The saga of this crew is a long one! Isolated results at head races regattas may be the things that reach the headlines, but it is the day by day training and progress or otherwise of the crew that forms the background without which the results have little meaning or value.
I suppose we must start right back before Christmas. For the first time for some years, we had no experienced oarsmen rowing. (The average over some years has been about three of the potential 1st VIII.) This time, we had one raw novice, not very well built, but with a sparkle in his eye which indicated that he might have the right mental attitude. Without the presence of more experienced folk, and with the loneliness of a river almost deserted because of the new time-table as well as the lack of personnel, he made slow progress, and one could almost see the enthusiasm ebbing. However, he and nine others undertook regular weight training sessions. These were more difficult to fit in than usual, and the attitude of aiming for the best took longer than usual to materialise.
About half way through the term, the Secretary of Boats let it be known that he did not wish to row for the season, because of pressure of work. At this stage of a school career, there is (one hopes) a genuine element of choice given to sportsmen, so he left us on good terms, without pressure being applied for him to stay. It is interesting that at the end of the Lent Term, he decided that he would like to return to the river, and he wanted to join the crew in France. The answer had to be 'no', because it would not have been right to eject someone who had trained throughout the winter to satisfy someone who had decided to leave the crew earlier. It was agreed that if anyone went off sick, then the lost sheep would be invited to return to the fold. A new Secretary, from last year's 2nd VIII, was appointed, and one hoped that the rivalries of 1992 between two good crews could finally be laid to rest!
For the first time ever, ten oarsmen returned early to school in January for a couple of days training. They were keen, but there was clearly a huge amount of work to be done, and as usual we had to catch up on our rivals who had been on the river since September. Not an easy prospect at the best of times - and we have in the past caught up only at the end of the Summer Term. Too late, and always depressing for those involved. Early in the Lent Term, the new time-table was a real handicap. All sorts of disruptions interfere with training at that stage at the best of times, and this extra hurdle caused yet more problems. We have in the past caught up with at least some lost days by rowing at odd times, but this year we lost one day a week on a permanent basis, so the number of outings was inevitably reduced. The coach seemed to spend most of the first ten days of term hunting for coxes without whom boats could not get afloat. We found two girls, one of whom gave up within days when she realised that we actually went rowing quite often! The oarsmen got virtually no coaching during this time, because the coach had to help raw novice coxes throughout every outing.
The 1992 cox helped us out by coxing throughout the Lent Term. Plans were made fairly early to employ the 1992 2nd VIII cox as soon as the light would allow. In the meantime, he could not get on the river in the Lent Term, because there was no crew for him to cox in his age group.
We had just about organised a crew after several weeks of term, and announced for the first time a squad of ten oarsmen, rather than a 1st VIII. No sooner had we done this than two of the group went down with glandular fever, and were out for the rest of term. These long-term illnesses were only a start to our problems. Several other shorter illnesses followed, and the result was that for the first time ever, there was not even one outing for the 1st VIIII during the whole of the Lent Term. Head Races were attended by whoever was well enough and some very unlikely names appeared on crew lists in March! Before the end of term, we had lost another crew man because of pressures of work, and one of the squad was dropped because he was not good enough technically. Add to this some disciplinary problems, one of which resulted in a man being dropped by the coach for three weeks, and it needs no imagination to realise how little progress could be made, and how very low morale became. It is to the credit of the eight who struggled through those times that they looked forward to training in France and a worthwhile summer term's sport.
Two members of the crew were put forward for National trials during the Lent Term. They joined others who had spent time on the water and been to several trials in the Michaelmas Term. As has happened before with these attempts, we were disappointed, and the coach's feeling was that there is no future in contemplating this level of competition even by the best oarsmen, if they do not train properly for it.
Training at Nantes was undertaken without the company of either a Monkton or an Oxford college crew. We saw little of the French either. Technical and fitness progress were made, and the crew (complete now with its post-glandular fever victims) began to gel together as a unit, in a way that they had been unable to earlier in the season. They learned a lot from a very low base, and came back to England as a unit which had some hope of success.
