SBR Race Report
Saturday 20th May 2017
Saturday morning was characterised by the first heavy rain in Scotland for a few weeks and a long 16k technical based paddle at Strathclyde Park. The crews then all boarded the bus to head to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow for the race itself.
The guys carrying suits and kilts with the girls carrying their dresses it’s fair to say everyone was looking forward to a good day of racing and a big evening of celebration that evening with the Scottish Boat Race Ball being held inside the Scottish Transport Museum.
All the crews arrived at the Museum to rig boats and prepare for the racing ahead. Thankfully the sun came out and the winds dropped, it was looking like great conditions for racing.
The first race of the day was the Graduates race which was a crew made up of a combination of ex and current students who all used to row for EUBC at some point in their University life. Edinburgh got off to a strong start taking a quick lead on Glasgow however some questionable coding and Edinburgh choosing to take a scenic route to the finish line and getting their tourist visas stamped on the way say Glasgow regain some distance, however the Edinburgh crew pulled it together to take the win.
The second race of the day was the Men’s Beginner VIII where the boys took a quick lead over Glasgow off the start which kept increasing through the race with Edinburgh taking an ‘Easy’ win.
The third race saw EUBC’s Novice Women take a ‘Convincing Win’ over the Glasgow crew.
Race four of the day was the Men’s 2nd VIII including previous Henley winners Harry Gething and Richard St Pier. The crew took the biggest lead of the day winning the race by many many boat lengths.
The Women’s 2nd VIII was race 5 of the day where EUBC’s senior Women showed the Glasgow crew how it’s done pulling out an easy win.
Race 6 of the day in Glasgow was the Men’s 1st VIII including previous Henley winners, Calum Irvine , Rufus Schofield, James Temple and Kieran Tierney , it’s fair to say in the lead up o the race the boys were rather confident in their ability to win this race and thankfully they all lived up to their ego taking a big win on Glasgow.
The 7th and final boat race of the day was the Women’s 1st VIII, slightly shocked by last years defeat by Glasgow the girls were nervous but quietly confident in the lead up to the race. Their boat being stroked by Senior World Cup bronze medallist Maddie Arlett took the 7th win of the day for EUBC.
The race which everyone had been looking forward to was the erg relay where one athlete was selected from each squad to row a 2k in 250m pieces with as little changeover time between athletes as possible. Edinburgh were quick of the start taking the lead however a combination of sheer effort and too much excitement meant one of EUBC girls had some trouble finding her seat and this saw Glasgow regain some meters and take the lead. However, all lost distance was quickly recovered with Edinburgh taking the win in the end by about 30 meters.
With Edinburgh sweeping the boat winning all events the celebrations were large with champagne being enjoyed by some while others headed for the bottles of wine in preparation for the evenings agenda of the Scottish Boat Race Ball.
Prize giving saw lots of Medals and cheers for Edinburgh and a big thanks to all the organisers and everyone involved in the running of the event. After a couple more bottles of champagne the Edinburgh athletes were very kindly hosted by fellow Glasgow athletes where everyone got showered, freshened up and ready for the ball.
The ball was an excellent evening of food, celebrations, ceilidh dancing, and lots of celebration.
Upon return to Edinburgh most returned home to get some much-deserved rest which some took the opportunity to scale the peak in the middle group of the central Edinburgh hills, Arthur’s Seat. Having enjoyed an amazing sunrise, they returned home to finally enjoy some much-required rest.
All in all, an excellent weekend of winning, celebration and socialising for everyone and a big thanks to Glasgow for some great racing.



