Crews look forward to regattas for many reasons. After the racing, we can look back on the event and work out ways in which 'next time will be better'. This note was written soon after the crew returned from Avon County Regatta having had no races at all, so the next event could hardly be worse. What happened at Swindon to cause the crew to miss all the races, despite being on the water for both of them, and despite being keen to take part? The regatta cannot be seen in isolation, so we must look back over the whole of the season so far, and the training and preparations that went into the event.
Rowing is a sport which involves training over a period of weeks, months, years, so that high standards can be attained and satisfaction gained. The J15 VIII last year took a long time to gain momentum, and we had hoped for a quicker acceleration from the starting blocks this year. As it was, two members of last year‘s crew chose not to continue with the sport; and the two strongest were not available - one going to the 1st VIII, and the other absent through back trouble which persisted for the whole of the Lent Term. The remaining group were keen, but they needed a great deal of encouragement to make anything of their talents. It was virtually impossible to set out on the crew-building process for much of the Lent Term: the colts group was mixed with the seniors, in an attempt to produce three senior eights, rather than splitting into the traditional senior and colts groups; it is not easy to mix these groups at the best of times, but when the weather, flooding and the school time-table combined to frustrate almost every faltering step forward, it was hardly surprising that morale remained at a low ebb for many weeks. The only full time staff coach allocated to the colts group could see them only infrequently. All in all, the great majority of the Lent Term was wasted as far as rowing was concerned.
After a period of several weeks with no outings, the crew, along with two or three others, went to Bristol Docks for the afternoon. The weather was not at all friendly, and the outing was not a happy one. But at least the crew - (no, not a crew at that stage, just eight oarsmen and a cox) - the crew had an outing! After that outing, about two weeks from the end of term, JMB took over the coaching from WOH, who had been so hemmed in by the timetable, by other commitments, and later regrettably by an accident which took him away from the river for the rest of the year. At the same time the river became more hospitable, with the water down to a reasonable height. But the frustrations were not over: it proved extremely difficult to find a cox. Ideally, indeed almost essentially, a colts crew needs a cox with at least a year's experience, so that steering comes naturally, and attention can be paid to the cox's important role as a coach and a leader. This was not to be: last year's cox moved to another sport, though he did with a little reluctance come and help the crew out on two or three occasions; another had his arm twisted to help out, but did not really enjoy it. It got to a stage when the crew missed outings, when the river was available, because no cox could be found. We racked our brains to think of ways of having a third or fourth former to take the seat, but that was administratively impossible, even though there were spares at those levels without crews to cox. Eventually, through the demise of another crew, we found a cox - inexperienced, but willing to learn. The Lent Term races were not at all successful. At Bristol Docks, we were the only J16 crew, and with a new course, the organisers decided that the crew deserved medals because they established a record. The row was not a good one; the record was not fast; the coach felt that the medals were not worth the plastic they were made of, so the dubious success was announced neither to the crew nor to the world! At Avon County Head, equipment failure caused the crew to miss the race, even though they managed to get a short and presentable paddle down part of the course. The Schools Head was hardly any better - at least the crew got a race, but they were placed last out of the 16 Colts crews entered.
The outlook seemed to be as bleak as ever, but morale remained remarkably resilient, albeit with persistent coaxing from the coach. Perhaps the turn of the tide came when last year‘s stroke, whose back had been playing up for months, went along to the Chiropractor who has helped a continuous stream of MCS oarsmen (and coaches!) for several years. He was on the water within a few days, and has been well since.
Most of the crew would love to have gone training in France, but by the time this thought was sown in their minds, it was too late to organise. Instead of that, arrangements were made for the crew to go to Reading on the first Saturday afternoon and Sunday of the Summer term to try to put a worthy act together. This week-end got off to a bad start when one of the oarsmen pulled out, feeling that his work would suffer.
