Having seen some ups and downs in the past few years, MCBC’s women’s squad saw a steady rise this academic year. We experienced quite a difficult first term, complete with torrential rain, terrible weather, high stream, and more, which caused a lack of rowing that was especially saddening for our novices. This generated many different types of land training, including the brand new women’s side circuits, as well as many themed ergs, including the fan favourites: Merg (musical erg) and Ergtic Monkeys (does this one need explaining?).
A positive aspect of our first term was the arrival of our new Head Coach for the year, Rachel, who taught us about the menstrual cycle in sports, nutrition, REDs, recovery, and just generally being a female athlete in a sport that is often catered towards men. Meanwhile, Tímea, our Novice and Lower Women’s boats coach, gave our Novices a passion for the erg that I have rarely come across (see the many Mergs they took part in).
One of my goals as captain this year was to enable my squad to race outside of Oxford as much as our budget would allow. Alas, the season did not quite start the way we intended it, with Wallingford Head being cancelled 10 days before the event due to the ground in the trailer park being completely saturated. However, we managed to get the senior squad to Quintin Head in January, which was a huge success for the women’s side. We finished second in our category, despite the 6 seat backstay that broke in the middle of our two hours of very chilly marshalling, and which was held together by electric tape during the race.
Hilary also saw the end of the Isis Winter League, in which Merton finished third overall. We entered every one of the races, despite two out of five of them being cancelled due to the river levels. Amongst the races cancelled were Autumn IVs and Nephthys in Michaelmas and, more importantly, Torpids 2024. Indeed, we experienced our first Black Flag in many years and had to save the Boathouse from the flooding.
The women’s side decided to instead focus their training towards Women’s eights Head of the River, which Merton Women haven’t participated in since before the Pandemic. Since our home stretches of river kept hovering between red and black flag, we decided to turn our efforts towards new rowable waters in Gloucester. This proved to be wet, cold, and invaluable training. Unfortunately, WeHoRR was not meant to be. Because of the river levels on the Tideway, the organisers had to cut half of the crews from the race, including almost every Oxford College crew. After a sobering night of disappointment with the crew, we turned our prospects towards Summer VIIIs. Our biggest achievement of the term was probably the sheer amount of boats we rigged.
In the run up to the end of Hilary, MCBC took on a 24-hour Ergathon, accumulating over two-thousand pounds for Homeless Oxfordshire. Thank you to everyone who donated. Aside from the charitable success of the Ergathon, it was a beautiful event for the whole squad to bond over, having spent little to no time on the river together that term. There is nothing quite like meeting up with your teammates at 3am for a two-hour shift on the erg and sitting down on a seat that is already too warm for comfort!
Our Easter training camp took place at Wimbleball Lake. On theme with the year we had had so far, Wimbleball was wet, but even wetter due to the many capsizes MCBC went through. Our head coaches, Rachel and Jess, made sure our novices got to finally experience the joys of rowing by immediately putting them in singles. Sounds terrifying, but the novices I am referring to are the new captains for the next academic year, so clearly it wasn’t terrifying enough.
In Trinity, we finally saw something that we thought we might never see again, an OURCs green flag. I have never been as impressed with anyone’s hard work as I was with our ex-novices this term. Most of them had only ever been in a boat a handful of times, but with the help of our brilliant W2 coach, Timea, and five training sessions a week, W2 made waves. In the meantime, our Women’s 4+ made it to Bedford Regatta in St Edmund Hall’s new Filippi 4+ and won their category, taking home a beautiful tankard.
Last but not least in our ‘successful despite itself’ season came Summer VIIIs. This last week of the season brought double blades for the women’s side, an accumulation of 10 bumps across our two crews, with both crews going up a division. And this was despite W1 only having five members able to participate in all the training and having to find subs a couple days before the first day of VIIIs, and W2 learning to row that very term. Eights week exhibited a fierce unity in the crews and throughout the women’s side and MCBC. Our coxes, Daniel and Victor, had never yet had the chance to navigate the beautiful chaos of Bumps, Daniel coming to the Isis from the Tideway, and Victor usually sitting in one of the opposite facing seats of the boat. They adjusted to it remarkably, and their commitment to the perfect racing line and transformative racing calls was unmatched. It was a shame for Daniel’s hyper-detailed race plan (which he spent many hours on) that W1 bumped before the Gut every day.
