Rowing Report

Last Term, a group of Shore Rowers made the day trip to the Sydney International Regatta Centre to compete in the 2024 Australian Rowing National Championships. This regatta is one of the largest in the country, with schools travelling (along with clubs) from all around the country to compete for the honour of being named the national best!

This year, our First VIII, a four and a quad made up from our Second VIII, our First IV and our Year 10 First VIII, all competed. It is a great pleasure to announce that our Year 10 First VIII came home with a silver medal.

Champion Under 17 VIII (Year 10 First VIII)

Coming off the back of a great race at the “Head of the River” (HOTR), the First Year 10 crew hit the water again for training the very next Monday, knowing that they would have another chance at racing against the victors at HOTR 24, The King’s School. The crew refocused well and, as they had done all Term, continued their improvement throughout the week. In the Heat, the Shore crew was just too hard to handle, with the crews from Nudgee, Brisbane Grammar, Scotch College Adelaide, and St Ignatius having to settle for the path through the repechage. In the final, The Shore crew were brilliant through the first 1000 metres, establishing a lead over the field, but with King’s in hot pursuit and as the crews entered the final 500 metres, they were separated by a mere .34 of a second. In what was a drag race over the final 500 metres, the Shore boat had to settle for the silver medal, with the crew from King’s holding it together better over the dying stages. This young crew has shown much development over the season, with early regattas this season having them in 3rd (and a long way off 1st) to claiming wins through Term 1 and now a silver medal at the National Championships. These men, along with the very competitive men of the Second/Third and Fourth Year 10 crew, are ready to join the Senior shed and lead the shed to a brilliant 2025 season.

Champion Schoolboy Coxed Four (Second VIII + First IV)

This year, we had two entries in the Championship Schoolboy IV+. We had a combination made from the Second VIII and we had our First IV competing. This field is an interesting one – there are crews made up from Second VIII’s and First VIII’s, along with fours from schools that specialise in this event. Our two fours started both their campaigns with two 3rd places, which gave them automatic qualification straight to the semifinals, earning them a day off. It was a great moment for our First IV as, just like the Tour de France, there was a race within the race, as they got a chance to exact some revenge over the Ignatius crew, who were the victors at the HOTR 24. This crew trailed Riverview at the 1000 metre mark, but as they have done all season, their true strength was shown through the final 1000 metres, and they were able to put clear water between them and Riverview in what was a season highlight for this crew. In the semifinals, both our crews came under fire from schools that specialise in rowing coxed fours, with both our crews having to settle for the B final. It would prove to be the last race for the First IV as an injury to Stroke Henry Faddy ruled the crew out from that point onwards. Our Second VIII combination raced well in the B final, finishing in 3rd place behind two South Australian combinations (Unley and Prince Alfred College).

Champions Schoolboy Coxed quad (Second VIII)

Swapping one oar for two can be quite a tricky transition to make, with only a few days to get it right, but the mighty newly named First Quad took this challenge head-on! In a massive field (30 entries), all made up of crews that focus on the quad as a season-long project, our crew launched directly into the semi-final after placing 2nd in their Heat (a very promising start!). The semi-final proved to be a little harder as the pace of the racing started to heat up, their newly formed combination was a little underdone, and the crew had to settle for a B final finish. The B final has the tale of two races. In the first 1500 metres of this race – the Shore crew raced like men possessed and were in 1st place at the first three markers. The final 500 metres saw the lack of racing in the quad expose the crew a little in a brave fight over the final 250 metres. A photo finish ruled them out of a top three finish by a mere .05 of a second.

Champion Schoolboy VIII

Our First VIII hit the water on the Monday after their heroic finish in the Head of the River, keen to improve this season. Some average water was not going to help that, but as we had done all season, the boys ploughed on! The Heat saw our crew take on St Josephs and Riverview, two formidable opponents and with only two automatic qualifiers on the line for the final, the crew had to settle for the repechage route along with the First VIII’s from Brisbane Grammar and Nudgee College. The repechage saw a much more relaxed Shore crew race brilliantly, with a smashing first 1000 metres, seeing them lead the field by six seconds. With this race looking in control, the crew really relaxed over the final 1000 metres and were able to focus on their execution, posting a very strong rep performance, showing that they were a true contender in the A final.

The A final had a very strong GPS feel to it, with our familiar rivals of Joeys, King’s and Riverview all qualifying with the addition of some very strong QLD schools in Southport, Brisbane Grammar and the Tasmanian champions, Hutchins, joining the fray. The first 1000 metres of this race saw some brilliant work across the field, with Southport taking the early initiative. The Shore crew, despite starting very well, found themselves battling for 4th at the mid-way mark. The final 1000 metres for the 2024 Shore First VIII showed great courage, and whilst the crew had to settle for 5th overall in the National Championship A-Final, they were able to do so with great satisfaction, knowing how far they had come this season.

Mr G Bates
MIC Rowing