Brentwood College School - Brentonian Yearbook (Mill Bay, British Columbia Canada)

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appeared to be laboring. But there was little to choose between any of the six crews. With about 200 metres to go as the packed stands and crowded banks went wild, Brentwood was definitely in command. Holy Spirit was pressing half a length off the pace with Stuart coming and Ridley, suddenly finding itself, showing signs as stroke Fraser MacKay went to 38 and closed water on the leaders. It Was Too Late But it was too late for the Orange and Black. Brentwood hung on grimly, refusing to break, and Ridley forged past Stuart and Spirit to wind up a deck off the winners as Stuart held third and Spirit faded to fourth, another half length back. Liver- pool wound up fifth with West Park, having blown everything in its late challenge, trailing the field. Brentwood clocked a sizzling 4:25.6 for the 1500-metre distance, the fastest time of the day which saw only a whisper of a breeze over most of the Henley Course. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to these young men who rowed in our first crew. They gave more of themselves to this school than any other group of students before them and they proved that hard work and determination can overcome all barriers and can succeed over superior experience and skill. They were in top physical condition when they raced and applied themselves to the last stroke with the same vigour as the first. It is no secret that we believe in weight training but it takes more than a programme and a plan to produce success. The effort of each individual in the crew was of championship standard and the long hours of winter training and morning rowing paid off that sunny afternoon in June when they sizzled down the St. Catharines course ahead of all the best high school crews in North America. Whatever success or failure the future may bring this crew achieved its stated goal in winning the Canadian Scholastic Championships. The almost forgotten and often neglected junior varsity crew had its share of successes and near misses as well this year. They enjoyed early successes no doubt due to superior conditioning but they lacked the oarsmanship to attain the speed of the late season Shawnigan J.V. VIII. They can look to the future with confidence however, knowing that another year of rowing could turn them into champions. J.V. Squad was G. Foreman, J. Morgan, T. Bryde, C. Heerensperger, T. Smith, G. Drake, T. Russell, D. Levell, R. Eyre, Cox, C. Young. A lightweight squad was formed for the first year in Brentwood and enjoyed a prolonged battle for superiority with Lakeside School from Seattle. We won the early battles in both the eights and fours but once in the regatta season proper the more experienced Lakeside eight won all the encounters. Our four was more successful and won all but the last two races which were close and exciting finishes. The last race will be remembered in that Rob McLean rowed himself to such a state of exhaustion that he had to be helped from the boat. Next year with more coaching and increased effort we hope to send a 145 lb. crew to St. Catharines. Lightweight squad was G. Young, R. McLean, M. Padwick, E. Bapty, S. Muldrew, R. Hugo, G. Hick, T. Burley, M. De Long, J. Hodges, Cox, M. Bestwick. A novice eight was formed and were success- ful only at our home regatta. They are young and very light oarsmen who next year should form the nucleus of the J.V. and hghtweight squads. They showed good spirit but lacked both the strength and skill necessary to win races against what proved to be the first crews of some emergent clubs. To Mr. J. L. Queen a special word of thanks for all his help in managing, assisting with the coaching and for listening to this coach prattle at 6:00 a.m. each morning. Thanks to Joel Cotter for his assistance with the coaching of lightweights and to all the oarsmen for their patience and deter- mination throughout the year. 20

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BRENTWOOD COLLEGE RUGBY CLUB The 1971 Rugby season has to be considered most successful in spite of the 1st XV being unable to regain the Independent Schools ' Championship. Interest naturally centres on the 1st XV, (and I shall be speaking of them later,) but it was the degree of participation and competition through- out the school that made this season an out- standing one. We ran 9 teams, 5 at the Senior level, a Colts XV, Colts ' B ' XV, Ju nior Colts XV and Jr. Jr. Colts XV. Because of the growth of the game in the Pubhc Schools and the Junior Independent Schools, we were never short of matches and many new friendships and fixtures have been made. In addition to the number of matches we played, I must note the success of the Senior teams. The 2nd XV lost but 2 games of 8 and won the Independent Schools ' 2nd XV Cup. The 3rd XV, coached by Mr. Burrows, played attractive Rugby and finished the season unbeaten. The 4th and 5th XV ' s coached respectively by Messrs. Hunter and Garvey, lost but one game apiece. In spite of this depth at the Senior level we could not put together a Cup-winning 1st XV. Usually there is a marked difference between a 1st XV and a 2nd XV player, but this season we had a lot of players all of a standard. I had said in my notes last year that we had a very young side who would develop in the 1971 Fall. They developed in skill, becoming a workmanlike side, but not in physique and they had three basic weaknesses. First, our forwards just did not grow, and, al- though they gave everything, they just could not achieve that superiority which has been typical of Brentwood packs in the past. What a difference a Dahl or Hindson would have made. Secondly, we lacked real speed in the backs, and one longed for a Mitchell or a Sawyer. And thirdly, we lacked a general at outside-half. Jock Osier tried, but always looked the converted full-back he was. Eventually we used a Grade X student. Chuck Wills, and here hopefully is a prospect for the future. One or two players of outstanding ability could have raised the team to a cup-winning level, but we just did not have anyone of this class. None of the players can be criticised for they gave everything, none more than the Captain Murray Bayles. His performance in the 2nd Shawnigan game was one of the greatest by a Brentwood forward. Incidentally, our Shawnigan jinx con- tinues; for the second year we played almost the whole game with thirteen men, Dereck Arnoldi dislocating his shoulder, and Jock Osier losing a tooth. So although the 1st XV record was not what we desired, the season must be considered a success for the club as a whole. As usual we are deeply indebted to Mr. Finnegan and his staff for the fine pitches, to Mr. Pitt for the immaculate equipment, to the Matrons for tending our wounds, and the kitchen staff for pleasant teas. Last but not least, I must mention the efforts of Gordon Archer, a cheerful and efficient team manager. LR.F. I 22