For the first time in recent history, St. Edmund’s entered a boat into the University IVs competition. Part head race, part regatta, where two 4+ crews set off 150m apart and race for the best time over a 2km course. With ARU dropping out, Eddies progressed straight to the semi-final against Emma W2. Eddies brought only their meanest faces and strongest watts onto the water ending with a competitive time of 9:06! Sadly, it was not quite enough to beat the Div.1 Emma crew, but Eddies rowed back home with a feeling of accomplishment (and very sore legs). The senior women begun training for the race before the start of Michaelmas term and faced a numerous number of hurdles. With rowers getting injured or severely ill, rowers being unable to make the afternoon race slot due to university work (do we learn here, I thought we just rowed?), and rowers switching from stroke to bow side, the race line up seemed to change every week. While our formidable crew—Adriana, Kathy, Kiran, and Sophie—ultimately rowed, I’d also like to take this moment to acknowledge Shannon, Xen, and Rosie who all helped make this race happen. And another huge thank you to our formidable cox-coach Abbie who took the tightest line around grassy and coach Matt (who even smiled a little bit)! Written by Elizabeth Leung (Womens Captain) Practice start on the plough reach
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Eddie’s Eagles were back racing on the Cam as a 4+ at Autumn Head. Below is a race report written by women's captain Elizabeth Leung. “Eddies made their return to the Cam this Saturday racing in Autumn Head. They had a stacked 4+ boat with the ‘meerkat’ Elizabeth and our small-but-mighty powerhouse Kathy in stroke pair and our bow pair wow pair Sophie and Shannon making their SECBC racing debut. While the sun was thankfully out, this crew had to fight against the wind and heavy stream through the 2.6km course. And, in true Eddies fashion, they had some hiccups in the race. But when the cox box died mid-race, Abbie powered through unfazed. Feeling good about our first race of the 2023-24 year, it is but a stepping stone to the University IVs race in the coming weeks. Yeah Eddies!” A whopping 9 races for the Eddie’s women in the 99s Spring Regatta!
This Sunday saw the Eddie’s women take part in 9 races as part of the 99’s Spring Regatta, a series of side-by-side races down the reach. Eddie’s W1 started off the day by drawing Clare W2. Despite the recent focus on drilling race starts in outings, Clare’s start was considerably stronger, and they quickly pulled away by about half a boat length. Eddie’s maintained this gap all the way down the reach until about 150m from the finish line where they emptied the tank and started gaining seats on Clare. Sadly the push came a little too late and Clare took the win. Next the Eagles were paired up against Maggie W2 in competition for a plate. Much like in the first race, Maggie gained off the start. The Eagles valiantly stopped the gap from increasing and despite a much better start than the previous race, and much smoother rowing, were unable to claw back any seats. Despite these two defeats, a lot was learned from the racing which they will take into training next week. In the afternoon 4 of our W2 rowers raced with Hughe's W2 and W3. Jazmin, Olia and Vero (who was racing for the first time) joined the W3 crew and Vice Captain Elizabeth joined W2. Hughe's W3, a mostly novice boat, were first up against the Vet School boat, an unlucky draw as it was filled with many 6th year vets with many years experience in W1 college crews. Despite a valiant effort and some gorgeous rowing, the vet boat pulled away straight off the start. A brilliant first race for Vero! Next they were up against Maggie 3, another unfortunate draw against a massive club on the Cam where they were sadly defeated. Despite the losses, the girls had a lot of fun in the sun and got some valuable race experience. Hughe's W2’s first competitor scratched, so got to enjoy the sun while their 3rd boat flew down the Cam against Maggie 3, waiting to race the winner. As Maggie came out victorious they paddled back to the start line to race. Hughe's W2 took an easy win meaning they got to the final against the Vet School boat. With the Eddie’s vice captain in one boat, and the captain in the other, the boats set off for a show down. An unfortunate crab meant Hughe's W2 lost their rhythm for a few strokes which made all the difference in the neck-and-neck drama up the reach. After a speedy recovery, Hughe's got back into their stride and started gaining on the vet boat. Sadly it was too late, and they crossed the line shortly after the vet boat, finishing 2nd place in the div. An incredible performance against the veterans who were expecting an easy win. Despite some disappointing results, the women absolutely gave it their all, demonstrating the Eddie’s underdog spirit we all know and love. Congrats Eddie’s on the amazing performances and for being the friendliest club on the Cam, saving multiple crews from scratching that day. Yeah Eagles! And a big shout-out to Abi John from Hughe's for subbing into our W1! What started out as an overcast and slightly nippy morning turned into a gorgeous sunny day of racing for the Eagles this Sunday. The race was a 1450 m time trial starting from the plough, racing down the reach, and ending at the P&E.
