The MET, Dorney Lake 2010: ICBC were represented in four wins (INT18+, E4-, WE2-, WE4-), five runner-up positions (WINT14+, WE2-, WSen2-, E4+, WSen2x), and five third placings (WINT14+, WE2-, WSen2-, WSen2x & INT28+) at this year’s Metropolitan regatta. The club raced in blue-sky summer conditions at what will be the Olympic 2012 rowing venue and destination for many of the club’s young athletes.

There was victory for the first men’s eight in IM1 of Iain Palmer, Will Todd, Mark Mearing-Smith, Leo Carrington, Danny Bellion, Paddy Hudson, Tom Pearson and Gareth Brown with cox Ed Hill (plus brick plus hammer). They won a straight final in 6:09.04, just 0.36 of a second ahead of Radley College BC in 6:09.40. On Sunday, with cox Libby Richards at the helm, the crew faced tougher competition in the senior category. In the opening heat they just qualified for the final in third position but could not cause any damage to the field in the final won by 1829 BC. As POD attempted to cheer for her IC boys she was engulfed by a swarm of elite professional photographers (also known as parents of Eton) with lenses more extendable than Kat Holloway’s legs.

Saturday was double victory for Zoë Lee and Lenny Kennedy who won two straight finals in the WE2- and WE4- (Lee/Kennedy/Arnold(Dur)/Swann(Glas)). The IC composite of Lottie Howard-Merrill and Polly Swann finished second in WE2-. On Sunday Lee and Kennedy were less successful coming third in another straight final behind winners Arnold/Swann. Ex-ICer Nicky Smith (sister of Ro “Spanner Fingers” Smith) was also competing in this category and finished fourth. IC’s Rachael Davies teamed up with TSS and IC student Lizzie Mann for the WSen2- on Saturday and finished third despite their lightweight status. They raced again on Sunday in the same event and were pipped to first place by Mortlake Anglican & Alpha who won over the pair by less than two seconds.

The 4+ choppers of Henry Goodier, Simon Steele, Rory Sullivan and Jonny Rankin coxed by Henry Fieldman lost out in the opening round of the senior 4+ and had to call it a day prematurely. They returned to Dorney on Sunday with renewed energy following a brief morning paddle on the tideway. It was clear they meant business this time as Rozzer rocked up to the IC trailer sporting a new hair cut (courtesy of Chuckles and a razor of witheld ownership). They raced well in the elite category and came second behind Poplar, Blackwell & District RC, less than a second from victory.

The IC second 8+ of Adam Seward, Andy Gordon, Will Laughlin, Richard Winchester, Matt Taylor, Rodrigo Pearse, Harold Bradbury and Matt Lunt were coxed by Libby Richards and finished third in their heat sending them to the repechage. It was first to final and in a tight race the crew (6:23.33) were squeezed out of second place by Manchester University (6:23.11). On Sunday the crew raced a division higher with cox Tom Fieldman and came third in the final, missing out on a win by just a few seconds. Fieldman was disappointingly not propositioned by the strokeman.

In the double sculls Kat Holloway and Emma Young teamed up in the WSen2x and came second in a straight final on Saturday behind Reading University BC. On Sunday the 2x cruised to victory in the opening heat, looking “very solid, confident and comfortable” (used later as inspiration for the W4+). The 2x were beaten to third (7:34.37) in the final by a Marlow/Runcorn composite who ran away from the field in 7:17.39 with Curlew taking second in 7:33.12.

Holloway’s fun times in the one times ended prematurely in the opening heat after a troublesome warm-up including a loose rigger and defective strokecoach wiring, putting the sculler on edge. Mathilde Pauls raced in the same heat and qualified for the final in second place where she finished fifth - a solid result considering her final year medic exams were the following day. IC student and lightweight Laura Greenhalgh (just back from injury) won her opening heat and came third in the final – having finished second in the final of the same event the day before - an impressive result in light of her winter training (which was mostly gun work, so isn’t that surprising really).

The elite quad of Josh Butler, Pierre Thomas, Will Todd & Ole Tietz had to scramble for qualification on Sunday after an unfortunate swan (who was not au fait with the safe cross code) was minced by Butler’s blade. They came fourth in a close final just three seconds behind the winners TSS. Between races the crew had set up base camp in Laura Greenhalgh’s car. When the boot door was slammed shut by Butler, the cold realization quickly kicked in: “Eh, Will… could you come over here for a minute…” With keys, wallets and most of their kit starring back at them from inside the locked vehicle there was only one thing to do: dismantle a rigger, stick a bolt on the end, jam it through the back window and use it to wind down the passenger window. Mission accomplished copter.

The WE4x of Chazz Moultrie, Maggie Paxton, Charlie Maile & Ro Smith raced on Sunday in a straight final and finished fourth while Ro Smith and Emma Young just missed out on final qualification in the WSen21x on Sunday. Strokeman Jamie Kirkwood collected another medal in a Durham/Imperial/Leander composite on Sunday in the E4- destroying and demoralising the field by paddling home 12 seconds ahead of Commercial RC in second.

ICBC’s flagship W4+ crew of Christina Duffy, Christina Matteotti, Chloe Symmonds, Selina Graham & cox Tom Fieldman were racing for the Putney Bridge Bowl in the IM1 division on Saturday. POD is running low on bowls and as a keen fan of Frosties (currently half price in Sainsburys), was keen for the goodship lollipop to perform in this event. The crew won their heat comfortably and had seven hours to kill before their final. Sadly the crew did not see the sugar bowl do the tootsie roll and fell over the line in third position. Coach Steele was “horrified” at the race sharing his insightful thoughts on each crew members' contribution to the result. POD has built a bridge and is over it: bladework schmadework… it’s all about smashing it.

An agitated Coach Steele later described the performance as an example of “inexperience and impatience getting in the way of excellence.” Profound words from the “engineer” who lost a £50 bet for believing that a single volume cannot have more than one possible surface area. (Holloway, K. & Fooking-Sense, C. 2010. Why athletes with larger surface areas but equivalent volumes require a greater intake of fluid than others. Beast Science. 175: 111-140.) On Sunday the crew had a straight final in IM1 and redeemed themselves in a tough contest finishing second behind City of Oxford.

The crew were racing in the (as of yet) unnamed new Janousek. POD has been on the case and compiled a list of suitable names to please all: "Duff", "Duffy", "Duffers", "Duffles", "Duffster", "Duffman", "Duff Dawg", "Duffalicious", "Duffaluffagus", "Duffmeister", "Duffina", "Dufflebag", "Duffbag", "Duffball", "Duffinator", "Duffstroyer", "Duffvader", "Duffatron 2.0", "Sir Duffalot", "Officer Duffy", "Press Officer Duffy", "POD"… perhaps these are a little too self-involved… maybe "The Right Sduff", "As Toughy as Duffy", "As Buff as Duff", "Up the Duff", "Lead on McDuff" or POD’s personal favourite: "In POD We Trust". I’m here all day Steve.

Well done to all racers!

Christina Duffy

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