Last Sunday (6th June) M1 and W1 competed in their first off-Cam regatta for quite a long time, just up the road in Peterborough. In rowing, a regatta means side-by-side racing, and Peterborough City Rowing Club have their very own 4-lane rowing lake to hold races on! Each race was 500m, which means it really is just a sprint.

Both M1 and W1 took part and both did pretty well. The full results will hopefully be up on the Peterborough website shortly. Here is M1's report from the race:

May term got off to a rocky start for M1 this year, as two of the more experienced oarsman from Lents dropped out due to other commitments. The start of term saw some shaky outings as the new crew adjusted to each-other, but we trained hard and have come a long way in only eight weeks. Our improvement is epitomized by our recent performance at Peterborough Sprint on June 6th.

Churchill entered the full M1 VIII and a IV+ consisting of the M1 stern four for the 500m 4-lane regatta. The Eight was competing against several Cambridge college M1 crews near us in May bumps: Clare, Christ’s and Magdalene (who we chased on day 1). Given the earlier results of the term, these colleges were probably expecting little competition from us. But we won every round we competed in for the heats and semi-finals in both the VIII and the IV+, earning a place in both finals. This is a massive achievement and something the crew should take great pride in. Our semi-final time in the VIII of 1:26 over 500m is the fastest time in this year’s IM3 division and the IM3 course record for Peterborough Sprint. It is also 7 seconds faster than the winning time for the IM3 division at Peterborough Sprint last year, which was won by Churchill M1 with a time of 1:33.

The VIIIs final was close between us and Magdalene, both finishing with a time of 1:27 to the nearest second, but with Magdalene fractions of a second ahead taking the victory. It undoubtedly surprised the other Cambridge colleges that Churchill did so well, coming 2nd in both the VIII and the IV+ IM3 divisions. This was a great psychological boost, and even though we did not win the final, it bodes well for bumps, where hopefully the crew will continue to show how far we have come this term.

Due to various commitments (i.e. exams), the club only entered one crew in Champs Head, which was held on Sunday 23rd May. It is a simple head race from The Plough to the Penny Ferry, a distance of around 1450m. W1 were the crew who entered, and their time was a respectable 5:52.7. You might like to see the full results, and take a look at the event website.

W1 during Champs Head

The Spring Head to Head race is run by City of Cambridge Rowing Club. It is a two-leg head race, with the course running from the Railway Bridge to the Motorway Bridge and back again - a distance of about 2km each way. The club entered four crews and their times are below. You can also see the full results as a pdf.

For the last three years we have invited recent and not-so-recent alumni back to Cambridge to take part in the Head of the Cam race (see below). No rowing get-together is complete though without a boat club dinner, so we also hold a formal meal in college in the evening. This year the meal proved very popular with 39 people attending, including the master of the college, Sir David Wallace.

The event was a great success, with one of the highlights being an auction of the naming rights to our new men's IV. Next year is the club's 50th anniversary where we hope to not only continue the Head of the Cam tradition, but also to host an expanded 50th anniversary May Bumps dinner for both current members and alumni. More details of this next year!

The first race for Churchill crews this term was a good one. Head of the Cam is a head race (astonishingly) over what is essentially the full 2.6km Bumps course, from the Motorway Bridge to Chesterton. We had three student crews racing (W1, M2 and W2), and no less than four alumni crews - including the returning 2004 M1 blades crew. Times are below, or you can check the full results.

 * W1 had to have a male sub at the last minute so rowed time only, W2 unfortunately got held up by a collision.