With every New Year comes a new sense of excitement about what the new first squad can achieve. Last year was no exception, with three returning from the first eight the previous year and four from the second eight, it was looking promising. I had decided long before the season started that we would run a quad instead of pushing for an eight and picking several from the colts eight making them weaker. This meant we had seven keen guys looking for a slot in the quad. However, it was to become one of the most frustrating, roller-coaster seasons that the first squad have had to endure.
Training started early with the majority of the squad choosing rowing rather than rugby. The long slog had started well and the squad trained in singles and doubles for the majority of September, October and November. The squad raced well at the Bluefriars Head coming in second, third, fourth and sixth respectively. Things were looking pretty solid until the rain came.
The second half of November and all of December were washed out. Heavy rain flooded the river and it became impossible to do any water training. However, the guys knuckled down to some serious land training in the gym, ergos, running and cycling which all helped to develop much needed strength and stamina. Several races were cancelled, including Cardiff Head, Bristol Ariel Head and Worcester Head, leaving the crew with very little race experience.
Despite not getting on the water spirits were high, especially after two second places at Wycliffe Head just before Christmas. The guys jumped into a quad and rowed a stormer in both races only to be beaten by a very strong Sir William Borlase outfit.
Christmas came and went and the new term started as the last ended.......with a lot of rain. The river was still very high and rowing was just not a possibility. Frustration was creeping into the crew and it was clear they had enough of the land training. February came and with it a new coxless quad boat......well old boat which was in three bits when we first got it from Wycliffe sculling centre. Mike and Carl had worked tirelessly ensuring that it was put back together and refurbished for the crew's next race, again at Wycliffe. The Bluefriar, as it was named, took to the water for the first time at Wycliffe Big Head at the beginning of February and the guys were keen to beat everyone, especially Wycliffe Sculling Centre where the boat came from. Unfortunately, the crew seriously under-performed and limped home in fifth place...well off the pace. The lack of water work was a factor but also as it transpired the strokeman, Stefan Horner, was becoming very ill, so much so that this was to be his last race in the boat all year because of a post-viral infection which left him desperately ill. More races were to be cancelled in February, with Avon County Head also surrendering to the increasingly high water.
With this crisis on our doorstep a new member needed to step up to the challenge. With a shuffle of the crew and a new member on board, Ali Saunders, the quad tackled the National Sculling Head at Dorney Lake. Two 1900 metre rows and the accumulated time was to crown the new sculling head champions. Alas, it was not to be us! The largest entry for years saw an extremely high standard of sculling and I was proud to see our guys put up a fight and scull to their potential. A 25th placing was a fair reflection and one in which we knew we had a lot of work to do.
With the eights Head also being cancelled because of high winds the crew had raced only three times in the lead up to our training camp in Nantes. Not great preparation, but a challenge we were keen on tackling. Now with six guys vying for a place in the quad the dreaded seat racing; or for this year the pairs matrix, was unleashed on the guys. This was a series of races in double sculls were everyone raced with everyone and raced against everyone over 1000 metres....twice! The accumulated times are calculated and the fastest four guys make the crew....simple, or so I thought. After some confusing moments I finally managed to post the combinations and in my head I knew who would come out on top.....'hmmmm, this isn't right', I said to myself after the first series of races. One of the guys, Sam Wall, who I wasn't holding out too much hope for, was the fourth fastest man....by a long way. I checked and re-checked that I hadn't calculated wrong but it wasn't wrong. I started to think I didn't know much about rowing at all but these races do throw up the odd interesting result. In the afternoon series the results went the same way as the morning series and Sam was a very long way ahead of the other two. When I announced the final selection it was a joy to watch Sam's face light up with elation and then drop again as he realised what it meant to be in the first boat......a lot of hard work.
Nantes was a great camp as usual and the crew put a lot of speed on the boat. Races against the J16s, an Avon county crew and a very handy Nantes quad were good tests for the crew which they coped well with. The regatta season was just around the corner and I could smell success.
The crew's first outing was at Birmingham regatta where the guys met Stowe School in the final of the quads. The guys raced superbly well to storm home with an easily verdict.....not easy over 700 metres. The crew also ended up with the second fastest time of the day only beaten by one J16 VIII. Not a bad day and we were building momentum for National Schools.
Wallingford was next on the agenda but illness in the crew put paid to that race. New to this year was a qualification day at Monkton for National Schools. Every crew had to post a time which I felt was quick enough to get a crew to a final. This was done over 2x2000 metres on the Monkton river. The quad raised their game and comfortably qualified. This only left the Welsh National Championships in Cardiff before the crew raced at National Schools. As with the rest of the season, the weather played its part in Cardiff. Gale force winds put paid to any racing and all involved were disappointed.
The National Schools Regatta as always was one of the main goals for the season and qualification to the final was a must. The first round was a time trial over 2000 metres and the fastest 12 went through to two semi finals. With 36 crews racing it would be a tall order but the crew had good speed and I was pretty confident of qualifying. As I cycled alongside the crew they were looking strong and confident and were catching the crews in front of them. All was going pretty well and as they came into the final three hundred metres. Toby Johnson, the stroke man, lifted the rate and the crew was flying.
Unfortunately, the weather played its part again and the wind had chopped the water up pretty badly in the final two hundred meters. As the quad raced into this section Sam Wall clipped a wave and lost his oar causing it to catch a massive crab and lock against the rigger. The boat came to a shuddering halt as Sam tried to get his oar back, but to no avail. The other three guys raced on, but with only three guys rowing and a massive brake on the boat it was clear the fight was over! Very disappointing but I was so happy with the guys and how they raced. They did Monkton proud.
After a well deserved break the crew came back to prepare for Henley and attempt to qualify for the first time since 1999. However, training was laboured and the guys quite rightly were more concerned about their exams rather than rowing. The crew seemed to lose momentum and they were struggling to find the speed they had prior to National Schools.
Racing at Marlow regatta was supposed to be a good preparation for Henley qualifiers but turned into a disaster with the crew limping home in last position in both Junior Quads and Senior Quads. Morale was low and for the first time all year, I was pretty worried.
When the draw for the qualifiers came out, we had all pretty much resigned ourselves to the fact that we were not going to qualify. 36 crews looking for 9 slots.......a very tough proposition. However, the crew wanted to give it a go and ensure that they finished the season on a high with a great row.
What happened next was so unexpected, and it tore the crew into pieces.
Two days before Henley qualifiers I received a phone call telling me that a member of the crew had resigned. The qualifers clashed with the Leavers' Ball.
It was up to me to let the other members of the crew know what was happening; they were understandably upset and angry that their crewmate hadn't even told us himself and that he had left it to the last minute to pull out.
This was a crisis and I had to find a last minute replacement. Luckily, Josh Rogers, who had steered the J16 coxless four all season, jumped in. The crew had one outing before the qualifiers and despite this the crew rowed pretty well. It lacked strength and power but was technically rather smooth.
Qualifiers came and went in a flash and although qualification was not really on the cards the guys were pretty happy with how they rowed. A pep talk from Steve Williams before the race helped raise the morale but unfortunately it wasn't quite enough.
So another year gone and in many ways the crew and I will look back and think it was a disappointing season; but in many ways it has been a success and with all the ups and downs it showed that these guys could and did cope under huge stress and adversity. A life lesson that will stay with them forever.