The most remarkable thing about the 2023-2024 Women’s side has been their complete inability to settle for less than their dreams and goals. Merton women have been absolutely restless and stubborn, their minds tunnel visioned on success. It has certainly paid off.
This year on the men’s side of Merton College Boat Club has certainly been one to remember, filled with tough competition, tough conditions, and great commitment from the entire squad. My vice-captains, Denys Bystrov (2022) and Victor Chu (2022), and I are immensely proud of the squad’s development and achievements.
Michaelmas term started strongly, with a successful drive for recruitment of new members. Unfortunately, the weather conditions were quick to put a spanner in the works and red flags (no-rowing) on both the Isis and at Godstow meant focus quickly shifted to the erg room. With a great training programme organised by our Novice Captains, Daniel Smith (2022) and Josi Jebens (2022), and the great number of social events organised by or social secretaries, Louis Macro (2022) and Imogen Walsh (2020) our numbers kept strong and the novices certainly had an active first term.
Meanwhile, the seniors were hard at work, training and progressing under our new head coach for the year, Jess Foster. The strength and potential of the crew was quick to see, posting the third fastest time in IWL A and entering the fastest 4+ in IWL B towards the end of the term.
A wet winter meant we returned in Hilary Term to a flooded Isis and Godstow stretch. Water training was hard to come by, with the first opportunity to get some water time actually coming in the form of Quintin Head. Despite no consistent water-time since October 2023, the boat felt good in the warm-up and it was great to be back out on the water. However, the optimism was short-lived as the rudder of the boat snapped off 500m into the 4.4km race. A stop-and-start tactic had to be adopted. Like redirecting a missile, the crew would have to row in a straight line until a bend in the river, upon which they would have to spin almost statically. Despite this, the crew were not overtaken on the course itself and were not even the slowest Oxford college crew on the day. The crew showed great character and determination to finish and put their all into the race, and the potential going into Torpids was clear to see.
Nevertheless, weather conditions would once again come to haunt the club, with Torpids 2024 being cancelled. But, we would not let this stop the club from putting their hard work to a good cause, completing a 24-hour ergathon sponsoring Homelessness Oxfordshire, rowing over 600,000m and raising over £2,000. A great achievement by the club and a great way to end Hilary term.
Before attention turned to Summer VIIIs, The Men’s side took part in the Head of the River Race. The crew on the day punched in a great time of 19:22.7 and came 17th of 41 crews within the Medium Academic Category, making it the fastest time of any Merton Crew to race at the Head of the River Race.
And then, Summer VIIIS training began. Crews were set, and with the more forgiving weather conditions the squad churned out the water outings like there was no tomorrow. With two weeks to go until VIIIs, we sent a crew to Bedford Regatta. While disappointing to only make it to the semi-finals of our category, the squad was determined to build upon the result going into bumps, and that certainly happened. Our M1 crew went +3 over the four days of VIIIs, narrowly missing out on an over-bump on Jesus College to propel the crew into Division 1, but in a great position to push for the top division next year. Our M2 crew also did incredibly well, going +2 and putting next year’s M2 at the top of division 5 and in a prime position to bump up into division 4 and enter the set divisions (not requiring rowing-on to qualify). All in all, a splendid campaign to wrap up the year.
Denys, Victor and I end our tenure as captains incredibly proud of what the squad has accomplished and are honoured to have led the men’s side this year. In the face of an exceptionally tough year, the squad really pulled together and showed off the very best that MCBC has to offer. We would like to thank everyone who made this year possible and supported the squads’ efforts. It is with great pleasure that I hand over to Josh Maisuria-Hull (2023) as Captain for next year and I look forward to him taking the squad to even greater heights.
New year, new challenges! After the past academic year of rowing was not less than drowned in an endless drizzle, new developments – apparently, there was some kind of virus going around – should see the new rain-induced creativity in our training schedule to be carried over to 20/21. However, the motivation to enjoy the water-time whenever restrictions would allow it may have been higher than ever: The combination of a great amount of experience remaining in the club well mixed with new energy from the novice ranks it turned out to be a fantastic year for rowing in Merton, which is best summed up by sheer excellent performances in Summer torpids.
