone got a race.

After 10 days training on the 2000m lake in Munich, the girls found the 'S' shaped course the biggest challenge of the day and some went further than others to make their lives difficult! The competition was of a high standard in the runup to Women's Henley and the girls faced a strong University of London Women's Quad in the first round. The UL crew had won the event on Saturday and are racing at Women's Henley. As a result, the girls loss by only half a length was very encouraging as they are
still very inexperienced and have done about 10 sessions in a quad. Watching the UL crews other races in the day it became clear that the Minerva Crew's race was the closest anyone got to them all day and the girls should be pleased (but a little annoyed) by their result against them.

In the singles Helen (in her second regatta) learned a lot over the course of her three races and should feel confident about her abilities, winning her Novice Pot (or in this case a medal) after only 3 months in the sport!

Vicky's first opponent from Bristol Uni pulled out so Vicky only had a Semi Final and Final between her and a win which she handled very comfortably collecting her second trophy in three regattas.

As a result, it was quite frustrating that Reading cancelled the other Women's Singles events as it looks as though we could have won all of them!!!

2008-05-31T10:59:00.009+01:00

Monmouth Regatta 25th May 2008

With the rain belting down on the morning of our race; and the window screen wipers broken on the vehicle that was going to get us to the town of Monmouth- it wasn't looking hopeful that we'd make it!

However, after weighing up our options, we managed to hunt down a car to borrow, and transferred all our kit and boats, making it to Monmouth RC on the River Wye with just over an hour to go before the first race, still raining heavily.

Helen Glover and Lucy Ryvar both entered the Women*s Novice 1X, and was Helen's fist ever Regatta and Lucy's first side by side race on a river!

Both Helen and Lucy won their first races making it through to the semi finals against Exeter and Monmouth School RC respectively. Helen fought hard against her opposition, pushing down the course head to head past half way when her opposition managed to pull through the finish line first. Lucy managed to gain a couple of lengths on her contender and remained there comfortably, putting her through to the final against Exeter.

With the final being bought forward two hours, at 15:30 Lucy and Lucinda Sanders of Exeter were on the start line. Following some mishaps at the start line they were both off to a strong start, with Lucy pulling ahead in the first 250m. There she stayed, holding off a couple of attempts from Sanders to fight back, with a glorious 4 length victory!

Despite the perpetual wet weather throughout the day- hot chocolate, shortbread and meeting new people kept spirits high, especially the glass bottomed tankard at the end of the day!

The girls next races will be at the Metropolitan Regatta at Dorney on 31st May 2008 and 1st June 2008 followed by Reading Amateur Regatta on 15th June.

Lucy and Helen are both products of the Amateur Rowing Association's World Class Start Scheme sponsored by Siemens, a unique talent identification and development scheme. The programme is funded by UK Sport with Lottery money and since 2006 is sponsored by Siemens. The programme at Bath has identified four athletes for Great Britain teams in the past four years including one U23 World Champion and is run by Paul Stannard, Performance Development Coach, GB Rowing. The athletes in Bath train at the University of Bath and at Minerva Bath Rowing Club.

For more information on this article or the World Class Start Programme please contact: paul.stannard@gbrowing.org.uk

Alkmaar Report 2008

2008-05-20T14:27:00.012+01:00

Five Men and a Lady?

Nice Pizza
Lots of it
Green bottles
Sandwiched between Becs and Chantal – he he!
Me and Smithy last two out the door with our lovely hosts Hilde and Ivo
Get on bike
Get home (how did that happen must have been a teleporting bike with homing pigeon skills)
Offer of more beer – and I guess acceptance
Bed. WITH SMITHY – OH MY GOD!. Well guess I’ve had worse!

