Olympics home the venue for victory

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Men’s 2nds: in action at the Regatta — Photo by Hannah Cunningham

Dorney Lake, set in stunning Buckinghamshire parkland, is the worldclass rowing centre which will be the venue for the Olympics come 2012. It was also the location for the Metropolitan Regatta, LUBCs latest race, which they attended last weekend. And there was a definite feeling of pride amongst Lancaster’s team, knowing what will be taking place there in just two years time, on the same stretch of water which the club raced on themselves. This added to the sense of determination to achieve something great over the two day event.

Saturday was a scorcher, and in true British fashion complaints were made about the weather despite it being a glorious day, the heat serving as an extra obstacle of the already testing 2000 metre course. The first race for LUBC was the Men’s intermediate VIII’s, where both the first and second VIII’s from Lancaster met each other in their first heat. The A boat impressively finished first in the heat, therefore automatically earning themselves a spot in the final. The B boat posted a time which was only two seconds slower, but unfortunately not enough to gain a place in the next round. The final was a tough one, even for the cream of LUBC,

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who came up against tough crews such Nottingham and Bath, and in the end Lancaster’s A boat finished 6th out of the 7 boats. Lancaster’s Women’s intermediate IV also raced that day and did the club proud, coming second in their heat and achieving a fantastic second place in the final, boosting the success of the day.

The men’s VIII competed again on day two, with the A boat repeating the success of the first days racing by qualifying first out of their heat once more, and again making it straight to the final. It was a better day for the B boat, who put in a dogged performance in order to make it through to the next heat, unfortunately finishing 4th in this round, short of qualification for the final. The A boat had a brilliant final, finishing in 4th place, just 2 seconds slower than the winning crew, a diminutive amount of time which could be gained back by Lancaster through just a few careful adjustments.

The women’s intermediate VIII raced later that day, the crew seeing the return of legendary LUBC cox Bel Green for one race. Unfortunately the girls did not achieve the result that they were perhaps hoping for, finishing 5th out of the 7 boats in their heat. However, it was still a positive outcome, considering the difficult conditions which the girls had to contend with, such as having to race a category above their ability. Racing over, trailer loaded, and one five hour motorway breakdown endured, the weekend was over for the club.

All in all, despite attending another larger and well respected event, instead of opting for what would perhaps be seen as easier regattas, it was another strong set of results for LUBC, which bodes well for the final races of the term. Next up is Durham, followed

by Marlow for the men and Women’s Henley for the women, before this years racing is concluded with Men’s Henley in week 10. It has been another brilliant year for the club, which is constantly growing and improving, living up to the university’s own expanding reputation. Ever relentless, LUBC will doubtlessly carry this success and determination through to the end of the year.

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