The World Championships are being held in Japan this year, and the OUBC website hopes to carry news of the results of those events of interest to OUBC supporters. Internet access permitting, reporter Simon Flack will post updates from out in Gifu as the week's racing progresses, culminating in the Finals scheduled for 3rd & 4th Sept.

For those in the UK, the BBC is due to cover both days of Finals (13:05 onwards on Sat, 14:15 onwards on Sun) of Finals whilst Eurosport will be showing racing highlights from 9:30 to 10:30am CET every day from 1st to 3rd September and from 9:00 to 10:30am on 4th September.

Oxford oarsmen racing for their countries:

• Pete Reed & Andy Hodge (GBR 4-)
• Acer Nethercott (GBR 8+)
• Colin Smith (GBR 1x)
• Scott Frandsen & Barney Williams (CAN 8+)
• Mike Blomquist (USA 8+)

04/09/2005 ...ANOTHER Oxford oarsman crowned Champion of the World!

In today's racing, Mike Blomquist proved that whatever his Boat Race team-mates Hodgey and Pete Reed can do, he can do just as well... Leading from start to finish, his American 8+ romped home in a time of 5:22 to be crowned World Champions. Those who saw him on the bank afterwards can testify to the fact that the man who always has a smile on his face was beaming even more than usual today. It was the happiest, the most filled with child-like glee, that anyone had seen him since... well, since he won the Boat Race on 27th March!

Elsewhere in the race, Acer Nethercott's GBR 8+ got off to a slow start after their lane was most affected by the TV launch wash that radiated across the race in the first 500m. Recovering, they rowed down the Russians and then the Poles and began to close on the Germans in the Bronze-medal position. As the line neared, however, their mid-race burn was beginning to tell, and their charge began to fade. As the Poles came hammering back at them, the Germans pushed back out to half a length and the Brits did well to hold on to fourth spot... by a mere 0.04 seconds. For the fourth time time this season now - twice in Lucerne, twice out here in Japan - they have fought out an unbelievably close race to find themselves on the right side of a very tight verdict. Overall, this season has been a success for what is a new and relatively inexperienced crew, and what was the only non-top boat of any of the six nations in the 8+ Final (the Oxford-containing Hodgey & Pete Reed 4- being the top British boat!).

Earlier in the day, Scott Frandsen and Barney Williams atoned for their repechage disappointment to the best that their situation would allow, winning the B Final in dominant fashion, leading from the first stroke to the last.

...And thus concludes the World Championships of 2005 out here in Gifu, Japan. Despite the Typhoon scares, the worries about stream on the course and the regular weather warnings, these Championships have passed off relatively successfully. The Japanese did a solid job of organising things, and the locals have invariably been welcoming and hospitable to a person. Most unsurprisingly, those Oxford athletes representing their countries have done so with distinction, and are a clear and unequivocable testament to the Boat Race's ability to mould - alongside OUBC's ability to develop - international oarsmen of world-class stature.

03/09/2005 ...Oxford oarsmen crowned World Champions!

Andrew Hodge and Pete Reed - Boat Race oarsmen in '05 and '04 & '05 respectively - were this afternoon crowned Champions of the World here in Gifu, Japan. In a dominant display so typical of their GBR Four's international season this summer, the Hodgey-stroked boat led from start to finish and were first to every 500m marker. Clear-water up with five hundred metres to go, they crossed the line nearly two seconds ahead of the second-placed Dutch crew, with the Canadians a further second back in third. The much-talked-about challenge from the Americans - four gold medallists from the USA 8+ at the Athens Olympics last summer - never materialised, and that crew came home fifth.

Boat Race stroke Hodgey has had a busy week finishing the dissertation that completes his Oxford Masters degree - submitted via e'mail just a couple of nights ago - alongside racing the heats and semi-finals that took his crew through to today's Final. The consumate scholar-athlete can now, finally, take a well-earned and thoroughly deserved rest at the end of what is, by anybody's reckoning, a remarkable year. As well as leading to victory that which many declaimed the finest crew in Boat Race history - a victory, no less, over Cambridge's self-proclaimed best ever crew - this year has seen Hodgey win the British Pairs Trials for the second year running... and he has now struck Gold at the World Championships as well!

Hodgey's partner in that Pairs Trial victory - just a fortnight after the Boat Race, and against all British sweep-oar international triallists - was OUBC Vice-President Peter Reed. Pete only took up rowing two years prior to arriving at Oxford, but two years further on and he is riding high on top of the world - quite literally, after today's victory. Pete, a Commissioned Naval Officer having attended the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth prior to University, was the five-man of the 2004 Oxford Blue Boat and earned himself a second Blue in the 151st Boat Race. After his National Pairs Trial victory, he was selected in Britain's lead boat for the summer that went on to dominant the World Cup series - winning every race in every round of every regatta - and win Henley Royal Regatta. Next year Pete intends to move down to Henley and train full-time with the GB squad, his long-term sights set firmly on the Beijing Olympics of 2008.

All at OUBC are immensely proud of both Pete and Andy, and offer the two of them the heartiest of congratulations.

Earlier on in the morning Colin Smith raced in his 1x B Final. He was disappointed to finish sixth - giving him a World ranking of 12th - but has learnt much from competing at this, his first Senior World Championships. He will surely be back for more.

The remaining Oxford international oarsmen, all competing in the Eights, race tomorrow on the final day of the Championships.

01/09/2005 ...Semi-finals see Oxford oarsmen progress

Colin Smith today qualified for the 1x B Final, as per his plans. From the outset his stated aim for this, his first World Championships, was to finish inside the top 10, and yesterday's efforts had already ensured that come Saturday he will have the chance to make that happen. By finishing in the top two in the rep, he raced in the A/B - rather than the C/D - semi today. He finished 5th, and will now race in the B Final on the weekend for places seven to twelve.

