Competition is always light over the winter months, but no one could have predicted the events of this winter!
With January exams and assignments to manage, the period following the Christmas break can prove difficult for UBBC athletes- trying to squeeze in as much training as possible for the season ahead. Quintin Head provided some much-needed competition after the assessment period, and the club came through this tricky period relatively unscathed: no injuries, minimal sickness and some satisfactory work being done.
Unfortunately, Quintin Head proved to be our final race of the season. Stormy weather and flooding saw that Henley 4’s and 8’s Head, Reading University Head and Fixtures with OULRC and OULWRC were all cancelled.
Frustrated but optimistic for what was to come, the athletes quickly moved focus to the Women’s and Men’s Eights Head of the River. High rainfall soon put paid to the women’s event, and the organisers of the Men’s made the difficult decision to delay due to Covid-19.
The rest is history- the 2020 season was over before it really began.
With UBBC athletes now safely back home, it felt important to take some well-earned time off to reflect on the events of our (admittedly short) season, and assimilate the changes. Gladly, our athletes are now back training once again and getting ready for the next season. Training at home has its challenges but we’re certainly up to it- check out our social media to see what our squads are getting up to!
Looking Forward, My Vision for UBBC
UBBC Head Race is always one of the highlights of the season, particularly the opportunity to showcase all the work done in the winter months in front of Alumni. As a coach, it’s always great to catch up with past athletes to hear how they are getting on, and to discuss how the club is changing and the direction of its growth.
Thanks to the generous support of the UBBC Alumni, UBBC is a very different club to the one I joined back in October 2015. At Coombe Dingle, the addition of the ergo room has transformed the way we train, complete with 32 Concept2 rowing machines, 4 RP3s and 5 Watt Bikes. Obviously, we are lucky to have such a fantastic facility at the Saltford Rowing Centre, but when I arrived the fleet inside was starting to show its age. Now, we have a top racing boat in each class for both squads, a change which has boosted our performance and potential enormously.
Last season, we were able to make the Part-Time Assistant Coach role into a full-time position- which has dramatically improved the level of support we can offer our student athletes on a day-to-day basis. With a culture that trains hard together, pushes together, celebrates together and bounces back together, UBBC has achieved results greater than the sum of its parts in recent years.
I am very confident in our training programme to achieve great results at UBBC, and am excited to work even closer with UBBC Alumni to refine our plans to continue club development.
UBBC Vision and Goals
In terms of strategic development, the priorities are as follows:
To invest in the UBBC Novice Programme: developing beginners to succeed in our high-performance programme, creating athletes capable of national and international representation.
Open Club: welcoming non-students into UBBC for increased community engagement, benefiting all athletes by fostering a strong performance environment on and off the water.
The Nonesuch Rowing Foundation: a registered charity to support and widen access to rowing in the South West. More information to follow from your UBBC Alumni Committee.
I have been a part of the UBBC Alumni community for some years now, and I am looking forward to continuing this work in the coming years. Collaborating with such hard working, knowledgeable and enthusiastic individuals on the alumni committee gives me the confidence that we will achieve our goals... it is simply a matter of time.
There is no doubt that club’s recent improvements on the water are the product of the generosity of UBBC Alumni and friends. Your monthly contributions continue to transform our training facilities, coaching resources and equipment, and your time, energy and support makes an enormous impact on the life of every athlete rowing at the club.
I’d like to extend a thank you from the whole of UBBC for everything that you do for us.
If you have any questions, wish to chat further about UBBC plans for the future, or would like to arrange a visit to the club (once lockdown is over), please drop me a line at edward.bloomfield@bristol.ac.uk. I’d love to hear from you!
Ed Bloomfield
UBBC Head Coach