Day Two – Training and Culture.
Selection for the first boat was tough. 5 Men, one women, 3 bow siders, one stroke, one competent sculler (and Bruce).
So Tim sculled – cus he kinda can. Turns out he is a young Arnold.
Becs coxed (a first!)
Andy H swapped sides to stroke side.
I stroked and Smithy tucked his head firmly down into his massive shoulders on bow side (he’d be over 6 feet tall you know, if he ever removed his head from under his shoulder blades or out of his -----! He he!)
So the ‘dream four’ was born. Think we were all looking forward to the walk in the park the next days race would be – after all how painful can 6.5k metres be!
One boost for the team however – mission get Bruce bladdered had clearly been delivered with gusto. Sorry Wim and Janneke that your large white telephone was so well used reporting back to the UK Friday night.
Next after eating our packed lunches on top of snacks in the club house we set off on our bikes for the afternoon’s cultural visit. Well it was supposed to be via bike but in the end we went by Monster Truck. How cool!
It’s hard to describe what we went to see other that it was boat based auction house (with acres of covered moorings for the boats), where in years gone by boat loads of goods e.g. potatoes were sold to the highest bidder. The auction house had a canal running through it, bidders sat on either side and bids were cast on a chicken basis. I.e. Rather than bidding upwards (which the museum staff showed takes a long time – you know, who will give me £35, £36 etc etc) a countdown clock is set off starting from a high price and the winning bidder is the one who stops the price countdown clock first. The trick being to hold your nerve, however if you hold it too long someone else stops the clock before you and then buys the goods at that value. In this way each auction take no more than 30 seconds! – and then another boat load floats through.
Next it was a boat trip amongst the thousand Islands (small man made plots of land) where crops were planted, grown and harvested at all hours by small boys from cramped boats. What a life! But the sun was now shining, Friday night was taking its toll, so myself, Bruce and Smithy kept with tradition and took the opportunity to have a little snooze (photographic evidence is available).
The evening was spent in a local restaurant. Good food and great company. It is a huge testament to our relationship with our Dutch friends, that despite our small numbers this year, and the absence of some of our bigger characters, the Dutch still turned out in huge numbers. There must have been at least 35 of us in the restaurant. The whole evening and indeed the whole weekend felt no different from previous years. We did the same things, as usual we were made to feel very welcome and whilst I was myself a little nervous about how our numbers would impact – the reality was it didn’t. Those that missed out were those who chose not too, or were unable to come. I know some felt this as at least 3 people rang or texted me from the UK to see how things were going. So to All – I say next year come – it is an awesome long weekend, totally relaxing, totally fun and the guys over there have been our collective mates for over 20 years now. OK that’s the advert over.
Evening conclusion – more beers. Home early for most of us. Ivo stayed on influenced no doubt by Jaap. Think Andy H also stayed on?. I know Ivo regretted his decision next morning. He he!. Hilde and Ivo – I know you read this. So thank you so much for looking after me and Smithy (apart for making me sleep with him). It was great to really talk with you this year (Fry/Hamilton usually monopolise) you are both lovely and your daughter is great fun – and also has a good right hook by the way.

Day 3 – Race Day
The morning was taken up on the finish boat for division one. Far too much responsibility I think to trust pissed up Brits with accurately recording the time. The first task was to synchronise stop watches with the Dutch starters. Due to some rather quick Dutch and some time delay translation by Colin (he he!) me and Bruce screwed it up. We got it right second time.

Point of interest for those who have been before, Wim, Janneke, Pim and Vincent have clubbed together to buy the Finish boat which they are working on to turn it into a holiday craft. Lots of hard work done – lots still to do.

Point of interest 2. Vincent is setting up his own business growing flowers in Spain with a partner for sale out of Holland. Was trying to explain the concept of coals to Newcastle but let’s face it my Dutch leaves much to be desired. Actually it seemed like a good business (better weather etc) and I have no doubt knowing Vince that he will make a huge success of it.

PM. We raced. Actually it was a surprisingly good row. We finished, I only heard Smithy swear once, we held some good crews longer than they wanted, we blocked the Alkmaar veteran eight (your fault lads you should have taken us before the bridge), Becs didn’t hit anything, we made it through the 90 degree turn under the row back bridge and then we had a! beer.
Tim finished in a quiet way.
We had another beer and Smithy went to buy the Burgers (taking some Kitty), he came back with boiled faggots in bread rolls (having made a tactical u-turn himself to sausage!).
We had another beer and another etc etc....
Then came Prize giving. It was the 25th anniversary of the AA Race and us Bathites got a mention. Do you know that we have now been going there for 22 years. I think I went the 3rd year, Andy Ursell probably went to the first one. I’ve had wives shorter than that!. So again we were made very welcome. And guess what, Tim had won the veteran sculls. Wow – well done Tim, a well deserved medal. I think he also beat our time – ah well!
The four came second in our category, but to be fair the last crew made Smithy look young!
More beers...
Good group this year replacing the Jazz band of old. Bit like status Quo does the Pussycat Dolls.
More beers...
Superb buffet curteousy of an old couple sourced by Vincent. Many trips back to it, very yummy. Then to some serious drinking and gossiping with our Dutch Mates. Getting a bit hazy now. Kinda remember getting the German Sculler and his Mum drunk. Kinda remember Andy Hoyes chatting up said Mum. Kinda remember discussing Andy’s pre Elaine conquests and Elton John – he sure gave a mean pin balling anyway! (he he! – thought that was good Andy). Kinda recall lots of photos.
All in all the party was jumping, the beer was flowing (and as usual frothy), the Matijs was Rose, Becs was Flushed and that’s probably more than enough detail. It was a great end to a great weekend.

