Merton College Boat Club Newsletter | Hilary Term 2019 Secretary of Thesecretary Boat Club of the Boat Club Lukas Koch Lukas Koch
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Boat Club Newsletter Merton College Boat Club Newsletter | Hilary Term 2019 Secretary of theSecretary Boat Club of the Boat Club Lukas Koch Lukas Koch Men's Captain of Boats Men's Vice‐Captain Dylan Gutt Mantas Abazorius Women's Captain of Boats Women's Vice‐Captain Senior Member Matilde Soares da Silva Paris Jaggers Jonathan Prag Captain of Coxswains Water Safety Advisor Boatman Katherine Davies Zijun Chen Mark Seal Novice Captain Alumni Officer Secretary of the Friends Tyson Rallens Gian Piero Milani Henry Braun Treasurer Social Secretary Thomas Murphy Wick Willett & Emma Ball Words from the river Contents by Henrik Hannemann Watching from afar one can only imagine how the Novice rowers off to a promising start p. 2 dynamism and energy which has seemengly taken hold in the Club must feel from the boats! I wrote last year that A very full week of bumps ‐ Summer Eights 2018 p. 3 Merton has had some successful years on the river and moving up the bumps tables. Last Eights Week and this Summer racing at Reading and Henley p. 5 Torpids has certainly supported that claim. Merton sculls to London in aid of Pain Relief p. 6 As promised last year, this newsletter will make a reappearence to keep everyone abreast of developments A new erg room in the Pavilion p. 7 both on and off the river. I am very happy to say that Merton blades being seen beyond the Isis has become a Torpids 2019 ‐ a very special vintage p. 7 standard occurance once more. Fully utilising the facilities at hand, both in terms of fleet and land training options, A partnership and new opportunities p. 9 crews have ventured for summer regatta racing and Tideway Heads among others. Merton seniors on the Cam p. 9 While it may seem that the special few years at university are far removed and out of mind once work and Coxing ‐ a success factor p. 9 family life takes us away from Oxford, it is certainly not quite the case for the Boat Club alumni. How I have Pairs Head ‐ Merton lightweight scullers take on the p. 11 experienced fellow alumni engaging from far afield and Tideway across many years is a testament to the comradeship of the oar, as Theodore Cook put it. While the times of From the Club's archives p. 11 telegrams may be over, well wishes reached the crews from as far afield as Australia spurring them on to blades. Also, seeing more and more alumni coming down to the Isis for @mertonboatclub bumps, I do hope this trend will continue. There is always a place for you at the boathouse and, of course, everyone is @mertoncollegebc warmly invited to the Summer Eights Dinner. @facebook.com/groups/alumnifriends.mcbc Having seen the dedication first hand at this years' Torpids, I can only congratulate the crews, coaches, and boatman and hope for many more good years to come! Photo credits (cover page): Henrik Hannemann 1 | Merton College Boat Club Newsletter | Hilary Term 2019 Novice rowers off to a promising start by Charlotte Kilpatrick The Michaelmas novice programme began in 0th week with achieved a remarkable 4th place to the delight of the a rainy taster afternoon on the Isis supplemented by a supporters and crews who ran alongside, offering much wonderful BBQ masterfully overseen by Wick Willet, in needed vocal support and sympathy. The results from all defiance of the conditions. The recruitment of 55 keen our crews reflect Ian's excellent coaching, the support of novices, only partially motivated by the promise of free the experienced rowers from the squad, and of course Ty's food, hinted at the success that Michaelmas was to hold for energy and dedication. Additionally, the novices were able to the Boat Club. Under the guidance of Ty Rallens the novices celebrate the term's achievements at the Regatta Reception passed their swim tests and got onto the water in mixed appropriately bringing the programme to a close with more crews. The following weeks saw progression from square delicious food and drink. The first term with the Boat Club blades to feathered, sixes to eights, and the almost was an intense but incredibly rewarding experience and immediate realisation that an evening erg session with everyone is looking forward to joining current members in Lukas Koch at the Sports Pavilion was an opportunity not Hilary Term in the build‐up to Torpids and to wearing the to be missed. Although the mornings got darker and colder Merton kit with pride. the novices were urged on by the support of the Club and the promise of stash, expertly advised by Tom Murphy. Nephthys Regatta ‐ Crews: Weeks of early