Captains Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:35:00 +0000

Winter is still very much with us - ice on the canal, snow on the landing stage and another weekend with a cancelled head.

In preparation for Worcester Head, last Thursday, a large group of us loaded five fours and an eight onto the trailer in the driving snow. Come Friday we heard that the head was cancelled because of predicted cold water – Saturday turned out warm and sunny by 10.30; I've asked Worcester for an explanation, but nothing forthcoming so far.

A contingent of juniors headed east for Boston - a brief report from Dave Pollard -
It was sunny on Saturday with an inch or two of snow on Sunday. I came 18th in the singles, Ben came 37th, and we came 12th in the doubles. Ruth and Camilla came 13th and 17th in the singles, and 4th in the Pair I think. Ben and I were feeling rather short as we were walking around!

Meanwhile back in the west country, a small group headed for Bristol, where there were wins for the women's four and the old man's single.

The men's squad had erg tests on Tuesday – various coughs and sniffles contrived to make it a disappointing result for most; a few of the more imaginative athletes contrived to record PBs using distance reduction techniques, but I believe Ben has ruled these to be inadmissable.

A quick word on BOAT HANDLING and RACKING; a near-accident on Sunday saw a potential four-figure repair bill for Stephen Rose, (the boat, and by implication the treasurer!). There is a real need for concentration and care, when putting boats away - we simply cannot afford carelessness with boats costing in excess of £10,000 pounds each.

A safety day was held recently for the RAC rowing club, covering procedures on and off the water - we will be repeating this for our own members before the regatta season takes off.

A reminder to everyone to sign out before and after outings, and to fill in the damages book if you cause or discover anything wrong with the boats - we can't repair damage if we don't know about it!

Sarah has sorted the club sculls into sets, (see white board):
Two sets of quads blades
- White bands length 287, inboard 88
- Red bands length 286, inboard 88
Three sets of doubles
- Yellow/green bands 287, 88.5
- Blue bands 287, 88
- Green bands 287, 88
Six sets of singles
- White band on red 286, 88
- Blue band on red 287, 87
- Yellow/green on white 287, 87
- Red and Green - can't remember!
In total we have 20 pairs of sculling blades

There is a new set of quad blades, raedy to be assembled - their purchase was made possible by an additional input to club funds from the sponsored row at the end of last year.

A quick reminder to all squads; please don't alter rigging on club boats, or the setting of club blades, (however 'wrong' they may appear to be) without reference to Ben or myself.
There's a good reason for this - most equipment is set up up for particular crews, (age, size etc.) and in the case of blades, in sets. If changes are made the next user is likely only to find the problem when they are on the water, and a lot of time is then lost while the problem is investigated, readjustments made or alternative equipment sought.

Note that all club blades must be painted in club colours before being used in competition. There will be a blade painting session at 11am Saturday 27th February

Gloucester Head is on Sundy 14th March - please be available on the Saturday morning to help set up, and on Sunday to help with running the event, and clearing up afterwards. A work rota will be issued during the next week. As usual, entries from Gloucester crews will be considered when we are sure we have the work rota covered.

AuPair and Double Gloucester have had their shoulders repaired so are now available as doubles and pairs. Henry Beaumont will shortly be disappearing for a week or two, to have the foot plate repaired. Pangbourne have kindly offered us their Janousek eight for the next few weeks at a nominal rental to allow us to train and enter the Tideway eights heads in competitive boats. Monkton (the part wood, part composite double) is being retired; if anyone is interested in aquiring this boat, please contact Ben

Circuits continue on Wednesday evenings at beaufort School - contact Tim for details. This activity is very effective at preparing rowers for the Tideway events, and for 'benchmarking' fitness for the coming regatta season.

Russell Thornton 25th February 2010.

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:55:00 +0000

The canal finally thawed last weekend, closely followed by the Severn flooding, (we rowed at Tewkesbury on the Saturday during which the river rose a metre, and was unrowable by the Sunday), but we were then able to row on the canal again, albeit with a bit of ice breaking in the tin launch.

