OUWBC season update by Tina Christmann, President

We’re mid-way through term and with 5 weeks to go the focus of the Club is to finish fine-tuning the line-ups for the Blue Boat and Osiris crews and to get more valuable racing experience from multiple fixtures in the run up to The Boat Race.

Quintin Head was a first test for the crews formed during training camp and although it was an unsatisfactory result it showed us that we needed to consider new line ups and that there is plenty of work ahead.

Selection is ongoing and we’ve completed our last 5k test, which saw some impressive PBs and fed into giving new line ups a try. Moreover, we’ve had multiple days of seat racing in fours at Dorney – both a good pressure test and an opportunity to gain in-training race experience.

Several storms and another wave of high water has tried to disrupt our training again, but with a lot of flexibility in the training programme we have made the best of this challenging situation. With our home Wallingford stretch often taking on “Boat Race-like” conditions, combining a fast stream with lots of movement in the water, it has helped us to clearly identify and work on our technique. Furthermore, on the non row-able days at Wallingford, we have used the opportunity to train at Dorney or undertake quality work on the ergo.

Ahead of us lies fixtures with Oxford Brookes, followed by University of London and A.S.R Nereus. Moral and team spirit is high, with athletes supporting and helping each other during a tough academic period. There is a strong willingness to compromise and step out of one’s comfort zone to help the team strive towards the ultimate goal of winning The Boat Race!