After displaying some exhibition rowing down the lock, with a couple chunky race starts thrown in, the girls arrived at marshaling in high spirits. The sun decided to make an appearance and then it was time to race. After a gorgeous roll-up to the starting marshal, the girls set off at incredible pace, building and settling to a speedy rate 36. After a beautiful couple of strokes around Ditton corner, the Eagles hurtled down the reach, not slowing down. Leaving Medwards W2 miles behind, the Eagles approached the railway bridge, grunting and groaning from the 110% effort that was being put in. A big push off the bridge and there was only 500 m to go, but by this point the Eagles were running on fumes. After a power 10 through the last 150 m the girls crossed the line with a time of 6 minutes and 11s, coming 4th, closely behind Clare W2. Used to coming 1st or 2nd in their category, this was a disappointing result for the Eagles, but what can be said was the whole crew gave it 100%. MVP goes to Maya in 4 seat for her amazing display of perseverance after getting severely winded off the start, nothing a little (or a lot) of sugar back at the boat house couldn’t fix. The Eagles will take away many lessons from today and are looking forward to showing their full potential in the 99’s Spring Regatta next weekend. Yeah Eddie’s! This Sunday saw the Eddies Eagles race in the City Sprint Regatta, a side-by-side race (dubiously advertised as 500 meters) outside the boathouses. A technically challenging race on an extremely tight stretch of river, even with the houseboats moved out the way.
The Eagles were first up against Cauis W3. After a saucy paddle straight past marshaling, a couple of chunky race starts, and a questionably legal spin under the railway bridge, the Eagles paired up alongside their competition at the start line. While Cauis were faffing, the girls were ready and waiting at that start, looking relaxed and composed, and ready to take the win. As both coxes lowered their hands the marshals started the race. Immediately, Cauis, who had the mental advantage of starting a little further ahead, but on the outside line, pulled ahead with a strong race start. After a few strokes the Eagles settled into a power ten and quickly pulled back the lead. After 33 strokes it was all over, and the Eagles won by a couple seats. After a spin at Jesus Lock, the Eagles headed back to the start line to spar with their next opponent, Churchill W2, who they had SMOKED the previous day in Spring Head-to-Head. This time, Churchill, who were fresh from having not raced, had the advantage of the inside line. As the pink and blues lined up at the start, Eddie’s were ready well ahead of their opponents, waiting at front stops for starters orders. As the marshals called for ‘attention, GO!’ the girls laid down their phattest watts as they followed the corner. Stroke sides power was too much for little Dottie, and despite some excellent maneuvering from the cox, blades clashed. Kathy in 7 lost control of her blade, eventually being able to recover it before loosing it immediately again in the chaos. Once the blade was recovered, she was quickly able to get back in time but marshals klaxoned the race. Both crews were blamed for the clash and given the option to return to the start or carry on from halfway down the course. The Eagles elected to carry on from that point, yet some questionable marshaling put Churchill a couple seats ahead before starters orders. After a strong start and 15 solid stokes, Eddie’s had pulled back a seat, a very close race yet it was not enough to take the dub, meaning the Eagles finished 2nd in their category for the second day in a row. An excellent race from both Churchill and Cauis resulted in an incredibly enjoyable day of racing and a result that the Eagles can be proud of. To finish off the day (coincidental C-Sunday) the girls celebrated in style, by taking on refreshments in a field with hundreds of other students, the final celebration before Exam Term gets into full swing. It’s 2k test week for the Eddie’s women and what better way to end it than with two back-to-back 2k races up and down the Cam in the first race of City’s Big Weekend: Spring Head-to-Head.
The weather was glorious, and the crew were in high spirits as they paddled to marshaling. Abandoned by their own bank party (who had in typical Eddie’s fashion, gone to the pub), the lovely Clare W3’s bank party assisted the girls at Marshaling in return for some raspberries and fruit pastels. After a brief lounge in the sun, the girls pushed off and started paddling to the start, chasing Magdalene W2. By the railway bridge the Eagles were at race pace, with a choppy 2 minutes on the split and cruising at a brisk rate 30 which they maintained throughout the race. Despite waiting at the start to give Magdalene a bigger head start, the Eagles caught their prey by the A14 bridge with a speedy 08:09 on the clock, 30s faster than January’s Winter Head-to-Head. After a short rest and a spin at Baitsbite Lock, the girls headed off again on the second leg of the race, giving Magdalene an even bigger head start this time to not get impeded. The girls adjusted their race plan to settle at rate 28 but it was clear that they just had too much gas, and so upped to a more comfortable rate 30. By the reach the Eagles had caught Magdalene and managed a cheeky overtake yet were then impeded by an X-Press boat and were stuck in their wake until the finish line. Despite this, the girls still pulled a time of 08:43, nearly 20 seconds faster than January. The girls ended the day coming second in their category of six, behind Trinity Hall. An improvement of 48 seconds and a place up the podium since Lent. Once the boat was away the girl’s celebrated their success in the Fort St. George (as is customary) discussing their race plan for the City Sprint Regatta the next day. An excellent start to the term. Congratulations women! Let’s bring this energy into Sprints tomorrow. This Saturday saw Eddie’s Eagles compete in their first pre-season race before the exciting Easter Term of rowing commences. The Eddie’s women, who had kept training hard over the Easter vacation, were in fine form when they boated on Saturday morning. The girls rowed beautifully ‘feet-out’ to the start, where, after a cheeky fruit pastel fueling sesh at Baitsbite lock, they set off on the 2.6k course down the Cam in the glorious sunshine.
