Tuks women race to 8th consecutive victory at the USSA Boat Race Regatta.

A new year with new challenges, but the one thing that didn't change this past weekend during the USSA Boat Rowing Regatta on the Kowie River at Port Alfred was the result of the women's A race.

Tuks' women's rowing team are the champion for the eighth consecutive year. Chloe Cresswell, who earlier this year at the World Under-23 Championships won a silver medal in lightweight women's single sculls, has played a part in four of these victories.

Considering Sir Isaac Newton's statement that what goes up must go down, one cannot help but wonder how the Tuks women's team keeps on winning. Eight consecutive victories are a long stretch in any sport. So, what does the Tuks women's success boil down to?

Cresswell's answer is simple. "Trust, absolute trust"

"There has to be trust for all things to go right. Trust that the other seven girls will pull just as hard to get the boat down the course. The Boat Race is long, so you can't have any doubt that anyone in your crew is going to let you down. We must also have complete trust that the coxswain will make the right decisions at the right time. If the coxswain is on his game, finding the right 'lines', the race can be shortened by 200 metres or more."

As to what makes the USSA Boat Race unique, Cresswell said it is the fact that it breaks from traditional rowing.

"Normally, we compete over 2000 metres. The Boat Race take place on the Kowie River and is over 5.5 kilometres. The fact that we race on a river makes it unpredictable. Every race is therefore unique."

According to Cresswell, the women’s crew gained in confidence after the Thursday elimination races.

"We proved to ourselves that we have enough power in the boat, but you can't get too cocky or arrogant because in the final, the slate is wiped clean. Anything can happen.

"In the final, we made sure to go hard to get away from the other crew. It is essential to do so because early on, there is a real chance of the two boats clashing. Towards the latter stages, it was all about putting enough distance between our boat and the other crew. We never went 'soft' out of respect for opponents."

As to her role in the boat, Creswell said, "I sit in the stroke seat, which means I look directly at the coxswain who is steering the boat. My job is to set the rhythm. All the other girls must follow me. In a race over 5.5 kilometres, rhythm is important. It must be consistent and sustainable. I am also the one to decide when it is time to go for the final sprint."

The Tuks men's crew was second in the A-race. Both Tuks men's and women's crews were victorious in their respective B-races.