Rowers head to Thames Valley for valuable half term training camp

Over the second week of half term the Senior and J16 Rowers travelled to the Thames Valley on Tuesday for a training camp.

The crews were hosted by the Oratory School and were training out of the Oxford Brookes University Boathouse on the Wallingford reach of the River Thames.

The weather gods threw a few challenges in the mix with the arrival of Storm Ciaran at the start of the camp. Fortunately, the stretch was fairly sheltered from the wind and allowed for some valuable water time. The rowers went out in larger crew boats to aid stability and steering, given the conditions.

By the third day of the camp the river had responded to the rainfall a few days prior and with red boards posted, boats were packed on the trailer to head to Dorney Lake for Friday’s training to get some time on the two-thousand-meter purpose-built rowing lake. The day was extremely useful and provided an opportunity for the squads to get more familiar with the venue that they will see plenty of for racing in the Summer.

Off the water the squads were put through their paces in the swimming pool, in the gym and on the ergos at the school. In the evenings the rowers went through video analysis, had a talk on nutrition and a yoga session to complement their training.

Athol Hundermark

Director of Rowing