G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 2 8 After a two year Covid break, we were very grateful to resurrect the annual Golf Day. This year, due to price rises at our former venue, the day was held at The Springs Golf Club near Wallingford, where we were made very welcome and we had a trimmed down competition over 18 holes, instead of the previous 27 holes. We had fewer players than we had hoped for (16), with several regulars injured or retired. We hope to increase the numbers next year. A most enjoyable round of golf was played in gusty, but warm winds which gave us OA Golf Day Monday 9 May 2022 a good excuse for some wayward shots! The winner has the honour of looking after the John Roysse Cup. This year it was won by Charles Lowe (1976) with a very fine score of 40 stableford points. Matt Roberts (2011) was second with 37 points and Stuart Hammond (1976) was third on countback with 36 points, from Peter Wintle (1959), equal in number, but fourth. The longest drive was also won by Charles Lowe and nearest the pin was won by David Challis, former Alumni Events and Communications Officer from the School. In previous years, we had competed for another cup in the morning 9 hole competition. The organiser decided this year to award the Trenaman Trophy, “Yeah the Griff!” A special shout heard amidst the Henley Royal Regatta hollers, directed at Old Abingdonians racing for their new or latest clubs and universities. The Griffen crew of 2022 – what a story to tell! When a group of OAs come together after time apart with the aim of rowing down the Henley course in pink and white once again, what could be more special? It’s an idea that has been around for years, with a boat most recently racing at HRR in 2021 on the Thursday of the Thames Challenge Cup. This year’s crew comprised four OAs ranging from 18 to 25 years of age. Agamemnon ‘Aggy’ Crumpton (2015), Chris Fry (2021), George Beer (2022) and Ben Crofts (2021) came together to form a boat that was very quick. Rory Copus (2009), assembled the crew around 4 weeks before Henley, and immediately knew that there was a lot of talent but also a lot of work to do. At each training session the boat gained more speed, the guys coming closer together and hope began to rise to qualify for Henley Royal Regatta. Marlow Regatta was a good chance to test the crew’s speed – this would be the first and only race as a crew before racing at Qualifiers, and to compare against the competition. The result revealed they were quicker than expected and only six seconds behind an Oxford Brookes crew, usually a crew to beat. One week later, the crew lined up on the Henley course for Friday’s qualifying races. With a horrid headwind and very much a midweight crew, the odds were against them and despite a tremendous race all the way down, they finished four seconds away from in memory of brothers Ian (1956) and Jack Trenaman (1958) (founders of the OA Golf Day), to the player who had the most points on the front 9 holes. Embarrassingly, it worked in his favour, as he won it himself (David Blomley (1976)) with 23 points, but then he crashed on the back nine with only 11! As the day was considered to have been a great success, we have booked it again, but have changed to a Friday in order to encourage some younger players. So please save the date: Friday 12 May 2023 at The Springs GC. We look forward to another great day. David Blomley (1976) qualifying for HRR. Though the crew was hugely disappointed not to have qualified, it was positively framed by how far the lineup had progressed in four weeks, and a testament to the level they had to rise to. This project couldn’t have been possible without the support of the Old Abingdonian Club, equipment from Abingdon School Boat Club, and the dedication and guidance of coach Rory Copus, who made time around his responsibilities preparing the school 1st VIII for Henley Regatta. George Beer (2022) Thomas Digby (2016) Thomas has continued his passion for rowing. After Abingdon he spent four years at Yale, rowing in the first VIII during his time there and was undefeated throughout. He is now a member of the Senior GB Rowing squad, rowing in the 6 seat of the GB VIII. The boat won all its races in the 2022 world rowing season, finishing with winning the World Championships in September 2022. The team’s wins included winning the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Thomas’s goal is to continue working towards representing GB at the Paris Summer Olympics 2024.
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