Day Four – The Voyage Home
We met at the station to return the bikes. The usual Wendyesque knowing glances and memories dulled by excess. The sad goodbyes to great friends. And again having to find our way home without Hammy.
We got to the airport, checked in, Me, Becs and Smithy were told they had sold our seat twice (an accepted and legal airline practice – how does that work can someone tell me?), waiting to see if we had a seat, we did in the end and were upgraded to Business Class, which again hacked of Bruce who had checked in online – he he!. Losing Tim – who we later found had scuttled off the the Business Class lounge not wanting to associate with commoners – he he!. Flight home, free beer and Business Class food. And Finally Hoyes Cars home.
A great weekend – come next year.
The Dutch were talking about coming over in numbers this October and Myself and Smithy have volunteered to organise. Any offers to put the Dutch up, especially from those of you who live in central Bath will be welcome.
Sorry this has been so long but wanted to convey how great the annual trip is so that those of you who haven’t been don’t lose the opportunity next year.

Mike Ashman

2008-05-19T09:37:00.001+01:00

Five Men and a Lady?

Day One – The Voyage.

‘Well, disappointingly our contingent this year was down to six, however of the six three were Alkmaar virgins and one other had somehow in the past avoided death by Hanilton’s beer kitty.

Four of us set off early Friday morning, Becs had already travelled on the Thursday to spend a night in Amsterdam and Tim would follow us later on the Friday (by Business Class we learnt later). Smithy had a mission, to get our honourable Captain bladdered. Having lined up two willing volunteers to help him in this task - so to breakfast, two lagers, two Guinness and fours sausage/bacon baguettes. Oh yeah and two more lagers and two more guinesses. Well as the bar was open it would be rude to have got the barman up at 8am for nothing.

The plane was on time and barring Bruce deciding he ought to buy a present for his hosts after boarding had been called, we boarded on time. Smithy as usual had bought the Times to read, but we all saw the Beano tucked in side. Well at least it kept him quiet. Bruce was shocked and surprised to learn, that after having gloated about selecting an escape exit seat (hence more leg room) and taking the mick that we hadn’t, that we all infact had the seats he coveted and he didn’t. He he! – just goes to show how chaos theory sometimes provides greater certainty!

I’m pretty sure that as he was sat separately Bruce managed to avoid an in flight drink (even though it was free – note to all, KLM is as cheap as Easyjet these days and you get a bit of service!). I’m also pretty sure that this re-doubled Smithy’s resolve to engineer Bruce’s fall from grace.

We landed at Schiphol at lunchtime. Then came the problem – where was Hammy to guide us. Whilst all of us travel regularly, there is something rather lovely about not having to think for yourself, so Hammy was sorely missed. Luckily uncle Colin had provided us with a fools guide (so naturally Andy H had a copy!) for getting to Alkmaar, which to be fair did ultimately get us there albeit that none of the ticket machines would accept any of our credit cards, presumably Interpol had been warned following previous visits. So the Kitty was born. I decided to volunteer recognising that each time we get back from Alkmaar Hammy seems to buy a new car. What a mistake that was – the final Kitty total was 21 Euros which was gobbled up by Hoyes Cars at the trip’s conclusion.

On the way to Alkmaar we stopped off in Amsterdam to meet Becs – and of course to have the traditional beers in Smiths Station view Coffee House. Bec joined us and started as she meant to go on by downing the only Pint Glass on the table. Whist still looking as stunning as ever, she was perhaps a little green round the gills. Whilst we never pursued the issue (and I’m not sure why not as there may have been a story there) this had resulted from late night, hostel living and two people met in a bar! – Good Girl, there were perhaps memories of trips when us old timers were young!

So to Alkmaar.

We got there – got our bikes at Alkmaar Central bike shop (Colin as usual carrying the deposit risk) and Vincent and Pim turned up in Pim’s boss’ Monster Jam Truck to carry our bags to our host’s houses, presumably driving over the top of any car that got in their way. Anyway – thanks lads!

