Gold Cup Regatta

Last weekend saw the running of the annual Gold Cup regatta on the Lane Cove river. This regatta is a special one in the calendar as it is the only one that has both our Senior and Junior squads in action.    

The Lane Cove course is one of the iconic courses in Sydney. Its famous “dog leg” course is one of the highlights of the racing season, especially for the spectators (and not so much for the coaches), as there is always an element of catastrophe in the racing, whether from spectator boats wash to course issues from the crews which makes for great viewing.

Our Year 8 Quads raced first. This squad has shown some great speed through the season, but the run down the unfamiliar course did prove to be a challenge to a few of the crews. This squad recorded three 1st place finishes and five 2nd place results. A really solid outing from our squad. There are a few crews here that tasted defeat for the first time this season, and I have already seen the steely resolve in these young Shore rowers to exact revenge this weekend at the St Josephs regatta.

Our Year 9 Quads recorded one win, three 2nd places and two 3rd place finishes from their six starts. An absolute highlight from this squad was a brilliant finish from our Year 9 Second Quad of Micha M, Xavier D V, Harry F, Oliver K and Sebastian C, who rounded the bend in second place but had a brilliant final 400 metres to row through their opposition and record a resounding win by two boat lengths.

Our Year 10 VIII’s had a very solid day out, with the squad recording two wins from their four starts. Our Year 10 Fourth VIII, in what was their maiden voyage of the season in that combination, recorded a very strong performance. Whilst they have quite a margin to chase down, they also have the greatest amount of improvement potential, very reminiscent of the 2023 Fourth Year 10 crew, who made up a similar margin in the final few weeks of the season to claim the win. Our Third Year 10 VIII crew enjoyed a solid win from their divisional final, winning in a very similar time to Riverview on the side of the draw. Our First and Second Year 10 crew both had a heat and a final to row on the one day. Both heats for this squad went according to plan, with the Shore crews winning through to the final. In the Seconds Year 10 Final, it was Shore from very early on, dictating the early pace and handling the troubling conditions best of the event, to record a very solid 10-second lead from St Josephs. In the First Year 10 Final, an early collision with the Scots crew on the outside lane, followed by an oar getting caught through a wash, brought the boat to a standstill and made racing very difficult. The boys did their best to regather and get back to racing but ultimately had to settle for 4th place.

Our Senior Third VIII made their debut this week with an impressive first hit out against the Second Riverview combination. This crew comprises of boys who have shown great commitment to the cause and have been doing a really good job through the holiday period – perfecting their rowing. A big thank you for the return of Tom M and Nick S as well as the great Harry L, who had a great day in the jockey seat, especially considering it was his first hit out in an VIII. A win to Shore!!

Our Senior crews had a solid day at the office. Our First VIII raced first in what is the norm at the Gold Cup, with the crew ultimately finishing in 2nd place. The crew knows that they are improving but knows not to be carried away with a result at the Gold Cup, as it can be quite a hard thing to gauge proper improvement on. Our Second VIII finished in 2nd place also after earlier being wedged in behind a wayward spectator boat that proceeded to wash them off in the early stages of the race. Full credit must go to Hamish L, who, from the jockey seat, was able to navigate a few very tough obstacle courses and masterfully steer to the turn boy over the top of the King’s crew to round the turn first. In what felt like a different race, Newington had none of that to deal with and turned first and were able to hold their ¾ of a boat length lead to the finish line.

Our fours program also had a solid day in the bumpy conditions – recording three 2nd place finishes from their four starts,  interestingly to three different schools in the 1st/2nd/3rd four categories. It was our Second IV of Ethan N, Lachlan “LP” P, Connor G, Addison S and Callum Z that got the closest to taking a silver oar finish when they were involved in an absolute “Barn Burner” of a finish as three crews rounded the bend all within half a length of each other. The Shore crew finished well to hold on to 2nd place, with First, Second and Third all finishing within half a length of each other.

AAGPS Junior Pennant Score Update (with three regattas remaining)

1st	Shore	198 points
2nd	St Josephs College	175 points
3rd	The King’s School	170 points

Mr G Bates
MIC Rowing

Top image: First VIII in action at the Gold Cup Regatta