mornings on the Isis went by quickly, and Men's novice: C Kilpatrick (Cox), D Testa (S), C Robertson, A the novice crews were mistaken for senior rowers by bank Schellinx, M Drake, R Luttner, D Oliver, M Ramirez, F Munro riders from other colleges on several occasions. In time for (B) Nephthys Regatta in 6th week the novices were able to field Women's novice: C Oakes (Cox), G Van Den Berg (S), C two crews for a thrilling first day of racing. The men's boat Kilpatrick, R Williamson, R Herring, C Lepard, A Hearn, L faced tough opposition from Wolfson College but Buxton, I Carme (B) continued the challenge right up to the finish. The women raced three times throughout the day in a suitable warmup Christ Church Regatta ‐ Crews: for their Christ Church campaign. The next week held an Men's A: C Kilpatrick (Cox), D Testa (S), C Robertson, M impressive number of races for the four crews entered from Geurts, M Drake, R Luttner, D Oliver, M Ramirez, F Munro Merton in Christ Church Regatta, watched by many current (B) members of the Boat Club. The two mixed crews provided Women's A: C Oakes (Cox), G Van Den Berg (S), C less experienced novices with an opportunity to row with Kilpatrick, R Williamson, R Herring, C Lepard, A Hearn, L members of last year's squads in a competitive setting and Buxton, I Carme (B) both boats represented Merton impressively. MA and WA Men's B: GP Milani (Cox), C Burlacu (S), C Groenland, S made it to round 3. The women progressed to the final day Mahanta, J Horrobin, S Van Teutem, A Schellinx, L Eck, S of racing, with what coach Ian Smith described as Bennett (B) "magnificent" rowing. On the final day, WA were able to row Men's C [friendly boat with senior subs]: P Jaggers (Cox), A in the newly sponsored Swift shell for the first time and this Jest (S), U Ristivojevic, D Berry, GP Milani, P Gembis, M contributed to their determination to row four intense Abazorius, T Murphy, C Sheehan (B) races in fairly quick succession. The women eventually Photo credits: the Boat Club (Men's crew), Joseph Rhee (women's crew) Merton Novice Men's A crew and coaches after Christ Church Regatta. Merton Novice Women's A crew during Christ Church Regatta. Hilary Term 2019 | Merton College Boat Club Newsletter | 2 A very full week of bumps Eights Week 2018 byTysonRallens ‐ trajectory was mixed and sometimes gruelling. Beginning with a Mid Gut concession to fast‐rising Corpus M2 (+4 overall) on Wednesday but rising back to head of the division Thursday by bumping Keble M4 with a row‐over at the bottom of MDiv6. On Friday chasing Keble M4 was quickly bumped from behind by St Hilda’s M3, a Schools Eight, leaving Merton M3 to deny Oriel M4 the overbump. Rowing an hour later as sandwich boat in MDiv6 M3 decided to try and catch Corpus Christi M2 in order to prevent a repeat of Thursday. After two promising high‐rate practice starts the crew came out of the blocks at rate 40 and the start proved to be Merton M1 during warm up and on the way to the bunglines. considerably better than Corpus’ one. Gaining to just three‐quarters off Any account of Merton College Boat Club’s experience at Corpus, Merton M3 unfortunately was out‐powered and Summer Eights 2018 must face something important could not quite keep up. On Saturday M3 once again squarely and right at the beginning. On Wednesday of headed MDiv7, chased by Hilda’s M3. They held the Eights, a Merton boat was involved in a serious racing schoolboys off through the Gut but were forced to concede incident that garnered worldwide attention, a strong and and stop by Longbridges. All in all, a ‐1 record for the week, immediate response from the University’s rowing with many hard‐fought races, showed the determination of authorities, and the full cooperation of the Boat Club. Put the crew and the increased depth of the men’s squad. simply, in MDiv4 Merton M2 was chasing Wolfson M2, who bumped Magdalen M2 within a few lengths of the start. Women's Second Eight: Magdalen and Wolfson ended up on the left bank, in the After a three‐year absence from Summer Eights, Merton racing line, and Merton collided into the back of the W2 roared back into bumps racing with the 14th fastest Wolfson boat at speed. Significant changes resulted from Rowing On time out of 29 qualifying crews. Their racing that event. At the time, the University assessed a penalty results are definitive evidence that times are improving for bump against M2 and installed a new cox for the crew. the Boat Club’s women’s side. The only Merton crew to Subsequently Merton has internally assessed its coxing bump up on Wednesday, W2 caught Green Templeton W3 programme and made a number of improvements, within just a few bunglines at the start of the race.