THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
THE ALLEYNIAN 708 | OUT OF THE ORDINARY
The Seniors and Colts also came away well within the pack, showing the use they had made of their early January camp. The Lent term also saw an addition to our fleet, with a brand new Filippi 8+, kindly donated by the DCBC Association, a real asset in the form of a new first VIII shell. This was closely followed by the purchase of a new pair, allowing our top-end athletes to attend GB trials with elite equipment. The J14 group haven’t had the easiest introduction to rowing, with water and weather conditions meaning their only race not to be cancelled was Bedford New Year’s Head, where 22 boys got their first feel for racing. The lack of formal races did not, however, put a stop to a series of termly friendlies with Westminster in Putney, the most recent of which resulted in a draw against a fierce Westminster side. Following several event cancellations and the half-term break, a small group of boys competed at the National Junior Indoor Rowing Competition, which took place at the Copper Box arena in February. Success came for the Year 9 boys’ relay team, who finished 4th whilst rowing technically very well. Matthew Boulton put on a great performance to finish 6th in the Year 9 category. Francesco Dembinski came home with a gold medal in the Year 11 boys’ category, while in the Year 10 boys’ category Filippo de Marsanich took bronze, and Hector Senior silver. With the season seeing an unexpectedly early close, the boys have continued to train with enthusiasm. It has been incredible to see the determination and reliance brought to every session, with video calling meaning that while they may not be able to be together to train, their ability to support, challenge and develop each other is unwavering.
SPORT
K E E N T O G E T B A C K T O W O R K F O L L O W I N G A N E X C I T I N G S E A S O N B E F O R E , T H E B O Y S C R E A T E D A N E N T H U S I A S T I C A N D D R I V E N E N V I R O N M E N T I N T R A I N I N G S E S S I O N S
ROWING ELLIE HIZZETT AND JACK STODDART
T he Michaelmas term saw a bumper number of Year 9s take their first steps into the boat club, joining those in the years above who returned for another year. We also welcomed three new members of staff to the team, brought in to support the development of those new to the sport. While racing was limited during the Michaelmas term, the number of boys throwing themselves into the co-curricular sessions was not. Keen to get back to work following an exciting season before, the boys created an enthusiastic and driven environment in training sessions, with their mutual support and camaraderie providing the perfect foundation for the technical and physical developments to follow. October saw Francesco Dembinski make his first step in the trials system, with selection to attend a pre-trials training weekend with the GB Junior Rowing Team staff. The rest of the club headed to Bedford for an autumn opener, with the J15 4x+ and J16 2x coming away with early season wins, a testament to the attitude with which they started the season.
From here the junior squads got stuck into learning new skills, with over 30 regular attendees at J14 sessions providing a busy and exciting group on the water. Meanwhile the J15s swapped two handles for one and turned their attention to sweep. The Seniors and Colts focused on preparations for the Fuller’s Head of the River Fours, building a quad and coxed four for each group. With impressive combinations and plenty of water time, the club was looking forward to supporting the boys. However, the weather put a stop to J16 events, meaning only our senior coxed four and quad were able to put their preparation to the test, coming 5th and 14th, respectively. Thomas Kuijlaars, this year’s Captain of Boats, led by example at the Scullers Head, competing against international athletes across the 6.8km course. Meanwhile members of the squad headed to the Olympic park to compete at the British Indoor Rowing Championships, with 20 boys donning their new club kit across all age groups. Special mentions go to Francesco Dembinski (Year 11) and Matthew Boulton (Year 9) for
making national top 10 in their respective events to finish 2019 with a really positive set of results across the club. 2020 brought the senior performance camp to Lake Vyrnwy. Here we enjoyed exclusive use of the lake, where side-by-side VIIIs glided through beautiful scenery (a welcome break from the busy tideway) while instilling some solid technical changes. This was made all the more enjoyable by the meals created by Chef Slavomir, who was with us for the duration of the camp. Once back to reality, the boys kicked off 2020 racing with Bedford New Year’s Head, coming home with wins for the 1st VIII, posting the fastest time of the day, and a win on their first race out for the J15 8+. These boys are starting to show the foundations of a squad that works hard together to achieve, and they carried this attitude through to Hampton Head, where they came away ahead of Shiplake and the home side, and only two seconds from Westminster. It was great to see the boys stepping up to the plate so early on.
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