Elsewhere the GBR 4- containing Pete Reed and Hodgey qualified for their Saturday Final without any undue stress. Clear-water over the field by the 500m marker meant that they were in control from early on, and although the Canadian Four did close on them in the final quarter of the race, with three through to the A Final the Brits were never under any real pressure. Their obvious main threats - the Netherlands and America - qualified from the other semi-final similarly untroubled, and all is now set for the Final's showdown.

31/08/2005 ...repechages bring mixed fortunes for OUBC athletes

Today's repechages - offering those who didn't qualify straight through from the heats of the previous two days a second chance to progress - saw contrasting fortunes for those Oxford men involved...

First up was Colin Smith in the single. In arguably the race of this regatta so far, Colin took the contest by the scruff of the neck and led the field to the first marker. With only two through to the A/B semi's tomorrow however, the chasing pack - including the Latvian who just edged Colin out for the U23 1x gold last year - were hot on his heels. In an enthralling encounter the lead changed hands numerous times as a multi-boat, neck-and-neck battle was fought out between the first three scullers, stroke by stroke, down the track. With 200m to go the Ukrainian sculler could take no more and folded. As the Latvian in fourth place begun to haul the Ukrainian in, all eyes turned to the duel still taking place between Colin and his Australian adversary. The Aussie was at this point enjoying the marginal lead the two of them had been trading incessantly for most of the second 1000m, but Colin rallied one last time and forced the Australian back behind him, just as he had off the start. It was an epic race, and one that left the spectators breathless. The verdict: a first place spot, by 0.61sec, to GBR. Colin is one hard bastard.

The final race of the day was the second repechage for the Mens' Eights, and the decisive margin in that contest was even smaller than had been in the epic 1x race of a couple of hours before. In an unfortunate draw for OUBC supporters, these reps saw Canada and Great Britain face each other for a place in Sunday's A Final. The faster starting Canadians jumped out to an early lead, but as the field approached the 500m marker the Brits had begun to stop the Canadians from moving any further away, pegging the deficit at a little over half a length. Through the second five hundred metres the GBR 8+ attempted to move back at the Canadians ahead of them, doing so in vain at first before slowly, and then surely, beginning to make some headway. The third five-hundred saw the British assault gain momentum, with the result that the official timing split at 1500m had the two boats passing through that marker dead level, inseparable to within a 1/100th of a second. Great Britain continued to charge, and with 250m to go they had hammered out a lead - for the first time in the race - of a seat or so. The Canadians were far from finished however, and 100m later they were back level and then, a few strokes later, back out in front. It was now back over to the Brits to try and claw themselves back level, and with less than ten strokes to go that is what they had done. From there on in it was just a mad-dash sprint for the line. When the dust had settled, the verdict proved to have been the narrowest of victories - 0.27secs - for the Great Britain crew. Acer Nethercott had his delight at reaching the A Final in only his first World Champs fettered only by the knowledge that it had come at the expense of Scott and Barney, his close friends and Boat Race team-mates from 2003 and 2005 respectively.

30/08/2005 ...the heats are over

The first phase of the 2005 World Champs has been concluded, with the first round of racing - the heats - completed over the past two days. Straight through to their semi-final were Pete Reed, Andy Hodge and the GBR 4-. They rowed a very comfortable and controlled race, and were not unduly challenged. The Dutch and the Americans - winners of the other two heats - look likely to provide sufficiently stiffer opposition as the later rounds of racing progress.

Elsewhere Colin Smith was third in his heat, as were Barney Williams and Scott Frandsen in the Canadian 8+. In the second Eights heat, Mike Blomquist's American crew was very fast starting and controlled the race from there. The Italians pushed back hard in the final 500m, but USA had done enough to hang on and gain passage direct to Sunday's final. Acer Nethercott and the GBR 8+ were 4th in the same race, and will have to find some more speed tomorrow if they are to progress from the repechage.

28/08/2005 ...heats draw published

This afternoon FISA made the draw for the first round of races tomorrow and the following day. First up for OUBC is Colin in the 1x at 10:48 tomorrow, followed by Pete Reed and Andy Hodge in the GBR 4- at 12:30. The heats for the 8+ will be held on Tuesday, with Barney and Scott racing in the first heat at 12:06 before Acer and Mike go head-to-head in the second six minutes later...

The full draw can be found on FISA's website: www.worldrowing.com.

27/08/2005 ...revised racing schedule announced

With the threat of Typhoon Mawar now past the course here in Gifu has been re-laid and water training has recommenced. The weather here is splendid - hot, sunny and 38C. And with a revised race schedule from FISA now published, things are set to really hot up... racing starts on Monday (for Pete Reed, Andy Hodge and Colin Smith) and Tuesday (for Mike Blomquist, Barney Williams, Scott Frandsen and Acer Nethercott).

The revised race schedule can be found on FISA's website: www.worldrowing.com.

26/08/2005 ...Typhoon threat over

After all the boats had been stowed, the course brought in and the various tents etc. taken down, Typhoon Mawar ended up hitting Tokyo but avoiding Gifu and the World Championship venue. As such, the river was re-opened by the Organising Committee ahead of schedule and rowing was able to recommence today. Much to the delight of the rowers; all nations agreed that erging in the heat and humidity of the Japanese summer was far from pleasant.

24/08/2005 ...Typhoon Mawar throws spanner in the works

The World Championships have today been postponed due to the forecasted imminent arrival of Typhoon Mawar. All boats have been stowed away and the course has been closed until Sunday (the day racing was originally was originally due to start). FISA still expect the Championships to conclude on 4th September, as planned, via a compressed race schedule once the weather clears and the course can be re-opened.