Rowing Report
Week 12 Term 1 2024
Last weekend, the Shore Boat Club was involved in three regattas. On Saturday, our Junior Fleet was in action at the annual St Joseph’s College Regatta in Hen and Chicken Bay, whilst our Seniors went into battle at Penrith, taking part in the annual Sydney Rowing Club Regatta. In a very rare event, The Shore Boat Club also competed on Sunday at the 2024 NSW rowing Schoolboy Head of the River.
The St Joseph’s College Regatta was held in reasonably tough conditions with the southerly wind blowing, making the 1000 metre race very slow going. Our Year 8 Quads recorded five 1st places and three 2nd place finishes from their eight starts, which, considering the conditions, was very impressive. Our Year 8 Fourth Quad of Jack G, Henry C, Jeremy H, Will H and Henry M returned to form, recording a great win over the St Joseph’s and King’s combinations (by a massive 46 seconds). A similar margin was seen in the Year 8 Sixth Quad, where the combination of Owen B, Henry T, Angus E, Sam K, Tom R and Kaya M recorded a resounding win by 48 seconds.
The Year 9 Quads had a solid day out in the tough conditions, recording four 1st place finishes and one 2nd place finish from their 6 six starts. An absolute standout on the day came from the effort of the Year 9 Second Quad, who had to overcome a significant margin early on to record a narrow win over their opposition from Hunters Hill.
Whilst this regatta was happening, our Year 10 VIII’s and Seniors were in action in Sydney. Our Senior fours programme started the day with some strong performances despite the illness cloud that has continued to hold over our Senior squad. All our fours were starting in new combinations, with the Fourth IV recording a 2nd place amongst a very small field, with only four schools now able to field a Fourth IV. The GPS Third IV saw the emergence of a new force in the division with the crew of Oliver B, Angus M, Kalan W, Connor G and Leon L recording a great performance to bring home the first win for our fours programme and by an impressive 5 second margin over Riverview. Our Second IV combination raced well but succumbed to sickness through the later stage of the week, with three members of the boat having spent time away from training. They finished bravely in 4th position and then withdrew from the remaining races. The First IV similarly had to settle for 4th place after suffering some mid week illness that dragged over to the weekend.
Our Year 10 VIII’s recorded a win, two 2nd places and a 3rd from their four starts. This regatta marks the last time these boys will compete on the “Head of the River” track. Our Fourth Year 10 crew continued their recent run of improvements to record a strong 2nd place finish and close down the margin between them and the category leaders to now almost 10 seconds. Our Third Year 10 crew have been enjoying a great run of form but unfortunately got jumped out of the blocks. While the crew was strong enough to pull back the margin, the work that Riverview had done early in the race proved a little too much to pull in. This category is starting to heat up a little, and our crews will need to be on their toes over the remaining few weeks. The Second Year 10 crew have continued to dominate this division, recording a strong result to put clear water between them and 2nd place. The crew of Henry R, Alex R, Sam B, Lawson A, Henry W, Austin H, Hugh R, Billy B and Jeddy S did a brilliant job to record the win and take home the SRC glassware.
Our First Year 10 crew had a tougher time of it this week with some very tight racing through the first 500 metres, which saw them sit in 3rd place through the first marker. The crew worked hard to push back through to 2nd place but eventually had to settle for 3rd with just a boat length separating them from 1st place through the two kilometre course.
The GPS Second VIII had a reshuffled combination that rowed for the first time 30 minutes before the start, with Henry F having to play the role of super sub after his fours race. In a brave effort, this crew stayed in the fight, finishing just two seconds off the podium finish. Our First VIII finished the regatta in 3rd place with a strong showing in the final SIRC regatta. The crew of Rory H, Liam M, Oliver E, Ben M, Charlie G, Oliver H, Preston S, Alex S and Mackenzie F fought well down the course and held off a fast finishing Newington crew to take that 3rd place finish. Afterwards, in very heartfelt scenes, The Livingstone Family were on hand to present to the winners of the First VIII’s race the “Tom Livingstone” memorial trophy. This trophy will now be presented to the winners of the Schoolboy VIII’s race at the Sydney Rowing Club Annual Regatta.
