Tideway Scullers School

(c) Rachel ClarkeThe club fielded four crews in Saturday's Women's Head, and were rewarded with some encouraging results, not least TSS A's top-ten finish. Pictures from Rachel Clarke here.

TSS A S1 : 9th 19:54.59 - K. Scanlan, L. Bowden, M. Sage, C. Vargas, A. McNuff, A. Finn, L. Norris, C. McIntosh, M. Eldridge (cox)

The full complement of the first eight met on Friday night for their first full-crew outing, but the wind and water conditions made us decide that our time would be better spent drinking tea and discussing the race plan. So on Saturday morning the crew finally got on the water for a pre-race paddle, which went well despite the bouncy water. A stern pre-race chat from Richard Tinkler reminded us all of our responsibilities and we hit the water looking forward to the race. The start went well - up to 36 - then we settled into a sold 32 going down towards Barnes. The work was going down well and we passed Thames - who had been given a big gap - before the bridge. The crew worked well together through the headwind past the bandstand and down Chiswick Eyot, and Maddy kept reminding us of our key focus areas. The race was going to plan and when Maddy pushed us on at St Paul's we all responded. Coming down past the mile post, we started closing on several crews, which we overtook coming down the boats at Putney.
Everyone in the crew was happy with ninth place, and very glad to finish with our noses in front of Furnivall, who we deemed our main club opposition - that is, they all have jobs - and also Mortlake, who just pipped us at Hammersmith Women's and Juniors a fortnight earlier. As we said then, there was plenty of room for improvement, and we definitely improved. CM

TSS B S1 : 32nd 20:33.16 - B. Davies, E. Stutters, R. Davies, F. Zino, A. Trickey, K. Grose, C. Shalhoub, P. Bird, B. Desmond (cox)

For some days before the race it looked as though the second eight would have to row a woman short, but Francesca Zino nobly volunteered to sub two days before. In true Scullers fashion, the crew was relatively scratch on the day, but set off with gusto in the howling tailwind at a brisk 32, which rarely dropped at any point. The race was largely rowed in a vacuum, but fortunately the experience on board (not least in the forms of Olympians Pauline Bird, Kate Grose, Alison Trickey and Francesca Zino) proved more than a match for the possible demotivating effects of no immediate competition. The crew 'ragged it in' (as per instructions!) at 34-35 and finished 32nd overall, and the third-fastest second eight. PB

TSS C S3 : 58th 20:59.49 - R. Cheetham, C. Finlay, L. Silbermann, J. Budgett, C. Beeckmans, C. Thomas, G. Kellner, L. Britton, A. Smith (cox)

After a few crew changes and a last-minute substitution after the warm-up paddle, Katy having injured an ankle and Libby being called out of bed, we set off full of beans. We got quite a kick out of overtaking our first crew just before Barnes Bridge, and that set the tone for the race. The crew went down the course at a steady 30-31 and overtook another three crews, then picked up the pace at the mile post and finished the race rating 35, courtesy of Smiffy in the cox's seat, who told us we were gaining on four more crews coming up to the line. Good job all round! CB

TSS D Vet D : 185th 23:05.95 (21:37.95 veteran handicap adjusted) - H. Farmbrough, G. Williams, R. Thom, N. Dale, E. Pinckney, J. Al-Janabi, P. Canning, J. Behan, X. Neale (cox)

In time-honoured style, the veteran crew trained hard, having their first outing as a crew two hours before the race, in an unfamiliar boat. Such was the shock, the coxbox promptly threw in the towel and, despite much expert attention, refused to work. So, an uncertain start, as everyone heard a different go, and after that calls seemed to come from random parts of the boat and all was a bit freestyle. Things improved substantially after Hammersmith, and the crew focused in, picking up the rate four pips to finish strongly at 35 (stroke's rate meter was working), but felt that they weren't as quick as they should have been. All credit to Xanthe Neale in the cox's seat, however, for coping so well in a very difficult situation. Despite the technical hitches, the crew went up five places to finish 185th, and sixth on handicap in the veteran category. RT