Chris fought his way through a tough race to get to the semis of the single, but his back was giving grief and he felt he could not race in the four so soon after coming off the water. We scratched the four with heavy hearts, but nonethless remained determined to put all our efforts into our small boats.

The Rep of the light pairs on the Sunday was attended with much better preparation. Weigh in was made a clear 2 hours before, allowing plenty of time to fuel up and digest before the race. Fraser, in partcular, was pleased to have scraped the crew average by 15 grammes! The rep was a controlled race, with the two Scottish Crews grabbing two of the three qualifying spots. Fraser and Rob claimed first place, whereas Niall and Graeme enjoyed a comfortable row to take third.

Chris's campaign in the single ended in the semi final, where he finished fourth, just behind Taylor of Aberdeen. This made him the second fastest Scottish Lightweight sculler, just missing out on an HIR place. By this stage the searing heat was taking it's toll on the competitors. Conditions were otherwise perfect, the usually choppy waters of Nottingham flat calm. The Final of the Pair was rowed in this mounting heat, and even the great volume of sports drink taken on by the Scots could not prevent mouths as dry as a bone within the first 100M! Niall and Graeme held fourth place as they passed the 500M mark, their trademark fast start paying dividends. However, Fraser and Rob soon recovered and overhauled them by the 1000M mark, surging forward to hunt down those in third. The strong start of N & G began to take effect in the last 1500M, where they were passed by London RC. The front 2 of the event (including former Clyde oarsman Stewart Bates) were thirteen seconds clear of the field, however, the gap between third and sixth was just ten seconds. Fraser and Robb just missed out on Bronze by the smallest of margins, coming in a length and a half clear of the Clyde pair.

This result means that Fraser has achieved what has been a long term ambition - Selection for the Scottish National Team for the Home Countries Regatta. The rest of the crew - particularly Niall and Graeme, who were also aiming for the light pairs slot - wish him all the best, as this particular boat class was the most contested of the Selection process.

The weekend may not have gone as we had hoped, especially for the four, which had been moving nicely and felt well prepared. Even the Logan Brothers, winners of ML2x, said that it was almost impossible to double up effectively in lightweight events. However to have 3 of our crew amongst the 12 fastest lightweights in Britian, whittled down from 44 entrants is a real achievement.

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NAT CHAMPS PREPARATION

The highlight of the British Domestic Season, the National Championships of Great Britain, is almost here. The four will be competing in Open Lightweight Fours against the best crews in the country. The field of ten boats will be high quality, and include notable lightweight clubs such as Nottingham County Rowing Association and London Rowing Club. Last year, three out of the four travelled down and finalled in this event - however that crew was hastilly assembled and lacked milage. We are keen to see what we can do.

Not content with one difficult event, we will be competing in two others. Chris will be doing the Lightweight Single Scull, and everyone else will be in Light Pairs (22 crews), Fraser joining up with Rob Collings of St Andrew BC. All these small boats are selection categories for the Home International Regatta (against England, Ireland, Wales). The first Scottish boat over the line is selected, so this will lead to sincere (but friendly!) competition between crew members.

Nat Champs are on this weekend at the National Watersports Centre, Newcastle.

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SCOTTISH CHAMPIONS

The four have returned from Scot Champs - covered by BBC Radio Scotland - with a fistful of medals. The Gold rush started in Mens Lightweight 4-, which was the debut of Chris Phillips of Clydesdale in the boat.. Edinburgh uni, a crew almost unchanged from last year's winning combination, matched the four stroke for stroke till 1000M before the power and endurance of the West Coast rowers told. They pulled to a comfortable victory, despite being unhappy with their performance. Another win followed for Fraser in the light double with Michael Thomson, triumphing with ease. Niall and Graeme took ten seconds off the opposition in light pairs in the first 500M and simply sat on the lead.

