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Pippa Hammond (Modern Languages, fourth year) on the University Trial Eights
5.55AM. An hour of the morning I have rarely encountered during my first 3 years at Cambridge. Nevertheless, over the next six months this marks the point I shall be drawing away from Cambridge train station, banana-laden and bleary-eyed, towards Ely, the Fens and the Great Ouse river.
Trialling for the Women’s University Rowing squad is a process I began in September, when mornings were light and crisp. These days however, as nights draw in and temperatures descend, the obvious question you may ask is why?!
This is certainly an issue I have considered long and hard. I returned to University sport after a year abroad as part of my Modern and Mediaeval Languages Tripos and duly noted the significant increase in commitment over sport at college level. With the pressure of Fourth Year final studies, the balance struck between extra-curricular pursuits and academics has to be carefully managed. Trialling consists of three water outings during the week, double outings Saturday and Sunday, as well as four land training sessions. On first glance this may seem a busy schedule, and it is.
Nonetheless, a good amount of the training is complete by 9AM and I often return to College, ready to start my day, to find my neighbours only semi-conscious and stumbling towards the shower! Thus far, I seem to have managed my workload successfully. It requires discipline and self-motivation, but the further development of these skills will help me invaluably in preparation for life post-Cambridge. My social life is still good and I am able to balance work, friends and the inevitable earlier nights. (Sunday and Thursdays are particularly good however, as I know a well-earned lie-in is coming up!)
This routine of trialling brings a welcome structure and the cold certainly wakes up even the sleepiest crew members ready for the day. Moreover, the huge gains in terms of physical fitness, new friends and a sense of accomplishment in developing a skill at a high level are all extremely rewarding. Over the next few months I hope this continues and that all the early mornings will be worth it when we crush Oxford on 28th March, 2010!
[Here are two more images, simply because the photographic quality is so high. Photographs by courtesy of James Appleton.]
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