For the senior squad, the first month’s training of the year culminated last weekend in ‘Fours Head’, the third-biggest race of the year, on the Thames between Chiswick and Putney. The event had a total of more than 500 boats racing, with Imperial entering eight boats. Of these, the top boat (a senior 1 quad) won its event in style, finishing 6th overall among world-class opposition. Aforementioned strokeman Adam Freeman-Pask ‘found it difficult to keep it long and hard for the whole 19 minutes, and the last few strokes really finished me off.’

The top women’s quad placed fourth out of 39 in their highly competitive event, while the 1st and 2nd men’s coxed fours both came close seconds in their events, putting all 3 boats in a good position to move on from during the rest of the term. Three other men’s boats and a second women’s quad also had excellent races, finishing high in the final results. All IC crews overtook those ahead of them and, according to Tom Sutherland (mid-race to Cambridge Uni Lightweights), ‘if you’re that slow you don’t deserve the racing line!’

Crucially, every Imperial College boat beat its equivalent University of London boat, comprehensively. While UL has had pretensions in the past as being the best student boatclub on the Thames, IC has been able to shatter their illusions in the same year as Imperial declared its independence from UL. In the words of Ole Tietz, club captain and stroke of the top IC four, ‘Its important that these people know we are not f***ing around!’