As customary in Michaelmas term, we focused on those Mertonians new to the college or who are taking a new interest in the sport altogether. Many appreciated the companionship, structure and beautiful sunrises which accompany rowing in an otherwise isolating and chaotic start into the term. And so, it was not twenty, not thirty – but sixty Novices between the women’s and men’s side who gave rowing a go.
Given the precious opportunity of outdoor activities during that time, every effort was made by our novice captains and many additional helpers to safely run a relentless program that saw up to five boats out on a single day and a record-breaking total of 22 confirmed training sessions in week 2.
The initial euphory was soon dampened by what should soon be known as “the second wave” of Covid cases flooding the UK and Oxford, halting all in-person training for Hilary term. Furthermore, cancellations of all novice regattas or Torpids meant that, once more, the experience of an actual boat race was delayed into the foreseeable future. Making the best of the situation (…after all, if there has to be a period without actual outdoor rowing, what better time than the coldest and darkest of the year…), training buddy-ups, regular online circuit-exercises, a virtual training camp and theoretical sessions built the bridge to keep us going over the winter.
With spring it came: Rowing was back and there was “some sort of summer bumps event” in the pipeline. After all, Trinity would be the term to remember. Training back in full force, M1 chopped away the miles at Godstow while M2 found its mojo on the Isis stretch. The Isis Summer League races gave many of us our first race experience as both crews zipped down the Isis in anticipation of the rowing year highlight: Summer Torpids!
In a week of nothing but sunshine, M1 fiercely continued our campaign up the Torpid charts, bumping up the first three days and just about missing Univ M1 on day 4 thus bringing us within reach of division 1. Meanwhile, M2, having seen how it’s done, went to make a statement themselves and won blades despite having to repeatedly bump a boat three places ahead. With all this new energy, it will be exciting to see what the next year is going to deliver.
The rowing year began for the men’s side with the senior squad training towards the Fairbairn Cup on the river Cam and the novices training towards Christ Church Regatta. Our Fairbairn crew would finish in a respectable 14th place and the first novice crew was unlucky to be knocked out in the thirdround. The success of the novice programme under the leadership of Ty Rallens (Kellogg, 2012) was evident from the fact that by the middle of Michaelmas a handful of novices were regularly joining senior squad outings, and two would join the First Torpid in Hilary term.
In Hilary term, the men’s squad ran a system of matched eights, with the rowers in competition for the first and second eights training together and entering all three Isis Winter Leagues. Strong results from both crews were early evidence that this would be a successful year. Despite the disappointment of qualifying only two men’s crews for Torpids, the bumps campaign would turn out to be an unprecedented success, with both crews bumping every day to win blades. This is the first time in MCBC history that the First and Second Torpids have won blades in the same year, leaving the First Torpid on bungline six in Division 2 and the Second Torpid on bungline two in Division 5.
At the end of Hilary term, the first boat entered the Head of the River Race for the second year running, this time placing 114th in a time of 19 minutes and 40 seconds. Notably Merton was the fastest of 24 Oxbridge college crews racing that day, besting Trinity, Balliol and Brasenose as well as a host of Cambridge first division crews.
Over the Easter vac, we returned to the Amstel for our second annual training camp. Generous support from College and from our host club Willem III made for an extremely productive week’s training and set up our Trinity term well.
For only the second time in the last 20 years, Merton fielded four men’s crews in Summer Eights, a real achievement that highlights the depth of the club. Overall results were mixed during Eights Week. The Second Eight fell two places, having lost two of their most experienced rowers from Torpids to academic commitments, but put on a sterling performance on Saturday to close on Wolfson II before a klaxon cut the race short.
The First Eight had a disappointing Wednesday of racing, narrowly missing out on catching Mansfield after tactical errors, a crab in the Gut and a klaxon which stopped the division when Mansfield was a mere canvas away. The crew showed real discipline by regrouping to come back and bump Mansfield with composure on Thursday, and caught Worcester in a mere 21 strokes on Friday. The First Eight rounded off the week with a bump on Hertford in the Gut to finish up three places and leave the crew within sight of the first division.
Since the end of Summer Eights the first boat has continued training hard and will attempt to qualify for the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta on 28 June.
