Rowing Success
Tuesday the 23rd of March saw the Shore 1st VIII crew of Oli Wilson (Cox), John Kenny (Stroke), Nicholas Donoghue (7), Ben Brunker (6), Ed Nutt (5), Thomas Livingstone (4), Hamish Hunter (3), John Mahoney (2) and Gus Gregg (Bow) fortunate enough to travel down to Launceston, Tasmania for the 2021 Australian Rowing Championships. With all events to be held within the international rowing facility Lake Barrington in Sheffield, the stage was set for a first-class week of racing.
After landing, the men of the 1st VIII went straight to the course for an initial training row. Quickly met with far colder and wet conditions the crew sincerely appreciated the period we had to acclimatise.
Wednesday welcomed the opening of the VIII’s Tasmanian Campaign racing in the U19 VIII event at 3:40 pm. Amid a gusting headwind, despite a rough start, the crew managed to come home 1st, recording a time of 6.38, overcoming 2nd place getters Melbourne University by a margin of 1.9 seconds. This progressed the crew straight to the final on Saturday morning.
Thursday once again saw heavy winds, but this time of a higher severity suspending access to the lake. As result training was put on hold. With the crew having no races on the day, the decision was made to remain in local town Ulverstone, taking the opportunity to recover via the local pool and discover more about the township.
Friday saw the VIII begin its campaign in the historical School Boy VIII event with the lake today presenting fairly strong tailwind conditions. Leaving the starting blocks at 5:20pm the crew once again fought hard but found themselves pipped by a stronger Scotch College Victoria Crew recording 2nd place with a time of 5.52 by a margin of 1.4 seconds. This meant the crew was eligible to progress immediately to the final, or so they thought. With a timing technicality resulting in an inability to comply with Rowing Australia Regatta Rules the crew was disqualified from the final and placed in repechage 2 on Saturday afternoon. Despite initial disappointment, the crew quickly came to appreciate the valuable opportunity to gain additional racing experience on the lake and quickly started to gear up for the double race day to come.
Saturday saw the VIII race in both the final of the U19 VIII event and repechage 2 of the Schoolboy VIII event. Schoolboy, Club and Representative rowers alike asked and Lake Barrington delivered, providing relatively flat conditions and ultimately a beautiful day of racing. 9:20 am saw the start of the U19 VIII final as the Shore Crew blasted out of the blocks. Competition to Shore’s right quickly became apparent in lane 6 as Melbourne University took an early lead. Despite the Shore Oarsman’s best efforts the boat found themselves unable to best the Melbourne crew finishing 2nd by 1.1 seconds recording a time of 5:59. While beaten by a most deserving opposition this meant the VIII secured a silver medal in the event. Following the U19 VIII final, 2:40pm saw the start of the crew’s repechage in the School Boy VIII event. Working with an understandable level of fatigue the crew began the race conceiving half a length to Melbourne Grammar School. The Melbourne crew would hold this lead until roughly the 1700m mark which saw the Shore Oarsman dig deep to conclude the race in 1st place by 1 second recording a time of 6:12. The Shoremen were once again finals bound.
Sunday not only saw the conclusion of the 2021 Australian Rowing Championships but also the conclusion of Oli Wilson’s, Nicholas Donoghue’s, Ben Brunker’s, Thomas Livingstone’s, Hamish Hunter’s and Gus Gregg’s time in the blue and white stripes. As the boys strapped on the zootie for the last time the grand prize of Barrington Cup for Schoolboy VIIIs loomed large. 11:40 am saw the race set off with the Shoremen quickly locking bow balls with their lane 2 rivalry St Peters College Adelaide racing into another strong headwind. Managing to remain within a second of the interstate rivals until the 1500m mark the crew put up a gutsy fight. Unfortunately, with little fuel left in the tank the final 500m saw the Adelaide crew pull away to margin of 3 seconds with the blue and white crew recording 2nd place in a time of 6:31. The VIII whilst facing initial disappointment of coming within an oars reach of a national tittle were thrilled being able take home the silver medal for the event.
Upon reflection the journey both throughout the season and Australian Rowing Championships was an experience I’ll hold dear to me for the rest of my days. The opportunities afforded to the crew certainly don’t materialise from nowhere. Thanks here goes to the hard work of a few individuals within the shed and school. I’d like to take the chance first and foremost to thank 1st VIII coach Mr. David Jennings for his tireless work and dedication to what became like managing a family of 9 rowdy boys. From the good days to the tougher ones Mr. Jennings was a role model of what it meant to not only work hard but consistently, both for yourself but, more importantly, for the crew around you. Working closely beside Mr. Jennings for the season, thanks should also go to Mr. Glenn Bates, Shore’s MIC of Rowing. For the sleepless nights, the countless hours towing boats across the country and the almost impossible upkeep of a shed containing 40 residents on any given week.. the men of both the VIII and the broader program are forever indebted to you. One certainly mustn’t forget the man working underneath Mr. Jennings and Mr. Bates on a student-level being our 2020-21 Captain Of Boats. Tom Livingstone’s work in the all-important and often all-consuming role played a huge part in the success of all boats at our shed. His inclusive attitude and down to earth hardworking nature contributed to the strong brotherhood of Shore rowing we see today. To the parents who supported us through the highs and lows, in the rain and scorching heat, in the late afternoon and early hours of the morning the sacrifices you’ve made lay the foundation for the program. Finally to the broader Shore community, thank you the incredible for sharing the journey with us.
There was no shortage of challenges incurred along the way, the AAGPS head of the river rapidly coming to mind. But it’s through the support of the blue and white army, staff and broader community that I have come to realise one learns more about themselves through their failures, more so than their successes. As emotions ran high on March 13th, as every school turned away, as every schoolboy in SIRC made a run for their bus, only one remained behind supporting its competitors and, most importantly supporting each other. Looking back on the day and indeed the season, I’m incredibly proud to say that was my school on the banks. Above all else, that was the family of Shoremen I’m so unimaginably fortunate to call my own.
GIF Gregg
Bow Seat 2021 Shore 1st VIII
