Head Of The River Race (HORR)
On Saturday 17th March Hull University Boat Club were proud to be able to send down the men's first eight to compete in the largest head race in the country, the Head of the River Race. From Bow to stroke the crew involved were; Joseph Clark, James Smith, Jamie Ford, Thomas Hanna, Alexander Trautrims, Tim Sparks, Kieran Barnes, Joe Edwards with Ellie May Perchard as the cox.
Starting low down in the position of 273 (out of a total of 403 crews that where entered) the boat stormed down the course holding off many crews and defending their position. Coming down the course the crew looked strong and fierce with Ellie May Perchard steering through the busy river with ease and a brilliant line. The crew came down the course in a time of 20 minutes, 19.00 seconds, and placed 252thth, having moved up 21 places overall! Even it wasn’t as high as the crew had hoped it was still a great success for the all the men in the crew as well as the Boat Club as a whole.
Thanks go to Reading Rowing Club who lent an eight to the crew, as well as Joseph Clark’s grandparents who opened their houses to all the members of the crew. A special thank you to the Alumni for supporting the crew so well from Hammersmith bridge and putting on a brilliant function after the event.
Written by James Smith
20th March 2012
Runcorn Spring 8s Head
In the first race of 2012, the senior men took to Runcorn to compete for preparation for the up and coming HORR. The crew consisting of Joseph Clark (Bow), James Smith, Jamie Ford, Thomas Hanna, Alexander Trautrims, Tim Sparks, Kieran Barnes, Joe Edwards (Stroke) and coxed by Ellie May Perchard competed in the IM3 8+. Due to technical issues the crew ended the race with 6 rowers after two footplate malfunctions, nevertheless the crew finished in a respectable time of 21:24.47 over the 6k course finishing in a brilliant 3rd place! With this being used as a building block for the crew, all eyes are firmly set upon the challenge of HORR!A special mention to Warrington RC who kindly donated their 8 to us for use in our division - without there help we would not have been able to race, and for that, HUBC is truly thankful!
Written by James Smith
20th March 2012
Newark Small Boats Head
Newark is a chance for the new intake of HUBC freshers to get the racing bug alongside the seniors. In total there where 4 fresher crews and 5 senior crews of which is the biggest total turn out for HUBC in many years!
The first division saw 5 HUBC boats take to the water; firstly the crew of Joseph Clark (Bow), James Smith, Jamie Ford, Daniel Reynolds (Stroke) coxed by Ellie May Perchard competing in the IM3.4+. After a very well rowed and coxed race they posted a time of 14:54 which was good enough to finish 5th in the biggest category of the event! Second to boat was the top W.IM2.4+ of Katie Essak (Bow), Ellie Jewitt, Orla Fehily, Sammy Holt (Stroke) coxed by Heather Barnes. This crew achieved a brilliant time of 16:52 placing them 2nd in their respective division, a brilliant result for the girls in their first race as a crew! Two mens Nov.4+ raced this division, the first crew of Paul Lewis (Bow), Phil Law, Joseph William Carter, Mark Wilford (Stroke) coxed by Sam Meredith completed their first head race in the respectable time of 18:43 and even after a close encounter of the tree kind the crew came 2nd in their first race! The second novice crew of HUU-Passarelli where almost equally successful finishing in 18:45, only 2 seconds behind the other novice crew and gaining the third spot! This for their first ever race is something to be incredibly proud of! The final boat of the HUBC first division contingent was the women’s captain Kieran Barnes tackling his home water in this IM3.1x. Completing his stretch of river in a very good time 15:43 gained him 2nd place overall and yet again another incredible result for HUBC!
The second division saw a fifty fifty split between the freshers and seniors with 2 novice and senior crews taking to the water respectively. First to cross the finish line was the IM2.4+ of Kieran Barnes (Bow), Thomas Hanna, Alexander Trautrims, Joe Edwards (Stroke) coxed by Heather Barnes. Finishing the course in the fastest time by any HUBC crew in 13:59, however it was only good enough to grab 3rd place after stiff competition from competing home crews. Another first crew for HUBC was the IM3.2x of Joseph Clark and Daniel Reynolds, after a pit stop in a local bush that earlier caught out a novice crew, the double got back on track to finish in a highly respectable 3rd place in a time of 15:35. The final boating of the day saw the last two HUBC boats take to the water competing in the W.Nov.4+. The first crew of Orla Fehily (Bow), Rebecca Bradley, Emma Shearwood, Helena Silver (Stroke) coxed by Sam Meredith whereas like many of the HUBC boats, where in their first competition. Preforming strongly the girls managed to pick up an incredible 2nd place at a time of 19:02. Unfortunately the second W.Nov.4+ crew Katie O'Hara (Bow), Hannah Davies, Megan Hanson and Laura Caveney (Stroke) coxed by Katie Essak had boating issues and had to be later disqualified after steering issues.