Written by Dylan Gutt (2017) Men’s Rowing Captain 2018-19
It has been yet another great year for women’s rowing at Merton. Even before the start of the year we came across the excellent opportunity to be sponsored by Swift Racing. We had the pleasure of rowing in one of its Elite shells for the duration of the year, which undoubtedly contributed significantly to the success of the women this year.
While our returning rowers trained in their superb shell at Godstow, the freshly recruited novices were learning all about rowing through our extremely successful novice programme. At Christ Church Regatta, the women’s novice first boat finished fourth overall, marking three consecutive years of Merton women finishing in the top four. The keenest of the novices joined a few of the seniors to compete in Fairbairn Regatta in Cambridge at the end of term, which proved a valuable experience for the whole crew.
In Hilary, W1 put up great performances in the Isis Winter Leagues, catching the eye of many on the river. W2 persevered through some cancelled outings and saw great improvements throughout term. After being tied with St Benet’s for the last qualifying spot in Torpids, and because of poor availability for the races, W2 formed an unofficial composite crew with St Benet’s competing as the first-ever St Benet’s Women’s First Torpid. ‘Benerton’ ended their Torpids campaign winning footship spoons, but having had great fun racing together. W1 had a hopeful start to the campaign with a bump on the first day, but a series of unfortunate races left them on -5 at the end of the week.
During the Easter vacation the squad returned to Amsterdam after last year’s training camp’s success. Training three times a day for a week, it was a great way to build up momentum for the start of term and the Eights campaign, and the squad developed together very rapidly.
W1 came back even more fierce and competitive than before. Training at Godstow five times a week, it was clear they were getting ready for a successful Summer Eights. On the Isis, W2 was also training enthusiastically despite sometimes struggling to fill all the seats. In a testament to the depth of Merton women’s rowing, 15 Merton students and alumni rowed with W2 throughout Eights Week. The crew finished the week on -3, after a klaxon on the first day as they were a few strokes away from a bump put an end to what could perhaps have been a very different campaign.
However, the dedication of W1 really did pay off with the historic results they obtained. After six years of not bumping once, W1 went on to bump a record-setting five times over the course of the week, winning blades for the first time since 1999 for a Merton women’s first boat. It was the best way possible to end a fantastic season of women’s rowing at Merton.
Thanks must be given to the incredibly hard-working MCBC committee, as well as our coaches Ian Smith, Stan Billington and Daniel Sadler. I am very excited to see what the future holds for Merton women, and I wish Sanne Van Den Berg (2018) the very best for her captaincy.
Written by Matilde Soares da Silva (2017) Women’s Rowing Captain 2018-19
The 2017-18 season has seen Merton’s men’s side reaffirm itself on the river as a force to be reckoned with.
Starting the year with a large intake of novice rowers, several talented new coxes and a varied group of returning rowers, it quickly became apparent that we had the potential for a successful year. The arrival of a new men’s coach and the opening of a brand new erg room in the Sports Pavilion gave us the impetus to train hard both on and off the water. Although our Christ Church Regatta novices, despite some exciting and hard-fought races, did not get as far as they had hoped, the development squad obtained promising results at a number of smaller races on the Isis.
With M1 and M2 crews selected early on in Hilary term, and a keen M3 coming together as well, the squad continued to progress week after week despite the cold mornings and sometimes challenging river conditions. The arrival of a gorgeous Fillippi F42 shell and a brand new coaching launch – acquired through generous donations from our American friends and alumni – gave the squad an extra edge going into the final stages of preparation for Torpids. Unfortunately, our ambitious plans could not be fully carried out because the exceptionally cold weather caused several race days to be cancelled. Still, M1 kept its place in Division 2 despite a very strong Exeter coming up from behind; M2 bumped in less than 20 strokes on day 1 and would surely have got blades had it been able to race; and M3 also swiftly bumped on day 1 after achieving the fastest finish time at Rowing On.
