Trial Eights 2009
The annual OULRC Trial Eights took place at Henley-on-Thames on Sunday 29th November 2009 at 3pm.
On a wet, cold and wintry afternoon, the crews – named 'East' and 'West' in honour of topical events and the national pride of several oarsmen – raced over the 2000m Henley Boat Races course in preparation for the Lightweight Boat Race against Cambridge on Sunday 28th March 2010. 'East' had looked the more technical crew in training, but 'West' had advantages in power and weight. On the day, 'West', on the Berkshire station, produced an aggressive and effective start, and took half a length from 'East' in the first twenty strokes. 'East' remained composed and tenacious, but were unable to demolish their opponent's resistance and 'West' ran out victors by two-thirds of a length in 5minutes, 37 seconds.
Many thanks to all those who helped organise and run the race, and to those who allowed OULRC the use of facilities at UTRC and Leander clubs. Thanks also to all those Old Boys, friends and parents who offered their support on a miserably grey afternoon.
The crews were as follows:
'East'
Bow: Sam Hawkins
2: James Fifield
3: Kiril Kossev
4: Gareth Morgan
5: Paul Crewe
6: Matt Neve
7: Tom Walton
Str: Tom Roberts
Cox: Ruth Barber
'West'
Bow: Jonas Shwan
2: Roel De Mayer
3: Sam Albanie
4: Tom Harding
5: Martin Henstridge
6: John Harfield
7: Tom Smith
Str: Lewis Roberts
Cox: Rebecca Preece
Posted at 18:18 on 21/12/2009