Celeste
Spring 2022
President’s Welcome
Welcome to our spring edition of Celeste! Since our last update our squads have made the first trips over the border for the 2021/22 season, with racing on the Tyne at Rutherford and BUCS Heads, and an eagerly anticipated return to the Tideway for the Eights Heads where we had a number of record-breaking and equalling finish positions. The GB Rowing Team Final Trials also produced some outstanding results, with wins in both the men’s and women’s lightweight sculls, and our men’s under-23 pair making it through to seat racing.
We have also had the somewhat delayed awards season, with our club awards being handed out at our annual Bow Ball at the start of April, followed by four award nominations at the Sports Union Ball, from which we were successful in both the Alumni Relations and Team of the Year awards.
Recently we have also been looking at how we can further improve our alumni relations, and I am grateful to those who provided suggestions at the post-WeHoRR meetup earlier this year. If you have any thoughts on what we could be doing better please do not hesitate to get in touch. We are also pleased to announce the return of the EUBC Reception on the Saturday of Henley Royal Regatta, and we hope to see many of you there!
Please read on for details on all of the above and more, and I hope to see a strong contingent of EUBC members, supporters and alumni on the bank during the upcoming regatta season!
Euan Dickerson
President, 2021/22
Club Records & Alexandra BC: Can you Help?
We are continuing to develop our club’s historical record, and currently the focus is on expanding our list of previous presidents, coaches and other committee members. If you can remember any of the above from your time with us (particularly pre-2008 where our records start to get patchy) please get in touch through rowing.alumni@ed.ac.uk.
After discussions with a number our alumni at recent events, it is clear there is sufficient interest to warrant the re-registration of our alumni boat club, Alexandra BC. This will of course require an element of administrative work for it to be a success, so if you either have been involved in the past or would be interested in assisting with its operation please get in touch with us with your experiences/interest.
EUSU Sports Ball
We were able to attend the first Sports Ball since 2020, welcomed with a speech from EUBC’s own SU honorary treasurer Ben Dickens. Lucy Glover was nominated for Female Athlete of the Year, and the club for Club of the Year. We made it four years in a row for the Ian Stevens Cup for Alumni Relations and the 2020/2021 beginner rowers won Team of the Year, impressively beating out a stacked field to be recognised for their outstanding achievements of last season, showing EUBC’s continued dominance in novice rowing. India Somerside was also mentioned for her receipt of the Cameron Blue of the year.
Scottish Boat Race
We are looking for a mixed crew to race an 8+ as part of the graduate race at the Scottish Boat Race on Saturday the 21st of May at the Glasgow Science Centre, after which there would also be the opportunity to attend the Boat Race Ball. If you would like to take part, please email rowing.alumni@ed.ac.uk.
Henley Royal Regatta Reception
On the Saturday of Henley Royal (2nd of July) we will be once again hosting a reception for all current and graduate members of EUBC and would love to see many of our alumni there. Further information will be communicated closer to the time, but please let us know if you’d like to plan a crew re-union.
As always there will be some food and drink provided, and possibly even some boat names unveiled...
Rutherford Head
Always one of the most anticipated events of the winter schedule for EUBC. An opportunity to venture a short distance over the border and test ourselves against perennial rivals Durham and Newcastle, as well as top clubs from further afield.
That anticipation had to be held a little longer this year, as the November event fell victim to the weather. There were some anxious moments that lightning (or wind, in this instance) would strike twice, but the forecast was, just, in our favour.
Some may well have been questioning whether this was actually the case as we boated for Division one, strong winds and low temperatures left nobody in any doubt that this would be head racing in its most testing form.
So, it was especially pleasing to see our Men’s 1st 8+ powering over the course to take a convincing 12 second win and the overall Headship. The 2nd 8+ also put in a strong performance to finish 7th overall and second of the 2nd 8+’s. Not to be outdone, our Women’s 4+ were convincing 25 second winners, with their squad mates in the 4- finishing 4th.
More medals were to be collected in Division Two. The Men’s 4+, and band 2 4x both taking wins. Our Women’s 8+ were 5th in a very strong event won by an impressive Tideway Scullers crew that had EUBC graduate Bettie Payne at bow.
BUCS Head
First division on Saturday was the women’s eights and men’s fours events, and provided what was the highlight of the day from our Women’s Championship 8+. In a tight tussle all the way down the track, we were able to squeeze out a four second margin and take the title away from Newcastle University on their home stretch. Covid struck our Men’s Championship 4x, but a sub on the day saw them still finish a credible fourth. Medals for the men included silver in both the Championship 4+ and 4-, and bronze in the Lightweight 4- and Intermediate 4+.
Division two saw the women build on their earlier success with another classy victory, this time in the Championship 4x, taking an eight second win over Durham. Our Women’s Championship 4+ were a solid silver behind fellow scots Glasgow. Our Men’s Championship 8+ couldn’t quite match the exploits of their female club mates from earlier and finished outside the medals in fourth. This was replicated by our 2nd 8+ in Intermediate, also finishing in an agonising fourth.
Sunday saw windier conditions blow in just in time for the Beginners to take to the water for their first races, and first time pulling on the baby blue in competition. Every member of the squad left at the end of the day with a medal. The Beginner Women’s 4x and 4+ took silver and bronze respectively in division one, and the Beginner Men’s 4x showed they weren’t to be outdone with a silver in division two.
When all was totted up at the end of the day, we were to come away with third overall in the Victor Ludorum, behind home clubs Newcastle and Durham.
