Boat Club

v. SCARBOROUGH COLLEGE Played at Home on Wednesday, 14th February. Drawn 1-1.

The match was played on a perfect pitch bathed in sunshine, but the standard of hockey did not match the conditions. Both sides looked quite good until they reached the circle, and then all control was lost. Carr put the School ahead from a short corner and it looked as if that might be enough for victory, but six minutes from the end Scarborough equalised, and the School had paid the penalty for those extra taps in front of goal. Cloughton, in his first game for the School, did a lot of good work and gave Hutchinson some good passes.

v. BOOTHAM SCHOOL Played at Home on Wednesday, 21st February. Lost 1-3.

Once again conditions were excellent but the School's hockey disappointed; Bootham played very hard and were much quicker on the ball; too often did the School players hang back to wait for the ball to reach them, only to see it intercepted by good anticipation. With little skill apparent on either side victory deservedly went to the team which showed the greater determination and which took some of the chances offered them.

v. OLD PETERITES Played at Home on Saturday, 3rd March. Lost 1-3.

Against a very mediocre O.P. side the School frittered away chance after chance in the first twenty minutes when the O.P. defence left large gaps, but the only goal came from Robson, who had taken over from Hackney at inside-left. The O.Ps. were by now settling down and Wood's ability to shoot hard and accurately from the edge of the circle brought them two goals. The School continued to waste all their approach work and eventually Wood completed his hat-trick.

THE BOAT CLUB

The 1962 season started with a notable change among the coaches. Firstly we welcome Mr. Bolton to the Club. His presence on the towpath and his enthusiasm for the sport are much appreciated, and we are keen that his stay should be a long one. Secondly, we were not convinced that Mr. Howat was of more value perambulating over the moors than coaching on the river, yet nevertheless the Easter Term saw him walking as many miles as he normally cycles. We look forward to his return to boating in May.

Training for Head of the River racing occupied the whole of the boating period, the 1st and 2nd VIIIs. being entered for the Nottingham Head. The latter provided an eventful day apart from the racing itself: on the journey to Nottingham, one heard rumours of a week's training at Cambridge, and then, on the way back, of the possibility of our entering for the Schools' Head of the River at Putney.

The eventual 1st VIII included two of last year's 1st VIII and five of the 3rd and 4th IVs. The weather was excellent, only one day's boating being lost. Emphasis was laid on swinging on to the feet to obtain a 28

hard accurate beginning with moderate length, and the crew responded well. A week before Nottingham the crew rowed a three mile course at 33-34, but the rhythm was brittle and a tendency to rush was apparent in the middle of the course. During the last week we steadied the rating to 32, apart from the first and last two minutes.

At Nottingham the weather was cold, the snow showing no signs of thaw. Plenty of clothing was taken, but even so, it took a mile's rowing to loosen up. The boat actually moved faster over the second mile and the crew finished well to come 13th out of 32 boats in 15 min. 41 secs., and so went up three places. The 2nd VIII, coached by Mr. Hayes, could not repeat his crew's fine performance last year, and fell five places to 27th in 16 min. 19 secs. Nevertheless they very obviously enjoyed their term's boating.

The Schools' Head of the River at Putney was to be held twelve days later, and, having a young crew who would benefit from the experience, we decided to enter. We are most grateful to Quintin R.C. for lending us an VIII, and in particular to John Whitmore (0.P. 1956), who was responsible for this arrangement. He is rowing in the Quintin VIII which last year won the Marlow VIIIs. and this year came 6th in the Putney Head, just behind Goldie and Isis. In the race we finished 49th out of 108 Crews, being the fifth Clinker VIII. Unfortunately, soon after Harrod's, we had no alternative but to leave the fastest stream to overtake three crews, but of course this only gave the crew greater incentive. The real novelty was the lighter water of the Tideway accentuated by a slight following wind. As a result the rating remained high, at times to the detriment of the finishes. The row was very spirited and gained us a place in the 2nd Division.

To return to rowing at School, as last year, our own Head of the River races were held in three divisions, each having had its training supervised by a master. The overall standard was probably higher than last year, but the most noticeable feature was the absence of bad crews. This impression is confirmed by the difficulty coaches are having in selecting the Regatta IVs, for nearly every oarsman from these VIIIs demands consideration. This pleasing state of affairs is the result of many hours' coaching by Mr. Hayes and Mr. Bolton, and their efforts are very much appreciated. Finally mention must be made of A. J. Wakefield, last year's 2nd IV cox, who has specialised in coaching the 1st year boaters with obvious success.

RESULTS OF THE SCHOOL HEAD OF THE RIVER RACES

VIII's DIVISION, 2i MILES :—ISt, "B" VIII, 13.44; znd, "C" VIII, 23.52; 3rd,

Colts VIII (under 16 yrs.), 13.52; 4th "A" VIII, 14.50. JUNIOR IV's DIVISION, MILES:— ISE "D" IV, 21•57 znd "C", 12•o9; 3rd, "B"

IV, 12.2o; 4th "E" IV, 12'25.

NOVICE IV'S DIVISION (FIXED SEATS), 7 FURLONGS :—rst ,"Y" IV, 6.23; 2nd, "W" IV, 6.32; 3rd, "V" IV, 6.35; 4th, "X" IV, 6.43; 5th, "Z" IV, 6.53.

To conclude, a word must be said about our visit to Cambridge just before the Summer Term. The suggestion of out-of-term training came from the crew, and the advantages of Cambridge immediately became apparent. The University term would have just started, and, as expected, Caius College B.C. very kindly allowed us full facilities at their boathouse. Without this, the training would have been impossible, and we are very

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