Closing Races held Sunday 6th September, 2015

For the third year of the revived Closing Races, the weather was perfect (again), and the day went very well.  Racing started at 12 noon, with a series of first heats in the Junior Handicap (for the Alf Partridge Cup).  The handicaps are based on the timed 500 metre training sessions that occur regularly through the summer.  Some of the data was a bit elderly, as a few of the participants had been missing for the last few months due to holidays.  

The first race was between Will Abbott and Will Doleman, with Mstr. Doleman being given a six second head start.  Will Abbott had not done 500’s since mid June, and was unable to reproduce the time on which his handicap was based, so was beaten by Mstr. Doleman by a length and a half.  It is worth noting that the winner bettered his expected time by two seconds.

Next were Joe Lecky and Milly Payne, with Joe given 25 secs start.   Joe did only one set of times in mid July, and seems to have been doing secret training, as be bettered expectations by 16 seconds, a gap that Milly could not close, despite knocking six seconds off her best time.

Then it was Kate Doleman and Josh Rhodes, Josh being given three seconds.  She couldn’t catch him, with a verdict of a length and two thirds.  Josh knocked eight seconds of his expected time, and Kate three.

Lucy James then raced Ethan Campbell-O’Connor, with Lucy given sixteen seconds.  This worked out better, with Ethan catching Lucy in the last ten strokes to win by half a length.  Lucy beat her prediction by two seconds, and Ethan his by six.

Then, as a bit of light relief, James Doleman and I raced a heat of the Open Championship (for the Java Bowl), James beating me without too much effort in a time of 1:45.1 (I trailed in four seconds later).

As the last race before the lunch interval a return to the Juniors with Will D racing Cesca Meynell (the nine entries in the event forced an extra heat).  There was a communications failure here, and Will was offered a three second advantage instead of the intended recipient, Cesca.  Will sportingly declined the (mistaken) advantage, and won the race by ....two seconds (seven eights of a length).  When informed of the error, Cesca showed equal sportsmanship by declaring she felt the race had been fair, and declined the re-row.  Will lowered his first heat time by three seconds to 1:58.

Then lunch was taken.  This ably (and continuously) supplied by Emma and Paul Doleman.  

On resuming, the first heat of the Women’s Open (a new event this year, for the A.H.Hockey Cup) between Cesca M and Kate Doleman.  Kate won by a length and a half in 1:59.0 (taking seven seconds off her best training time).

Next the Final of the Java Bowl, between Rob Thornton and James.  James won by four lengths, in a time of 1:43 (which is a guesstimate, as there was a bit of a disaster at the timing table).

The semi finals of the Junior’s opened with Joe versus Ethan, Joe being  given eighteen seconds this time (some adjustments had been made).  Both went slower than previously (lunch having been consumed), but Ethan had had more lunch, and Joe won by a length.

The other Junior semi was between Will D and Josh, the latter given four seconds.  Will won by a length, further lowering his time to 1:56.  

Then second final of the day, for the A.H.Hockey Trophy, Kate D versus Sophie Payne resulted in a win for Kate by one and a half lengths in the same time as her heat (very consistent).

Next the final of the Junior Handicap, Joe versus Will, Joe given eighteen seconds.  Will caught him to win by a length and a half, Joe turning in the same time as his first race (bar half a second), and Will a 1:57, which is very good work for his fourth race of the day.

Two new events finished the day, Senior Scratch Fours (for the Wells Cup), and the House Fours, which currently is without a trophy.  The events were occasioned by the club having two coxed fours in the boathouse (a temporary situation).  The Senior Scratch Fours are self explanatory, the House Fours arise from the winter necessity of diving the Juniors into two groups for training purposes.  The Sorting Hat decreed that the groups be named Gryffindor and Slytherin, and the respective heads of house (Kate D for Gryffindor, and Sophie P for Slytherin) had two training sessions each in which to learn to row sweep oar.  

Back to the racing.  The senior fours were first (to give the juniors a rest).  The crews were:  Rob Thornton (bow), Harriet Buckle, Dan Levy, Stuart Grant (stroke), Jeremy Stuart (cox), and Andy Newton (bow), Sophie Payne, Gary Beviss, Lewis Hancock (stroke), Will Abbott (cox).  Stuart Grants crew were victorious by seven-eights of a length in a time of 1:42.4.

And finally, Gryffindor won the house fours by a length and a half, in a time of 1:52.9.

Prizes were engraved glass tankards for the sculling events (sponsored by the Club President, Alan Perry), and Medals (manufactured and engraved by Harriet Buckle’s company, Final Creations, and sponsored by the club) were awarded for the fours events.

Thanks were given to the Vice Captains Sophie Payne and Rob Thornton for their help with organisation (it is worth noting that despite having three more races to run than last year, the event started later and finished earlier), and to the senior Dolemans for the food, Estelle Leckie for minding the bar and cakes thereupon.   Thanks also to the Starting Umpire, Alan Perry, and most magisterially, to the Finishing Judge and Head Coach John Partridge.  Three cheers were given for the Captain, received with much pleased embarrassment by yours truly.