In terms of results it hasn't been the most inspiring of years for the First VIII. Although many from the 2003/2004 crew were back, it wasn't the swan song they all thought it would be. Many of that crew opted out of rowing early on when the going got tough, some got injured and others not making the cut put the 2003/2004 crew looking rather different in 2004/2005.
In the Michaelmas term there wasn't much action on the river with only a handful of crews bearing the brunt of the bad weather. The first four of Dave Meryon, Sam Burns, Wianina Junghae, Barny Page and Robert Cooper and the J16 pair of Ed Merricks and Ben Mayhew, won the Bluefriars Head and Bristol Ariel Head. Ben Mayhew also won at Gloucester Head. A good start for the Boat Club and expectations were high for the Lent and Summer Terms.
The first squad came back after Christmas full of vigour and trained incredibly hard. They were training 7-8 times a week, both on the water and in the gym. Some of them (if not all) found the going very tough but came through strongly with huge increases in strength, fitness, flexibility and technical ability. The new regime of squad rotation wasn't to many people's liking but it was essential to ensure we had the entire squad training hard and competing for their seats.
The first race saw us take to the waters at Wycliffe in bitterly cold conditions. I had broken the squad into two eights and I was curious to see what the early signs of performance were like. I was pretty disappointed to see both eights perform well below par and were over 1m30s behind the winners.
Despite this set-back we returned to Monkton knowing what we needed to do in terms of fitness and technique. Next up Avon County Head and a better performance with what proved to be our strongest combination. Canford were the only crew at both races and, although losing to them again, we had moved closer to them. A positive sign as far as I was concerned.
The Schools Head was the next event for us and the guys had really improved in the three weeks leading up to it. We were positive taking to the water and the new Vespoli was starting to feel the crew become more cohesive. The First Eight performed well, finishing 27th overall. This may seem a bad result; however, in terms of time we were very close to the opposition, with only 30 seconds separating the top 30 crews. This was a very manageable result to overturn in the Summer Term. The Lent Term finished with the First Eight returning to London for the Head of the River Race, unfortunately not performing to our best and finishing 245th out of 404 crews. A disappointing end to a term that had shown steady progress and positive reaction from the crew.
Easter saw our annual training camp to Nantes, with the J16 crews joining us for the second year running. Ten days of intense training was just what the First Eight needed and they rose to the challenge of early morning outings and up to 3 sessions per day. The crew blended well and put a lot of speed into the boat for the upcoming regatta season. At the end of the camp we managed to enter a race at Laval Regatta. This was a chance to see how much speed the crew had put onto the boat and how they performed under pressure. The eight were just beaten in the final by half a length by a very classy French eight. Although very disappointed the crew realised that the speed was coming and that improvements had been made.
In the Summer Term, the regattas didn't come as quickly and fast as we wished. At Birmingham, the First Eight raced Oundle and Cheltenham in the heat and saw us lead all the way until the last 10 strokes when Cheltenham pipped us on the line. We went into a rep~chage and won comfortably. We met up with Cheltenham and KGS in the final and again led for the first ¾ of the race only to be overhauled by both crews in the closing stages. The crew and I were disappointed as they felt, as I did, that the race was ours and it was panic and inexperience that let them down. Lessons were learnt but as proved time and time again in the season, were not heeded.
It was to be three weeks before we raced again, as first Wallingford regatta was oversubscribed; Avon County regatta was cancelled, as was Coate Water regatta in Swindon. The crew had being going really well in training and were close to beating the old record for 500 metres. We were racing Canford and Monmouth in a straight final. The crew were on the water when a massive rain storm drenched all the crews and then a strong cold wind blew in. The event was cancelled and the eight didn't get a chance to show how fast they were going.
The following week it was the National Schools Regatta in Nottingham. This was the main focus of the year for the crew. The First Eight had been picking up speed in the weeks preceding this event and spirits were high and there was a real sense that we could do very well this year. However the weather had other ideas; 55 mile/hour winds were the order of the day. All events had been shortened to 1000 metres and it was clear that lanes 1, 2, 5, and 6 were taking the brunt of the white horses. We happened to be in lane 5 - not a good start. We took to the water in terrible conditions and got to the start. When the crew arrived they were told that they were late and to get into their lane immediately. The guys didn't even have time to take off their kit when the umpire said go. Flustered and panicked the crew set off in a plume of spray. It was impossible to row well and all crews struggled to get to the finish line. We staggered in 4th position, out of the qualifying position but it didn't matter, the event was cancelled 5 minutes later owing to unfair and unsafe rowing conditions.
The crew were very despondent and it was hard to lift the guys. It was especially hard on those for whom this was the last National Schools.
The final part of the Summer Term was tough because of exam pressure and course work deadlines. The first eight continued to train hard but it was a stuttering period with many injuries and illnesses to cope with. The crew raced at Reading and Marlow regattas as part of the lead up to Henley qualifiers but again under-performed and didn't reach their potential. I really believe that the confidence of the crew was sapped from them by the National Schools Regatta. They just never recovered from it and performances suffered.
Henley qualifiers ended up being another disappointing row. The crew believed that they would qualify this year after the narrow margin by which they had missed out on the previous year.
Preparation wasn't ideal with one crew member being dropped due to spraining his ankle playing football! - and a sub had to come in at the last minute. The crew looked jaded and uncohesive as they rowed past the Monkton supporters and limped home over 15 seconds behind the winners. It was clear that we had gone backwards rather than forwards in the last three weeks of term.
All in all, a poor year in terms of results and performances of the First Eight. However I do feel that we can learn from the experiences of 2004/2005 and move forward in the next few years. Five of this year's First Eight are back and there are talented J16's on the way through. It could be a great year if we learn and take heed from mistakes made in the past.