Competition was curtailed this weekend with the cancellation of Stourport, but a junior contingent headed east to Boston and had some good results there - Dave Pollard won IM3 1x and came 2nd in J18 1x, Lauren got a 2nd in J15 1x, Lauren and Hettie 2nd in J15 2x, Alicia and Laura won J16 2x with Charlie and Jess 2nd. Commiserations to Liam who broke down with the trailer en route and thanks to Mark who drove up and rescued the trailer.

The women's squad have started training in the eight, (for tideway) and will shortly be joined by the men - but not at the same time. We'll get as many competitive boats out for these two events as we can, and hopefully a couple of boats for the vets head as well; everyone is encouraged to go for a place in a crew - whatever your level of experience, but training can be fairly demanding.

Circuits are running on Wednesday evening; these are open to all and an excellent way of building strength and stamina while on the water time is limited.

As we get back into the head season, and with lighter evenings to look forward to, please ensure that your subs and race fees accounts are up to date.

Russell Thornton 28th January 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:06:00 +0000

A brief update to my Christmas blog - I omitted to mention GRC's success at the Monmouth Christmas Head - a small contingent from the club entered - water was high and fast and the conditions cold and windy - congratulations to Sarah and Gerry who won W IM2 2x by a substantial margin - 20 seconds over a fast 2k course.

I believe that the canal is and will be frozen at the weekend, so more land training looks to be in the offing. I will try and organise an outing to Tewkesbury for Saturday and Sunday morning, (9th and 10th). This will probably involve derigging and loading Friday evening. Would anyone interested let either myself or their vice captains know, so that crews and boats can be organised.

There is a committee meeting Monday evening, (11th). If any member would like anything raised, please let myself or any committee member know, preferably by email so that it can be included in the agenda.

Russell Thornton 5th January 2010.
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Everything frozen so cross-training is the order of the day.

I'd like to wish all members and friends of GRC a merry Christmas and a happy and succesful new year, and thank everyone for their efforts in the past year.

Hope to see you all at the christmas pudding races on Sunday at 9 am.

Russell Thornton 24th December 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:12:00 +0000

Back in Weybridge - cold, wet and windy, Thames flowing fast and high and I've just done an incredibly slow and exhausting 10k - isn't winter lovely!

On a positive note we have, as a club entered three events and none were cancelled!

Six of us went to the scullers head on the Tideway with varying degrees of success and a good spread of statii (!?) - lightweight, IM2, Vet C, D and E. Our two vet D entries were sabotaged, (torpedoed?) by their fellow competitors and both went swimming. Gerry was well treated by Grosvenor - showered, dry clothes, lift back to Barnes with boat in launch. The powers that be obviously felt that Martin was less deserving of succour and he was left to make his own way back, (once they'd let him get back into his boat!)

On the same day as scullers, Hampton Head draw a large entry, (over 700 raced), including 8 Gloucester Juniors, and saw some cracking performances; Ruth and Yasmin gained first places in WJ18 2x and 2-, with Camilla and Kalan-Mai finishing 5th and 6th in the same events, Dave Pollard got 4th in J18 1x and also 6th with Ben in J18 2x, (15th fastest time of the day). Jake Flower and Neil Vine also gave creditable performances in J17 1x and 2x.

Finally last Saturday saw what must have been a record entry at Wycliffe - 30 Gloucester crews raced, and the most boats I've seen on our trailer. We won a total of 11 golds, 5 silvers and 3 bronze. With some excellent individual performances including 2 golds from Dave Pollard in J18 1x and IM3 1x, and 2 from Ben and Neil in J18 2x and IM3 2x. Congratulations to all who took part, and a big thank you to all who helped mend and prepare boats, load, unload, tow and looked after crews and boats at the event - it couldn't have happened without you.