Even though the day may have ended on a negative for one of the crews, all in all HUBC had a fantastic day of racing boasting four 2nd places and three 3rd places among others! This puts HUBC in a great position with BUCS getting ever closer!
Written by James Smith
20th March 2012
Fours Head Of The River
An historic event for HUBC which sees the first ever crew competing in the ‘Fours Head of the River’. The crew of Kieran Barnes (Bow), James Smith, Tim Sparks, Joe Edwards (Stroke) coxed by Ellie May Perchard nervously took to the tideway competing in the IM2 4+. Posting a slightly disappointing time of 22:37.91 and finishing 61st overall in their division it wasn’t the best race as they knew they could have done better. However even though the speed of the boat wasn’t as fast as they had hoped, technically the row was very smooth which is a massive positive looking forward into the future head races upon the horizon.
Special thanks to Louis for allowing the crew to stay at his house during the event and for organising a boat to borrow from Reading RC. Also another special mention to the number of old blades that where cheering us on from Barnes Bridge.
Written by James Smith
20th March 2012
York Small Boats Head
HUBC arrived at York excited for the first competitive race of the academic year. HUBC fielded six crews spanning over 4 boat categories to compete over the 3000m head course. The first crew to take to the water was the new look senior WIM3 4+ crew of Katie Essak (Bow), Helena Silver, Ellie Jewitt, Sammy Holt (Stroke) and coxed by Ellie May Perchard and managed a great time of 14:14.9 and narrowly missed out on the top 3 place which they deserved. This seemed to be a running theme throughout the day as the two senior IM2 crews took to the water. The first male crew out was the 4’s HORR crew consisting of Kieran Barnes (Bow), James Smith, Tim Sparks, Joe Edwards (Stroke) coxed by Sam Meredith, closely followed by Will Garton (Bow), Thomas Hanna, Joseph Clark, Daniel Reynolds (Stroke) coxed by Sam Meredith. Finishing 11.58.3 & 11.54.1 respectively, both where brilliant times however, due to though tough competition HUBC where again held off from a top 3 finish.
The second division saw a shuffle within the original IM2 4+ crews to IM3 optimising racing allowing for competing in multiple divisions. Will Garton (Bow), James Smith, Joseph Clark, Daniel Reynolds (Stroke) coxed by Sam Meredith where the first crew back in the firing line and set off well recording a time of 12:34.2. Closely followed behind was Kieran Barnes (Bow), Thomas Hanna, Jamie Ford, Joe Edwards (Stroke) coxed by Ellie May Perchard putting in a better time of 12:06.2. The final boat in the second division saw Tim Sparks compete in a single pulling out a great time of 13:04.9. However as before in division one, the top 3 spots in each race were only narrowly missed. Even though HUBC didn’t boast any tankards after a successful day of racing, it allowed the crews to focus on future events knowing that they can go on using this as a firm base.
A special thank you for York City RC on behalf of all of HUBC for allowing us to borrow boats for this event while our trailing was unavailable for this event .
Written by James Smith
20th March 2012
Hull University Attend GB Rowing Trials
Tim Sparks, Kieran Barnes and Joe Edwards travelled down to Boston on the 22nd and 23rd of October for Sparks to compete in the Great Britain rowing trails. The first day of the event was a 2km ergo time trail for which a time of 6min20seconds is required to qualify for the next days competition. Tim set his fastest 2k to date holding his nerve against athletes from the top clubs around the country to set a time of 6:20.05 just making it through the qualification. On the Sunday Tim raced on the River Witham at Boston rowing club. Over a 5km course and into a strong headwind he set a time of 22:53:66 to finish 83 out of 93 beating some top class athletes some of whom had been racing at a top level for some time. For Tim's first time competing at this level he did an excellent job and is a big talent for Hull and hopefully in the near future, the National rowing squad too.
Written by Kieran Barnes
27th October 2011
FRESHERSSSSSSSSSSSS
We all know that freshers flu is not the only think to look forward to during freshers week!
Remember, if you are already thinking of rowing with the Hull University Boat Club (HUBC), then come and find us at the AU Bazaar on Tuesday 27th September 2011. Situated on the University campus, in a massive white marquee with lots of stalls and hoards of people, it is basically impossible to miss!