JMB and BSM had shared the coaching in France, and it was decided that JMB should take the crew to Wallingford and Avon, with BSM taking over after that as far as National Schools.
At Wallingford, we raced against a Christ Church crew which consisted of four or five 1st VIII men made up with 2nd VIII. We went ahead on the start, and found ourselves up by 3A length after 500 metres or so. The cox then steered rather wide on the corner, and probably lost us 1/2 length. Christ Church worked their way through, and our inexperience allowed them to beat us by' /2 length. It was a good effort, against one of the better college crews. In the other event, St Edward's II beat us by 21/4 lengths, and we never really showed good form against them.
It was decided to changes strokes for the week leading up to the sprint regatta at Swindon. It was the intention to change back again afterwards, because the regular stroke was already showing signs of learning his trade well. However, the man who had stroked the 2nd VIII last year had the ability to drive a crew at high rating for short distances. Technique, which is so vital for longer races goes overboard, but he certainly pushed his crew along.
At Swindon, lack of technique lost us some speed, and we came scrambling home ¼ length behind Monmouth, beating Shiplake II, Shrewsbury II and King's College School I. It was not a bad effort, but it certainly demonstrated a lack of miles rowed before Easter, and lack of crew cohesion which comes only after months of training together.
BSM took over for the three weeks leading to the NSR. As usual, he took the crew back to basics, and technique was improved dramatically. JMB saw only one outing towards the end of this period. Just as for the younger boys, the 1st VIII often find the 'big' occasion a difficult one to handle. We tried to make this one less worrying than usual; the outing the evening before the races was deliberately relaxed, as was the short training session on the Trent the next morning.
The crew exhibited odd mixtures of being very keen and dedicated to the task, while at other times it let itself wander off track. It was difficult to get them to concentrate. The 1990's young man likes his efforts to come in little bites. Stickability, commitment, persistence at a task over long minutes, days or even months, does not come easily. This crew is learning gradually that success and satisfaction in rowing as in many other activities comes only with dedication to the task, perhaps to the exclusion of other enjoyable activities.
We were in the faster heat of the two: St Peter's, Bedford Modern, Monmouth, Monkton, Bryanston, St Paul's. Not as good a start as we had been having in practice. After about 700 metres we were in 6th place, The rate had gone down to 34- after 30 secs; too low by about 2 strokes a minute (and this was a decisive factor in the result), but the rowing was good in a closely contested race. Apart form the rate, one could not fault the effort made by the Monkton crew, which rowed as well as it has done throughout the term. All crews were in contact throughout the 1500 metres. A push at the end put us into 4th Vs of a length behind Monmouth. Result 1 Bedford Mod, 2 St Paul's, 3 Monmouth, 4 Monkton, 5 Bryanston, 6 St Peter's. The final was won by Oundle with Bedford Modem 2nd and Kings College Sch and Monmouth 3rd equal. We were certainly in amongst this group, and with more experience and a slightly higher rate, we could have had a medal.
At the end of the regatta, most crews dispersed home for the half term break. The 1st VIII was timed to row at Monmouth the following morning at 0940, so we had booked in at the YMCA at Cheltenham to make the journey short enough for comfort in the morning. By the time we had sorted out other crews, luggage, trailers, etc., it was getting on for 2030. All was nearly ready for the 'off' with JMB driving the Clarendon bus, and BSM taking the Land Rover and the trailer.
Disaster struck, when the Clarendon minibus key was broken. Luckily the school has just taken out AA cover on the minibuses, after a breakdown in the Lent Term - though the Land Rover is for some reason not covered - so we rang them for help. We worked out that it might be hours before anything was done, so the crew, boats and BSM set off for Cheltenham, leaving JMB and the broken-down minibus. The AA arrived in next to no time, and could do nothing. Local locksmiths were not interested in coming out at that time of night, even though Yellow Pages claimed 24 hour cover for at least one!
