Novice of the Year Awards

The Novice of the Year award recognises individuals from both the Men’s and Ladies’ Boat Club’s who has developed within their novice year to improve not only themselves as rowers, but also in making valuable contributions to the Boat Club.

Revealed at our annual dinner, the two winners of the Novice of the Year awards for 23/24 were Michaela Galvin and Sam Netherton – congratulations to you both! We asked them a few questions about their experience as novices…

What made you decide to start rowing at Queen’s?

Michaela:

“Before rowing at Queen’s, I had only recently given up athletics due to injury, I had joined the swimming club, which was great, but for me it was more of a fun and social thing, and I was still missing the hard training and high-stake competitions. I was actually telling my roommate this and she (being a student coach and helping to run the “learn to row” program for Queen’s) convinced me to get up with her the next morning at – 5:30am – and give rowing a try! It was something I didn’t know anything about, but I quickly fell in love with it, it was tough, technical, and exciting and it also had a big team emphasis which was amazing to be a part of as well.”

Sam:

“At school, I had been playing Rugby, when I joined Queen’s I wanted to challenge myself mentally and physically. Me and a few friends from school decided to try out rowing as we heard that it was very physically and mentally demanding.”

What are your proudest achievements so far in your rowing career at Queen’s?

Michaela:

“Finishing my novice year with five BUCS medals was amazing and the first time I raced a single on the lagan was definitely a highlight too, but getting the opportunity to move up into a senior boat and rowing at London Met and Henley Women’s Regatta in the summer was the highlight of my novice year. The girls in my boat were amazing and made the entire experience for me and my parents flew over to watch me race too. I have loads of great memories from that trip and I already can’t wait to hopefully be back there again next year.”

Sam:

“My proudest achievement at Queen’s rowing thus far, is winning the novice quad at BUCS Regatta. At BUCS Head the quad had came third, so we wanted to come back at BUCS Regatta and take home first place. After a tough few months of training in Banyoles and on the Lagan, the hard work had paid off as we won by 10 seconds.”

What are some of your most memorable experiences from your Novice year?

Michaela:

“A memory that sticks out to me the most is from the A final of the Novice doubles at BUCS Regatta in May. It was me and my teammate Izzy, we had just won a bronze medal in both of our events, and we were going for our third. I remember waiting on the start line and we were talking about how crazy it was to be there together and to get to represent Queen’s among all the other universities in that final. We ended up placing third and there’s actually a photograph of us hugging as we crossed the line and realised, we just went 3 for 3 in British Uni rowing medals. It was a brilliant experience that I’ll never forget. Another amazing experience was training camp in Spain just prior to that competition, there was definitely a lot of rowing on that trip! But also, a lot of fun and loads of post-training swims in the lake.”

Sam:

“My highlight from my novice year was training camp in Banyoles. Training camp consisted of 6 days of intense training in Spain, laying down the foundations for BUCS Regatta. Training camp provided myself with the opportunity to progress my technical skills on the water, with 40km of training a day. Furthermore, training camp was very beneficial in developing friendships within the novice squad.”

What keeps you going through the more difficult sessions?

Michaela:

“I can’t imagine my life now without rowing, to not have any of these experiences I loved in my novice year again! So I think that definitely motivates me in the harder sessions. I love to push through a tough session because when it’s time to compete you can go out there and know you have already put in the hard work so that you can be the best and fastest version of yourself for you and your teammates, and it’s just about going out there together, showing what you can do, and ultimately, hopefully reap the rewards of that.”

Sam:

“What keeps me going through the more difficult sessions is the constant aim of winning. The hard work and dedication throughout the hard sessions are what’s going to yield the greatest returns come regatta season.”

And finally, what advice would you give to prospective Novices?

Michaela:

“For anyone thinking of starting rowing or is only starting out, I would encourage you to give it your all and go all-in, you don’t need to have rowed before, just work hard, enjoy every moment, and know you will get so much back in return. The friendships and experiences you make in rowing are like no other and to have all this alongside your university degree is such a blessing. It’s crazy how much can happen in a year and it’s an amazing process to be apart of.”

Sam:

“To commit to the program and push yourself every session. The commitment to the program and ergs will be very beneficial at the big competitions in the summer and as you transition into senior rowing.”

We would like to again congratulate both Sam and Michaela on their achievements, and thank them for their continuous contributions to our Boat Clubs. We wish them continued success in their careers as rowers!

Written by Kailen Meade