So too priorities, Belgian chips (double fried with choice of sauces for those readers who are uninitiated) followed by the usual educational session in the famous beer museum.

By now we had our itinerary so were looking forward to the boat trip followed by Pizza at Colin and Nicolien’s.

It turned out that ‘Boat Trip’ was Dutch for Irish Pub, COOL!

The boat trip also turned out to be manually propelled, well the rating was certainly high, so this greatly assisted Smithy’s mission vis a vis Bruce Almighty (well almighty hangover as it later turned out). Gradually our Dutch friends joined us in ever greater numbers. Despite Colin’s directions however, clearly his Dutch still needs some work as the subtlety’s perhaps of his accent seemed to guide Wim and Janneke to the bar next door. Perhaps Irish Pub in Dutch means pub next door to the one with the massive Shamrock outside. Ah well – this minor glitch was soon put right by the global satellite technology contained within Colin’s mobile.

I’m pretty sure we spent at least 4 hours in the ‘Boat’ rating 6 per hour, with us and the generosity of our Dutch friends seeming to up the rating in a mutual display of who can buy the most rounds quickest. He he – needless to say a great time was had by all – especially Bruce who now seemed to have resigned himself to his fate (well almost, there was the odd whimper!). Becs was smiling more now – and as you all know her sunny smile almost takes over her face. Guess the original hangover was subsiding. However clearly her smile didn’t mean bike riding competence as she seemed determined to knock me off mine on the way to Colin’s

So somehow we arrived at Colin’s unscathed for Pizza and more high rating! Hmm! – gets a bit hazy here so be prepared for detail deficit. Bits I can recall:

• Nice Pizza
• Lots of it
• Green bottles
• Sandwiched between Becs and Chantal – he he!
• Me and Smithy last two out the door with our lovely hosts Hilde and Ivo
• Get on bike
• Get home (how did that happen must have been a teleporting bike with homing pigeon skills)
• Offer of more beer – and I guess acceptance
• Bed. WITH SMITHY – OH MY GOD!. Well guess I’ve had worse!

Day Two – Training and Culture.

Selection for the first boat was tough. 5 Men, one women, 3 bow siders, one stroke, one competent sculler (and Bruce).

So Tim sculled – cus he kinda can. Turns out he is a young Arnold.

Becs coxed (a first!)

Andy H swapped sides to stroke side.

I stroked and Smithy tucked his head firmly down into his massive shoulders on bow side (he’d be over 6 feet tall you know, if he ever removed his head from under his shoulder blades or out of his -----! He he!)

So the ‘dream four’ was born. Think we were all looking forward to the walk in the park the next days race would be – after all how painful can 6.5k metres be!

One boost for the team however – mission get Bruce bladdered had clearly been delivered with gusto. Sorry Wim and Janneke that your large white telephone was so well used reporting back to the UK Friday night.

Next after eating our packed lunches on top of snacks in the club house we set off on our bikes for the afternoon’s cultural visit. Well it was supposed to be via bike but in the end we went by Monster Truck. How cool!

It’s hard to describe what we went to see other that it was boat based auction house (with acres of covered moorings for the boats), where in years gone by boat loads of goods e.g. potatoes were sold to the highest bidder. The auction house had a canal running through it, bidders sat on either side and bids were cast on a chicken basis. I.e. Rather than bidding upwards (which the museum staff showed takes a long time – you know, who will give me £35, £36 etc etc) a countdown clock is set off starting from a high price and the winning bidder is the one who stops the price countdown clock first. The trick being to hold your nerve, however if you hold it too long someone else stops the clock before you and then buys the goods at that value. In this way each auction take no more than 30 seconds! – and then another boat load floats through.

Next it was a boat trip amongst the thousand Islands (small man made plots of land) where crops were planted, grown and harvested at all hours by small boys from cramped boats. What a life! But the sun was now shining, Friday night was taking its toll, so myself, Bruce and Smithy kept with tradition and took the opportunity to have a little snooze (photographic evidence is available).

