The FIRST EIGHT was formed after the customary trials. These took place in the coldest conditions seen here for many years. Ice formed on looms, on hulls, arid on clothing; crews went out in dreadful conditions, and two visits to Bristol Docks took place despite treacherous roads. Rhythm and blade-work were both poor at this early stage of the season, and it was to be some weeks before the former was to be improved, and even then it was somewhat unreliable. Despite good efforts and willingness to learn, the blade-work, timing and watermanship remained weak right through to July. Our Head Race season started with a new event at Henley. This was well-supported, but our performance showed up all too clearly that not enough fitness training had been done. (The facilities in the gym were only partly useable throughout the winter.) The crew gained confidence while racing in the local heads, but they did not gain much speed. Monkton 1st VIlls usually find themselves the fastest in the area, but this year Bristol University produced a useful Senior A crew who beat us at both Bristol Docks (a new, informal local event) and Bristol Ariel. Our Schools Head outing was a washout as two of the crew went ill an hour or two before the race. As we were already in London, we rowed with two spare men to hold our place on the river. The crew was hardly fit again for The Head of the River Race, and our position was the lowest for many years. It was while paddling up river after this race that we holed our shell on a submerged discarded refrigerator. A sad end to what had been an enjoyable but not altogether successful term.

The summer term saw the arrival of a fine new Empacher eight (The 'Philip Denny'), and the crew settled into sprint racing far more naturally than the distances they had raced in previous term. The course of the Avon County Regatta (held over an 800m course at Swindon) suited the crew well, and they rowed with a will. St. Edward's 1st VIII was in the same event, and although they were faster than us, the Monkton crew looked forward to racing them. (Many a Monkton crew would have winced at the thought of racing a famous name, but this year's crew developed a healthy desire for difficult competition.) At Worcester, where the course is even shorter, we won Senior B Villa by winning three rounds, the final being against Abingdon, who have a good reputation this year. Monmouth and Hereford were not as successful, but there was increasing promise for the rest of the season. We prepared well for the National Schools course, training several times over our mile course consistently fast, and getting within half a second of the record on one occasion. The quarter mile record was also missed by a whisker during training. Mr. P. J. LeRoy coached the crew for a a few vital days at this stage, and gave them confidence in themselves when they most needed it. The race at Nottingham went the way of several others during the season; we were as fast as any other crew over thefirst 500 to 600 metres, then fade, caused by lack of fitness as well as poor oarsmanship, took its toll. We did not get through to the final. A very short sprint course at Stratford gave us an opportunity to race over our best distance; we dead-heated with Mortlake and then lost by just three feet, having started at 46 and maintaining a rate of well over 40 for the course. The draw at Henley was unkind, as it has been on so many occasions before. Although we lost in the first round to a finalist, it was pleasing to see from the records that our time to Fawley (where we were leading) was as fast as any other crew in the event. Our overall time placed us at roughly 8th out of the 18 crews competing, and this is a result of which the crew can be proud.

What had turned out to be a happy summer season ended with two exciting races at Kingston, where we lost narrowly after hitting some wash, and two races at Burton in ordinary conditions where we won Senior B eights in fine style, beating not only the event 'record but the course record as well. Throughout the year the crew and coaches had been much encouraged by the help and support they received from parents and others who followed us in fair weather and foul.