Seville Rowing Camp 2024
William Naylor of the J16 1st VIII writes:
The Fifth Form joined the rest of the Boat Club on their trip to Spain – a week in the sun was a much needed lift in spirts after the unfortunate conditions across the UK, and we almost immediately made the most of it, getting in more mileage in the first couple of days than we would in a week at Godstow recently. On Wednesday, after a particularly tiring morning session, the rowers took the afternoon off to go out into the centre of Seville to see the beautiful city that we had been brushing against from the water each session. In the second half of the week we had seat racing, and had to prove our mettle, fighting against fatigue. It was really inspiring to see everyone driving each other onwards. To close off the week, the J16s raced against Spanish and British clubs in quick sprint racing on Saturday before some demanding racing against the 2nd VIII. We returned back to the hotel for the final day of revising, before one last trip out into Seville for lunch. We travelled back feeling tired but full of confidence for both the regatta season and GCSEs exams to come this term.
Bligh Henshilwood, Captain of Boats, writes:
A lot of progress was made by the Senior Boys’ squad both on and off the water in Seville. The week was spent seat racing, getting the mileage in (three weeks of mileage pushed into one week). Towards the end of the week we saw some strong results at the Cartuja Cear regatta. The J16s finished 9th overall in the men’s category, the second VIII finished 5th overall in the men’s category, and sadly the first VIII did not race due to illness. Typically, we had two morning sessions, either doing some 2k prep or some paddling/ technique work. After lunch we had plenty of time for schoolwork, and finished the day with a water session in the evening. Football after dinner was particularly popular. The boys were extremely grateful for the trip and to the coaches who gave up over a week of their holiday for us. We can’t wait for the summer races and what we hope will be another successful rowing season for Teddies.
Louisa Molloy, Captain of Boats, writes:
The girls squad made large improvements over the week in Seville on training camp. The 1st VIII spent a lot of time seat racing, starting our days with a water session at 9.30am when the river opened, with a further session or two later in the afternoon. Each day saw usually saw a long technical focus on paddle, and another high intensity session of high rate and power work. There was plenty of time in the middle of the day for the girls to revise whilst they avoided the peak UV. On the weekend at the regatta, the girls’ 1st VIII confidently beat all the Vesta Rowing Club women’s crews by a significant margin and took away the silver in the Open Women’s 8+. The girls’ 2nd VIII competed alongside the 1st VIII, also giving the Vesta Women a good challenge. The girls also raced a coxless 4 and some punchy racing saw them take first in their heat, and 5th overall. We are extremely excited for the upcoming regatta season and hugely grateful for the time our coaches put into leading training and making sure the camp ran smoothly.