Having returned from an excellent training camp in France over the Easter period the first and second VIII's were looking forward to monitoring their speeds against stern opposition. The chance came at the first regatta in Birmingham.

The second VIII raced first over the 800 meter course in a straight final against Kings School Worcester. The second VIII were determined to show that they were not much slower than the first VIII and blasted off the start. They secured a good lead over the first 200 meters and stretched away. Looking very composed going past the half way point the crew never looked in trouble. They finished in a time of 2.28 and a verdict of easily. (2nd VIII - Alex Gardner, Matthew Flew, Sam Wall, Toby Page, Alex Saunders, Johnathan Quayle, Alan Huckin, Will Sibley, Jamie Humphries)

The first VIII were drawn in a straight final with Bedford Modern and were equally determined to stamp their authority as the fastest crew in the club. The start was very quick (42 strokes per minute) and within a few strokes the first VIII established a small lead. Coming to half way the crew had stretched that lead to over a length. With a big wind up from stroke David Meryon, the crew edged even further ahead to win by over three lengths in a time of 2.24, the fastest of the day. (1st VIII - Luke Squire, Steff Horner, Ben Stockley, Tom Quayle, Toby Johnson, Christian O' Brien, Barney Page, David Meryon, Jessica Dewes)

The J15 Quads came up against tough opposition against Kings School Worcester. In a round robin event the two Monkton quads found themselves piped against each other in round one. The 'A' quad of Tom Cheater, Rupert Johnstone-Burt, Alistar Moss, James McCall and James Sargison beat the 'B' quad of Josh Rogers, Peter Leach, Matthew Powney, Patrick Scott and Matthew Fox by 3 lenghts. In round two the 'A' quad raced Kings Worcester 10 minutes after round one and struggled to keep up with the strength and freshness of their opposition. The 'A' quad lost by 2 lengths. In round three the 'B' quad could inflict revenge on the Kings Worcester crew but again were left lagging behind at half way even though the crew pushed very hard. The 'B' quad lost by the same margin, 2 lengths.

With two wins and the two fastest times of the day it is a good start to the racing season. The crews are looking forward to racing again in two weeks time at Coate Water Park Regatta.