York City Rowing Club's first eight have drawn a top seeded crew in the first round of the Thames Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta which starts on Wednesday.

The crew they have drawn is from Ghent in Belgium and captain and bowman Mick Homa said: "We were hoping for a lower end of the draw for the first race but we will have to give it our best shot." Club spokesman Dave Wilde said: "Coach Andrew Cawood has produced one of the best crews the club has seen for a long time. They look sharp and confident."

The crew comprise Rob Tyler, Alan Thompson, Stuart Clarke, Owen Gillard, Dan Clarke, Chris Jones, Mick Homa, Gordon Dalgleish and cox Penny Whiting.

The lightweight quad were also at Henley in an attempt to qualify for the Queen Mother Cup but a steering problem at the start, a clipped buoy, took pace off the boat.

The crew soon picked up again and covered the rest of the course in confident style but were devastated to find they missed the qualifying time by three seconds.

Dave Tinkler said: "We are a lightweight crew rowing against the heavyweights in an international event, so to have got through would have been fantastic.

"The only consolation was our time was better than some of the eights."

The crew have more of an even chance when they compete in lightweight quads at the National Championships in three weeks' time.

That crew comprises Dave Tinkler, George Scott, Paul Philips, from the University of York, and Ian Hazell.

Matthew Seymour, who had to drop out of the Henley crew because of A level exams, will take over his regular seat in replacing Philips for the championships.