No Twiddling!

My first time at National Schools Regatta in Nottingham and I suspect I was more overwhelmed than the boys. The event is absolutely dominated by the big public schools. I got a sense of what it would be like when instructions arrived that marquee and catering contractors should set up the day before and use the service entrance, and that we would be encouraged to bring flags (supply your own flagpole).  We arrived so early that we avoided the extra parking charged and parked up in front of the big marquees to set out our two deck chairs (no flag pole required!).

Reading the Guardian between races another mum and I had a debate about privilege and aspiration - it seemed like a suitable setting as the big schools puffed out their chests and cock-walked in front of each other's marquees whilst we existed in a separate universe with our sandwiches wrapped in foil and multi-packs of lucozade from Sainsburys.

What matters, though, is how fast you go on the water. Stage One is the time trial for all competitors in each event to select the 12 that will go to semi-finals. For some this will mean the journey (and there were several foreign clubs there), the cost, the effort and angst, will all be over after a 5 minute row. Times also decide racing lanes with the fastest crews getting the best lanes and the slowest finding themselves in lane with a  full on head cross-wind to contend with... Even though the boys looked a bit too relaxed in the trial they got into the semis and from their lane we thought they were probably 7th or 8th time-wise. A good start, but their aim was - against the odds and all the rowing pundits predictions - to come home with a medal. Then the 4 hour wait until the next heat - this is where having a catered marquee with athlete's rest area has a distinct advantage over a deckchair. Finally it was time for the semi where being the underdog has its advantages. They took everyone by surprise when they won their semi-final beating some of the best crews in the country. The final would be no doddle though with several crews that had beaten them just weeks ago. Another 4 hour wait and then the final - this shot shows them boating for the final, slightly tense, with the six lane course behind them and the marquees and spectators just visible to the left. It was  exciting race where four crews battled it out jostling for the top four places all the way to the sprint finish. The boys dug down deep and saw off rivals Marlow to take bronze with less than 2s between them and Maidenhead who took silver and the formidable Kings Worcester who took gold.

These crews will continue to race against each other for the next few weeks at various events and it looks like there will be some very exciting races to come. They'll all be training hard to shave off those extra seconds as we head towards Henley qualifiers and the GB v. France trials.

What a great and utterly exhausting day.