This has been a year of overcoming difficult odds for the Water. There have been a series of spectacular performances by a wide variety of members of the boat club. Last summer, Charlie Ogilvie and James David managed to scull the navigable Thames in a double, from Lechlade all the way to Putney, something never before attempted by a Westminster crew. In similar style, the Boat Club entered its first ever team in the Great River Race, an annual 22 mile marathon from Eel Pie Island in Richmond to The Isle of Dogs, finishing first in the J16 and Junior events in the Atlantic rowing boat Marion.
As well as surmounting long distances, Westminster has had to deal with a crisis of age, with far less older oarsmen than usual. This did not stop the victory of three J16's (James Summerfield, Jack Holborn and Olly Newton), and a double of Anna Theophilus and Julia Parker, over some of the top junior squads at Hampton and St. Paul's Schools, to win the plate at the first Schools' Supersprints Regatta at Millwall Docks last September.
Those older members of the top squad: Dan Barry, James Woodrow, James Cockburn and Max Bolt, have been critical in the binding together of an exceptionally young First VIII this year. This crew won the Worcester Head during the February Exeat, and went on to gain a very respectable placing in the Schools' Head of the River and the Men's Head of the River the following weekend. The eight was backed up by a solid second crew, a sparse luxury for a squad of Westminster's size. The extra winter training, and successes in the many head races certainly bode well for the events of this summer, although at the National Junior Championships, (which replaces the National Schools' Regatta) competition is in a J16 rather than a 1st VIII. Westminster has an exceptional record to uphold at this regatta, as in 1999 all crews entered made their finals, with gold medals in the J16 and Junior coxed four events. The Junior four was stroked by Olly McGregor, who has since gone on to win a gold medal at the Junior World Championships in the same class of boat.
Technical difficulties have also been defeated, with Pete Sheppard, an experienced coach from Molesey, joining the main coaching staff of CD Riches and Pete Proudley. Nick Maloney, newly returned from his trip to South Africa, has proved invaluable as the new boatman, whilst two new shells have been christened, a quadruple scull and a coxed four, and countless others refurbished and renamed. The Boat Club has taken up permanent summer residence in the new London Regatta Centre at the Royal Albert Docks in addition to the present site in Putney. The training on this Dockland course, which cannot be achieved on the Thames Tideway, will prove essential during the National Junior Championships, held in late May on a similar course in Nottingham.
Girls' rowing at Westminster has reached a greater strength this year with the welcome addition of a new coach, Sue Walker. Last year saw Westminster's first entry into Women's Henley in a coxed four, which unfortunately missed qualification narrowly, having managed weeks before to reach the final of The National Schools' Regatta. This year has seen top performances from several crews, including single sculls at Scullers' Head and at Gainesville Crew Classic, and a coxed four that won the Schools' Head in the Novice category.
Following the return of Fiona Freckleton from maternity leave, the J14 and J15 squads are beginning once again to train oarsmen to the standard required for the First Eights of years to come. Outstanding performances include the third place in the J14 octuples event at the Schools' Head, as well as competition at regattas such as Hampton and Henley Schools' Heads throughout the winter. At The National Junior Championships, they will compete in two J15 Eights, the second one composed of half J14's and half J15's.
There has also been a move in recent years to encourage rowing at training camps abroad. At the end of the Easter Break, the whole of the Top Squad flew out to Gainesville, Florida, to train on the muddy waters of Newnan's Lake, complete with its ten-foot alligators. Westminster found success at the Gainesville Crew Classic 2000, a state regatta, including spectacular wins for Dan Barry and James Woodrow in a double scull, and Anna Theophilus in a Junior single. Following these performances, the Club made the front page of the Gainesville Sun, which featured a photograph of Jonathan Avanessian and Praneet Shivaprasaad training on the lake in their J16 double.
A second successful American trip, this time to Boston, Massachusetts, took place in October last year. A Westminster four, stroked by Will Sweet, fought through the Head of the Charles Regatta to gain a high placing in the Varsity Fours event. In the year ahead, the Boat Club hopes to renew and establish links with clubs overseas so that it can continue to offer the variety of events and activities that it does. Trips are being planned for Boston, Hawaii, Hong Kong and China in the coming seasons.
Although the Boat Club has had a very successful year, it is with anticipation that we all look forward to events in the run up to The Henley Royal Regatta 2000. Some individual crew successes are anticipated at the other events during this term: The National and Junior Championships, but it has been our goal all year to produce a competent eight for this crucial regatta. Although the crew is younger and less experienced than in previous years, it has been training and racing with the supreme enthusiasm which is the marque of this Club. Although the odds may be stacked against us, as a smaller school team, the strength that Westminster has shown this year in the face of competition is bound, in the end, to pull us through.
Thanks to the continuing efforts of James Summerfield and Charlie Hayes, you can now catch up with all the important Boat Club news on the Internet at http://www.wsbc.org.uk.
Olly Newton CC and Jack Holborn LL