In preparation for Summer Eights, a group of men’s rowers travelled to Amsterdam for an Easter training camp. Spending a week rowing on the beautiful Amstel River, cycling through the city centre, and sleeping on a cosy sailing ship wasn’t only incredibly fun, but it also had an immediate effect on the quality of rowing in the squad. Coming back to a newly refurbished Harry Quick shell at the start of Trinity term, M2 was able to make the most of its training on the Isis, while M1 continued to perfect its technique at Godstow. With three men’s crews entered for Summer Eights, including an M3 containing several recent alumni, our hopes for success were high…
Unfortunately, the first day took away the possibility of blades for either crew: M3 was caught in the Gut by a strong Corpus M2, M1 saw its competitors bumping out and had to creatively manoeuvre its way to a row over, and M2 suffered a spectacular crash under Donny Bridge, sending shockwaves around social media. Nevertheless, Merton showed its resilience and determination from here onwards. On every one of the following days, both M1 and M2 bumped before the green banks, finishing in the middle of the second and fourth divisions respectively. Meanwhile, M3 vigorously defended its place at the top of the last division, claiming a bump on day 2. With a net score of +3, it is safe to say that it was a successful Summer Eights for MCBC.
Over the course of the year, the Boat Club also achieved notable results further downstream of the Isis stretch, participating in a number of external regattas. Last summer, a Merton delegation won BR points at both Henley Town & Visitors’ Regatta and at Maidenhead Regatta. In Michaelmas, a men’s four competed in Cambridge’s Fairbairn Cup, clocking the fastest time among all Oxford colleges. Last but not least, a men’s eight participated in the Head of the River Race on the Tideway, where it overtook five crews and finished 119th, our highest place in recent history.
Overall, this year’s achievements are testament to the depth and enthusiasm we currently have in MCBC’s men’s squad. With Dylan Gutt (2017) and Mantas Abazorius (2013) taking over as captains next year, we can be certain that the Boat Club will continue to go from strength to strength!
The strength of the Merton women’s squad continues to grow year on year. Michaelmas saw a lucky windfall of keen novice rowers who have proved very enthusiastic members of the boat club. Through their hard work, and the support of senior rowers and our coach, who committed themselves to running a demanding novice training programme, the women’s novice boat finished fourth in Christchurch Regatta, continuing a solid run after last year’s victory. With this behind them, it looked to be an exciting year for women’s rowing, with the development squad making progress on the water at Godstow. At the end of the term, four of the dev squad made the trip to Cambridge to compete in the Fairbairn Cup, a long 3.4km race down the Cam.
It was testament to the commitment of the squad and the invaluable help of committee members that we were able to make it through a tough Hilary term, during which bad weather and illness cancelled weeks’ worth of outings. Come Torpids, however, W1 and W2 were looking impressive, putting in some very decent performances during that term’s Isis Winter League races. Indeed, so much so, that the local rumour mills put W1 on ‘blades watch’ for Torpids. Sadly, it was not to be, as bitter cold, wind and snow cancelled racing on the second and third days of racing, leaving the crew heartily disappointed. An unfortunate race left W2 with one bump on the first day, but W1 were at least proud to come away with bumps on Queen’s and Wadham II.
On such a trajectory, it was fantastic to be able to keep up the momentum among the squad on the first training camp that Merton has seen in a number of years. Travelling to Amsterdam, eight rowers and a cox were worked hard with three outings a day for five days on the gorgeous Amstel river. Such an opportunity to row together, with fresh coaching in a new environment, meant the crew developed well together ahead of the Eights campaign.
Trinity rowing saw W1 return to Godstow and, alongside the gleaming new launch, dedicate themselves to five outings a week. Another run of illness saw the crew cycle through rowers at an alarming rate, finally finding a crew the weekend before Summer Eights began. The infamous four-year spoons streak loomed large over the crew, but they were quietly confident having made great improvements in technique all term. Impressive commitment from all ensured that W1 did indeed break with tradition, finishing the week on -3 (rather than -4) thanks to a lucky escape from St Anthony’s on the second day, as they took a course into the bank in the Gut. If that wasn’t enough cause for celebration, W2 put in an even stronger show. Having struggled to put together a crew for outings all term, they rowed remarkably well to bump Green Templeton III, Somerville III and Pembroke IV.
It has been a pleasure to see Merton women’s rowing continue to progress and we look forward to another exciting season next year. Thanks should definitely go to the whole MCBC committee for their work and especially to our coach, Ian Smith. Matilde Soares da Silva (2017) has proven an exceptionally committed member of the squad and as the incoming captain I’m sure she’ll do great things for the women’s side.
