Novices visit OUBC tank

Author: Will Dewing

On the 29th of January at approximately 0446 the Novice Men's Squad awoke, eager to meet the challenge of getting ten 6 foot plus athletes into a Ford Ka and Skoda Fabia. This achieved we headed off in search of the infamous Iffley Road OUBC tank. The location is deeply rooted in history, being the site of the first four-minute mile, and also the training ground of one of the best rowing universities in the world- both facts lost on the occupants of Adam's car as he drove straight past it and carried on towards Didcot. A few U turns later and we were there.

It was the first visit to a rowing tank for a lot of the guys and proved to be a very productive visit for all. The main aim was to correct body positions and basic technical errors. Correcting technical issues was made easier with the mirrors covering the walls of the room. Novice Man Bartek was particularly impressed, remarking "In my country there is problem, and that problem is lack of mirrors."

The trip was a great success and helped to boost squad moral as well as technique. We look forward to returning soon.


Special thanks to Adam Lilley and Jamie Palmer for help organising.