Junior Pennant Update
The Shore Boat Club extended its lead over the weekend in the Junior Pennant over the weekend. With two weekends remaining, The Junior pennant standing is as follows:
- 1st Shore 242
- 2nd St Joesph’s College 208
- 3rd Riverview 203
NSW Rowing Schoolboy “Head of the River”
On Sunday, a small squad of Junior rowers travelled to the annual NSW rowing Schoolboy Head of the River. This regatta was held at the International Regatta Center, and for many of those who competed on the day, it marked the first time they had been able to compete at such a brilliant venue.
We had eight crews entered on the day, with four crews in the four divisions of the Year 8 Quads and four crews entered in the Year 9 Quads. This regatta also marked an interesting occasion for a few of our crews as they were required to row a heat and a final, something that does not happen all that often. Our regatta started with our First Year 8 crew, First Year 9, Second Year 9, and Third Year 9 crew all racing well to qualify for the A finals.
In the A finals – there was some brilliant racing for our boys. Our Fourth Quad rowed brilliantly to bring home a silver medal whilst our Third/Second/First crews were all locked in thrilling finishes, and battles with St Ignatius to claim the gold medal on offer. Words can’t explain how tight the racing was, with both the first and Second Quads only being able to be separated from 2nd place by the slimmest of margins – there were definitely some anxious spectators over the final 100 metres of the course!
| SBYr8-4 4x+ | School Year 8 4th Coxed Quad Scull | ||||
| Shore Jack G, Henry C, Jeremy H, Will H, Cox: Henry M | Race 40 | Final | 7 | 2nd | 3:46.18 |
| SBYr8-3 4x+ | School Year 8 3rd Coxed Quad Scull | ||||
| Shore Alexander F, Archie W, Charles B, Olliie H, Cox: Thomas M | Race 41 | Final | 5 | 1st | 3:42.12 |
| SBYr8-2 4x+ | School Year 8 2nd Coxed Quad Scull | ||||
| Shore Nathan K, Toby D, Harry F, Oliver W, Cox: William J | Race 42 | Final | 2 | 1st | 3:34.15 |
| SBYr8-1 4x+ | School Year 8 1st Coxed Quad Scull | ||||
| Shore Tom A, Will S, Lawson W, Louis C, Cox: Sam B | Race 21 | Heat 2 | 4 | 1st | 3:33.90 |
| Race 43 | Final | 5 | 1st | 3:31.35 | |
Our Year 9 Quads similarly had some brilliant battles with familiar foes Riverview, Newington and Kinross. Even with some rearranged combinations due to illness, these boys raced brilliantly to achieve some very strong results. Some equally tight racing was seen in these categories again, with our Second and First Quad combinations being involved in really tight tussles through the 1000 metre race course, with Seconds Quad overcoming a deficit at the halfway mark and the First Quad finishing just ¾ of a boat length or approximately two seconds behind the gold medal crew.
| SBYr9-4 4x+ | School Year 9 4th Coxed Quad Scull | ||||
| Shore Alexander E, Xavier C, Julian N, Max R, Cox: Dom W | Race 48 | Final | 4 | 4th | 3:47.14 |
| SBYr9-3 4x+ | School Year 9 3rd Coxed Quad Scull | ||||
| Shore Peter C, Ryan D, Henry S, Scott R, Cox: Alex G | Race 6 | Heat 2 | 6 | 2nd | 3:37.45 |
| Race 49 | Final | 6 | 3rd | 3:38.10 | |
| SBYr9-2 4x+ | School Year 9 2nd Coxed Quad Scull | ||||
| Shore Micah M, Xavier DV, Harry F, Oliver K, Cox: Sebastian C | Race 4 | Heat 2 | 5 | 2nd | 3:29.27 |
| Race 50 | Final | 3 | 1st | 3:26.52 | |
| SBYr9-1 4x+ | School Year 9 1st Coxed Quad Scull | ||||
| Shore Samuel B, William R, Edward McD, Ollie M, Cox: Harry L | Race 1 | Heat 1 | 2 | 1st | 3:28.35 |
| Race 51 | Final | 4 | 3rd | 3:20.76 | |
A massive thank you to our supporters and parents who made the effort to come out on Sunday to witness some really exciting racing. It does not go unnoticed!
Top image: Year 9 Second Quad in action
Mr G Bates
MIC Rowing
