After a close race in the B final at Marlow Regatta, Manchester Senior Men’s VIII narrowly missed out on pre-qualification for Henley Royal Regatta. The boys then travelled to Henley to start their preparation for qualifiers. With four days to prepare and become acquainted with the course, the boys trained well on a busy stretch of water in soaring temperatures. After plenty of sleeping, eating, Love Island, and rowing, qualifiers day came around.
As the buzz of Henley gradually grew throughout the day, as did the nerves amongst the crew and coaches. With a light tail wind and record-breaking conditions, we hoped that our weeks of preparation would pay off. Completing the course in a time of 6:31.5, our Men’s VIII unfortunately missed out on qualification. However, we finished in the middle of the non-qualifying group putting in a competitive time against our rivals from previous races in the season. The experience of competing at Henley, as well as some solid training sets us up well for the season ahead.
A huge thank you goes out to everyone who gave the crew support on the day and throughout the campaign. Good luck to those moving on from MUBC this year, I look forward to building on our achievements next year.
Francis Heylen, Men’s Captain