Rowing in Varese

During the Easter holidays, rowers in the girls’ and boys’ senior teams travelled to Varese, Italy, to prepare for the upcoming National Schools’ Regatta.

Read on for the reports from Izzy Johnson and Felix Jamieson, Captains of Boats, on their progress:

Izzy Johnson, Captain of Boats, reporting on the girls’ teams:

‘After a fantastic result at the Schools’ Head of the River race, the girls’ squad was eager to hit the ground running in Varese.

The first few days of the camp were dedicated to some seat racing to finalise the order and athletes in the 1st VIII, where we also had the chance to test out the addition of the new coxless four in the ‘Eve Singfield’ boat. After the seat racing, the eight and four got out in the combinations for some long miles to work on technique and creating a good race rhythm. We also had the opportunity to test out our speed against a Swiss girls’ eight team that were also at the training facility. This was very close at the start, but after around 300 metres our team had pulled away for a convincing lead.

Leading up to the end of the camp, we focused on racing starts which is a firm favourite within the squad. When the last day of camp arrived, all boats within the boat club did a 2-kilometre piece to gather data for the coaching team before summer racing picks up. This highlighted the good competition and camaraderie between the boys’ and girls’ squads as all three boys’ eights and our girls’ 1st VIII in the same wave of boats. Varese was an amazing opportunity for the entire boat club to find speed and confidence leading up to the exciting summer racing to come this term.’

Felix Jamieson, Captain of Boats, reporting on the boys’ teams:

‘Over the week, the squad saw some very impressive speeds across the three eights. This is the first year in which we are prepared put out three competitive eights, and the summer is looking promising. The speeds we saw on the camp, most noticeably in the 2nd VIII, are incredibly exciting.

The weather varied as the week went on, with the first few days being overcast with rain, building up very large waves on the lake a few days later. However, there were a few days of nice sunshine and we didn’t leave Varese without a view of the mountains surrounding the lake. Despite some testy conditions, the boys remained totally professional, approaching their training without complaint. As we roll into the peak of the season, the boys are in a very strong position. This has most certainly been made easier by the fantastic food we enjoyed all week!’