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Tragic News - Carl Smith
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our former coach and four time GB world champion Carl Smith, who died on New Years Day when his car skidded off the road near his home in Nottingham and hit a tree.
The 48-year-old father-of-two was a long-time member of the GB rowing team through the 1980s and 90s, winning lightweight doubles world gold with fellow Notts County rower, Alan Whitwell, in 1986 on their home Holme Pierrepont course.
Carl went on to win gold in 1991 (LM4-), 1992 (LM4-) and 1994 (LM8+), as well as winning one silver and three bronze medals, and two bronzes at the 1986 Commonwealth Games (L1x/2x) in Edinburgh. Carl was named international rower of the year in 1994 after his fourth world title success. He retired from rowing in 1996, having also won five Henley Royal Regattas.
Carl was part of the lengendary Notts County eight that won the Ladies Plate at Henley Royal Regatta in dramatic style in 1988, breaking the record not once, but twice in one day, after a re-row was awarded against final opponents Harvard, who complained of a piece of wood trapped under their fin, following the British crew's five length victory.
Having already changed and started to celebrate, Notts County got back into their kit and went out and beat the three-stone-a-man heavier Americans again, lowering the record for a second time, by another two seconds, to six minutes 11 seconds. The prize giving had already been held by the time of the re-race, but no-one returned home, with the Stewards Enclosure opened to the public and rammed to the rafters.
Amid memorable scenes, thousands roared them home and Sports Minister Colin Moynihan welcomed them back to the landing stage. The crew reconvened at Henley this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their famous victory.
Our thoughts are with his wife, son and daughter.
1/12/07 - BUSA Small Boats Head of the River
Racing on home waters NUBC had a very successful day at the first of several BUSA head races this academic year. NUBC collected medals in 7 boat classes, and won BUSA points with all 14 of the crews racing on the day. NUBC won 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals, our most successful year yet since the small boats head was added to the BUSA Rowing Calendar. Conditions were fast and the times across the 3600m race course from Clifton Bridge to Trent Bridge reflected this. Results below...
GOLD - Mens Champ 2- (C Thomas/O Grauwin)
SILVER - Mens Lwt 1x (C Delaney)
Womens Champ 2x (M Larsen/C Linekar)
BRONZE - Mens Lwt 4- (C Delaney/ A Sims/A Walker/Z Verdi)
Mens Champ 2x (S Cottrell/O Grauwin)
Womens Lwt 2- (A Vickery/P Armstrong)
Womens Lwt 1x (F Hill)
4th - Mens Champ 4-, Womens Lwt 4-, Womens Lwt 2x
6th - Womens Champ 4-, Mens Lwt 2-, Mens Lwt 2x
7th - Mens Champ 1x
18/11/07 - British Indoor Rowing Championships
Nottingham University sent a strong contingent of athletes to BIRC this year with around 85 athletes competing over 1k team and 2k individual distances. NUBC had its most successful year for some time at the event collecting a total of 4 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze) and making a stong start in the Fresher Competition and good progress in the Super 8s competition. Results below...
Womens Fresher 1k team event - Gold Medal
Mens Super 8s 1k team event - Silver Medal
Mens Fresher 8s 1k team event - Bronze Medal
Womens BUSA Open 2k individuals - Bronze medal (Tina Stiller)
Strong finishes from the Womens 1st team, and the Mens 2nd team will ensure NUBC stays in the race to be Super8s champions. The gold and bronze medals in the 'Race for the 8' in the Fresher Challenge leave Nottingham sat in joint first place with Newcastle University after the first stage of the 6 event competition.
3/11/07 - Top 20 for NUBCs top quad
NU Boat Club has continued its strong start to the year by placing its top boat (Mens Elite 4x) 16th overall in the Fours Head of the River. The crew of Olivier Grauwin, Sam Cottrell, Chris Thomas and Carl Delaney felt confident they had had a strong race and were pleased with the finish. Due to the recent rule change NUBC only had one other crew entered. The Senior 2 4- of Nick Norgate, Andrew Sims, Alex Walker and Zein Verdi (all lightweights) had an aggressive row which saw them move 50 places up the start order, finishing 16 out of 43 in their event, only the 3rd university crew behind Oxford Brookes and Reading University BC. Training continues for remaining events of the first term, with BUSA small boats head and Newark Head of the River the next places to see NUBC crews.
NUBC dominates home stretch
NU Boat Club has made an excellent start to the season, finishing 1st overall in the Nottingham Autumn Head. Finishing 8 seconds clear of the nearest competitor, and nearly 30 seconds clear of the nearest Nottingham based rival, the Men’s S2 4x scull of Olivier Grauwin, Sam Cottrell, Ant Browne and Carl Delaney have made a solid start to the season. This was supported by a win in Men’s S4 4+ and a 2nd place finish in Women’s S4 8+.
New Coaching Staff Appointed, September ‘07
Following a year of mixed successes NUBC and Martin Kay parted ways, in search of different goals. A new coaching staff, lead by former Lwt World Champion Carl Smith, was appointed. Carl Smith is employed as the Chief Coach of NUBC. He is supported by Anthony Scoon (of R Sims Ltd) and a host of other former international and volunteer coaches. NUBC looks forward to a successful finish to the decade, still seeking its first HRR medal.
EUSA Rowing Championships. September ‘07
Returning students Chris Thomas and Iain McKenzie finished 4th in a competitive final at the European University Rowing Championships. They were selected to represent the British University Rowing Team in Banyoles, Spain, after winning the silver medal in the Championship 2- event at BUSA Regatta 2007.
Students and Alumni Success at U23 and Senior World Championships. August ‘07
Two current students and three alumni won medals at FISA world championships this summer. Current students Tina Stiller (W4x) and Peter Marsland (M4+) both won bronze medals at the U23 World Championships. Alumni athletes Olivia Whitlam (W2-, U23 Gold), Chris Bartley (ML4x, SNR Bronze) and Georgina Menheneott (W4-, SNR 4th) also performed excellently at the senior and U23 Worlds.
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