The Bluefriars Trust supported two members of Avon County Rowing Club who represented Great Britain this year.
We are grateful to Vicky and Charlotte Land for this article. Vicky and Charlotte's International Rowing Season. 2002.
The season's International Events started with the Great Britain v France match, held in Nantes, France. Vicky Land, competing for the first time in an International Regatta, had two fabulous races in her single scull to win two gold medals over the 1500m and 500m course.
After returning home for only a few days she then joined the rest of the Great Britain Junior Squad to fly to Portugal where the Coupe de la Jeunesse was to be held. The event took place over two days; a separate regatta was run on each day.
The event started with a parade round the town, which finished in the town square. It was obviously quite a spectacle as half of the town's population turned up to line the streets and film each squad walking behind banners and flags of their country. During the short breaks where the band in front halted, our competitiveness already began to shine through, as each squad began singing patriotic tunes as loudly as they could.
The 2000m course saw many good results for the Great Britain squad. Charlotte Land had been selected to race in the prestigious quadruple sculls. On both days her crew qualified comfortably for the final where they gained two bronze medals, behind Italy and Spain on each occasion. The hot and sunny conditions were somewhat different to British weather but a welcome change, which made the days spent in Portugal even more enjoyable. Vicky, the spare sculler, also raced in her single both days. Against her French and Portuguese opposition, Vicky took an early lead in both races and came home victorious, collecting a medal and a souvenir polo shirt.
However, the food was not at such a high standard as the racing! Being fed and watered in the local school was not to everyone's delight, especially when we were given some form of fish for each meal over two consecutive days - not enough to feed a rower's appetite! Subsequently, to nobody's surprise, the local supermarket was bought out of their entire cookie and crisp supply by the competing athletes, and McDonalds also had a boom in trade over the same week!
We would both like to thank you for all the support that you have given us this year. It has been greatly appreciated by us and our family and has allowed us to fully enjoy our first season of international rowing. We hope that it will be the first of many as it was such a wonderful and unforgettable experience!