Coxed by the wonderful Olia, the women set off at a steady rate 30 with MASSIVE watts and the most buttery recovery you’ve ever seen in an Eddie’s boat. By the reach the Eagles had their prey in sight: an unsuspected Darwin W1 boat. Spurred on by the war cries of the cox and coach Matt, the Eagles quickly caught up with their prey. Despite Darwin not yielding the racing line, the women overtook quickly and left them in their wake. With the finish line now in sight, the women did not drop their rate or power (despite snarky comments from the bank on how far there was still left to go) and the women collapsed at Green Dragon bridge with a MONSTER TIME of 11:59, nearly 100s faster than Darwin, and beating the favourites Maggie W2 by nearly half a minute, thus winning their Mays III category. Not only did the women win their category, but they came second in the Mays II category (4s behind Downing W2), a result that could have been a win if the Eagles hadn’t been impeded. If the win itself wasn’t good enough, after a mandatory Fort St. George visit, the women were handed their pots by the Man, the Myth, the Legend: William Connelly himself, who no doubt is re-evaluating his lowly expectations of the squad... This result is an exceptional start to the exciting Easter season, with the women hoping to collect more pots whilst they embark on what is sure to be an extremely exciting Mays campaign. Yeah Eagles! Yeah Eddies!!! It was an exciting Lent Bumps for St Edmund's, with our crews braving hail, snow and strong currents to produce solid rowing throughout the week.
Despite getting bumped early, M1 fended off a speedy Downing M2 and finished the week strong. W1 had consistently strong performances throughout the week, rowing over and coming out with a commendable +0 overall. Although M2 and W2 failed to qualify in the getting-on race, they showed fantastic progress, giving us high hopes for May Bumps. Congratulations to all our rowers and coaches on an incredible showing! There's definitely more to come for Mays. In preparation for their return to the Cam, the Eagles have emerged from their winter hibernation just in time for the start of term. Now being primed and ready to compete, the W1 squad braved the freezing temperatures to complete a 2 x 2k race which included a quick break and spin at Baitsbite Lock.
Coxed MAGNIFICENTLY by our wonderful Hélène (for whom it was only their second time coxing to the lock), the Eagles quickly caught the City of Cambridge boat ahead around halfway through the first 2k of the race. Having not been given way by City, and with the marshals silent on whether we could overtake, the Eagles took a breather, and dropped down to a leisurely rate 22/24 before SENDING IT home. After clarifying with the marshals that we were indeed allowed to overtake (safety permitting), the Eagles raced the second 2k, again quickly catching up with the boat ahead. Using some of the tightest racing lines seen on the Cam, and powered by 8 of our strongest women, the Eagles were able to overtake on an extremely narrow stretch of river, despite the boat not conceding the racing line. With the City Squad cleanly taken care of, the Eagles approached the last 1k of the race. From behind, they were quickly met by a Clare Hall men's 4+. Using all of their remaining power, Eddie's women valiantly held off the men to the finish line. Finishing third in the division, (and less than a second behind second place Churchill), with a smashing time of 17:37, beating a further 4 senior crews in the division above. A fantastic first race after a long break from rowing over the winter break; Lent term looks to be a very exciting time for the Eddie’s women in their quest for blades… The final day of Fairbairns saw the return of the Eddie’s W1 boat. Comprised of 5 (former) novices, and 3 seniors, the Eagles competed against strong senior boats with experienced rowers, that had been training together all term. The W1s (some fresh from racing in the novice category the previous day) tackled the gruelling 4.3km course, starting from Jesus College Boat Club, to the The Little Bridge. The Exceeded the r28 set in their race plan, and powered down the course at r30, not allowing any crews to overtake. After a good race with some beautiful rowing, the Eagles clocked a time of 19:54. A smashing time for a majority novice boat. With this senior race under their belts the novices now have more race experience to draw off in the coming term. Yeah Eagles!
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