Miss Gowing (Senior Rowing Coach)
Monday 18th March saw the first opportunity for our Year 9s to attend a National event, with the Junior Sculling Head taking place at Dorney Lake - home of the London 2012 Olympic Regatta! Given the celebrity of the venue, the girls were understandably excited as the 14 of them boarded the coach in the morning.
The race format included rowing two lengths of the lake, with the timing paused as the crews spun and got ready for the second length. Bedford Girls School entered WJ14.8x+ and WJ14.4x+ with both crews being on the water at the same time and unluckily just as the wind picked up. This meant the first racing stretch was into a headwind for the octo, initially knocking their confidence and getting them off to a tricky start. On the second stretch, both the octo and the quad managed to find their rhythm a little better and get into the race mindset more successfully.
The event was far bigger than anything the girls have attended before, with the quad battling down the course next to a crew who had travelled from Scotland. To add to the distinction of the event, both crews were started by Sir Matthew Pinsent - a fact that seems to have gone over the heads of most of the girls, but that certainly impressed the coaches!
On this occasion, the coaching team would like to award Girl of the Match to Hannah Russell, for showing some real grit and determination down the entirety of both lengths.
We now look forward to regatta season, and hopefully some more favourable weather!
