News & Events
Captain's update, 27th February
27th February 2025
Morning all,
A few key notices now that our racing season for 2025 has begun!Hammersmith Head
Well done to all those in our VIII on Sunday. The conditions were challenging but we put in a really strong performance - and given it was the first race for half the crew, it gives us a really strong base to build upon. I hope those of you new to racing enjoyed it - if not the 2 hour wait beforehand!!HORR
Which leads us now on to the big one next month (22 March) with the Head of the River Race. This is a chance to race against c 400 of the best eights in the country and we have the potential to get the best Cygnet performance for many years. Most importantly it also symbolises the end of the winter season - so can I ask all who are available for the race to sign up today on Fitclub, as well as to commit (as much as possible) to the remaining 3 weeks of training - both on the water and in the gym. We have worked too hard this winter to fall at this stage!Training times
As part of our drive to make sure we maintain strong numbers, we are making a few changes to training times:- We will do 2 water session on Saturday. The first - at 8am is going to be a long paddle (c.12–14K, eg to Pink Lodge and back); the second at 10am will see us do some racing pieces.
- We are going to do just one session on Sunday 9–11. This follows feedback and relative success of trialling this over the past few weeks.
- Shed times will remain weights on Monday, and ergs on Wednesday. Numbers have dropped considerably for these session – I cannot stress enough how important they are!
- We are looking at putting in possible sessions before work on at least one day per week. Simon will provide comms on this. But certainly after HORR, and with the slightly longer days, we will also look to do evening water sessions.
Finally, we are keen to up the social aspects of the club, so please do sign up on the form Charles sent around the Whatsapp group re dinners!
Any questions on any of the above, do just let me know!
DomCaptain's Update, 19th January
1st February 2025
Dear Cygnets,
It’s been a strong start to the year with full sheds, lots of hard work on the water, and no one getting hypothermia! Bit of an all-sorts email so do please read.
First, next Saturday is Quintin head. We are not racing as we wanted to stay in small boats in January, but we do still need club volunteers to help- as previously said, this helps bring in important funds for the club. Plus, there will be bacon sarnies on sale so it’s generally a good thing to do! Please sign up on the link in the WhatsApp group. We will train on the water first so not a big time commitment to stay for an extra hour or two- plus you’ll get to see more on how head races work.
Second, just a reminder to double check the club when leaving. If you are the last one out, check the lights and make sure all doors are locked. There’s been a couple of instances recently!
Third, this year is a special anniversary for the club. It’s the 60th year of our relationship with German club Benrath. There is more detail here. We want to celebrate this at henley this year as well as to send more crews to the annual Rhein marathon in the autumn. Thanks to Neil and co for doing some great organising so far!
Any questions - let me know. I’m away for the next week or so but still contactable on email or WhatsApp.
CheersDomCaptain's update, 5th January 2025
5th January 2025
Dear Cygnets
Happy new year! I hope you all had a good break wherever you spent it and have set the resolution to drop 20 secs off your 2K...
It's back to all systems go with Cygnet. I have already been impressed with our first weekend's training - in pretty cold conditions on Saturday, and then heavy rain on Sunday - not many other clubs were out! This update covers upcoming races, the plan for training in the next couple of months, and a special plea from me.Upcoming races
Our attention now turns to the big end-of-winter race: the Head of the River (HORR). This takes place on 22nd March. For those who are new to the sport, it is fantastic spectacle of 400 eights belting down the Thames from Chiswick bridge to Putney (c. 7km) in a time-trial. It is a chance for us to see how our winter training has gone and ranks us against clubs from across the country, and indeed some international crews.
Whilst that is the focus, we will also be entering an 8+ for Hammersmith Head on the 23rd February. This is a slightly shorter race but will allow us to get invaluable race experience.Please can you sign-up with your availability for these races as soon as possible, as well as your availability (as far as you know at the moment) for the water sessions over the next couple of months (just as an indication). Key selection criteria will be outlined below. To enter we also require people to have their British Rowing membership up to date - with the 'Race' membership. Details can be found here.
Training
We will continue with our training days being:
Monday 7pm - Weights
Wednesday 7pm - Ergs
Saturday 8am - Water session; 10am - Erg
Sunday 8am and 10am - both on the waterOn the water, we want to continue focussing in January on getting people out in small boats. This allows us to improve our technical ability, and we will then use the small boats to test people's boat speed - potentially with a few races in the coming weeks - which will help us select the crew for HORR.
As part of this, I'm really happy to see how well people are doing with our new 'floats' for singles with Simon. There has been fantastic progress and we will continue doing this throughout January.On the land, the main thing is building up our endurance base for a 20+ minute race in March. I will shortly let you know when the next 5K test will be (likely late Jan/early Feb), but we will look to do at least two before HORR.
Coaching
A key part of this is our coaching. Simon has been great in getting so many people into singles in recent weeks and that will continue. Wes is due to return in early February - and will then reume retaking the weights and Sunday sessions.Special plea
We are short of a couple of voluntary postions at the moment. One is someone to run our '300 Club' - details can be found here. Another really key one is for a organising in advance the boating for races where Cygnet hosts multiple clubs (and this brings in money which allows us to buy new equipment).
If you are interesting in volunteering for any roles in the club - please do just drop me a line!Cheers,
Dom
