MER-13565 COVER 2011.indd - Merton College - University of Oxford

NEWS SPORT | WOMEN’S ROWING
qualify for the bumps week fi nishing up
one; a real testament to the strength in depth
in Merton rowing this year.
Over Easter the club held its fi rst training
camp outside Oxford at Walton-on-Thames
in Surrey. A fantastically useful four days
of training was had in conjunction with
Queens’ College Cambridge, and I hope the
camp at the fantastic facilities available at
Walton will become a regular feature in the
club calendar each year.
Back in Oxford after Easter, the Trinity
Term preparation for Summer Eights hit
the ground running. In a step up from
Hilary, four Merton men’s VIIIs qualifi ed
for Eights Week itself; rewarding the focus
on improving the coaching of lower boats
this year. The 1st VIII had a tough week
chasing a very fast Brasenose crew and
trying to hold off a quick Pembroke boat
from behind, which unfortunately managed
to bump us on the Saturday. The 2nd VIII
were again very quick, fi nishing up two
for the week, and only being denied blades
by a couple of klaxons. The 3rd VIII also
showed their progression from the previous
term by fi nishing up two as well. The 4th
VIII rounded off a hugely successful week
for Merton as a whole by achieving a bump
to fi nish up one. Between the men and
the women, Merton led the bumps charts
WOMEN’S ROWING
Merton’s Women’s Boat Club has had a
fantastic year, with a number of notable
successes in college competitions and
external events. We began Michaelmas
in a strong position, with a committed
development squad of 15 girls continuing
from last year, including many from the
10 POSTMASTER | 2011
for most of the week and fi nally fi nished
second on the river in the total bumps
tables, a fantastic achievement for a college
of our size.
I am certain that the coming year holds
further success for the club, and that we
can harness the involvement, enthusiasm
and success this year to create an upward
Eights W1 and the Henley VIII. The
club already seemed to have reversed its
downward trend in the bumps charts, having
performed well in Summer Eights 2010, and
I began my term as captain feeling hugely
enthusiastic about what we could achieve.
We set out aiming to grow in numbers and
sporting professionalism and to bump into
pressure to drive us on further and to greater
heights next year. I pass on the captaincy
to Josh Monahan, knowing that the club is
thriving and in good hands.
Richard Millar
Captain of Boats 2010-11
division one in Eights, whilst maintaining
the fun and sociable atmosphere of the club
that gives it such appeal.
An impressive Fresher recruitment
allowed us to enter four boats in Christ
Church Regatta. With the same number of
men’s crews, MCBC was the largest club
in the regatta, a rather impressive feat! One