On the final weekend of the Autumn Term our J13 and J14 LEHBC squads travelled to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham to compete at the British Rowing Indoor Championships (BRIC). It was an exciting day of racing with two top ten results and many athletes achieving top 20 results. The girls also had an inspiring opportunity to meet LEHBC alumnae Lizzie Witt, who was racing as part of Team GB. Some of our rowers share their experiences below:
“Going to BRIC in Birmingham was a really good first competition experience for us. At the start we were a bit nervous because we didn’t really know what it would be like, but it ended up being fun and not as scary as we thought. We got to try different activities, see what other teams were doing, and learn how these competitions actually work. By the end we felt more confident, and it’s made us look forward to doing more competitions in the future.”
Annie, Year 8
“Though we did not know it at the start, the competition was filled with support and laughter with one another and even though many of us were nervous, we completed the race and beat our best personal scores which surely showed the hard work everyone put in. Luckily, after our race, everyone realised that the BRIC was not as scary and was just simply a friendly competition against other schools to see how well you were doing, so it is definitely an experience that I would love to do again!”
Aadya, Year 8
“On the 6th of December my squad and I left for Birmingham where BRIC (British Indoor Rowing Championships) was being held. As soon as we entered, you could feel the buzz and excitement. Before our rowing races began my friends and I explored the area laughing over chunky kinder cookies and watching weightlifting; we started to feel the anticipation rising as time passed. Once we had sat onto the rowing machines everyone knew that today was the day to try as hard as possible and to beat our personal bests. Then the moment came: sit ready, attention, go and we set off pushing and pacing as hard and well as possible. Before we knew it the four minutes was over and we were walking away from the machines. There was a mix of scores across the squad but we all did great and had a blast. Overall I am so glad I was able to go for the second time and experience BRIC again.”
Iyla, Year 9
“On Saturday, some J13s and J14s competed in the British Rowing Indoor Championships in Birmingham. It was a great opportunity and there were excellent results throughout the year groups. Before the races we were able to watch different events such as weightlifting and 2k rowing races and we got to explore the venue. For the J13s it was a three minute race to see how far they could row and for the J14s it was a four minute race. It was the J13s first time competing in rowing and both year groups had an incredible time.”
Isla, Year 9