But do not get distracted by the other false luring, false cheering and false smiling athletic union clubs competing for your name. Instead, turn up to the HUBC stand and you will get the opportunity to meet current members, find out more about rowing as a sport and obtain all the necessary information needed to register with the most exciting AU club at University!
For those unable to attend the AU Bazaar, DON’T PANIC!!! HUBC welcomes everyone to the ‘new members meeting’ in Sanctuary Bar at 2pm on Saturday 1nd October.
CLICK HERE TO BE TAKEN TO THE FRESHERS PAGE
Hull University Boat Club Committee
15th October 2011
Yorkshire Universities Indoor Rowing Championships
On the 4th of July, Hull University was granted the opportunity to host the Yorkshire Universities Indoor Rowing Championships. This event is not only a privilege to have been awarded, but gives the humble HUBC the chance to organise a successful BUCS endorsed event! It also represents a fantastic opportunity for fresher’s to get involved in what will be one of their first competitive events against people of similar ability from within the region.
The preliminary date for the event is Sunday 27th November, with location to be confirmed.
Watch this space for further updates as and when they happen......
Written By Daniel Reynolds
15th July 2011
St Stephens Centre Ergothon
On the 18th of June 2011, 8 members of Hull University Boat Club took part in a fundraising ergothon at Hull’s St Stephens shopping centre (Ben Rea, Daniel Reynolds, Dom Brightmore, Jamie Ford, Matt Scaum, Tim Sparks, Tom Hanna and eventually Tom Davies). Having previously completed an ergothon at the Tesco’s store within the same centre over a year ago, there was a high hope for an equally prosperous upshot this time.
After a rough calculation of the distance possible during our 9am-5pm time window, a challenging distance of 100km was set. Bearing in mind only 5 rowers would participate, due to the inconvenience of the event being two weeks after exam period had finished, a long and exhausting day lay ahead.
Come Saturday morning, now down to 4 rowers (see boat trailer article for the reason why!), ergometer in place, sign and buckets written and sealed, Tim Sparks lay down the first meter. The next 8 hours consisted of a relentless effort from all members to fill up our buckets, whilst on half hourly rotations the rowers continued to push through the pain barrier in front of the adorning bystanders.
With an hour to go, and limbs feeling wiry, it appeared that a final push was going to be needed to reach our 100km goal. Therefore, a new strategy of 2000m bursts was adopted, and with seconds to spare, HUBC broke through the 100km barrier.
Having pressed hard to raise funds all day, against 3 other groups also collecting money within St. Stephens Centre, a grand total of £505.73 was raised. With huge thanks to future member Dom Brightmore for his help sourcing sealed buckets for the event; HUBC have donated 10% of the money raised to the childreach International charity that he is supporting in appreciation. The success of this event will give the club an excellent head start to the fundraising events planned for the coming semester, to which the extra funds will benefit all members.
Finally, further thanks from HUBC goes to everyone who generously donated on the day, former fund raising officer Kayleigh Baker and St. Stephens Centre for helping to organise the event.
Written By Daniel Reynolds
15th July 2011Sparks fly in the HUBC workshop
Lectures over, exams over …… time for the first chapter of the HUBC trailer regeneration.
Day 1 begins with a very long wait for the newly appointed boatman to arrive from Selby with the tools, essential to make any headway with this project. Having waited till the 10am agreed meeting time, the call was made to find his ware bouts. Waking him up and cutting a long story short, work commenced at 1.30pm. Swiftly, the trailer was disassembled leaving resembling a rusty skeleton!! At this point, in the interest of HUBC Health and Safety, ear protection, gloves and goggles were donned. Let the grinding commence!!
Day 2, once again begins with a slow start thanks to the boatman. This time a broken metacarpal was to blame, as a result of an interesting walk home from [W]. Cast fitted, and we were back to grinding, and after a well-deserved lunch (and boatman’s beauty sleep), painting could begin. Now on rotation, due to the bone chattering sensation of the grinders, painting and grinding take place simultaneously until the end of day 2, our final day in chapter 1.
After two half days the trailer has already been transformed, by the completion of painting the three main trees. But there is plenty of work still to be done before the start of next semester, so watch this space for the next chapter.
(P.S. Anyone willing to give a hand get in contact with me ASAP, work likely to take place for a few days in August or the week before Freshers Week)
TO BE CONTINUED……….
To view photos of the current progression CLICK HERE
Written By Daniel Reynolds
15th July 2011
If you are interested in supporting Hull University Boat Club then CLICK HERE for information regarding sponsorship.