The race of the weekend for the crew (and indeed the crowd numbering in the thousands) was the open coxless fours. Matched up aginst heavyweight crews, a sparkling performance dropped all but two crews. This was a clash between former crewmates, as Neil Ferrier was stroking the second Clyde composite boat, joining with rowing powerhosues John and Karl, and St Andrew oarsman and Scotland International Rob Collings. The crew holding a tenuous lead were Aberdeen Boat club, the current proteges of Ali Paterson, the coach who masterminded the ABC Henley winning Crew of a few years ago. A much nicer race saw the lightweights in strong contention with the heavies, bearing down on ABC as the line approached. Neil, too, was gearing up for his trademark big finish. All the boats were within four seconds of each other. Unfortunately Neils boat steered into the buoys at the finish, so he was denied his sprint for the line. The lightweights, on only their fourth outing, had to be happy with second place, missing out on victory by just 2 seconds. However, they were very pleased with the racing, as the ABC crew got bronze at Ghent International and finalled at the Metropolitan Regatta.

The crew also attended a meeting for prospective HIR / Commonwealth athletes to learn about the selection policy from Team Manager Gary Bain.

The next test for the four will be the British Championships, held in Nottingham in mid July.

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SCOTLAND WILL BE PROUD

The four have returned from a great showing at the British Universities Championships. Doubling up in the lightweight pair and light four brought 2 medals their way.

Graeme and Niall went through their heat despite not having the best row. Although conceeding first place, they were confident enough looking at the other times to know that they were in with a good shot. Rough conditions in the finals meant that nothing short of brillaint technique would be required to make a dent against this first class field. A good start sent them into a narrow lead, even after Niall caught a minor crab and recovered almost instantly. Around the 400M mark, Durham made their move, and Graemes call was "Stay with them!". Well, they tried. The boys in the Lavendar kit ghosted into the lead and stayed there. However, G and N still carved out an undisputed silver.

Celebrations had to wait, as there was a final of light fours to be contested, scarcely one hour after the start of the pair! The four had pulled their way into the final after a pretty poor race in the heat. Only a decent second half race and determination had grabbed them a qualifying spot, overhauling Newcastle in a war of attrition in the last 750M. This time, the crew were determined to make things different, and rowed positively from the start, darting towards the front line of the field. At scarcely 500M gone, the legs of the 2 who had just raced were threatening to give up; however, they clung on, reassured by the knowledge that some of their opponents had done the same.

By halfway, bronze was in our back pockets as Newcastle were broken again and the University of West England seemed within striking distance. Length and run again came to our aid to push our opponents further behind, and creep the spots closer to the Black and red of UWE, with those Durham lads out in front again. The cheering of our club mates and other Scottish Unis from the bank gave us the extra energy we needed to carry us over the line and pull that last stroke. However, as the hooter sounded, we were happy to claim our bronze. Happy, that is, as soon as we had stopped collapsing with exhaustion. It was a nice feeling to know that we had beaten the best lightweights Cambridge Uni had to offer. Fraser's congratulation may not have been Classical, but it was in the spirit of Olympus "Georgios, you are a f****** legend!"

The medal ceremonies were an opportunity for us to don our newly purchased crew tops - a fetching mix of putrid green and vomit yellow. As the medals were handed over, the presenter of prizes shook Niall's hand and said "Scotland will be Proud."

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CHANGING OF THE GUARD?

The Scottish Unis/Strathclyde Prk Regatta has been something of a watershed for the four, as it saw racing in the 2 combinations.

The 'American Four' was lined up to compete in University first fours against Glasgow and Edinburgh. Unfortunately, Edinburgh scratched just before the start, so we were denied the chance to take them on. Glasgow raced strongly, establishing a lead early on. However, we were not shaken off, and pursued them down the course. Although second in a 2 boat race (also known as last), no one was unhappy. The rhythm, length and run in the boat was superb. The balance was flawless, making this the best row we have ever had together. Unfortunately, Neils ongoing health problems meant we couldn't bring out our big finish or high rate start, but we agree that there was no shame in rowing well and losing to quality opposition.

The 'BUSA Four' scored a victory ahead of their BUSA challenge. At the Strathclyde Park Regatta, they entered open 4- against Glasgow Uni including some monsters and a Cardiff Uni crew including former SUBC Captain Fraser Munro. The four were never headed during this race, and established their dominance early on. Glasgow Uni seemed to have some steering problems, and towards the end caught a crab that turned them sideways. Cardiff Uni hung on for a while, and raced credibly. The event was really a dress rehearsal for BUSA, so we could see if our tactics worked. They did.

Other races of note included Fraser winning MR22x with Michael Thomson of Aberdeen and Niall and Graeme getting beat by Karl and John and some big Aberdonians in Open 2-.