After recovering from the wind and rain at Saul Junction, 40 odd senior and junior members retired to the Gloucester clubhouse for chilli and a quiz. We all now know how many islands make up the Indonesian Archipelago and how many prime numbers there are in 100. (two?). A terrific effort from the chef, bar staff, quiz master and question composers. Thanks to Jane, Tim, Clive, the chef and servers, who's names I will add as soon as I can get them.

I'm hoping there will be some events between Christmas and the new year, including the highly competitive xmas pudding races - watch this space and get training.

Russell Thornton 8th December 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:02:00 +0000

I'm struggling for inspiration this week - from the perspective of competition it's been a bleak couple of weeks - our own Long Distance Head was cancelled due to horrendous winds giving rise to half metre breaking waves on Pilot straight and cross winds capable of taking the blade from your hand on non-aligned stretches. This was followed by cancellation of Stourport due to flooding, and finally the fours head was abandoned, again due to high winds - 30 to 55 mph! Anyone familiar with the Tideway will know what that means when the wind is from the SW. Silver lining in the cloud was the veteran fours head the next day - sunshine, moderate tail winds and calm, but fast water. Ho hum ....

As I write the Boston trials in ten days have been cancelled, but we're hopeful that Hampton and the scullers head will go ahead.

On the home front, the Rowing Committee finally met and a list of shiny new goodies was agreed, (well maybe not finally ...) The main and most important point that came up was a proposed change of training times for the Junior Squad - still on weekend mornings, but with some variations to cater for the different training levels required. I shall let Paul Crumpton communicate the details - the timing changes will be trialled for a few weeks to see how they work - be patient and be prepared to offer feedback to the Junior Committee.

The second Icicle Head will be run this Sunday - Robert Dibley will be confirming the arrangements on Saturday.

Land training has kicked off on Wednesdays - Tim has organised circuit training at Beaufort School, from 7 to 8pm.

The Royal Agricultural College Rowing Club has restarted on a Wednesday afternoon at the club, and we welcome their return.

Other less frequent visitors - University of Worcester Rowing Club held their annual camp, based at GRC and Wycliffe over last weekend. There is inevitably some disruption, but the club makes good money out of these camps and it increases our profile in the wider rowing world, as well as providing an invaluable training experience for these relative newcomers to the sport. We also hosted a camp from Bristol University through the efforts of ex-GRC member Ian Townsend, during the weekend of the LDH.

There is a Committee meeting on Monday evening. If you would like anything raised, please talk to your squad vice or coordinator, or indeed to any member of the committee.

Roll on light winds and clear days, (did I hear anyone mention ice?).

Russell Thornton 18th November 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:02:00 +0000

The clocks have gone back and, surprise, surprise night rowing is in the dark! There are club rules for this - please make sure you know them before going out in the dark - should be a poster up in the club room somewhere.

Last weekend saw the Pairs Head of the River in London. Gloucester managed to enter six crews - three pairs and three doubles. Wycliffe and Pangbourne lent us boats for the race - thanks to Jonny Garrow and Beth Rodford. Conditions were reasonable, but the head wind took its toll among the more (and less) refined boats! For the record entries included IM2 2-, IM2 2x, IM3 2x and WIM2 2x.

This weekend Arran O'Dell, (Junior Squad Performance Coach) held a very useful session at the club during which he demonstrated (with Helen's help) and described the 'perfect stroke' and how to coach it. Much appreciated by those who attended, with a lot of positive feedback.

Ben was performing in Boston at the GB trials and produced an excellent 2K erg - 15th overall, and a fast run on the water - 30th overall. We'll let you know just how succesful he was.

And a small contingent represented the club at Weybridge Silver Sculls - unfortunately the sculls in question did not end up in Gloucester.

Next weekend we're running the Gloucester Long Distance Head - 7 km this year - it grows every year! Race is on Sunday, setting up on Saturday. All club senior members and as many juniors and parent helpers are needed to manage this. Not a big earner yet, but by creating a unique and well run event we hope to attract larger numbers in the future, as more clubs get to hear about it. Please be there and ready to help from 8 am.

