The men’s side has a strong base this year with two full eights. However we have learnt that coxes during the colder months are a rare commodity with some rowers having to take to the rudder (with varying degrees of success!). President Chivers proved that he deserves his name on the new honours board, stroking M2 to victory at Winter Head, winning the student M2 category. We have strong hopes for M2 for Fairbairns - good luck boys!
M1 had a rocky start to term, but gained over 20 seconds against other colleges in Winter Head compared to Autumn Head. This is in part due to cox Jayna Patel running ruthless core sessions while barking orders and wielding a large stick. The crew has also benefited from strong technical oversight and encouragement from coaches Rob Jeffrey and Chris Clark.
After Autumn Head, a new squad based training system was used where up and coming rowers got the opportunity to row with more senior members. This had huge advantages to consolidate the squad rowing style, improve cohesion and bonding as well as vastly improve individual technique. This has paid off for both boats in Winter Head and we hope to see the returns for the rest of the year.
Peter Stevens
QCBC Men’s Captain 2017/18