And the weather was great!

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GREEK POWER

Descended from Mount High Olympus, Georgious Kokoganiakis has joined the fold. He replaces Neil, who is not a lightweight (well, not without surgery). It is possible that George is the most ripped man in all of Scottish Rowing, thanks to his intensive training regime, and brings the ability to fit into a crew's style quickly and a mentality of giving 110% all the time.

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The guys from the regatta were really nice to us. The regatta director gave us all t shirts and a plaque commemorating our visit. The friendliness of these people is humbling.

Still, we are not downhearted. We have achieved a lot in this trip, seen some amazing stuff, had great experiences and the rowing was pretty good too! This has been a trip of a lifetime, and it is hoped that the spots will be back to the USA in future years, hopefully to eclipse our success.

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GOLD RUSH

The four struck Gold at Clemson Sprints, the first race of our tour. The day started quite cool, with little breeze - perfect conditions. The lads were resplendant in their new kit, and drew many curious (even admiring?) glances from the various clubs from all over the southern states. We were lucky enough to be lent a Win Tech boat. As the shining hull skimmed across the green-blue water of the lake, crowds of spectators lined the hills and stands of the Clemson University Rowing Association boathouse. With our new cox, Alaina, in the bows, we lined up to the stakeboats at the start of the 2000M six laned course for the second heat of three. With the knowledge that only two went through to the final with no rep, the pressure was on. A southern - twang of "Attention, Go" sent the crews to an explosive start. Unfortunately a rudder malfunction sent the Scots slewing into the adjoining right hand lane, almost crashing into the opposition. Pressure steering slowly corrected this, but then the rudder locked in the opposite direction, taking our hapless heros through their own lane and into the one on the left handside. After a series of S-Shaped maneovers more suited to a river than a straight course, the rudder wire was finally freed and our lads set a straight course with 1800M and five boats ahead of them. Grim determination took hold of the crew, as they calmly racked up the pressure, undaunted by the seven length gap between them and the next boat. At first, the desire to not finish last drove them on. Then, at less than 1km gone and 2 boats passed, a top three position seemed just possible. However, as we closed on the pack it seemed efficiency would be our saviour, as with each stroke we crept closer. The third place boat was passed at the 500M mark, and a qualifying position was ours for the taking. The question was could we do it in the distance remaining? Neil took the rating through the roof as the crowd cheered for this close finish. With less than 100M to go, we levelled with the second placed boat and rowed through them, and surged for the finish line, missing out on first place by around two seconds.

We were not out of the woods quite yet. It was possible that Duke Uni, the crew we had almost crashed into, could complain to the umpire, resulting in our disqualification. Although we hadn't hit or impeded them, we were in their lane. Neil sought them out to apologise - and hopefully pour oil on troubled waters. He had no need. Their stroke man's warm handshake and jovial question "are you guys on steroids?", made it clear that they recognised our speed and achievement, and would think it petty to deny us a place in the final. The whole crew was deeply moved by this display of genuine sportsmanship.   

After this comeback, the crew sought shelter from the rising heat under Megan's parents small marquee, rehydrating with copious amounts of Gatorade. Times from the various heats were compared, and we felt as if we were well placed for the final.

The hours spent before our race were spent keeping out of the fierce mid day sun, which climbed high over head and saw at least one competitor stretchered away with heat exhaustion. Several spectators and rowers said hello, and the team continue to be surprised by the amount of people with Scottish grannies. The racing was exciting, with many close finishes even over 2000M.

The final came at last, and soon blasted into action, with the Spotty boat contesting the front line with the other crews. Neil was particularly keen to beat his old team mates from Clemson, so we figured they were the crew to beat. However, it soon became obvious that the race would be closely fought, as five crews tussled for Gold for the first 1000M. Fraser's calls kept the crew digging deep. We pulled away from the crew in the next lane, but could not shake them off. Clemson were engaged in their own battle across in lane five, and at 750M to go, the race was anyone's.

As we crossed the 500M mark, we had taken the two crews on the other side of the course. As we edged ahead, the realisition dawned that all we could do now was keep it together, each oarsman focussing on technique and power, not wanting to let the others down. As the hooter for first place pierced our fatigued consciousness, a variety of emotions flooded through the members of the crew who first struck on the idea of a US tour on a chilly morning on the Clyde in October. Elation, exhaustion, relief, disbelief...  