It did not take the AA long to say that they would take the bus back to Bath there and then. We set off (on a low loader) at about 2330. The driver was a good conversationalist, so the journey went quickly. We stopped at Strensham for a meal at about 0130, then heading on for Avonmouth, where the bus (and JMB) were transferred to another lorry, because the first driver was running out of hours. He said the AA were getting very fussy about their drivers obeying the rules, even though they are not bound by the tachograph regulations, because they are rescue vehicles. The new driver, from a private garage in Swindon, had been on duty for about 20 hours by the time he dropped his load off in the Farm Yard at MCS at about 0400. JMB cleared the bus of cameras and the food needed by the crew at Monmouth, and finally got to bed at 0430, setting the alarm for 0645.
It rained all day at Monmouth, and there was a blustery wind as well. JMB arrived at about 0845, and the crew was a few minutes later. The arrangements at Cheltenham had worked well, with some of the crew at the YMCA and the rest at a parent's home. The boat was put together in next to no time, helped by the Goodman family, who came to watch. James Goodman's father had won an event when he rowed at Monmouth.
In the first round we beat Fumival by 1½ lengths. Conditions were very bad and rough. The second round was against Thames Tradesman. We went up on the start by ¼ length then they came back at the 1000 metre mark. A burst with 250m to go brought Monkton through to win by 3A length. In the semi final we raced Bristol Poly 1. We took a IA length on the start. The conditions had worsened somewhat and we had the rougher lane. JMB was umpiring at the 1000 metre start at the time, and saw our boat stopped dead by a squall about 45 secs into the race. Bristol were on the sheltered side at this point, and they took advantage and pulled away. The official verdict was 'Easily', but 'Not Rowed Out' might have given a fairer picture of what happened. Bristol were good, but we might well have beaten them in equal conditions. The Monkton crew accepted defeat gracefully, but they knew that they might have won with better luck. There was always Hereford, where a win was more than possible, judging by the draw.
We dispersed from Monmouth to Cheltenham and Bath for the night, and met up at Hereford the next day at 1100. The weather was much better - indeed it was a pleasant day throughout, The first round here was against Kingston. JMB was Starter for the race, and was embarrassed when the crew failed to turn up on time. The proper procedures were followed, and there was a danger that disqualification would follow. The Kingston crew was not pleased to be waiting at the start for nearly half an hour. A radio call to regatta control confirmed that the crew was on its way up river, but had been delayed by an accident. It turned out later that in the very difficult launching conditions - the water was high and fast - a marshall had pushed the crew out before the oars were out, and the crew had tipped in. The fin was damaged as well. The boat had to be taken out of the river, and emptied of water. The crew remained composed, but inevitably, they were on edge at the start, and went off in a shower of spray at a fairly high rate. Lessons from Saturday had been learned, but one cannot just switch into a higher rate at a moment's notice with any hope of perfection. Monkton appeared to the Starter to go up slightly, but it was a close race. The final verdict was Monkton by 'A length. The crew went very well over the last part of the course, not very far in front, but confident.
The semi-final was against an Oxford Poly (now Oxford Brookes University) crew. This is the same crew that we had beaten easily a year ago at Hereford, and we were confident (over-confident? - always a mistake!) that the verdict would go our way again, even if the distance would be closer.
JMB had finished his two and a half hours of duty as Starter by this time, so watched the race with BSM from the bridge. We agreed that this race might well be a water-shed for the crew, because for all the time from January they had worked hard, but on the face of it achieved no victories, and no recognition for what they had been doing. We knew that they deserved something, and that this race should be a passport not only to victory in the final (because the other half of the draw was easy), but to a much needed boost of confidence which would help them to achieve something worthwhile at Henley.
We could hardly believe our eyes when we saw Monkton trailing some two or three lengths behind the Oxford crew. One of the parents watching the race with us saw Monkton hesitate or stop at one stage. Clearly something had gone wrong, and we half expected the Monkton cox to make a protest as they crossed the line. No protest emerged, so we went to meet them, and find out what had happened.