(Photos: Dave Dickerson)
Women’s Eights Head of the River
We had three eights racing, representing both the Senior and Club squads.
Our 1st VIII were starting 5th, in amongst the best of British women’s rowing, and doing so with a sense of belonging earned through their victory at BUCS Head and some excellent work in training. A good first half in the benign conditions through Barnes and Chiswick was then to come against the twin challenges of the rougher water through Hammersmith and the advancing Leander ‘B’ starting behind. A good battle ensued to take them down past Harrods and onto the home stretch through Putney. A finishing position of 7th, and second to UL for the University Pennant, equalled the best performance for an EUBC crew. Not to be outdone, our 2nd VIII, starting 26th, continued the climb up the rankings to finish 21st and further put a stamp on the belief that this could be the strongest Senior Women’s squad yet.
Our Club Rowing squad continue to provide rowing and racing opportunities for all, and they too had a solid row to gain nearly 50 places on their starting position of 192 to finish 148th.
The big Regattas and Head races are always a good opportunity to catch up with our alumni. It was great to see so many still racing, and doing so at a good level. Kudos to Bettie Payne on her outstanding 3rd place overall with Tideway Scullers, Tara Grimsley-Moore 11th with Leander ‘C’ and India Somerside 14th with Leander ‘D’.
The headline makers pre-race were the silver medal Rio 8+ rowing as a composite of their home clubs, including EUBC represented by Polly Swann. A good row, but they had the good grace to finish one place and less than a second behind us in 8th.
(Photos: AllMarkOne)
Men’s Head of the River Race
A superb day of sunshine and flat water, and results to match. We had three men’s eights racing from our ever expanding men’s squad. Second highest finish ever for our 1st 8+, best ever for our 2nd 8+, and a 3rd 8+ into the top 100 for the first time.
1st VIII: 12th overall, 2nd University
2nd VIII: 31st overall, 9th University
3rd VIII: 92nd overall, 25th University
Club VIII: 142nd overall, 45th University
(Photos: Nancy Dickinson)
February Senior and Under-23 GB Trials
Dale Flockhart produced the standout result, finishing just 1 second off the win in the Lightweight Men’s 1x. Having flirted with openweight last season, Dale looks set to challenge for a senior vest to add to his U23 World Championship appearance from 2018 if this form continues.
In the Women’s Lightweight 1x, graduate member and Tokyo Olympic spare Maddie Arlett put in a strong performance to finish third and edge ever closer to her Tokyo teammates as the Paris games start to loom on the horizon.
Lucy Glover couldn’t match her win from the December assessment, finishing 7th in the challenging headwind conditions on the River Wye. Stroke of the Tokyo Olympic 4x whilst still in her final undergraduate year, Lucy will be looking to climb back to the top in time for summer.
Another previous trials winner, Jack Burns, solidified his status amongst the top scullers in the country with a 5th place, in amongst established Internationals as he continues his progress in his first season at the national training base at Caversham.
Hannah Supple finished as the 2nd ranked Under 21, 4th ranked Under 23, and 15th overall in the 1x, whilst fellow first year Lily Young was 3rd Under 21 and 4th Under 23 in the Lightweight 1x.
Three GB Rowing Team World Class Start programme athletes were also racing. Cameron Kemp and Mike Simpson were 18th and 21st in the Open 1x, with Cameron 6th of the Under 23’s. Perri McClusky finished 16th in the Women’s 1x.
(Photos: AllMarkOne)
GB Rowing Team Final Trials
The Easter weekend saw the return of a full trials regatta to the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake in Caversham.
-Dale Flockhart produced 3 wins across the Time Trial, Semi-Final and a tight Final to take his first Senior title and rank of number one lightweight in the country.
-Maddie Arlett made it a double of lightweight wins to take the women’s title, and finish as the 4th fastest women’s sculler overall in a combined event.
-James Doran and Matthew Morgan progressed up the rankings through the regatta to finish 19th overall (8th U23) in the Men’s Pair and move on to crew boat selection for this summers U23 World Championships.
Tokyo Olympian Lucy Glover, Jack Burns and Cameron Kemp (GB Start) all had to withdraw on medical grounds, but remain in contention for Senior and U23 selection for the upcoming international season.
(Photos: AllMarkOne)
Upcoming Competitions
30th April/1st/2nd May - BUCS Regatta (Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham)
21st May - Scottish Boat Race (Glasgow Science Centre)
3rd/4th/5th June - Scottish Championships (Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell)
17th/18th/19th June - Henley Women’s Regatta (Remenham, Henley-upon-Thames)
18th June - Marlow Regatta (Dorney Lake, Windsor)
28th June – 3rd July - Henley Royal Regatta (Henley-upon-Thames)
23rd July - Home International Regatta (London Docklands)
Bow Ball
Our annual Bow Ball was held again in April for the first time since 2020 and was a wonderful evening at the Caledonian to celebrate the club’s successes over the past 2 years. The following awards were presented to recognise individuals' achievements in the tough 2020/2021 season:
The Pentland cup for Female Athlete of the year: Mia Freischem
The Mrs Meakins Cup for Male Athlete of the year: James Doran
The Mrs Lelean Cup for Club rowing member of the year: Lucy Barnard
The Third Trophy for Volunteer of the year: Ben Dickens
(Photos: Andrew Perry)
Get in touch with EUBC!
Twitter: @EdinburghUniBC
Facebook: @edinburghrowing
Instagram: @edinburghrowing
Email: rowing.alumni@ed.ac.uk
Website: www.edinburghrowing.co.uk