Finally, my apologies to Annabelle and Gabriella for cutting their Sunday morning outing short - guess who didn't reset his watch ...

Russell Thornton 26th October 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:29:00 +0000

The first 'Icicle Head' of the winter was run on Sunday. This was a modest event, run without the juniors who were recovering from Evesham, and timed by the first and last boats. Run over the normal head course in near perfect conditions, the arrangements worked well, and will hopefully be repeatable for longer distances and greater numbers. I'm not sure if the results are posted elsewhere, but I've included them below:

Beth 1x 20.11
Gerry 1x 19.28
Jon & Russell 2- 16.03
Kim 1x 18.52
Martin & Andy 2- 16.17
Rich 1x 15.55
Sam 1x 16.26
Sarah 1x 17.56
Steve 1x 16.5
Tim 1x 16.43
Toby & Dan 2- 16.06
W4+ 18.45

Congratulatiions to Brian Nelson on receiving the award for volunteer of the year:

"At the conference held on 26th September 2009, British Rowing was delighted to announce the Regional Volunteer of the Year Awards in recognition of the outstanding commitment and dedication demonstrated by each individual. Brian Nelson was awarded Volunteer of the Year for the WAGS region.Brian has been a member of Gloucester Rowing Club for over 60 years. He will give up whole days to help out and helps to maintain the clubhouse, doing DIY jobs, organising the servicing of equipment and opening up the boathouse. Brian has been actively involved with Project Oarsome from start to finish and regularly coaches junior club members, mans the safety launch and will cheerfully tow a trailer to a regatta at some unearthly hour if asked to do so. He was also an active umpire within WAGS until recently - he is a great person to have about, cheerful, helpful and supportive – a true all-round volunteer! "

Evesham senior head was cancelled last weekend, but the junior event went ahead and there were a number of wins and new course records set by Gloucester crews. I will add some of the more notable results when I have the information to hand.

Pairs head this Saturday - we have six boats entering from the men's and women's squads. I apologise to the rest of the club for hoovering up all the black doubles - I'll try and make sure they make it back in one piece. We've also had to borrow boats from Weybridge and Pangbourne, and my thanks go to them for helping us out.

Ben is running a boat maintennance course on Sunday - I recommend everyone attends this - either to help or to learn, or both! I believe it starts at 12.30 and runs for an hour and a half. Very much a hands-on session, and should lead to a better appreciation of how to care for our fleet, and to sorting some of the current problems with the boats.

Russell Thornton 14th October 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:40:00 +0000

Summer is over and winter upon us. Well not quite yet, but it's getting colder and the canal is less inviting for a quick dip. (Is that possible?)

For those brave or careless enough to risk capsize, a bit of spare kit in a plastic bag is good to carry in the boat with you. We shall also start equipping launches with some motley old garments, (not just those worn by the coaches).

Juniors especially, ensure that you have suitable clothing for the outing - you will not be permitted to boat otherwise. And you still need to carry drinking water.

Gloucester entered the first head of the season at Monmouth. 2,125 metres on a beautiful warm day with near calm conditions and water so low that there were warnings about rocks and weed in the safety briefing. The large blue barrels used to mark the rocks were probably the bigger danger.

Congratulations to Kim, Carolina and Charlie for their novice wins. Also picking up medals were Andy and Martin at IM2 in their pair, and your's truly notching up another exciting Vet E win. It is worth mentioning that Kim was the second fastest women single sculler of the day, and after winning a 10k road race in the morning!

The juniors have been setting their season's baseline with 1 and 2 k ergs. Especially impressive were Dave Pollard's and Ben Marshall's times of 6.48 and 6.51 respectively. Something for the veteran's to aim at. (And perhaps some of the younger seniors ...)

Finally a welcome to Ben Rodford and Larissa Lowe who have agreed to being men's and women's squad Vice Captains. Look after them - it's a difficult job.

