Men's Rowing

And so the men’s side concludes their 184th year in action, with the same level of determination and spirit as at our founding. It has been a phenomenal year filled with tough competition, early mornings and great tenacity from the squad. My vice-captain, Marcus Gamble, and I are hugely proud of the squad’s development and achievements over our tenure.

Starting in Michaelmas, our focus was on the recruitment drive of new members, supported by the novice captains, Lottie Tellyn (2021)and Maia Pereira (2021). We espoused the benefits of rowing as we moved the freshers into their new rooms, continuing at College lunches and BOPs to anyone who would listen. Blessed with cooperative stream levels (for the moment), the novices took to the water with confidence, culminating in the Michaelmas Novice Regatta at the end of the term.

Meanwhile, the seniors started their training on the Port Meadow stretch under the watchful eye of our coach, Adam Donaldson. This training was punctuated by two competitions as we reached the quarter-finals of Autumn Fours but were knocked out in the first round of Nephthys regatta by Keble College. Given that Keble went on to win the Nephthys tournament overall, we’re lodging this as a second-place performance for the squad.

A wet January meant ‘Red Flag’ (no-rowing) conditions for the first three weeks of Hilary. Our newly formed M2 squad racked up hours in the Iffley rowing tank while M1 prepared for a long stint in the erg room. As the river levels dropped, M1 trailered their boats up to Godstow once again. After three weeks of intense training, both squads were ready to give Torpids their all. M2’s chances of qualification were dashed by a stubborn headwind at Rowing On, though this disappointment only provided fuel for their training towards Summer Eights.

After M1’s ascension into Division 1 in Torpids the year before, we sought out a more secure spot from their starting position of 11th on the river. A strong row-over on the first day gave the crew the confidence they needed and M1 secured successive bumps (Teddy Hall, Wadham, St Catz) on the next three days of racing to finish eighth on the river.

Encouraged by this success, our efforts turned toward the Head of the River Race, the largest head race in the country, which runs from Chiswick to Putney. Four of the M2 crew bravely stepped up to complete the 6.8km race and certainly received a baptism by fire as their first racing experience! It was great to see the whole men's side come together to tackle the distance and receive the alumni's messages of support on the day.

Training took no pause over Easter as we returned to Oxford in -1st Week for a joint training camp with the women. The wettest March since 1981 cut short our rowing prospects, but did not dampen our spirits as we set to work in the erg room once again. We faced a tough erg regime put forward by our coach, Andy Munro, whose son (Finlay Munro, 2018) rowed for the club during his time at Merton.

As soon as the river levels dropped, we resumed Trinity outings as normal, relieved to be back on the water and shocked by the amount of light in the mornings. Four glorious weeks of sunny mornings ensued, as M2 found their stride on the Isis and showed incredible progress from Hilary term. Summer Eights was upon us before we knew it and provided the culmination of our training efforts throughout the year.

After an impressive qualifying time, M2 started their campaign in a competitive position at the top of Division 5. Their performance featured some stellar row-overs with some impressive evasive coxing by Ty to escape the bow of Queen’s M2 on Day 1. Meanwhile, Natasha steered M1 into the stern of Queen’s M1 to achieve a bump on their first day of racing. Saturday’s atmosphere on Boathouse Island was incredible with familiar faces of alumni and friends supporting from the bank. M1 and M2 finished the week with net results of -1 and -2 respectively. While these results don’t reflect our efforts expended in training, we look forward to achieving net gain next year.

Marcus and I end the year incredibly proud of what the squad has accomplished. The novices recruited in Michaelmas now form the backbone of our club and we look forward to seeing what they will accomplish next year. We would like to thank everyone who has supported the squads’ efforts, and are honoured to have led the men’s side this year.

Theo Duke (2021)
Men’s Rowing Captain 2022-23

Woah! So THAT is what rowing in Oxford is really like! Post-Covid, and a year with only a handful of days on red flag river levels throughout the entire year, men’s rowing sprang headlong into relatively normal training for the first time in three years. With a culture to nurture back from hibernation, our success in regattas and bumps through the year is something I, my co-captain Max Risher and the rest of the squad can be incredibly proud of.

