Rowing wrap-up

The 2020–2021 Rowing season has now officially concluded!

A week after a most satisfying Club performance at the Head of the Schoolgirls' Regatta (HOSG), Shelford again sent a contingent of Senior crews to compete in the Australian Nationals Rowing Championships that were hosted this year at Lake Barrington in Tasmania. This year, we competed in the Open Schools Championships in the Schoolgirl Single Scull, Coxed Quad Scull and the Coxed Four. All crews made the most of the opportunity to compete against the best schoolgirl crews in the country and certainly gained from the experience.

Over the 5 days of racing, our crews improved their boat speed and position in their respective fields and by the end of the regatta, had left their mark. The finals (A–D) saw each of the crews produce their best race of the regatta, with Olivia S (Y11) racing extremely well in the C Final and the Quad coming second in their C Final with their fastest time. The day was rounded out by our very young 1st Four who stormed home in an outside lane to come second in the B Final, giving them a ranking in the top 10 Schoolgirl Fours in the country, the second time Shelford has achieved this milestone since entering the National Championships.

The Rowing Presentation Night was held on Friday 23 April at Banks Rowing Club. Over 160 people turned out to celebrate the end of a most challenging but rewarding season, including our Principal, past rowers and members of the Parent Support Group, and the presentations were a great reflection of each crew and their achievements.

The evening was preceded with the long overdue christening of Shelford’s new Double Sculls, the ‘Alaina Lendon’ and ‘Jules Whitehead’. Once again, our Parent Support Group put on a wonderful event and particular thanks go to our outgoing President Alaina Lendon, Nic Morgan and the parents who gave up their time to help set up for the evening.

Jules Whitehead

Rowing Director