Russell Thornton 1st October 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:57:00 +0000

Back in Weybridge this week. It's windy and dark but still just warm enough to sit by the River Wey with a pint. Training tonight consisted of battling into a head wind past Walton to Sunbury loch - the Weybridge Silver Sculls course which coincidently is run in a few weeks. A thought about training in less than ideal conditions; while it's sensible to know your limits and avoid getting into difficulties, regattas and especially heads frequently coincide with wind and rain and it's comforting to know that your technique is robust enogh to cope with head winds and chop. Take advice if you lack experience but do venture out when the water isn't mill-pond smooth.

We had the AGM on Monday and it was refreshing to have some competition for a lot of the committee places, and for the captaincy - it's a healthy sign that people with differing ideas and emphasies are prepared to put themselves forward and that the membership is taking enough interest to come along and question the candidates.

Congratulations to all of the new committee members, and to those who were unsuccesful - your time will come!

There are a lot of changes coming through, particularly in the Junior Squad, and I'll cover these in the next few weeks.

For the moment, I'd like to welcome Paul Crumpton who has agreed to be Junior Coordinator, the Junior Committee, consisting of Jane Allen, Robert Dibley and Richard Waite, Stephen Rose and Andy Jones who have agreed to take the roles of treasurer and chairman, respectively. Please give these people your full support; they have a difficult job to do, they are unpaid volunteers and their efforts will ensure that the club succeeds, on and off the water.

I will also welcome the budding coaches who are helping to relieve the pressure on the squads, (self included).

A final note; my thanks to all of the officers and committee members who have served during the last year.

Russell Thornton 16th September 2009.

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:30:00 +0000

This week’s, (fortnight’s?) blog was conceived in Vienna, but is written in the more mundane surroundings of Egham.

Big news is the successful execution of the regatta – nearly everyone got to race, started and finished more or less on time and Gloucester won a few pots. Rumour has it that it even made a profit! Relatively few injuries - a dog attack and a sprained wrist as far as I'm aware. Lots of lessons to be learned to make next year’s event even slicker. A big thank you to all those whose help on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday contributed to the success – I won’t mention you all by name, but will say that Jonathan Garner worked tirelessly before, during and after the regatta.

A valiant effort was made to capture the Victor Ludorum at Ross regatta over the same weekend, but we were spread too thinly to match Evesham’s dedicated attack, (I think they won it ...).

Having just returned from the FISA World masters at Vienna, I shall apologise to the rest of the club who suffered from a lack of boats last weekend. Fortunately only a problem once every couple of years or so.

Congratulations to Brian Nelson who won gold in an international vet J international four – that’s average age 80+. The rest of us covered every position from 2nd through to 7th. Weather started in the low 30’s, then poured with rain, followed by strong and gusty headwinds, before calming down on the last day. Notable was the effect on times – eights getting close to 3 minutes for the 1,000m Danube course one day and only just scraping below 4 minutes the next.

The junior squad is restarting in earnest this weekend with some new coaches and assistants – please give them all the help you can. Boating times and allocations for all squads remain the same as per the notice on the club house door. These will be revisited by the rowing committee as we approach the winter season.

Finally a reminder of the AGM on Monday – be there and influence how the club runs for the next year.

Russell Thornton 8th september 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:20:00 +0000

For anyone who’s been away or locked up, it’s Gloucester regatta this weekend. Full day’s racing on Saturday and Sunday, and lots of setting up on Friday. We need everyone’s help!

Congratulations to Jon and Mark on getting the draw out in record time.

This year we’re hoping to encourage some evening activity on the Friday and Saturday nights – more info on that later in the week.

Ross regatta is held over the same weekend – vets and juniors on Sunday and seniors on Monday. There’s a victor ludorum up for grabs and Gloucester has entered a full complement of crews. If you’re not racing there try and get along on the Monday to provide some support.

Junior camp is running Monday to Thursday this week, so if you fancy a quiet paddle during the day, be warned! Thanks to Jane for organising this and to the coaches and assistants who are helping.

