Henley Royal Regatta, July 2nd-7th

8th July, 2024

It’s been another successful entry for the men’s senior squad, cementing the run of Henley appearances for the fourth consecutive year. This is such an impressive achievement given we are competing against much larger squads all of which receive coaching. This is only achieved by the support from the club which we are all thankful for and the original core Minerva members who helped reestablish a competitive men’s training programme.

It was superb to see so much support and everyone from the club coming to clap out the eight from the tent made a real difference. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be with us being drawn against a very successful New Zealand crew with a few on their young Olympic programme. They made swift work of us. But the guys all put in a good shift regardless. It was a very competitive entry list with nine overseas entries meaning a bigger achievement to qualify.

Two notable mentions of Greg and Ryoma who had their first experience of Henley and certainly made the most of the experience. Ryoma also ticked off a first experience of indulging in an afternoon tea, certainly a quintessential time to try it! I’d like to thank all of the squad for their hard work this season.

As the hangovers finally fade from Henley we’d like to introduce the new men’s captain. Will England has had vast experience in rowing and coaching at a competitive level and is looking forward to pushing the men’s squad forward in both depth and quality. Please join me in wishing him the very best in his challenge.

Members from across the club, plus some partners, enjoyed a fabulous day out at Henley Royal Regatta, cheering on the Senior Men’s crew. Minervans know how to put on a superb picnic, and this year’s was no exception. Swapping Lycra for linen, visors for straw hats, and water bottles for champagne flutes, a superb day out was had by all!
Chris Petitt, Senior Men