Back were slapped and hands gripped, and we were the final crew to dock, wnating to preserve this special moment. On our return to the pontoon, one distinctive feature of US rowing became obvious. As we carried the shell up the hill towards the boat shed, the crowd, not just friends and family, but complete strangers, cheered the Scottish rowers in a wonderfully positive style. 

The rest of the day was spent chilling out, watching some brilliant racing and making new friends. After we recieved our Tiger pawed medals, we gave our cox a dunking. Remarkably, coxes expect to be thrown in, and crews do not have to use cunning and guile to get them to the water's edge.

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JET SET

The crew have just completed the journey from Glasgow to Clemson, involving 4000 miles of air travel, amounting to a journey of around 14 hours. We were all pleased to be wearing team kit and keen to look our best to vindicate the faith placed in us by kit sponsors iLevel Golf. Fraser had a lucky break after struggling through rush hour M8 to stop the moving bus to the airport containing his three team mates. The driver spotted his identical attire and took pity.  The decision to travel in kit was further vindicated by the wonderful air circulation afforded by highland dress and the fact that the kilt makes even the most unremarkable man a celebrity in a foriegn land. We were photographed by the editor of Skirt Magazine, who assures us that every month she publishes a photo of men in skirts, After a brief tutorial on the differences between skirts and kilts, she had four kilties for www.skirt.com

Another highlight was the discovery, in Philidelphia airport, of a four thousand dollar massage chair. After a long haul flight, this mechanised massage was bliss. Imagine a dwarf trapped inside a chair trying to punch their way out. 

We were finally picked up by Neil's American girlfrind Megan and her parents. Megan, and her flatmate little Megan have kindly offered to host us for a few days. They have a smelly house of four men to look forward to, as Southern Hospitality is tested to destruction. 

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KIT SPONSORS - iLevel GOLF

We are proud to announce that iLevel Golf will be sponsoring our kit for our upcoming US Tour. We will strive to repay the faith this organisation has shown us in helping make our trip more affordable, and encourage all readers of this website to keep iLevel Golf in mind if they are thinking of building a Golf Course.

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RAFFLE

We are pleased to announce the results of the Grand raffle. Thanks to everyone who took part, you have helped send the spots to the states.

Flowers - Jim MacDonald, Royal West

Whiskey - Mike Medlock, Strathclyde UBC

Gleneagles Golf - Chris Riggs

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NATIONAL MEDIA EXPOSURE

We have found ourselves in print in the ARA's Regatta magazine, which carried a photo of us at the fours head. We are not quite sure of the circulation, but it is certainly in the tens of thousands! We have already been pictured in SARA's Rowing Action, so were delighted to see ourselves in there again: Graeme during the Ergo champs, Squad training group picture and at the SUBC Small Boats head. Potential sponsors take note of the publicty!
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GOING GLOBAL

Welcome to viewers linked here by THE ROWING SERVICE and the SARA website - thanks to the people who run them for giving us a mention. Hopefully you will find this site informative and entertaining. To enter our Grand Raffle, go to the FUNDING page and click on CONTACT, which will email us. You then send a cheque to our sports union for however many tickets you want, and we will inform you if yours come out of the hat!
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INVERNESS VICTORY

Fraser had a successful weekend at the Inverness 8s and Small Boats head, winning mixed doubles with his girlfriend Fiona. He now has a swish green and red waterbottle as a prize, to the envy of his crewmates. Just to give the opposition an advantage, they decided to swap seating positions just before they raced. Rumours that Fiona will be seat raced against current crew members are not confirmed.
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CLYDESDALE 8s AND 4s CANCELLED!

Clydesdale 8s and 4s Head unfortunately cancelled due to dangerous river conditions. The speed of the river was exaggerated by the opening of 2 wier gates, making steering very difficult, especially round corners. We hope that this event can be rescheduled before the regatta season starts, as it is the final race of the Universities Winter League, plus we don't like to see our friends at Clydesdale out of pocket!
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CLYDESDALE 8s AND 4s

The next challenge for the four is at the Clydesdale 8s and 4s. We will be rowing as a four in both divisions - R2 in the first, Open in the second. This is also the last event in the universities Winter League, so everyone at SUBC will be trying their hardest to retain our current top spot to clinch the title for the second year running! The race will be on the Clyde and can be watched from a variety of places, although the suspension bridge at Glasgow Green is pobably best.