Merton College Boat Club are looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious Men’s coach for the coming academic year. Competitive pay available, all applications welcome. Trial outings will be held on the Isis in the next two weeks.
MCBC is proud to have a newly refurbished Men’s 1st shell, a brand new launch, and a recently opened erg room to its disposition this year. With an ambitious Men’s squad eager to continue climbing in the bumps charts, and planning to enter several external regattas throughout the year, we are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced individual to help us reach our full potential.
Initially coaching the men’s Dev squad in Michaelmas term (12-16 people), you would transition towards coaching the Men’s 1st VIII in Hilary and Trinity term.
Your responsibilities:
Help design and oversee an exciting and challenging training programme with weekly water sessions, erg sessions, and circuits.
Be available to coach up to 5 outings per week including up to 4 early morning sessions at Godstow.
Together with the Men’s captains, select crews for Torpids and Summer Eights.
Bank ride your crew at each of those regattas.
Ideally, be available for a 5-day external training camp in April.
Competitive pay available, all applications welcome. Trial outings will be held on the Isis in the next two weeks.
Not quite three months of peaceful training on the river and here we are for Eights Week! With M3 successfully rowing on last Friday, four crews in maroon (well… maybe fuchsia, depending on whether you ordered the latest round of kit with that colour accident) are aiming to bump up.
The following reports were written during the week and distributed on the alumni Facebook group
M3 [MDiv7 – bungline 1] -1
With a motley crew of some of the guys fancying a summer paddle and veterans of “the tree” the Women’s 2nd Torpid (nowadays colloquially known on the river as “doing a Merton”) braved both rowing on, clocking in the last qualifying time of the day which both qualified them but saddled them with the misfortune of inheriting last year’s bungline. Now squaring off against St Hilda’s M2 who qualified 25 seconds ahead of them, fight was valiant, but unfortunately short and the division headship had to be handed over. Though St Hilda’s failing to bump up as sandwich boat allows a chance for revenge tomorrow.
M2 [MDiv4 – bungline 11] – row over
With a strong start from a difficult bungline M2 had closed hard and fast on their Brasenose counterpart. At Salter’s a mere quarter length separated the Merton boat from the Brasenose stern which quickly became just a canvas even decreasing to a foot or two as they shot Donnington Bridge. Unfortunately, the last few centimetres are the hardest to close and with crews nearly evenly match, the race rhythm and composure showed tenacity and the hard training, but left both crews returning to the same bunglines tomorrow. Hopefully the row will be shorter and will come to a sudden, bumpy, end.
M1 [MDiv3 – bungline 2] – row over
Looking sharp and composed during the warm up M1 was looking to clear Exeter out of the way in order to be able to bump up into the next division. A concerted effort and strong and solid row, closing in onto Exeter showed a crew set up well for the bump with good coxing line at difficult corners, but Exeter, for today, escaped the Merton bow. With Exeter not being able to capitalise on their row over, the battle for division headship and the chance to move up is back on tomorrow.
W1 [WDiv2 – bungline 9] -1
In their freshly refurbished and bright-purple Joe Virden, the Women’s 1st Eight challenged the Magdalen and Linacre women in WDiv2. Unfortunately, the strong graduate crew from Linacre proved the better one of the day W1 will have to look for their bungline one further down tomorrow.
Thursday
Round up of day two of Summer Eights: a rather mixed day for Mertonians, but some good rowing nonetheless. The weather continues to hold beautifully.
M3 [MDiv7 – bungline 2] -1
Despite a variation in line-up due to injury, M3 put in good showing in the first division of the day. After a great start and a good settle the crew found a strong rhythm as they pushed upstream under Donnington Bridge. Balliol M4 – a blades-tapped Schools Eight – unfortunately made an early appearance alongside. Despite concession, the large speed differential led to Balliol running over the Merton stern, lodging themselves firmly in the rudder yoke and spinning M3 into the bank. It wasn’t pretty. The tally on the Merton side is a bent rudder stem and yoke and a shared-off bow ball. Presumably the Balliol bow will have need for a few patches as well.
With strong crew improvements, despite the downward slope on the bumps charts, the crew is looking forward to the remainder of the week.
