SWPSBC & Wallingford RC Training Day

The J16-18 Girls’ Squads from SWPS and Wallingford RC had a fantastic, combined training day at the Perkins Boathouse in Laleham in mid-September. Rowing with new people, in a variety of mixed-up crews all the way from doubles and pairs up to eights was a great experience, and a lot of fun all round. Thanks go to the Perkins parents for putting on a cooked breakfast between sessions.

We look forward to seeing all these rowers in action with (and against!) each other over the course of the exciting season ahead.

Wallingford Long Distance Sculls

It was great to get to the first race of the season for our new Senior Squad, in the beautiful setting of Wallingford. We had a large contingent of Perkins scullers racing in singles, putting into practice some of their early season foundation work in a competitive setting.

In fields of 30-40 single scullers, there were encouraging results, with a number of top 10 finishes across our three age groups – the highlight being a strong 2nd place for Emily N in WJ16 1x.

We also love seeing our former pupils continuing to enjoy and succeed with their rowing, and yesterday our 22/23 Captain of Boats and current coach, Miss Cowell, made her debut for Leander Club, winning Women’s 2x.

Reading Small Boats Head

This was an encouraging second race-day of the season for our Senior Squad, registering four wins, as the group raced strongly in doubles and singles.

We were pleased to see our crews on top in the WJ18, WJ17 and WJ16 2x categories, as well as our Captain of Boats winning WJ18 1x. Narrow second places in both WJ17 and WJ16 1x events represented a good start to the season, as we move back into a solid block of training ahead of the winter head races.

Winners:

WJ18 2x – Addy P, Annabelle T

WJ17 2x – Millie P, Maddie M

WJ16 2x – Emily N, Sophia D

WJ18 1x – Addy P

Pangbourne Training Camp

Our Senior Squad spent a wonderful week on Training Camp in all weathers, on the beautiful stretch of river in Pangbourne at half-term.  They completed a focussed combination of physiological and technical work in both small and big boats in new surroundings, and the benefits have been clear to see throughout the group over the course of this last half-term of training.

GB Rowing Team Under 19 Trials

We are delighted that four of our current Senior rowers have qualified to attend the GB Rowing Team U19 Trial to be held in Boston, Lincolnshire.  This is the first step on the road towards the possibility of representing their country at a major championships in the summer of 2024, either at the World Rowing U19 Championships in Canada, or the Coupe de la Jeunesse in Czech Republic.  We wish Addy P, Annabelle T, Emily N and Darcie B the best of luck as they embark on this challenging process.

Fundraising

We are lucky to have a fantastic Parent Committee who run a wide range of Boat Club social events throughout the year, which as well as being a lot of fun for our whole rowing family, also raise extra funds to help equip our athletes.

Last year we set a bold target and are delighted to have been able to purchase and install a new telemetry system for our eight, which gives extensive feedback to the coaches on each individual’s rowing stroke throughout a session. This purchase backs up our commitment to run equally supported projects to Henley Royal Regatta, in both Junior Women’s events – the Quad and the Eight.

October Camp in Pangbourne was our first chance to use the system, and our coaches and rowers have already been able to make subtle and positive changes to their rowing and, most importantly, boat speed.

Thank you to all Boat Club parents, friends and supporters for every single pound you spend at our social events – we appreciate your help so very much!