Following the success of the Senior men’s squad in Nottingham last week, where the 4+ came second in IM1+ category, the women’s squad took to the water at Peterborough on Saturday.
The squad had a fantastic day of racing and Natasha Linyard-Tough, Kate Argent, Amy Finch and Francesca Jones won their category, losing their novice status and all gaining British Rowing points.
Pippa Maloney, the senior women’s captain was very proud of the girls, commenting that their “motivation and drive” got them through the day.
The course was a short sprint 1,000 metre regatta. In their first heat, things did not go smoothly: at the beginning of the first race the girl sitting at stroke, Natasha Linyard-Tough’s feet came out of the footplate, making it very difficult for her to row. Despite this, the girls came second in the first heat, finishing just two seconds slower than the winning crew, which meant they qualified for the repercharge.
They won the repercharge and confirmed their place in the final, which was the girls’ third of the day, in comparison to their opponents who had only raced twice.
Captain Amy Finch said afterwards: “It was a great day, each race was better than the last and winning was amazing, particularly as we did it the hard way. I thought it was anyone’s for winning and we just went for it. It was tough but just over half-way we began to pull away.”
UYBC have had a successful and exciting term so far, both on and off the water, and it can only get better. Over the next couple of weeks UYBC will be representing York at the Metropolitan Regatta, Marlow and Henley Royal Regatta – the most prestigious race of the year.
Last week’s club elections saw the nomination of a promising brand new committee, led under new President Ed Scobie. The future looks bright for UYBC.