10 June 2019
The Boat Club had a successful three-days’ racing at this year’s National Schools' Regatta. Traditionally kicking off with the J14 squad on the Friday, the four crews the Boat Club fielded certainly rose to the occasion – the As came 12th, while the Bs brought home a fantastic bronze medal. The Cs came 6th in the ‘B’ event as the 2nd-fastest C crew, and the Ds coming 8th solidified their place as the fastest D crew. An excellent performance from the boys in their first National Championships, and the first time racing the full 2000m course, it shows the depth of talent in the age group.
Moving onto day two, the J15s, J16s and seniors took to the course. After another tight NSR time trial, the 1st VIII were just on the wrong side of a tough semi final in Championship 8s, but still came away with a strong 2nd place in the B final, finishing 10th overall. The 2nd VIII came 7th in their event, winning the B final commandingly. It was also great to see the Boat Club fielding a 3rd VIII for the first time in a number of years, who placed 5th in their event.
The J16 squad had an extremely successful regatta this year from both boats. Leading from the first stroke to 500m to go, the As rowed a very gutsy race to come away with a bronze medal. The Bs repeated their feat from the year before, securing a silver medal once again. The J15 squad had a solid regatta. Both crews’ races improved as the day went on, with both the As and Bs coming 9th in their respective events.
On the Sunday, the seniors and J16s raced in 4s, with the 1st VIII contesting in Championship 4+ and 4- events, and the J16s racing in J16 4-. The Champ 4+ came from the back of the field to finish a very tight 5th in the A final, narrowly missing out on a medal. To finish the day and regatta off, the J16 4- made it 2 bronze medals, coming a clear 3rd in their event.
A great National Schools' Regatta by all the age groups, and well done to all the boys involved.
