Shrewsbury Weekend
Saturday 10th - Sunday 11th May
In brilliant sunshine Guildford RC once again made the trek north of Watford into the wilderness of the North, to face the best that Shrewsbury could throw at us.
Confidence was high (as was the SPF factor on my suntan lotion). Revelling in the fact that we may actually compete at a Shrewsbury weekend regatta without getting wet, I pitched my tent and retired inside – only for the heavens to open….
It was short lived however, and Saturday brought top-notch weather for the “serious racing” of the weekend. The Guildford procession then began with yellow & green threatening to stamp its mark on every other race. The novice men, led by Ross in the stroke seat, showed just why they threaten to be an S4 crew any time soon – with a fantastic series of races, narrowly losing out to Grosvenor in a quality final race. The “beast” of the mens squad at S3 4+ were unlucky not to nick a win in the final against Exeter University – who had turned up in force (along with the UL ladies) to show that Shrewsbury need not mean weak opposition!
The S2 men “beauty” avenged the loss of their S3 colleagues, seeing off a strong challenge from Exeter University, with a controlled and powerful race in the final. The Senior women mirrored those fine performances, with a win in the WS2 4+, WS3 2x and WS4 2x events. There were a number of race debuts – gaining valuable race experience too.
The Vet ladies also took to the water – with some closely fought races. Guildford demonstrated just how important it is to race until the final ‘bell’ is rung, when Liz/Val/Annie/Lynsey/Ryan nicked a win against opposition, who mysteriously failed to cross the finish line, when it looked as though they’d edge it. Well done for the charge into the finish – and the win; there was sadly a little too much to do in the final, but it was a great day’s racing! Who could forget the Vet scullers? Pete once again showed that all the time he puts into coaching doesn’t mean he can’t win pots himself with another great finish in his single. In particular, big congratulations go to John Wills – after masses of training and more 1x race entries than anyone cares to count, a fantastic pot in the novice single.
Sunday saw numerous race entries in a number of untried (untrained, generally too) combinations – with mixed successes. Who could disregard the intense inter-club rivalry in the mixed 4+ events? The sheer harmony of “love doubles” as couples Scott/Ursula, Rachel/Ian and (ahem) Nick/John took the water….
Pots were once again aplenty in the ladies S2 4+, mens S1 and S3 4+s, vet double (Captain Paul and Pete), in the mixed fours, mens S1 2- and finals were reached in a good smattering of singles/doubles races.
In this very brief round-up I am sure I have forgotten some great races, in what was (mostly) a spectacularly successful weekend. Guildford has certainly met the challenge thrown down by the captain of “raising their game” and long may it continue. There is a real feeling amongst even those that didn’t quite sneak a win in their finals, that this could be their year and that success is overdue. Let the confidence ride high and the successes be well earned! It’s a great start to a summer regatta season…………