We started off the year with a beautiful sunny afternoon – the perfect time for a taster day to invite newcomers to the sport. We saw an impressive uptake from the first-year undergraduates as they learnt under the watchful gaze of some of our senior rowers on the towpath. As they got to grips, our senior men raced in Autumn Fours for some side-byside racing on the Isis to gauge fitness and begin gaining some race miles in DC Winfield. With Nephthys and Christ Church Regatta at the end of term, this meant that a huge proportion of the squad raced competitively in Michaelmas and must have caught the bug for it – rowing fever was on its way!

Over the Christmas vac, with help from our wonderful head coach Adam, the men set to work training through the cold to build up fitness for Hilary. Once it arrived, the squad was feeling fit and ready to prepare for Torpids. Come February, the first 2k test for apparently a long time was organised. Turnout to such a demanding test of fitness was incredible and was a testament to how keen our rowers are (as well as competitive). The shared ambition running through the squad was inspiring, and I believe it set the tone for the coming weeks. In Torpids, M2 were unfortunately bumped by several strong crews, yet showed impressive team moral to keep fighting for spots up the bumps charts every stroke they took. M1 began Torpids 13th on the river, at the top spot of Division 2. On the first and second day, they rowed over comfortably, making their first appearance in Div 1 since 2001. On day 3, they bumped Magdalen M1 and on day 4 bumped Trinity M1, bringing them to 11th on the river and firmly in Division 1 for the first time since 1967.

Bouncing off the successes of Torpids, M1 then turned their heads towards the Thames and the famous Head of the River Race. This 6.8km course was set to be a gruelling test of endurance and courage – something these lads had in spades! We used this race as an opportunity to reunite alumni with the club, filling the crew of those remaining in the UK over the vacation with previous M1 rowers. This gave the crew a big challenge, making the 20k session the evening before the race important to dial in technique and crew feel with our incredible cox, Natasha. Come race day, the crew would climb 48 places from its seeding and gain a few brutal blisters along the way.

To top off a fantastic vacation, 12 of the men’s squad (some of whom had only begun rowing weeks earlier) flew to Portugal for our training camp abroad with head coach Adam. For the first time since 2019, we were able to organise this wonderful opportunity for the club and it served as the perfect chance to develop our up-and-coming rowers and coxes. With a few lost phones and watches in the bottom of the Douro river, and a few ‘crash’ courses on coxing, our men’s side explored a wide range of what rowing has to offer.

Trinity then came, and with it spectacular weather. Blue skies in May = bumps every day? Our crews certainly hoped so and set their eyes on crew selection happening early in 2nd Week. Three crews were then ready to race in Summer Eights and were looking fast: M1 and M2 for example breaking our course records up at Godstow and on the Isis respectively by astounding margins. With a successful Bedford Regatta also under their belt, beating Wadham M1 and Univ M2, ambition spread like wildfire from the M1/2 composite crew who raced and soon all three crews were ready to hit the Isis alongside our M3.

The third eight raced hard in rowing on, unluckily missing out on a place in Bumps. M2 rowed well through Eights each day, following a mishap on the start line on day 1 and showing more self-motivation and resilience than any captain could ask for. M1 then bumped within 30 strokes on both day 1 (Hugh’s) and day 2 (New), with an appealed bump on day 3 (Queen’s) which was unfortunately not allowed due to lack of evidence. Saturday saw M1 and M2 have strong, impressive row-overs past the crowds on Boathouse Island, pushing off Hertford M1 and Queen’s M2 respectively. This placed M1, again, at the highest place in 20 years, so maybe alongside M2, they were holding off just so they could put a show on for everyone. With a wonderful atmosphere, it was personally incredibly rewarding to see so many people come down and watch the rowing.

Post-Summer Eights sees the men’s side now involved with filming in a new George Clooney film – The Boys in the Boat. They were hired as extras for the Navy and French crew, contributing to a screen adaptation of the famous story from the 1936 Olympics. Keep your eyes peeled for that in cinemas.

What a wonderful year to see Merton go from success to success. The support and interest that Mertonians now have for rowing (something to do with Eights-fever, I presume) has given me much hope for the future of sport and rowing at Merton, and I look forward to seeing how we progress in the coming years.

Tim Western (2020)
Men’s Co-Captain 2021-22