M2 [MDiv4 – bungline 11] -1
Today St Hilda’s men took revenge for last year when the 2nd VIII had inflicted the first bump on them since they started fielding men’s crews. A kerfuffle with crews in front, both Brasenose M2 and Osler House had different interpretations of “clearing the racing line” necessitated some hard rudder whereas St Hilda’s could make use of a slightly straighter gaining hard. Unfortunately, an appeal led to no avail and M2 will be starting from the unfavourable bungline 12 tomorrow.
M1 [MDiv3 – bungline 2] +2
The men’s 1st VIII had not only one, but two chances to showcase them putting the hard training of the last months to good use. After a strong start and closing hard onto Exeter, the gap was merely half a length at the entrance of the Gut, having closed it to a canvas by the time both crews raced past Longbridges further upstream along Green Bank. While it nearly looked like to be a replay of yesterday, Exeter had to bow to a strong row from the men up Green Bank. Oriel M2 did not stand a chance and Merton has now returned to MDiv2 after nearly a decade of absence.
W1 [WDiv2 – bungline 11] -1
In true Merton spirit with the boats improving even during the race weeks, the women’s 1st VIII had made it to Top Gut until they had to concede to LMH despite rowing and chunky rhythm. Tomorrow they will have Exeter on their tails who will try and avenge their men being taken down by Merton M1 today.
Friday
On the third day fortunately for one boat, unfortunately for all others, the trends of the earlier days were continued. A bonus for all boats was the continued amazing weather and the banks being more and more filled with spectators cheering on the racing crews.
M3 [MDiv7 – bungline 3] -1
Our fun mixed boat is unfortunately placed with several schools Eights around them. As such they had to concede just after Donnington Bridge to a powerful St Catz pushing them to start a bungline further down for the last races.
M2 [MDiv4 – bungline 12] -1
One of those days when planned race (quick start, settle to pace, pushing off Donnington Bridge, speeding up green Bank and catching St Hilda’s at Boathouse Island) was somewhat different to the reality. St Hilda’s bumped out quickly on a slow mixed Osler House crew ahead and Lincoln raced up from behind. A bow on stern bump as M2 was the result. Clearing the race line under full power, the Osler House cox was fearing another bump, but the well-trained crew’s responsiveness prevented that. The next race should be the best one of the week.
W1 [WDiv2 – bungline 11] -1
A slightly rocky start did not stop the women from gaining 1/4 length on LMH quickly whose start seemed to be less determined than yesterday. As the crews settled unfortunately Exeter W1 were out for revenge for their men being bumped by M1 yesterday and charged up the bunglines. A valiant push held them at bay for some lengths but the bump was indisputable right before shooting under Donnington Bridge. The last races are now to stave off the dreaded soup implements.
M1 [MDiv2 – bungline 13] +1
A quick start a high-paced but short race: St Anne’s had nothing to show and M1’s powerful rhythm and speed and had to concede in the Gut.
Saturday
The final day of Eights week was a very eventful one, fortunately none of the Merton crews were involved in any of the (multitude of) crashes which happened. We had two full boat evacuations, even MDiv1 had to be klaxoned due to a severe crash in the Gut. Luckily the Magdalen cox is alright, though their brand new Empacher is less so. Both Headship crews rowed over meaning Christ Church are holding it for the men and Wadham for the women.
M3 [MDiv7 – bungline 4] -1
As every day, our motley crew of M3 paddled to the bunglines. Having been relegated three times so far in the bungline fight, the plan was to not continue last year’s trajectory and collect spoons. Unfortunately, Keble M4 was chasing and since their two coaches, both ex-Oriel M1 rowers one of whom rowed Isis, decided to sub into the crew our valiant M3 had no chance. At least Keble spend some money of their rather deep pockets on a set of wooden spoons which were presented to our crew.
M2 [MDiv4 – bungline 13] +5
A rather surprising reversal of fortune brought M2 significantly back into the plus today by achieving a double over bump. With Lincoln M2 ahead who had a very likely bump on Osler House, the expectation was to fight for the row-over. The chasing Regent’s Park already having rowed over as head of MDiv5 were now pursuing both their blades and a promotion to MDiv4. They had closed to overlap by Donnington Bridge. A series of pushes, only few feet of manoeuvring space through the Gut, M2 never had more than a canvas of breathing room from the chasing Regent’s who gained overlap again at Longbridges. A forced early crossing due to bumped-out crew having wrongly cleared to Green Bank, the final move was made at Univ raft. The chase was broken, clear water opened up and M2 powered to the line. A row to their true potential and credit to their training.
