Michaelmas Term 2022 saw the Boat Club revitalised after the long summer break and a tough two years of Covid-fuelled disruptions. Enthusiastic incoming freshers were treated to the customary Boat Club barbecue at the beginning of the new academic year, and the Club set about training up our novices into the machines we just know they can become!
SABC's first competitive bout of the term was the first Isis Winter League (IWL) race, the 'A' race, for which we entered a Women's 4+, which comprised a selection of seniors from our glorious Summer VIIIs 2022 campaign! Despite having barely rowed together for almost five months and having a totally new coxswain, we placed third out of all the Women's fours that entered! Whilst IWL B was called off due to dangerous river conditions, we are going to bring the heat to IWL C in Hilary 2023... IWL A was swiftly followed by Autumn Fours, in which SABC reached the quarter finals but were knocked out by the eventual victors, University College. We look forward to a rematch sometime soon... The Novices had what one could call an eventful term! By late November the river flag was raised threateningly high, and there was doubt as to whether the Novice Regatta would take place at all. Our new members trained hard despite the uncertainty, and were rewarded by two days of racing before the rains came to call everything off. We had a very strong men's boat, who although not being able to progress due to their 'friendly' mixed ability nature, won both their races easily - winning the first race by over five boat lengths! Our women's novices performed admirably in all three of their races, getting through to race against Exeter on Saturday before being eliminated. With the tricky conditions and lots of changes to SABC this term, we can say with pride that all our rowers gave it everything this term, and we look forward to a successful bumps season! Guy Rudman
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