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SCOTLAND WEEKEND

The four have just completed a weekend of squad training in Inverness. A mixture of singles, pairs, fours and eights meant that the Scotland Selectors could get a good idea of our relative strengths. The standard of instruction was also excellent, with many of the top coaches in Scotland giving up their weekend to pass on their experience. It was also a useful opportunity to meet, train with and check out 'the opposition'. Surprisingly, they are just normal people like us!

The weekend was also a good laugh, with the cameraderie and good natured (if savage) slagging bonding the crew as a unit, and Team Scotland as a whole. The next stage of the selection process will be a weekend at Strathclyde Park, which will be open to anyone.

This site has also recieved a ringing endorsement from BUSA and Home Countires Winner (and one half of the "Saviours of Scottish Rowing") Jonny Logan

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THE LONG WEEKEND

A gruelling weekend of Racing on the Clyde has just finished. The Western Head of the River for eights, run by Glasgow Uni, led us to join up with other top rowers related to Strathclyde UBC / Clyde ARC to field crews in both divisions. Although we were unable to beat Glasgow uni for top honours, the margin was encouraging for crews that had either never rowed together before, or had only a few outings. The Strathclyde Uni Small Boats race on the Sunday let Niall and Graeme go head to head with Clyde's leading heavyweight oarsmen, John and Karl. A gutsy performance meant our heroic Davids started to catch the Goliaths for the first 2KM, however, the big boys pulled slowly away, winning by 15 seconds over 5km. This deficit was a great encouragement to the little 'uns, who felt that they had aquitted themselves well against good oarsmen with superior physiology. Hands were shaken at the end of the race, and the lightweights were the first to applaud their club mates victory.

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SCOTLAND SQUAD TRAINING

The four has been invited to a Scotland Squad training weekend at Inverness by Scotland Team Manager, Gary Bain. The invite was based on ergo times as well as performance throughout the head season. We will be rowing in our small boats units, as well as the four and with other athletes in eights. This represents a real leap forward for our chances of Interntional Representation, with an eye not just on this year's Home International Regatta, but also next years Commonwealth Games. Thanks to Gary for giving us this chance to prove ourselves.

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HIM INDOORS

Niall was successful in his indoor rowing escapades, getting a time of 6.34.8. This was a personal best, made all the sweeter by securing a silver medal in Mens Open Lightweight. Graeme put on a sterling show despite exam revision taking their toll on his performance, in the hotly contested Under 23 Lightweight. Later in the week, Neil recorded the awesome score of 6.27, making our crew amongst the best in terms of power to weight.

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VICTORY ON THE CLYDE

The 4 returned to familiar water last weekend to face the longest head course in Scotland, as well as several opponents keen on revenge after the double victory at Inverness. Unfortunately we were only able to compete in the second division only, as Fraser had a class in the morning. Strong competition was still expected with St Andrews University being friendly but open about their desire to beat the crew along with a combined Glasgow/Edinburgh University Graduate boat, the members of which all competed for Scotland last year.

We set off positively, quickly catching a Glasgow uni crew ahead of us (the crew of Scottland rowers were further behind in the starting order). Whilst overtaking, there was a clash of blades, and, for a second, a real risk of the crews getting bashed by oars. However, level headedness and good coxing soon disentangled us from the situation and we were off again. The GU boys kept with us for some distance, maintaining a racing line to hold us off. However, our stamina soon told as we pulled steadily away from them.

During the race, we caught and passed several crews. It helps psychologically to be passing crews rather than ploughing on in a vaccuum. Graeme excelled with his calls, pacing the race tactically and giving us our position relative to other boats. Fionas steering was first class whilst passing crews, assertively indicating to them what side we were passing on, and to give way!

A personal goal was also achieved when the crew managed to catch and overtake the opposing women's quad sculls that included club mates from Clyde and Strathclyde Park. The Strathclyde Park crew in particular were a target as they contained Fraser's girlfriend Fiona, which was sure to cause a few fights later on! Our resulting win (reported in the Glaswegian Newspaper) also helped to push SUBC onto the top of the Universities with only one event to go.