So, off we went to Reading, where we were guests of the Captain of RUBC, Justin Mumford. He allowed us to sleep Saturday night in his luxurious boathouse, complete with not only showers, changing and boatspace, but central heating, a kitchen, and a club room which was more than adequate as a sleeping area. We also had the use of the university coaching launch, and good weather. The three outings were all excellent, and at last we all felt that there was a bright future! Food, always important on these occasions, varied from a somewhat crude breakfast, eaten standing up out of plastic bowls with plastic spoons, to a Chinese meal in Henley on the Saturday night, and a picnic eaten on the steps of RUWBC boathouse, in bright warm sunshine.
During the outing following Reading, there were only two boats on the water at Monkton, but they managed to have a bad crash, during which the Junior Colts boat suffered severe damage to a rigger, and the Colts boat nearly lost their bow. Luckily, no-one was hurt.
Progress ground to a halt again not long after this outing. For a period of about 10 days, no further training was possible on the water, because of by then familiar problems of illness, time-table clashes and other commitments. Then all appeared well again, and we had the prospect of three outings in a week - nearly as many as needed to make progress a realistic possibility. The first of this trio of outings ended within minutes of getting on the water (in mid-morning), when it was quite apparent that the crew was worn out, both physically, and, it seemed to the coach, in spirit as well. The outing was abandoned, and for the rest of the time available in the 'games lesson' , the crew was encouraged to relax or go to sleep. They happily did this.
Illness crept up on us at this stage, so the following outing was a half-hearted affair, and the Saturday one did not take place.
Avon County Regatta took place at the end of the following week, but no outings took place, for the usual reasons. So much for preparation for the first event of the term!
Unfortunately, the coach was away at a meeting on the day the boat was loaded, and was involved in the organisation of the regatta at Swindon. This was perhaps the final straw in a totally inadequate preparation for racing.
Standard regatta safety checks revealed that the heel restrainers in the boat were not operating properly for two of the oarsmen, so these had to be mended. This is not by any means an unusual fault, and crews at regattas up and down the country make a point of checking heel equipment before attempting to launch. It is firmly the oarsmen's responsibility to check his own area of the boat before racing, so in a sense this problem was the crew's own fault, and of course the coach must share responsibility. Both the Colts and other crews can learn from this blunder. More time and attention needs taking on preparation, because there is a lot more to it than just getting past the line first. Eventually, the crew launched so late that they did not get to the start on time and missed the race. Luckily, every eight gets at least two races, so they returned to the start in plenty of time for the second round. They missed this one as well! They saw the other crews called to the start, but failed to join them, and sat and watched as the race went off without them. Why?! To an outsider it must seem almost impossible. The regatta runs to a very tight schedule, and there is a tendency in officials at the start to give all their attention to running the event to time, and it is very much up to crews to look after their own interests. Officials naturally make allowances for beginners (e.g. J14), but Colts crews are assumed to have the experience and confidence to look after themselves. This comes only after adequate training, which this crew has lacked.
The bits had to be picked up yet again after this non-event. Morale naturally collapsed for a day or two, but became more positive again after an understandable interval. Even during this time, the crew demonstrated very clearly that it has suffered through lack of time in their boat. Every oarsman gets to know his oar, his seat, indeed all the equipment he uses in the boat. He knows (or should...) when his seat has been changed; if he is using the wrong oar, if his stretcher is loose. If not, disaster can follow. And it did! When the crew got back from Avon County, they managed to put the wrong riggers on the boat. They look different, they are set up differently.... A sorry tale....
It was with considerable regret that after discussion amongst the crew, the majority felt that entry to NSR would not be right. The crew did not want to disgrace itself.
At Reading Town Regatta it was only possible to row a IV which understandably struggled against J16 crews which had been together all season but a highlight was the success of Tom Mildinhall (who had already sculled well at Wallingford and Avon County but for reasons largely beyond his control had failed to win) who outclassed O.M. Chris Alcock rowing in Eastbourne College colours in the first round of Novice Sculls. Tom showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with when he gets together with fellow J16 Graham Mills in a coxless pair next season. Somehow the Colts remained keen; six of the crew acted as officials at NSR. where the organisers were grateful for their help in running the event and the presence of some of them at Henley suggests that they intend making a strong bid for the senior crew as soon as possible.