1st IV Success, Ben At The State Championships
The State Rowing Championships will be a memory that all the boys in the 1st IV, with three boarders in the boat, will never forget. On February 8 this year, the Shore Senior Squad travelled to Penrith for the 2020 State Championships. This was the first race back after the Christmas holiday break and we were all very nervous, not knowing what the other crews would produce. Up against strong crews from Victoria and Canberra, the 1st IV, consisting of Charlies Murray and Clift, along with Jooya Kalantar of Hodges, finished well, winning our heat pretty convincingly. This was a good confidence-builder for the crew heading into the A final. We lined up against the best IV’s in Australia and faced a very tough race with a crew from Victoria in front for most of the way, while a crew from Canberra pushed us hard as well. We were coming into the final stages of the race and we pushed back on St. Patricks College from Ballarat, to take them with about 100m to go; now, all we had to do was hold on. We did, and what a great feeling it was, taking out the gold medal with a fast 6:47minute time. The 1st IV is made up of three boarders – Stroke: Charlie Murray (Barry), 3: Charlie Clift (Barry), 2: Jooya Kalantar (Hodges), Bow: Gus Gregg and Cox: Michael Bartlett.
Charlie Clift (Year 12)
I went to Port Macquarie to play in the Junior State Touch Football Cup, a three day tournament. We played seven round games in total with four wins and three losses. This put us into third place and in a good spot for the finals. On the last day we played against the Northern Beaches team, a game that was a must-win for us to make it to the next level but unfortunately we lost 1-0 which knocked us out. We had a fantastic time and I enjoyed both the competition and the opportunity to play with my team-mates at the top level.
Ben Howarth (Year 10)
