Boat Club win raft of medals in Nottingham
Imperial College Boat Club show their worth at BUCS Regatta
BUCS 2011 was a successful one for Imperial College Boat Club culminating in an impressive 13 medals won; 6 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze, as well as 145 all important BUCS points. The club was third overall and in the medals table, despite being depleted in numbers due to the pressing matters of exams and revision. Five of the six gold were won by the skinnier half of ICBC with the lightweights winning almost every race they entered.
Over the extended bank holiday weekend, Imperial journeyed to Nottingham for three days of intensive racing and was greeted by strong winds and even stronger gusts. As the conditions deteriorated, scullers seemed to sit on the water or surf over the waves. Paul Jones fought hard, sinking; whilst Gareth Brown battled on to take a silver medal in the intermediate lightweight single. Harriet Cross was extremely disappointed by the cancellation of the women’s beginner event, due to the adverse weather. The women’s intermediate pairs suffered the same fate. Medals were brought home by Imperial’s female scullers, Mel Wilson won gold in the open weight whilst Chloe Symmonds won bronze in the lightweight. Wilson made her heat and final look easy, slicing through the horrendous water and the competition. Unfortunately, Josie Bowler was not quite as lucky as she capsized in her intermediate lightweight heat and was not allowed to complete the race, much to her frustration.
The men’s championship 8 (cox: Henry Fieldman/Matt Whaley/Rory Sullivan/Ben Spencer-Jones/Ali Hudson/Simon Steele/Henry Goodier/Wilf Kimberley/Leo Carrington) added a bronze to the tally as they rowed through Queen’s University Belfast and Durham in the closely fought final. Bronzes were also won by the men’s champ pair (Goodier/Spencer-Jones), men’s champ coxed four (cox: Libby Richards/ Steele/Goodier/Spencer-Jones/A Hudson) and the men’s intermediate quad (Adam Seward/Danny Bellion/Spencer-Jones/Paul Jones). Hal Bradbury performed marvellously in the heavyweight single, coming fourth behind three GB rowers, but his efforts were rewarded later with a silver medal in the men’s intermediate double sculls when he paired up with Steele. Other ICBC crews fell foul of fate as steering incompetence of their rivals and rogue waves blocked the progression of strong Imperial crews and their chances of medals.
This was the first chance for Imperial’s novice squad to experience side-by-side six lane racing and all took to it like ducks to water. The women’s (cox: Jess Johnson/Sarah Tattersall/Maddy Whybrow/Rosie Davies/Harriet Cross) and the men’s (cox: Johnson/Tom Carpenter/Robbie Hernandez/Alex Quigley/Tommy Hirst) beginner fours came fifth and ninth respectively. Meanwhile, the women’s beginner eight (cox: Alice Wickham/Bowler/Whybrow/Davies/Cross/ Tattersall/Joanna Taylor/Rowena Harrison/Lucy Adkins) qualified third fastest for their finals and were eight overall after a tight finish.
The remaining medals (all gold) were won by the lightweight men’s squad. The four of Tom Pearson/Tim Richards/Kimberley/Paddy Hudson set the tone on the first day of racing as they won their heat, despite Paddy not sitting on his seat from the second stroke of the race. They won the final by a convincing six seconds. Tension was high on day two as the lightweight eight (cox: L Richards/Pearson/P Hudson/Kimberley/Brown/T Richards/Carpenter/ Jones/Ben Joakim) tested the scales; most were on or below weight, with the exceptions of Paddy and Wilf.
Both managed to lose about 500g through exercise but Kimberley was having trouble losing the last 200g. A quick change of kit, multiple trips to the facilities (including one infamous occasion) and standing oddly on the scales eventually paid off. Every last ounce of sweat was worth it as the eight eased through their heat over the course.
In the final, they beat off the competition, winning gold, making the late pushes from Nottingham and Cambridge look futile. After winning in the eight, there was no rest for the wicked. The quad (Pearson/T Richards/Kimberley/Brown) jumped out of one boat into the other and was back at the start in no time. They led from start to finish. On day three, the lightweights completed the gold rush when the lightweight double (Pearson/ Kimberley) and pair (T Richards/P Hudson) won both finals easily.
If one existed, the Man of the Regatta award would go to Mr Wilf Kimberley for getting the most medals (4 gold and 1 bronze) and for banter provision.
A scrumptious barbeque was the fuel for the annihilation of the competition and now all eyes turn to the rest of the regatta season and the road to Henley 2011.