(bow M W R Mumford, L E C Clark, J Greene, S A Lahaye, B J I Hooton, P M A Jenkins, G R Mills, Str T A Mildenhall, cox A P Hutchinson. Coaches : Mr B S Mawer, Mr J M Bewick)

The Season started badly. No doubt the extended period of flooding which prevented use of the river almost continuously before Half-term had its effect but more generally there was a bad attack and succombing to Monktonitis - the attitude that unless told to do something you don't, that having been told to do something you try to get away with not doing it or at least doing as little as possible, that doing anything well or to the best of your ability is not the way to gain the admiration of your peers. It didn't help either that on the one afternoon per week (Saturday) on which by courtesy of the Timetable the group might have seen and learned from the example of the Senior VIII this was not possible, as they eventually trained for practically the whole term at Saltford, partly to avoid the poor water at home but largely, having sampled it of necessity, to continue by preference to make use of that admirable length of river.

Perhaps BSM stood off for too long until he could stand it no longer. There followed several sessions (that might have been spent on the tank, or in the gym, or on the canal developing watermanship in sculling boats) being "wasted" by schoolmasterly discussions won over perhaps three-quarters of the Group. That the remaining quarter seemed largely intransigent and recidivistic was perhaps less their fault than the unfortunate but almost inevitable consequence of a timetabling system which provided them with no coach.

So it was a faux de mieux VIII was slow to develop and that very backward and undertrained ergonometrically. But once the initial lessons had been taken on board, the crew's attitude would have been difficult to fault, everyone playing his part with a will and not without success: the results on paper for the Head Race Season - not quite last in all their various events - belied the progress being made in the declared initial objective of learning how to row, a lesson perhaps the less easily appreciated since most of the crew had experienced considerable success and accolades the previous year in which the 'train train train and pull hard' approach had gained many pennants and pots along the way. But the injunction to "Remember Nottingham" convinced, technique was paramount; when the emphasis started to shift towards work and more work some few weeks after the Schools Head (in which the crew had shown most encouraging expertise and control but no speed or real life) there was something worthwhile to build on: at Avon County, they eliminated the Oratory, who had walked (if possible on water, notwithstanding occasional evidence to the contrary) all over them earlier in the season, from further consideration, as Coach had predicted back in February they would sooner or later - "they may have hammered you about today but in the long run I will put my money on you provided you continue to do as you are told". And in losing by not all that much to Monmouth in the final they proved to themselves that their improvement in the first two or three weeks of the Summer Term was quite remarkable and praiseworthy.

Tails had started to wag and BSM was beginning to feel his own sag with age and that the crew needed a change of voice and coaching style to capitalise on their emerging merits; so over to JMB for the run up to Nottingham, where they together with the Ist VIII were the sole Monkton Flag-fliers. As it turned out, "Mr B" took them on to the end of term, and a pleasure it was to see them continue with ever increasing enthusiasm and success.

By the time JMB took over, much technical progress had already been made, so there was then a chance to encourage more liveliness and self-confidence. Training went well, and the crew responded to new ideas and new challenges, so they went to NSR to row in the Junior Colts B event with some hope of success. (JMB was involved in so many hours of racing during the week-end - as coach, spectator, commentator and umpire that some of the details that follow may be inaccurate - the crew should get him to set the record straight if there are mistakes....)

The short Friday evening outing went well. The crew went through a warming up routine suitable for the course with a different exercise in each 250 metre section, but found themselves one section adrift at the end of it by miscounting the exercises. This error was of little consequence, but it did illustrate that practice and rehearsals are necessary. The same mistake was not made the next day. Supper at the hotel was followed by a short crew walk and bed at a time decided by the Captain of the crew. The coach was impressed not only that evening, but throughout the training and regatta period by the commitment of the crew to the common cause; they understood 'crewmanship' better than before, and enjoyed the experience.

Saturday's first race was not until mid-afternoon, so the morning was spent watching racing and taking in some of the atmosphere of the regatta, as well as a quick visit to West Bridgford (for some) to buy fresh bread rolls for lunch. The boat was dirty after too many weeks of bad weather as well as the journey, so after lunch there was a washing and cleaning session, which helped everyone to switch out of spectator mode into racing mode. The first race went well enough to earn the crew a place in the final, in which they were 5th.

A Four rowed the following day at Monmouth in J15 IVs. The other three entries were all from Monmouth School which has for several years provided races for our J15 crew at this regatta. JMB missed the first race (he was on duty at Nottingham in the morning), but it went well against Monmouth B.

Training continued after half term for Tewkesbury, by which time the crew had a good deal of life and enthusiasm. The first round was won in style, after being down, and the crew approached the final as clear favourites. Disaster struck in this race when a pin fell out of a gate, and one oarsman was left helpless. What a shame, because the crew had thoroughly deserved a victory. The season ended with Reading Town Regatta, where Hampton proved too good for us.

It was good to see a crew pick itself up from sluggish and none-too-keen beginnings to finish the season with several weeks of steady improvement. Let's hope that less time is wasted in 1995 before enthusiasm is established.