Much to everyone’s surprise, no successful row-over was announced on the tannoy, but a bump on Brasenose M2 instead. While Brasenose (having started on bungline 8) claims to have been wedged in by crews bumping out ahead of them and promptly appealed, their attempt to disguise their lack of coxing skills by blaming others was discovered and the bump upheld, thus creating a double over-bump in favour of M2 leaving them net +3 for Eights Week!
W1 [WDiv2 – bungline 12] -1
A great start allowed W1 to reel LMH slightly back in with the Wolfpack of Wolfson W2, the highest-placed ladies’ 2nd VIII, hot on their heels. The brief hopes of not repeating ourselves were squashed despite a good fight. The bump came just before Donnington Bridge. Despite another addition to W1’s collection of cutlery particularly suitable for the soup course, the week ended on a positive note as the crew put in a strong effort and plans for resurgence after the long vac with strong autumn and winter training are already afoot.
M1 [MDiv2 – bungline 12] +1
In a fantastic continuation of the previous days, M1 bumped up and decisively so: Pembroke M2 was caught under Donnigton Bridge. A very good performance reeled in Pembroke throughout the bunglines and this was an excellent end to Summer Eights. Not only did the crew bump up a division, but by sending Pembroke to the bottom of the division has now surpassed the highest-placed 2nd VIII on the river as well as becoming the most senior boat in the club. The only frustration of the week was the row-over on Wednesday, meaning that the crew did not repeat last year’s success of winning blades.
W1 warming up on Saturday
Overall summary for this year’s Eights:
M1: ±0/+2/+1/+1
Start: 2nd Div III
Finish: 11th Div II
M2: ±0/-1/-1/+5
Start: 11th Div V
Finish: 8th Div V
M3: -1/-1/-1/-1
Start: 1st Div VII
Finish: 5th Div VII
W1: -1/-1/-1/-1
Start: 9th Div II
Finish: 13th Div II
Men’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
6
7
Stroke
Cox
Men’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
6
7
Stroke
Cox
Men’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
6
7
Stroke
Cox
1st Eight
Lukas Koch
Jaime Valdemoros Gomez
Frederick Crowley
Mate Kovacs-Deak
Jacob White
Jacob Cushnie
Mantas Abazorius
Samuel Picard
Katherine Davies
2nd Eight
Tom Murphy
Paul de Jong
Verena Schenzinger
Ryan Burke
Lukas Krone
Michael Bruckner
Christian Wilmes
Andrius Ovsianas
Tyson Rallens
3rd Eight
Daniel Sherlock
Josie Western
Tito Bastianello
Andrew Kenyon-Roberts
Yuri Van Nieuwerk
Tyson Rallens
Piotr Khrkowski
Edwin Lock
Josie Western
Georgina Fooks
Laura Hankins
Lily McElwee
Carla Schmelzer
Rebecca Henzel
Daniel Kennedy
Paris Jaggers
Tif Brydges
Women’s
Bow
2
3
4
5
6
7
Stroke
Cox
1st Eight
Kirsty Mitchell
Venla Karpinnen
Sinead Duffy
Phoebe Pexton
Charlotte Oakes
Frances Des Forges
Esther Borsi
Josephine Smith
Tom Murphy
On Wednesday, 3rd May, we held our AGM and we are looking forward to build on the strengths of the past year and the exciting projects to come (boathouse, erg room, to name a few). Traditionally the new committee will have a few weeks to work alongside the current one before taking over at midnight on Saturday of Eights Week.
Merton College Boat Club will be lead for the 2017 – 18 season by:
Secretary – Charlotte Oakes
Men’s Captain – Samuel Picard
Women’s Captain – Paris Jaggers
Captain of Coxes – Katie Davies
Treasurer – Jacob White
Women’s Vice-Captain – Venla Karppinen
Men’s Vice-Captain – Thomas Murphy
Water Safety Advisor – Lukas Koch
PR & Alumni Officer – Tyson Rallens
Men’s Social Secretary – Paul de Jong
Women’s Social Secretary – Julia Zlotkowska
