Challenge week Recap

We’ve now come to the end of the week and we are amazed at the determination of our athletes to complete some rather gruelling challenges, and at the generosity of all those that have supported the fundraiser. 

We’ve managed to break two British records. Will and Chris have set a new 100km lightweight tandem erg record time of 6:25:02 for the 20-29 age category and Emma, Jemima and Frances have broken the Concept2 24hr relay record. They rowed in one hour shifts for a total of 8 hours each, however, were struck by disaster in the last few hours when the monitor malfunctioned leaving them unable to verify the record. They were still able to power through and complete the 24 hours knowing it would not be saved.

Six senior men (Daniels, James, Ben, Barney, Alexander and Ross) came to the end of a 60 hour erg relay at midday on Sunday. Over 2.5 days they covered 843 km and were still able to put in a sprint at the end.

Ella finished her last run at 5am on Saturday completing 5 miles every 4 hours for 24 hours and raising £500 in the process.

Other successful challenges included: 

• 21 Club members completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
• Max, Matt, George and Sam rowed a quad 54km, the full length of our stretch of the Ouse, in under 5 hours.
• Sofia, Will, Victoria, and Matt all completed a full erg marathon with Charlie making a valiant effort but falling slightly short due to injury.
• Guste and Naoise covered 60km each a day for 5 days on the erg and bike.
• Sarah climbed 1,963 floors on the stair climber in under 10 hours.
• Ryan rowed 30km in a single and 30km on the erg on Sunday.
• The coxes squad totalled 330km in distance on the erg and bike over 5 days.
• Jake and AJ completed an ‘Erg Crawl’ from Charles XII to the train station with 9 sub-7 2ks along the way.

Thank you to all that have donated to and shared the campaign so far. We’ve raised an incredible £6,135 to go towards a new Womens VIII+ and Men’s IV+. We have 11 days of fundraising left and we’d love to reach our target of £10,000 to make these important purchases possible.

British Rowing Awards

British Rowing announced the winners of their national awards ceremony yesterday evening, and we are thrilled to share that our 21-22 Senior Men's Coxed Four was named University Crew of the Year.

A big congratulations to Florence Chadwick, David Casson, Ben Newton, AJ Coates and Will Lock for this well-deserved recognition. 

Last year, this crew achieved remarkable success thanks to dedication, support, and a rental boat. However, looking to the future, renting boats is not a sustainable option for the club. This is why we are reaching out to ask for help in the purchase of a new Men's IV+.

The purchase of a Mens IV+ and Women's VIII+ is a vital step in our plan to continue building on past years success and push the boundaries of rowing performance at York.

Midweek Update

We've now reached the halfway point of the week and we would like to send a massive thank you to everyone who has donated so far for your generosity. To recap what our athletes have been up to already this week:

• Our Senior Women's captains, Guste and Naoise have completed day 4/5 of their 60km a day challenge.

• Our Coxes squad are closing in on completing their 330km York to Henley challenge.

• Chris and Will have recorded a new British Record for the 100km lightweight tandem erg (age 20-29) . Finishing at an average split of 1:55.5!

• Members of YURow have been undertaking erg marathons throughout the week with Sophia, Matt and Charlie attempting their marathons this evening.

• Helena, Katie and Ellie are have completed a 60km erg relay challenge.

STILL TO COME OVER THE NEXT 3 DAYS:

• Emma, Jemima and Frances will be attempting to beat the 24 hour erg British Record - rowing for 8 hours each!

• Six Senior Men will be completing a 60 hour erg relay.

• Ella Hoskings will be running 5 miles every 4 hours for 24 hours, with other club members joining throughout.

• Jack and Andrea will be completing a 120km cycle to Urra Moor, carrying an erg on their backs, with a marathon row then performed at the summit.

• Several club members will be taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

• Sarah Stevens will be climbing 1,963 floors on the stair climber machine.

• Four Senior Men will be rowing a quad along the full length of the Ouse.

• Two Senior Men will be completing a York 'erg crawl', travelling to as many notable locations around the city as possible and performing sub 7 2ks at each.

Once again thank you for all the pledges and support, we will continue to give updates on the athlete's challenges over on the club instagram @uybclub