The junior squad is reforming in September, and we are aiming at a Junior Coordinator, a supporting Junior Committee of three, trainee coaches and parent helpers to run the squad. I would ask all members of the club, and junior parents to give this venture their full support. It’s hard work and time consuming, but a thriving junior squad will reap rewards to the whole club in due course.

The old people are off to Vienna next week, so the rest of you can have fun and misbehave, (a bit).

The AGM is on the 14th September, Monday evening. There will be a number of vacancies on the committee which will need filling, and some important issues to discuss. I would encourage everyone to come along and actively support the meeting. Remember that what happens at the club during the next year – training, competition, equipment, access to the water, social events, moves toward a new clubhouse and much more will be determined by decisions taken at the AGM, and by the people elected by the members to run the club. It’s important!

Seven members, junior and senior attended the level II coaching course last week. They will be actively looking for ‘projects’ to enable them to pass their assessment. If you’re not keen on being ‘coached at’ you have been warned. Seriously, the club desperately needs more qualified coaches if it is to function and grow. Give these guys your support, and the standard of rowing at the club will improve.

See you on Friday.

Russell Thornton 25th August 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:28:00 +0000

In an effort to secure a place in the first boat, Martin and Andy have started their winter training early with a new form of anaerobic training - long distance boat running - for more information on this spectacular training regime, contact Jack, driving force behind the program.

Jack is also offering capsize coaching - weekends and evenings; demonstrations are carried out in full view of the club house.

A small club outing, (Sarah and myself) was organised Saturday afternoon to to spy out our soon to be competition - AB Severn RC. This development is being undertaken by Brian Curtis at the Tewkesbury end of a beautiful stretch of the Severn leading to Upton. There's a wide, nearly straight stretch of over 6 km, which would make a fantastic head course. I shall try and organise a weekend or evening row there in the near future. Anyone interested, let me know.

For those budding athletes in need of greater muscle tone, and improved core stability, there are developments happening in the weights room. Tim is spending some of the profits from the winter circuits on a bench press. Have a look and make use of the equipment, but remember to follow the rules - talk to Tim if you're unsure of the form.

Tim is also leading an attack on the Victor Ludorum competition at Ross. This is a great way to increase the boat fleet and pewter ware collection. Contact Tim and get your entries in early.

Toby has been experimenting with alternative sports, (cricket?) and discovered why he was destined to be a rower - get well soon Toby.

During the summer recession, the club has been doubling as farmers market - thanks Cath for the rhubarb and runner beans.

There's a coaching course running at the club during Tuesday and Wednesday and part of the weekend. It shouldn't interfere with normal activities, but be aware of nefarious activities in the club and adjacent to the landing stage.

Russell Thornton 10th August 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:26:00 +0000

Firstly, congratulations to Kalan-Mai and her crew on coming second in the home countries coxless fours.

This is the less serious part of the rowing calendar; nevertheless there is activity and development on a number of fronts.

A high-class mixed eight is being carefully stitched together by Tim, and was seen out on the water last week, showing a degree of determination and technical progression. We expect great things from this crew during August.

We have a number of visitors from Baltimore out on the canal - be nice to them and make allowances - but not too many - they're used to driving on the wrong side.

Caroline and Lyndsey from the beginners ventured out in a double last week in fairly difficult conditions, demonstrating good technique and an ability to negotiate bridges and bushes without mishap. Caroline finished off the session with her first 5K - could be the first of the season. I won't embarrass the rest of you with her time!

Ben repaired Gauntlet so Graham is back in business, but not before Dan had ventured out in it and managed to capsize. Is this a record? he progresses to a virus next week!

The juniors are off for the rest of the summer - we look forward to their return in September. (Notwithstanding the junior camp the week before the regatta).

There are a few places left on the coaching course. contact me this weekend if you want to enrol.

Keep enjoying the summer - winter will be here before you know it!

Finally, congratulations to Sam on becoming a senior.

