Diamond Jubilee Rowing Championships 2012

It was certainly a baptism of fire experience this weekend.

Racing 2k at this time of year, are you crazy?! Apparently the Diamond Jubilee Rowing Championships organisers thought not, but my body only three weeks into the new 2012-2013 season had a bit of a shock!

I raced for my club, Leander, on Sunday 21st October in a women's quadruple scull.  I was joined by Olympian Katie Greves (2008,2012), and Monica Relph and Victoria Meyer-Laker.  Conditions on Sunday morning for the time trials were beautiful; flat and almost completely still.  The calm conditions from Saturday night had clearly stuck around for awhile...

Saturday evening 20.10.12 looking over Dorney Lake
copyright Rich Stock @richstockrowing

As a boat, having only just come back to training from our end of season break and the other girls having other work/boat commitments, we only managed 4 or 5 outings before racing. Katie hadn't raced since her Olympic Final and this was going to be a very different experience for her at Dorney!  We put in a slightly safe but solid performance in the time trial, and I was surprised to later see that we had won the time trial by so much, putting six seconds between us and the second placed crew.

What seemed like a very short time later, we were back on the water for the semi final.  We made a good start on the race and put ourselves into a comfortable lead by 500m.  Just before the halfway mark Katie our stroke girl gave a call to take it down on the rate, so we gave the boat a bit more time to run, concentrated on our technique and rowed as light as we could to stay a length ahead of the next crew.  We crossed the line comfortable with our win and safely into the A final.

Again, a short break and then out onto the lake for the A final of the women's quadruple sculls.  Legs heavy, we didn't have the best start and found ourselves adrift of our two biggest threats, the Wallingford Lightweight quad and the Isle of Ely composite lightweight quad. Lightweights are typically fast starters, having less weight to get moving so we found confidence in our mid race pace and set a rhythm that would carry us through. By the 500m mark we were just ahead of the field and we continued to slowly draw away.  We knew that we would have to fight for the win, and we did, finally coming home with a hint of clear water, 2 seconds in front of Wallingford RC.

Semi-Final and Finals results can be found here

Winners of Women's 4x at the Diamond Jubilee Rowing Championships 2012

L-R Katie Greves, Monica Relph, Erica Bodman, Victoria Meyer-Laker

Now I look forward to the Fullers Head of the River Fours race in just under three weeks time.  I will be racing a quad, line up to be confirmed.

Down time and Racing

For my end of season break this year I spent two weeks in Italy and two weeks at home in Guernsey.
Our holiday in Italy was a lot of fun and we mixed downtime with activities, including climbing a mountain and being joined for a little while by a few mountain goats!

It is rare that I get to spend such a long time at home and although not completely relaxing because I had to train whilst I was there, it was such a worthwhile visit.

I am always struck by how professional, helpful and genuinely concerned everybody from the Guernsey Sports Commission and Rising Stars set-up is with me.  It is such a pleasure to come home to Guernsey and have such an interest taken in my career.  I am constantly asked if there is anything else that can be done to help me; any other support or expertise that I require.  The nature of our island community comes through in the concern and guidance that is shown to me.

This visit to Guernsey was most productive because it allowed me to become inducted at the new Spearpoint High Performance centre down at Footes Lane.  This is an brilliant new facility for Guernsey which I saw being used by lots of young athletes with a fantastic support network of coaches.  I was also introduced to Tim Newenham and Denis Mulkerrin by GSC's performance director Jeremy Frith.  Jeremy is always looking for the best way to support and enhance performance, and I was so grateful for these introductions because I felt that this was one of  the most productive meetings ever.  Tim and Denis are both hugely respected and experienced in a range of sports and helped me with my weightlifting technique and things as basic but vital as posture, down at the Spearpoint facility.

In addition to working with the Guernsey Sports Commission, Tim has an extensive CV including current Performance Director for British Shooting and National Coach mentor for Javelin.  An incredibly inspiring and motivating individual, aside from his practical suggestions I felt I gained a great deal emotionally and motivationally from meeting him.  Denis was also very helpful and as a former British Weightlifting coach he was especially insightful when it came to my lifting techniques!

Now, back in the UK we have a rather different start to our typical rowing season. Usually winter is time for long head races (think 5km on a cold and bleak river), but this year British Rowing are changing the format somewhat.  For a range of reasons this year we have the 'Jubilee Regatta' at Dorney this weekend.  The racing is regatta style (2km on the lake) and  done in doubles and fours (Saturday) and quads and eights (Sunday).  This is a first step towards a new format for the Senior British Rowing Championships, but it will slightly differ from traditional multi-lane regattas, with heats consisting of time trials over 1900m.  The idea is to make the National Championships more of a National Championships! Up until now, the Nat Champs are scheduled in the summer racing season and they do not fit into the National Squad's racing programme. This new format means that some of the Olympic team will be racing this weekend, and they will be racing in their home club colours.  This is an exciting prospect for up and coming rowers because it means they will get the opportunity to race with and/or against some of our Olympians!

I am racing a quad on Sunday with Katie Greves (British Olympic 8+ 2008,2012) Vicki Meyer-Laker and Monica Relph (both Medallists at 2012 European Championships).  This is a very good line up and I am looking forward to the racing!



Post Jubilee Regatta I will be racing at The Fours Head of the River three weeks later in London, and then two weeks after that we have GB Trials up in Boston, Lincolnshire.