The evening was spent in a local restaurant. Good food and great company. It is a huge testament to our relationship with our Dutch friends, that despite our small numbers this year, and the absence of some of our bigger characters, the Dutch still turned out in huge numbers. There must have been at least 35 of us in the restaurant. The whole evening and indeed the whole weekend felt no different from previous years. We did the same things, as usual we were made to feel very welcome and whilst I was myself a little nervous about how our numbers would impact – the reality was it didn’t. Those that missed out were those who chose not too, or were unable to come. I know some felt this as at least 3 people rang or texted me from the UK to see how things were going. So to All – I say next year come – it is an awesome long weekend, totally relaxing, totally fun and the guys over there have been our collective mates for over 20 years now. OK that’s the advert over.

Evening conclusion – more beers. Home early for most of us. Ivo stayed on influenced no doubt by Jaap. Think Andy H also stayed on?. I know Ivo regretted his decision next morning. He he!. Hilde and Ivo – I know you read this. So thank you so much for looking after me and Smithy (apart for making me sleep with him). It was great to really talk with you this year (Fry/Hamilton usually monopolise) you are both lovely and your daughter is great fun – and also has a good right hook by the way.

Day 3 – Race Day

The morning was taken up on the finish boat for division one. Far too much responsibility I think to trust pissed up Brits with accurately recording the time. The first task was to synchronise stop watches with the Dutch starters. Due to some rather quick Dutch and some time delay translation by Colin (he he!) me and Bruce screwed it up. We got it right second time.

Point of interest for those who have been before, Wim, Janneke, Pim and Vincent have clubbed together to buy the Finish boat which they are working on to turn it into a holiday craft. Lots of hard work done – lots still to do.

Point of interest 2. Vincent is setting up his own business growing flowers in Spain with a partner for sale out of Holland. Was trying to explain the concept of coals to Newcastle but let’s face it my Dutch leaves much to be desired. Actually it seemed like a good business (better weather etc) and I have no doubt knowing Vince that he will make a huge success of it.

PM. We raced. Actually it was a surprisingly good row. We finished, I only heard Smithy swear once, we held some good crews longer than they wanted, we blocked the Alkmaar veteran eight (your fault lads you should have taken us before the bridge), Becs didn’t hit anything, we made it through the 90 degree turn under the row back bridge and then we had a! beer.

Tim finished in a quiet way.

We had another beer and Smithy went to buy the Burgers (taking some Kitty), he came back with boiled faggots in bread rolls (having made a tactical u-turn himself to sausage!).

We had another beer and another etc etc....

Then came Prize giving. It was the 25th anniversary of the AA Race and us Bathites got a mention. Do you know that we have now been going there for 22 years. I think I went the 3rd year, Andy Ursell probably went to the first one. I’ve had wives shorter than that!. So again we were made very welcome. And guess what, Tim had won the veteran sculls. Wow – well done Tim, a well deserved medal. I think he also beat our time – ah well!

The four came second in our category, but to be fair the last crew made Smithy look young!

More beers....

Good group this year replacing the Jazz band of old. Bit like status Quo does the Pussycat Dolls.

More beers....

Superb buffet curteousy of an old couple sourced by Vincent. Many trips back to it, very yummy.

Then to some serious drinking and gossiping with our Dutch Mates. Getting a bit hazy now. Kinda remember getting the German Sculler and his Mum drunk. Kinda remember Andy Hoyes chatting up said Mum. Kinda remember discussing Andy’s pre Elaine conquests and Elton John – he sure gave a mean pin balling anyway! (he he! – thought that was good Andy). Kinda recall lots of photos.

All in all the party was jumping, the beer was flowing (and as usual frothy), the Matijs was Rose, Becs was Flushed and that’s probably more than enough detail. It was a great end to a great weekend.

Day Four – The Voyage Home

We met at the station to return the bikes. The usual Wendyesque knowing glances and memories dulled by excess. The sad goodbyes to great friends. And again having to find our way home without Hammy.

We got to the airport, checked in, Me Becs and Smithy were told they had sold our seat twice (an accepted and legal airline practice – how does that work can someone tell me?), waiting to see if we had a seat, we did in the end and were upgraded to Business Class, which again hacked of Bruce who had checked in online – he he!. Losing Tim – who we later found had scuttled off the the Business Class lounge not wanting to associate with commoners – he he!. Flight home, free beer and Business Class food. And Finally Hoyes Cars home.

A great weekend – come next year.

The Dutch were talking about coming over in numbers this October and Myself and Smithy have volunteered to organise. Any offers to put the Dutch up, especially from those of you who live in central Bath will be welcome.

Sorry this has been so long but wanted to convey how great the annual trip is so that those of you who haven’t been don’t lose the opportunity next year.

Mike Ashman