Russell Thornton
30th July 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:47:00 +0000

Writing this from Aberdeen today. Interesting rowing club here - ABC. A tidy boat house on the banks of the tidal Dee. Rowing is limited by the last bridge before the harbour downstream, and by the height of the tide upstream. Rowing is not permitted within two hours of low tide, and the distance you can go upstream is determined by the number of granite blocks exposed on the arches of the railway bridge. Boats must be off the water by the time the bar shuts at 11 pm!

Following on - Aberdeen was the only crew to beat the Gloucester-Stratford composite four at Nat Champs at the weekend. They won Gold and Silver and will be representing England in the home countries - congratulations to Kalan-Mai and the rest of her crew. Well done to the other crews competing from Gloucester in very challenging conditions favouring the heavier crews.

Juniors are winding down for the summer now. We had hoped to run a summer rowing course, but this has not proven possible. We will however be running the summer camp in the week before the regatta. Talking of which we have one month to prepare for this, and Jonathan Garner will be issuing lists of jobs in the near future.

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:56:00 +0000

As I write this sitting in a quiet, (apart from the piped music) pub garden on the edge of the River Wey, it's hard to contrast with the frenetic weekend just past.

There was a massive entry from the junior squad to Llandaff International, on Saturday and Sunday, Henley Vets Friday and Saturday, and then the vets and women's squad descended on Llandaff for the Sunday.

There were some serious wins at Llandaff on the Saturday - Ben and Neil particularly attracting attention in their double at J16 and IM3. James and Rory also won at J14. At Henley the Vets staggered through four rounds of the D 4-, meeting their nemesis in the form of Wallbrook in the final on Saturday.

Saturday night at Llandaff saw Gloucester juniors taking over the disco, wind and rain, and then a tree falling across the campsite at 1 am. Commiserations to the owner of the car, but fortunately no one was hurt.

More wins for juniors and vets on Sunday, and the women's 4+ scored, winning their final in fine form.

In general the weekend went very well - there was a big effort from the juniors themselves and from those parents who attended. In particular I'd like to thank Tracy and Kevin Marshal, (who towed the trailer), Clive who spent most of his time carrying boats, Jane who largely organised the weekend, and all those who ensured that the catering and accommodation were successful. Mention should also go to Laura Pobjoy and Jonathan Garner who put together crews and entries.

..........................................................

Ben Rodford has been busy mending boats - he does this in his own time, and we can show our gratitude by taking care not to bust anymore boats.

.........................................................

Jane and Patrick are attempting to organise a summer rowing course for those wanting to hone their skills for the end of summer regattas. We'll have more news on this shortly.

Nat Champs this coming weekend - good luck to seniors and juniors entering. For my part I'm looking forward to a weekend off!

Russell Thornton

14th July 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:52:00 +0000

Congratulations to Beth Rodford on her win on Sunday in the Princess Grace - in Gloucester colours too!

Will there be the same level of support for the old men going to Henley vets?

Llandaff international this weekend - good luck to all the rowers heading over the bridge for this one.

The rate of attrition of the Gloucester fleet is reaching crisis proportions. Unless Ben gets some help with mending boats, or we stop breaking them we'll all be reduced to racing viruses by November. No particular group responsible for this - damage seems to be evenly shared between juniors, women and men's squads. Please take care on the water!

There's a Level II coaching course being held at the club in August, and there are currently four more places available - let me know if you're interested.

Russell Thornton

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:24:00 +0000

This weekend has been unbelievably busy - Henley Qualifyers, Ironbridge and the Sponsored Row. To support these events we've had to borrow trailers and lifts - a big thankyou to Ross for transport to Henley, and to Wicliffe College for loan of their trailer this weekend, and to Cheltenham ladies college for loan of theirs last weekend. The black trailer has now been repaired and was used for Ironbridge.

From my perspective the weekend started at Henley with a failed qualifyer attempt over 2.1 km, followed by a lost heat and final at Iron bridge on Saturday over 1 km, a further lost heat on Sunday, but success at last in Vet E single over 5oo m!

