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ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE
Training on the towpath
Rowing
By Peter Rudge, Master i/c Rowing
The first half of last term was affected by
increasingly regular flooding but despite this
the Boat Club enjoyed a very successful term
culminating in the Schools’ Head and the
Sculling Head in the last week of term. As
our crews worked towards these final targets
they were able to produce some really
encouraging results. Our Shell boys had their
customary fixture with Abingdon and came
away with an overall fixture win while our
Fourth Form VIIIs are extremely ambitious
this year with both boys and girls finishing
second in their events at Reading University
Head. Our girls’ senior group have split their
time between small boats and the VIII. A 3rd
place at Reading University Head in the quad
showed their increasing competitiveness
while our two 1st VIIIs continually developed
as the term progressed. The boys competed
at the highest level all term with encouraging
results at both Hampton and Reading
University Heads.
With these results behind them, it was
clear that our crews would go to the Schools’
Head with a great deal of justified optimism
and the crews did not disappoint; all finished
inside the top ten in their events. Our 1st
VIII achieved a fantastic 6th place, holding
their position from last year. They were 1
second behind Abingdon but beat Hampton,
Radley, Winchester and Shrewsbury amongst
others. Our girls’ 1st VIII came 10th in girls’
Following the Schools’ Head, it was the turn
of a smaller group of crews to race at the
National Sculling Head and the two standout
performances of the day came from our Shell
boys, who finished as the 13th fastest A crew,
and the 8th fastest B crew in the country.
With over 70 of our rowers in School,
as I write, for a week of training before the
racing begins in earnest, the Boat Club is in
good health and the summer promises to be
a very successful one.
Harriers
Championship Eights, a really promising
result in a tough event, while the J15 girls
had a great row and came 7th, the best
result a J15 girls’ VIII has achieved at the
Schools’ Head. The boys J15 VIII had high
hopes of a top three position but their row
was hampered by a mid-race illness to one
of the crew and they finished 8th. This was
hugely creditable: they beat Abingdon,
Shiplake and Eton amongst others and all
effectively with seven men.
Cox Theo Norman (
Beaudesert Park
) drives the J14A VIII on at Abingdon
Eve Singfield