I
THE BOAT CLUB The 1969 season has been only moderate: the 1st VIII came 41st in the Schools' Head of the River at Putney, compared with our previous performances of 25th and 21st; and in the Summer Regattas the School crews won three cups, whereas over a dozen years we average five. However, we narrowly missed winning a further eight events, either in the Finals or giving the eventual winners their closest race, and at the end of the season the School IVs were still only beginning to get into top gear. After the Yorkshire and Schools' Heads of the River, Nottingham Regatta and the Triangular Match, the 1st VIII spent the remainder of the season in IVs. All the School IVs had their own characteristics. The 1st IV, thickset and strong, settled immediately as a crew and rowed comfortably at a high rating, but were really on their feet only late in the season, while the 2nd IV were longer in the water, had more run, and their rating, low though not as low as it looked, rose steadily by a pip a regatta as they developed more power. Both these crews would have been formidable had the season been only a fortnight longer. The 3rd and 4th IVs enjoyed their seasons but suffered from lack of coaching: the former very neat but lacking in weight, while the latter were rough but had done much to catch up the 3rd IV by the later regattas. The Colts VIII was coached by Mr. Nixon for the whole of the season, and went from strength to strength: after beating Durham School and Lancaster R.G.S., as IVs they narrowly missed cups at Lancaster Colts Regatta, at Durham and at York, to be rewarded at Leeds Regatta, where after a sluggish start they simply rowed past all opposition. The Captain, J. N. Town, and S. R. Buckman, last year's Colours, were invaluable in giving cohesion to an inexperienced 1st VIII, while the other School leavers, A. H. Powell, I. D. C. Summers and M. J. R. Warnock were real workers and improved enormously. The oarsmen staying at School, R. D. MacLeod as Captain, M. C. Pearson and P. R. Haigh-Lumby, together with a good cox in S. W. St. J. Oliver, are indeed a bright prospect and with a good Colts VIII, a galaxy of good coxes and some keen 1st year boaters, the Boat Club could well have a bumper year. We have a good Shell VIII and some attractive fixtures : with the formation of Junior Colts crews to compete in regattas, and a programme building up to the National School Regatta at Pangbourne, with Henley in the offing examinations permitting, we might well do something to assail the pre-eminence which the large Thames schools at present enjoy. D.S.M.
CREWS 1st VIII Bow A. H. Powell 2 P. R. Haigh-Lumby 3 R. D. MacLeod 4 M. R. J. Warnock I. D. C. Summers 5 6 S. R. Buckman 7 J. N. Town Str. M. C. Pearson Cox S. W. St. J. Oliver
1st IV Bow A. H. Powell S. R. Buckman 2
J. N. Town 3 Str. M. C. Pearson Cox S. W. St. J. Oliver
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2nd IV
Bow R. D. McLeod 2 M. J. R. Warnock I. D. C. Summers 3 Sir. P. R. Haigh-Lumby Cox T. J. Young
