Cambridge City Sprints, Sunday 9th May

Chris Lawrence reports from the Cam:

Thanks to the sterling effort of Nick Redman, I managed to borrow a boat and set of blades from Clare College Boat Club, who recently hosted DRC for a training day. The College boathouse manager is a former opponent of last year’s Sprints (Men’s Novice 1x) , and it was good to have a friendly face to help with the kit. The boat in question was an excellent Burgashell, with a pair of superlight Croker sculls. After the initial paddle to get used to the boat, and get the start right, I felt confident of being able to provide a good race for the bankside spectators.

I met my opponent before the race, an amiable Vet B (guessing age!) from Champion of the Thames, and pleasantries were exchanged. In the spirit of the day, competition took a back seat for a short time.

The race itself, the final of the ARA Novice Men’s Single Sculls, was raced in the third division which started at 12.30. As we were waiting for the command to paddle up and get attached, there was a small amount of tension, but this evaporated once we got to the start line.

I had a piece of luck in being placed on the common station (my preferred one), which allows half a length’s advantage on the start line, but this is compensated for by the bend on which the race is run being in favour of the person on the boathouse side.

“…Champs, Deben. Come forward…….GO!”

After a good start (only slight splashing), I gained a further half length and by the end of the first third of the race, the gap was about a length and a half. Over the next 300m, I kept a steady pace and took approximately another two lengths from him before crossing the line. I was sorry to see him clash (oar) with the bank a couple of seconds later, having made the same mistake myself (twice) last year.

After the race, the Champion oarsman was gracious in defeat. Sportsmanship was shown to be more important then the outcome. After a brief reprieve, we paddled back up to the boathouse, put the boats away and exchanged final handshakes. I departed with my wonderful support crew to collect my pot, and thanked Anton (the college boathouse manager and Cantabrigian) and Nigel (the President of the College Boat Club) for their help, without whose consent to use College equipment I would not have been able to attend the race.

My final word is one of thanks; without the assistance of Nick Redman I would not have even been able to try and borrow equipment to race with, the credit for this win goes to him. But my thanks go out to the whole club; Terry, Tim, Chris Jillings and John, for the time they have invested in coaching me, everyone who has given me tips (far too many to name), Hannah for some outstanding work as Junior Captain, particularly in the face of adversity, and all the other junior competitors (particularly long standing and long suffering doubles partners Megan and Mark).

Now the focus must be on getting ready for the summer. St Neots, Peterborough, and other events are coming up on the horizon. With some solid effort, we should be able to pick up some more pots before the autumn.

Thanks again, Chris Lawrence

Congratulations on winning your novice sculls, Chris!! A well-earned result after many months of training and competition. Many thanks to you as well for writing about the race for our blog - an article showing you to be not just an oarsman, but a gentleman too.