We now have GRC baseball caps to add to our expanding collection of victory clothing. The crew now go into a hard winter closed season before the next race in February

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HIGHLAND LADDIES

Inverness is the the first really big race of the year. A record number of crews, over 180, were due to race, . It was also the first time we could test ourselves against local rivals Glasgow Uni

Inverness is without a doubt the best rowing water in Scotland, 4.5km of completely flat canal. However with the temperature at five degrees below zero it was going to be a cold days racing.

In the first Division the crew got off to a comfortable start overtaking crews and settling into a reasonable speed although by our own admission not rowing at our best. With our stalwart cox Fiona back steering us through crews we took a comfortable victory in R2-the division we had been denied victory in the week before beating 13 other crews to the title and finishing third overall in the whole division

The second division, R1, had much tougher opposition. We were near the front of the whole division, with just a crew from Edinburgh club, St Andrew, in front of us. GUBC followed behind us, and we reckoned them as the main opposition. Fortunately, everything came together for a blinding row, the run in the boat was fantastic as we went through St Andrew, despite their best efforts (and the stirring motivation of their coxswain). We were now leading the full field, with only open water in front of us. This is an excellent position to be in, as you don't have to worry about passing crews or getting their wake upsetting your balance. Glasgow were hot on our heels, although they were held by St Andrew for some time. Eventually, though, they passed them. I found it hard to judge the distance between us. It didn't look like they were closing on us, but equally we couldn't shake them off either. The race become a slogging match, and at 1000M to go, GUBC blinked first, as we started to raise the rate to wind for home. We started to pull clear with unbelievable speed, Neil lifting the rating progressively as the boat sped forward. The freezing air we were gulping down into our lungs was, well, 'refreshing', and set us up for a final spin for the last 250M that drained everything we had. We crossed the line exhausted but happy in the knowledge we had rowed as well and as hard as we could.

When the prizes were dished out, we were delighted to find we had won in both divisions, R2 and R1. This really made up for missing out last weekend, and to compete in such a large, competitive field and win is a good sign for later in the year. This also provided a much needed boost to the SUBC push in the winter league. The crew's wins being the only wins from the club helped close the gap and took Strathclyde to a very close second in the league. We collected our Aberdeen Assett management T-Shirts (the sponsors of the event). These were much appreciated, as everyone was wearing everything they had against the cold!

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TRUE GRIT IN THE GRANITE CITY

The first head race of the Scottish Season was held by the Committee of teh Dee in Aberdeen. The Dee only has around 3KM of rowable water, so the race is against the tide. Even so, the race is over fairly quickly. Equipment problems meant we had to stop off at Aberdeen University Boathouse to borrow an adjustable spanner. This, and the chaos of crews being marshalled meant we were quite unsettled for the first race. The power was never in question, but the ratio we had enjoyed in training was absent.

The major incident of note in the first division was the clash with a local crew within 300M of the finish. Despite cox Fiona giving them clear warning of our intention to pass, it seemed that they actucally steered into us. This may also have been attributable to the current, but the jury is still out. The upshot was that both boats came to a dead stop. Neil was hit in the back by an oar at speed. Angry words were exchanged before we disentangled and sprinted for the line, bitterly dissapointed at the whole experience. The Aberdonian crew was disqualified, but we also recieved a warning for our colourful language. Although we had been impeded, our finishing time had to stand. The outcome of this was that we had to be satisfied with second by the narrowest of margins.

The next race was a different kettle of fish altogether. Leading the division, we were free of steering worries, as novice cox Maureen raced for the first time. Our 'half time' team talk had worked: we were confident, relaxed and powerful, the boat was surging forward despite our fatigue from the previous race. The tactics worked out also came into play - the initial build from the start got us well clear of the chasing pack, and plenty of warning for the push for the end gave us time to prepare for a sprint worthy of a 2KM race, rather than a head! I must confess I was hanging on by my fingernails at the end, and by the time the hooter went for crossing the line, it's doubtful whether anyone in the crew could have pulled another stoke.

We were happy to win R1, and although the opposition was limited, we felt we deserved the medal. Maureen summed up our performance halfway down the course when she realised how much we had pulled clear: 'wow, they are so far behind! You guys are really quick!'