Rowing Report
Saturday 15 February 2025
The Gold Cup has been described as “chaos afloat”, and this year was no different. With oar clashes, course issues and the occasional crab (lost oar), the 2025 Gold Cup was one to remember.
The day got off to a flyer with our Year 8 Quads setting the scene with strong performances, resulting in the claiming of a Silver Oar in the first four races of the day. The Fifth Year 8 Quad was in a terrific position until we struck a little disaster in the lead-up to the bend; it was a really exciting race from here on out with the Shore boat down to three men fighting off the improving View boat. It was a similar story in the Second quad as well. Ultimately, the View boat in both races prevailed, but it was great to see the spirit of the Shore crews racing hard to the line, as lesser crews would have simply given up. The Fourth Year 8 crew of Harrison James Thomas, Finn Glanville, Aaron Xu, Anders Minchin and Bryce Gorman had a brilliant run down the course. They were able to take control of their race from the get-go and secure their Silver Oar as well. At the end of the regatta, the boys were able to secure five wins and four 2nd places from their nine starts. A great day of racing in some very trying conditions.
Our Year 9 Quads went down what was fast becoming a washing machine of a river with several washes coming from spectator boats, coaching boats and the various public that travel up and down the Lane Cove River. Our Year 9 Quads recorded three 1st places and 5 2nd places from their eight starts. While this squad didn’t experience the success they have had at this event in the past, there was a lot of great racing. It was with a mixture of excitement and relief that we saw the Year 9 First crew of Charlie Bassingthwaighte, Will Scammell, Lawson Wood, Louis Corcoran and Owen King claim the win and the amazing finish by our Fourth and Second boat, both of which left their run a little late (albeit for the Second boat that was pushed way wide of a turn that should have been in their favour) both crews coming within half a canvas (.75 of a second) from 1st place.
The Year 10 VIII had a great battle on the river, which, by the time they raced, resembled a mogul’s course at Thredbo. Our Fourth crew raced first and, as they have done in recent years, showed great improvement week to week – recording a closely fought 2nd place to the St Ignatius’ College Riverview (SIC) crew. Our Third Year 10 crew had a brilliant tussle down the course and, for the first time this season, had to deal with the furnace-like pressure of being neck and neck down the course with their opposition. In the end, the win went to the host school, but there was some brilliant learning to take away from the course for the Shore crew.
The Second Year 10 VIII went to the start line in a seating arrangement. This seemed to bring an improved performance in the heat, but with the pressure of the final, the new seating plan was a little erratic. In a great show of grit, the boys were able to hold on to secure the victory.
The Year 10 First VIII were last to race from this age group, and they were most certainly primed to lock horns with their division rivals, SIC. This was a traditional Gold Cup race, with all crews really quite close together as they rounded the bend in the A final. I am pleased to say that Shore was the first to straighten from the outside lane, but also, in traditional Gold Cup fashion, four crews were trying to row on the amount of water usually reserved for three. The resulting tight racing resulted in an oar clash and, unfortunately, a jammed oar, which brought the Shore crew to a standstill. Whilst they were unable to finish the race, the crew should be quite happy with the overall improvement in their racing.
The Senior Third VIII got down the track next thanks to the efforts of a few of the Year 10 crews who were able to jump in and assist these boys’ race on the day – A massive thank you to Will Heiler, Harry Tyrell and Dom Walker for their assistance with this – great to see this crew gain valuable race experience as they head towards March 22.
Our GPS Fours programme took to the race track next. Our Fourth IV and Fifth IV raced really well to secure a place in the A final, and it is with much pleasure that we report that these crews finished 1st and 2nd in this division. A brilliant result for two crews that have a fair bit of healthy rivalry in training. Both these crews had a late line-up change as well, with Liam Kennedy moving into the stroke seat of the Fourth crew the night before and Charlie Glancy settling into the three seat of the Fifth boat. The Fourth boat secured the victory by a very impressive 11.69 seconds over the 1400m course.
The Third IV raced next, and like the previous two boats, they had a late line-up change, which saw Christopher Yun move into the stroke seat. This crew had a great start to launch out as the early leader, and from here, they dictated the pace well – leading from start to finish to win by a respectable margin.
The Second IV had a slightly tougher time during their race, with strong competition coming from a very fast King’s combination that most certainly looks to be the faster of their combinations. The Second V found the final a little challenging, with the St Joseph’s College combination pinching across early to make a pass a little more difficult. This crew had to settle for 4th place, but there were some definite lessons learnt through the 1400m.
The First IV had a brilliant regatta. This crew has gone through a little bit of a transformation lately, with half of the crew having changed over the past two weeks. This crew was able to get away cleanly out of the blocks and lead to the turn. Here, despite pressure from the Riverview crew on their home track, the mighty “1” IV was able to show good control and take the victory. This field is becoming very tightly contested, with three schools sharing the top spot on the podium over the past three weeks.
The Second VIII continued their great run of form this week despite a few crew changes, with boys earning promotions through the week’s testing. This, like the Year 10 VIII, was a very tightly contested event as the crews drew up to the dog leg turn. Under the very experienced hands of coxswain Jethro Chapman, the crew of Oliver Paris, Ethan Nam, Kalan Welch, Henry Roxburgh, Connor Glancy, Angus Marshall, George Scammell and Addison Stanberg produced a great turn and push to establish a great lead from the pack. Newington ended up in 2nd place, with Riverview in 3rd place.
The First VIII continued their solid form at this regatta and continue to improve with each race. Their Heat row saw them skip away from St Joseph’s College and Newington, which was very pleasing to see and in the final, they were able to maintain that margin from those crews as they continue their pursuit of the Riverview First crew.
Mr Glenn Bates
MIC Rowing