According to the Monkton crew, Oxford had done a false start, and later we had caught a crab in which an oar came out of its rowlock. More details emerged over the next half hours or so. Conditions at the start were not at all easy, with a fast stream flowing, and the Starter had particularly told the Monkton crew to ensure that their start was clean and fair, because it would be difficult to call crews back after a false start. Presumably, he gave the same advice to Oxford. When the race came, a lightning start by the Oxford crew put Monkton off its stride, and we unexpectedly slipped back by half a length. Despite catching some of this up again, tightness took its toll, and a race-losing crab brought this important race to an end.
So it was the end of a long and tiring week-end for the 1st VIII. They had rowed with great determination, and had won some good contests. At NSR, they did as well as many a Monkton crew, and better than most. They were defeated by lack of experience, and the annual 'catching up' routine. At Monmouth, they were defeated by conditions, and a crew that was perhaps better than they were. At Hereford, they were beaten by a more streetwise crew.
It was good to have had support from many friends over the week-end. James Pitt, Myles Corson and lots of parents at Nottingham, the Goodman family at Monmouth, Nick Sprang, James Pitt, Dan Hall, Dan and Mandy Reynolds at Hereford, Other friends from local clubs, as well as fellow oarsmen and coaches at Nottingham. The crews encouraged each other as well at Nottingham, and despite the upsets, everyone stayed in constructive and cooperative mood.
The crew had a few days off after this heavy week- end before returning to concentrate on the Henley distance. There were very few outings, and they were not all happy ones, before we went to Henley with the University of the West of England (Bristol Poly) for an afternoon's training together. This was patchy, and a paddle down the course which started well was spoilt by lack of attack over the second half. We went down by two or three lengths when the race should have been an exciting one.
BSM took over the coaching again, and the crew gradually got used to the extra distance, as well as continuing to work on technique. After missing the P.E. for two years because of having over-age oarsmen on board, we looked forward to taking part in the regatta proper again, and not having to take part in a qualifying race.
Training was soon disrupted, as it had been earlier in the year, by disregard of school and training rules. We could have done without this further distraction during a hectic stage of term when exams have a high profile, and outings have to be fitted as and when possible.
The P.E. had the largest entry ever, and twelve crews had to suffer a qualifying race, of which only four got through. We had exams on the day of the race, so the complete crew was able to assemble only a couple of hours before the race which took place at 8 p.m. The row itself lacked the drive that the crew demostrated occasionally (though not consistently) in practice, and they recorded a time about 8 or 10 seconds too slow for qualifying. It was a particularly disappointing result, because the crew had concentrated on preparation for Henley to the exclusion of any other racing in the second half of term. They had not recovered in time for some early racing the following day at Reading. After leading Exeter College by about 3/4 length at one stage during the short course, we went down by about the same distance. The results against Shiplake was better on paper, but all fire had gone out of the crew by then.
We all enjoyed a few days at Henley the following week, when it was a pleasure to see two ex 1st VIII men in the winning Temple Prize crew, and another one rowing in the Goblets. The usual custom of the crew is to go to Kingston and Burton after the end of term, but the general feeling, at first unsaid by anyone, but soon obvious to all, was that we should not prolong the agony longer. The crew did not race after the end of term.
It is 25 years since Monkton had a 1st VIII that recorded not even a single victory during the season. Was the 1993 season a wasted one, then? Of course it would have been better to win some events, rather than the several heats that were well won. And there are frustrated memories of races lost by distances that in former years would have earned dead-heat verdicts. But there is much more to the sport that mere medals. All members of the crew who stuck at training through many months will have gained from the experience of undertaking a time-consuming enterprise of teamwork which required persistence and a single-minded approach to training and the ability to work happily as a group. None of this comes easily, even when results are good. It is much more difficult when there are no results to shout about. The troubles of the Lent Term, and lack of success later could well have made an end of the crew many weeks before Henley; as it was, the crew picked itself up from disappointment over and over again, and enjoyed some quiet successes and learned many lessons on the way.