Women’s Eights Head of the River Race 2011: A POD SPECIAL! Imperial College/Sport Imperial finished fourth overall and third in the elite category at this year’s WEHORR in the presence of uncharacteristically glorious sunshine. This is the highest position for ICBC in a decade since IC/QT finished 3rd in 2001. It also marked a special day for POD who at her final opportunity made a top ten position in the head as an Imperial student, entitling her to the honour of a club blazer. A record five IC/SI women’s crews boated from ICBC; IC 1, IC 2, IC Novices, 1927/SI A and 1927/SI B, who finished 4th, 30th, 174th, 20th & 53rd respectively.
It was a tough month of head to head battling between POD and Holloway for the final seat in IC 1. Both suffered severe neck pain during side-by-side erging sessions. However it transpired that both bowsiders made it into the crew when Mathilde Pauls was ruled out with severe tendonitis of the wrist. Rumours of the recovery by police in Amsterdam of a voodoo doll of Pauls with the right hand severely slashed with pins are completely unfounded. Duffoway, one half of the Bedford Bowside Massive were honoured to be in the midst of a boat full of Big Deals. When POD grows up, she would like to be a Big Deal too.
With Pauls ruled out McLachlan dropped a switcheroo moving Kennedy to seven, Holloway to five and Duffy to three (chop). Howard-Merrill remained at bow (100% BOB) and with a self-proclaimed “very low-hilarity threshold” played a key role in relieving boredom (mostly her own). Highlights from Amsterdam include the initiation of the family favourite "True or False” just before the race line: “I’ll start. My eyes are pink. FALSE! YAY, I win” and repeatedly asking seat two Kate Jones, adaptive GB rower with limited sight, to “look at that over there.” Jones: “I can’t see very far.” LHM: “OH MY GOD. I’m so sorry… ooh what does that sign say over there?” Jones: “Again the eye thing.” LHM: “OH MY GOD, I’M SO SORRY… oooh look at their kit, OH MY GOD….” Back in London during training LHM felt distanced from the action: “That feels good back here… guys? Can I say something? Connie can I say something? CONNIE, can I sa…” Connie: “WHAT!?” LHM: “I was just going to say that feels good back here.”
Both Women’s Coach Brian Steele and Head Coach Don McLachlan finalized race plans with the crew before letting their birds fly the nest. Steele declared the race plan would contain no “bells and whistles”, which was lucky for the simple minds of IC 1: “So you’ll probably go off at about… 36?” McLachlan: “38.” Steele: “…and then come down to about… 34?” McLachlan: “36. You need to go out there and f-cking nail yourselves.” Successful execution of the plan was spearheaded by stroke Laura Greenhalgh who reminded the team that: “slacking off for one stroke makes it heavier for everyone.” It was at this point that LHM requested a “commitment call” which was rolled out by Pidoux for IC 1’s final push past Agecroft R.C. in the closing kilometre of the race. As the crew approached the black buoy the home crowd roared fueling Greenhalgh and Pidoux to take the rate up along the line of boats before bodies slumped entirely depleted at the finish. “If we don’t get top ten I’ll gouge my eyes out”, was seat six Mel Wilson’s conclusion (which made POD all warm and fluffy inside). Luckily it didn’t come to eye gouging, and thankfully Jones holds no grudges for the reference.
IC 2 of stroke Helen Austin, Chloe Symmonds, Amy Doodle-Poll-Propsting, Ro Smith, Selina Graham, Clarice Chung, Christina Matteotti, Samara Radford and cox Nick Acock had to race as a new entry due to IC having two senior crews this year. Acock was kidnapped by IC 2 the weekend previous to WEHORR by making the crucial error of hanging around the embankment to watch 1927 crews training during the Great Cox Recession of 2011. They finished a respectable 30th overall (6th in IM2) considering the late slack tide and the absence of surrounding crews to push off of.
The IC novices finished 174th overall (10th in Novice Academic) and were elated as they came off the water after a good technical row past the boathouse. They became even more elated as the night progressed. Good results were achieved by 1927/SI A and 1927/SI B who finished 20th overall (6th in IM1) and 53rd (14th in IM2) respectively. The 1927 A crew contained the symbiotic trishnrach who have been pivotal in the merging of Imperial and 1927 crews - a move which has bolstered numbers for the club. Keegan managed to avoid injuring herself this year and sat in the six seat, but it was a close-call for moon-boot Smith who fractured her foot a few weeks before race day by "er, I'm not really sure actually." After a year of intensive physiotherapy, Coach Steele's agility has significantly improved and he avoided an annual punch in the face by Keegan. For a full report by Rachel Smith on 1927 crews see http://1927boatclub.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/wehorr-2011/. Celebrations began at Strada and ended up at the uniform party in LRC where the IC women’s squadron flew the flag as Imperial Air (they'll get you there).
POD is happy beyond words for achieving a life goal (as her life only really began when she found ICBC... everybody: AW!) and grateful for the opportunity to get pulled along by her immense crew. Special thanks go to hero Mathilde Pauls for feigning injury to give POD a seat and to all the supporters who deafened passers-by with cheers of "Yeah Simon Steele's Mum" (she was actually racing). POD is now off to get her blazer fitted, and will be taking elocution and poncing lessons for HRR.
Christina Duffy, signing off (again).
Previous Imperial WEHORR Results:
2011: 4th IC/SI
2010: 15th IC/SI
2009: 22nd IC
2008: 23rd IC
2007: No entry
2006: 7th IC
2005: 21st IC
2004: 48th IC
2003: 30th IC
2002: RACE CANCELLED (horror of horrors)!
2001: 3rd IC/QT A & 10th IC/QT B
2000: 7th IC/QT
1999: 10th IC/QT
1998: 4th IC/QT
1997: 7th IC/QT
1996: 9th IC
1995: 14th IC
1994: 9th IC A S2 Winners & 53rd IC B
1993: 33rd IC S2
1992: 122nd IC Novice
1991: No entry
1990: Start position 48th, no data for finish
1989: 61st IC S3
1988: No entry
1987: 60th IC Novice