Kaitlyn Dennis

I am really thankful for the opportunity to race and for all the support given to our team by the coaches and support staff. We faced up to a difficult year and still managed to develop a brilliant Blue Boat that is ready to compete against Cambridge.

I took the role of President because I wanted to help everyone through this campaign, and I knew Covid was likely to make this year especially challenging. Not being with the team in person every day was tricky, but we stayed in constant communication and made sure no one fell through the cracks. Compared to a typical gym session in Iffley, training by yourself in the kitchen is a lot less fun. We maintained motivation by doing many of these sessions via Zoom and staying connected in this way really helped boost morale. We have a great group of women and everyone is really positive and level-headed. We work well as teammates and push each other but also recognise and understand the importance of supporting each other as well. Coming through this last lockdown we have emerged as a tight unit and firm friends. And as President that is great to see.

The progress we made through the year and the fitness we built on the erg has been very encouraging and now, with the race just days away, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a long winter of uncertainty, but we’ve stuck to our goal and now it is time to see what we can do.