Trinity Hall Boat Club’s crews performed ‘superbly’ in this year’s Fairbairn Cup, the first time many have rowed in the race due to pandemic restrictions over the last two years.
The race is divided into two days with novices racing a shorter course on day one and senior crews racing a full 4.3km course the following day.
It’s a head race so the crews go off one after another and are timed over the length of the course.
The two days of racing included some dramas for the Trinity Hall crews including a first day battle for the novice men’s first boat who were unlucky with traffic during their race and clashed with a boat on the course, slowing them considerably. The second day saw the senior men’s second boat suffering a broken rudder cable just before the start of the race (which didn’t impede them too much, as they came in second).
Paul Townshend, Head Coach and Boathouse manager said: “To have 10 eights race the 2021 Fairbairn Cup was an amazing achievement for our club.
“Then for results to be superb across the board is the direct result of the hard work our students and coaches have put in this term. Factor in that this was the first ever Fairbairns for all but a small handful of the students then the results shine even more.
“Well done all on a wonderful end to a great term! See you all in 2022 and Row Hall!”
Bex Gaskarth, who coached some of the crews in the lead-up to the race, said: “I really like building a team and watching them grow the skill of working together towards a common goal. It’s also always fun to see them go and enjoy the sport, but of course it’s more fun to watch them do well!”
Trinity Hall rowing crew preparing to race in the Fairbairn Cup 2021
An alumni crew also raced on the final day. They were (from stroke) Tom James, Charlie Parker, Catarina Rua, Stephan Diestelhorst, Alexis Sperling, Angus Fotherby, Eloise James and Martha Savage.
Speaking before the race alumnus Stephan Diestelhorst said: “It’s wonderful to be at the boat house. I learned to row here and I loved being part of it all. The social side was amazing and you all shared the misery of coming here very early on cold mornings.”
The results for Trinity Hall were:
Day One (novices)
NW1 3rd
NW2 3rd
NM1 20th (extenuating circumstances!)
NM2 4th
Day Two (seniors)
W1 8th
M1 10th
W2 5th
M2 2nd (despite the rudder!)
M3 2nd
