EUSA COMPETERS

Congratulations to the four University of Bristol teams who have qualified for the European University Sports Association (EUSA) Championships, for the first time

Our Women's Football, Men's Futsal, Men's Table Tennis and Men's Water Polo teams will head to four locations across Europe this summer, to compete with the best university teams on the continent

By way of a competitor support package, Performance Sport have offered each team free additional S&C and technical support at the Coombe Dingle Performance Gym at the end of their Term 3 offer, including a group Nutrition clinic with Tania Griffin and dedicated time with Sport Psychology and Wellbeing expert, Connor Grant

Women's Football Men's Table Tennis Men's Water Polo Men's Futsal

Sport, Exercise and Health's Marketing and Communications team hope to engage the teams as they travel to their respective locations, supporting each of them in hosting an 'Instagram takeover' on the @bristolunisport Instagram account

The takeover will allow students, staff, alumni, partners & sponsors and the wider community to follow the teams 'behind the scenes' as they get ready to compete, and will offer the clubs an opportunity to showcase their sport to a new audience, while feeling proud to represent Bristol

Read the University's full press release

The time after Christmas break is always a difficult one to manage This year, however, was extremely challenging with the weather proving to be exceptionally unkind. For most of January the entire Saltford Rowing Centre was flooded The river level rose to two and half feet inside the boathouse, it was an incredibly frustrating and nerve-racking time for the club.

Unlike our competitors, we kick off the new year with an exam period rather than a training camp, and knowing that we would be completely forced off the water for a whole month, we were very aware just how far behind we would be and the challenge that lay ahead of us

When the river level finally subsided, we were left to deal with the damage caused by the flood and had just three sessions to prepare for Quintin Head race We sent seven crews to London, consisting of our Open Club, Senior, and Development Squads. Surprisingly, Quintin Head proved to be a solid start to the year, and it was great to catch up with our alumni after the race I’m immensely proud of how the club responded during this challenging time, and how they performed at their first race of the year!

Gb Trials

A typical grey, wet, and windy February day in Boston set the scene for the British Rowing Senior and U23 trials. Lara Grant had a superb result, coming 26th overall and 9th U23 in the W1x Efa Wilson unfortunately suffered an injury while racing, however, she was able to finish, crossing the line in 45th and 20th U23. Freddie Woodall was 29th overall and 12th U23 in the M1x Finally, Jake Birch and Robbie Prosser raced in the M2they placed 22nd out of the 33 men’s pairs.

Lara, Efa and Robbie were invited to April Final Trials at Caversham, which have a huge bearing on whether our athletes are selected for a GB Senior or U23 team in the summer.

Efa Wilson, W2-: 1st in C Final (4th fastest U23)

Robbie Prosser, M2-: 2nd in C Final Lara Grant, W1x: 3rd in D Final

Robbie and Efa have now been invited to seat racing and trials - we wish them both the best of luck!

Bucs Head

After a 3-year absence, UBBC made the long trip up to Newcastle for some great racing at BUCS Head this year! Huge congratulations to all who raced, and especially to our Senior Men who came away with medals in the Intermediate 4+, 8+ and Champ 4+ categories!

Unfortunately, I was unable to travel with the squads to GB Trials and BUCS Head, but I would like to say a huge thank you to Tom and Holly who supported the club superbly at both events

Results:

Men’s Inter 8+ (A): 1st

Men’s Champ 4+: 2nd

Men’s Inter 4+ (A): 2nd

Men’s Inter 8+ (B): 4th

Men’s Inter 4+ (B): 6th

Women’s Inter 4x: 6th

Women’s Beginner 8+: 6th

Men’s Beginner 4x: 6th

Men’s Beginner 8+: 8th

Women’s Inter 8+: 13th

Women’s Inter 4+: 25th

WEHORR & HORR

UBBC sent two women’s crews to WeHORR this year. It was a great opportunity for our Senior and Development crews to step up and gain some more experience on the Tideway, and a brilliant way to wrap up head race season for the women.

Our women’s 1st VIII improved upon their 112th finish last year to place 71st overall and 6th Challenge Academic crew. This is a great step forward from this squad and we're excited to see what they can do later this year The Development women also had an impressive row, finishing as the 10th fastest University Beginner crew.

Results:

1st VIII: 71st overall, 6th Challenge

Academic

2nd VIII: 239th overall, 10th University

Beginner

Two weeks after WeHORR, it was the men’s turn to conquer the Championship course on the Tideway. After a day of hard racing at HORR, the men came away with the best set of results in Bristol’s History The 1st VIII placed 20th, which is the highest of any Bristol 1st VIII.

Unfortunately, the 2nd VIII suffered a steering problem and were unable to finish Looking at the results of their competitors, who they had raced at BUCS Head, we believe they could have finished anywhere between 42nd - 34th. The 3rd VIII improved on their 108th finish from last year, to place 94th

The Development men also had a brilliant result, coming in as the 5th fastest University Beginner crew

Results:

1st VIII: 20th overall, 6th University

2nd VIII: DNF

3rd VIII: 94th overall

4th VIII: 230th overall, 5th University Beginner

Thanks

A huge thanks to all our supporters, our friends and alumni, colleagues within Sport, Exercise and Health, and our partners The Fernside Trust and TVE Group.

Ed Bloomfield Head Coach, Rowing