More commiserations to the guys who missed qualification by a couple of seconds in the Wyfolds - a lot of effort went into the preparations and on the day but to no avail.

Congratulations to Kalan-Mai on her single win at Ironbridge on Saturday.

I believe the Sponsored Row was a great success, and have copied Jane's abridged report below:

Sponsored row was great!

Loading at Purton went smoothly - I'll send a thankyou note to the bridgeman who was a great help - even opening his house so that Zoe could have a wee! ( beyond the call of duty I feel!) We even left on time! (1pm)

All juniors managed to duck safely under the low bridges!

Phil, accompanied by Larissa, followed with the launch.

Stop at Wycliffe went well with the spectating ladies all enjoying the sight of Sam and Dave rowing in topless! ( Yes, i do have a photo!)I have never seen 60 doughnuts dissappear so fast in my life!!!! ( Phil very pleased with doughnut idea!!!!!) Lots of water drink and sunblock reapplied as it was very hot. Crews changed around. Stopped about 3/4 hour.

All arrived safely at Glos with the coxboxes playing ipod music and crews singing! Wigs and tutus still seen! Burgers also disappeared fast as did gallons of squash!

Please could you pass on thanks to:
Diedre and John Squire - who doubled at the front without getting divorced! John organised floating at Purton and also mended a fin that came a bit too close to traffic lights on leaving Glos.
Graham and Arron for being the sole senior men. Next year we'll set a date where all can attend and make the BBQ bigger afterwards with bar going properly.
The Ladies ( and Pete!) who seemed to enjoy it.
Phil for sorting the launch and Larissa for bringing them both back.
Brian for opening the club back at Glos and for sponsoring the juniors.
Rachel for getting out of the shower to come back to the club to lock up.

I'll add my thanks to Jane for driving and organising the row, and to all who took part - especially the Juniors who worked hard and helped to make the day a success.

There's still time to get on the level II coaching course in August - I have details.

Russell

28th June 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:50:00 +0000

Well Done to all the juniors who competed at Stratford; some notable wins including a 12 length verdict for Ben and Neil in the final. A big thankyou to everyone who helped with trailer loading, towing and getting everyone on and off the water on the day.

Commiserations to the four which raced at Marlow - a big effort in training and on the day failed to provide the hoped-for silverware.

Henley qualifyers on Friday - everyone welcome to come along and support! 4.20 start.

It was good to hear GRC get mentioned by name on Eurosport coverage of Munich regatta over the weekend - thanks to Beth Rodford for that, and well raced!

Lots of beginners are about to filter through to club nights - please make them all welcome, and help them out with boating etc. Remeber we all had to start somewhere and the landing stage can be a very confusing place on a busy summers evening, (specially for me!).

The club is hoping to run a Level 2 coaching course on 11th/12th/15th/16th August - anyone interested let me have your name and email asap - I'll be sending out application forms this week. This is open to all - no rowing experience needed! there are some who can't make those dates and we'll be trying to organise a second course soon after.

The sponsored row will be taking place this Sunday - all are welcome - see Jane Allen - good luck to all participants; everyone else is encouraged to offer support from bridges, bank etc.

A big thankyou to Laura Pobjoy and Jane Allen and all the helpers who are making the resurrection of the junior squad possible - assistants and especially level 2 coaches are always needed to help run sessions - please speak to Laura or Jane if you can commit to one or more sessions.

There is a Committee meeting coming up - next monday 7.45 pm - anyone with any questions, suggestions, requests, please let a committee member know - ideally a few days before the meeting.

Russell.
Monday 22nd June 2009.

noreply@blogger.com (Russell Thornton) — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:45:00 +0000

The Captains Blog, (like a log only better) will be used for me to communicate directly with the membership - mainly run of the mill stuff - boat allocations, squad times, competions etc. I shall try and include all email communication so as to keep everyone more informed. Only I shall be able to post stuff, so no feedback or contradictions! In realityI shall try and reflect relevant feedback to the issues raised.

Starts in anger next week.

Russell