N O. 1 2 1 T H E T R U S T Y S E R VA N T
and one rowed for England. In October the 1st VIII took a rare trip across the pond to the US and came 2nd out of over 60 crews. During this time, Boat Club’ s numbers have rarely exceeded 40 and the responsibility to compete in the top events has weighed on the shoulders of these few boys. Schools with far larger programmes( most comparable schools have 150 rowers) can look to their 2nd or 3rd crews( or 4th, 5th and 6th, in Eton’ s case) to provide competition and feed through as they rise through the years. The current 1st VIII at St Paul’ s are an excellent example of how this system works, where only one member from the top JP crew remains; Winchester, in contrast, has six.
Thanks to the College and the generosity of parents, the boys can be confident that they get the best equipment; indeed any holes in our boats are fixed by someone who used to work for McLaren’ s F1 team. Video cameras are used to record each stroke in super slow motion and we even have a set of riggers that measure the effort boys put into their stroke. They have a dedicated weights area in the boathouse and, of course, plenty of rowing machines. All of these things are necessary to gain a competitive edge. However, at its core rowing remains a sport that rewards effort and sacrifice. Those in the top squad will train eight or nine times each week, sometimes having to get up at 6.30am in the midst of winter to churn out half an hour on the dreaded rowing machine before breakfast. They’ ll row from 2pm to 5pm during half rems and then train once again in the gym after Preces. Balancing work and rowing requires remarkable dedication and organisation, and it is no surprise that a higher proportion of rowers go to Oxbridge than the School average. But that is the sport’ s enduring attraction. If you are prepared to put in the work, the rewards are there. If you can sit on the start line and know that you have trained harder and more intelligently than your opposition then, if you lose, you can have no regrets.
Whilst the river may have its limitations, the coaches’ and boys’ ambitions do not: long may that continue.
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Often it is easy to do nothing …
declares Edward Parker( F, 79-83) Co-Founder & CEO, Walking With The Wounded:
… and often it is easy to live without challenging oneself and not fully appreciating the beauty and privilege of this life we live. We live in a society where convenience and comfort are taken as read. As a generation we are fortunate to be growing up in a world which, while far from perfect, is a place where opportunities abound and little hardship is associated with it. Those of us educated at Win Coll are lucky. For the majority of us, our existence can be too easy: we sail through life without challenging ourselves and without challenging the world in which we live. Should we? I believe that if we don’ t we will be in danger of looking back on life with regrets.
As the youngest of three boys, my childhood was spent watching my brothers’ lives evolving. I wanted to be doing what they were doing; I wanted to be grown up too. Constantly I looked at others, not comparing my life to theirs, but aspiring to them. One of my brothers moved to South Africa and another joined the Army and it struck me as exciting. I wanted to discover more beyond the boundaries of school. It was within Win Coll that I encountered my first hero: Aspley Cherry-Garrard was a member of Captain Robert Scott’ s Terra Nova expedition in 1911-12. He wasn’ t selected to join the ill-fated polar party, but was part of the team which supported Scott up onto the polar plateau. He was also one of those who took part in the winter journey around Cape Crozier to collect an egg from the emperor penguin colony, an epic story told by Cherry- Garrard in his book The Worst Journey in the World. I found the endeavours of these Edwardian adventurers breath-taking, challenging the unknown, and demonstrating not only extraordinary physical courage, but a mental fortitude which allowed them to achieve beyond the norm. These men were pushing the boundaries. A seed was sown in my mind. I realised there were opportunities way beyond well-trodden predictable career paths, well beyond the plans which society had for one: opportunities filled with challenge, excitement and fulfilment.
After school I immediately joined the Army, serving in the infantry. While the days were often long and repetitive, I found myself suddenly in a world of excitement. I was earning my living on the streets of Northern Ireland. Aged 20 I was expected to be making quick decisions, with the safety and well-being of my platoon resting on my shoulders. We would be wet, tired, on occasions frightened; we had no luxuries; we didn’ t get the weekends off; we weren’ t welcomed by most of the community we were protecting. But it was exciting. For the first time in my life I was challenged and that was hugely rewarding. In my short Army career I went on to have adventures in the jungle, in the desert, and I had the opportunity to scale mountains. Each time there was the initial trepidation, the concern‘ Could I do it?’ In every case, I would sit down and
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