Mr Wells (Director of Rowing)
Last week, the 2019 Henley Women’s Regatta (21st – 23rd June) proved to be a really successful outing for BGS rowing. On Friday, the J16 four completed the time trial over the 1400m on the famous Henley stretch of the Thames. The time trial forms the basis of the selection for the draw with the top eight crews progressing out of 23. The crew raced well against a very competitive field, producing a good consistent row. Although they did not qualify for the next round, we are extremely proud of their performance.
The next day it was the women’s Eight. This crew were formed from the best rowers at BGS. In the time trial, they raced exceptionally well, keeping the strokes long and strong throughout. The girls were very focused on producing their best performance on the water. Following the time trial, the boats were then seeded based on the results for the quarter-final of the women’s eight. BGS was paired against an extremely strong Eight from St Paul’s School, United States. As it happened, this Eight went on to win the overall event. The BGS Eight, put in a very competitive and aggressive race never letting the Americans get too far away.
It was fantastic to see the BGS girls racing against an international school. There are not many occasions in school life where you get to race with your school against another country, however this regatta gave the girls the opportunity to be able to do this. The Henley Women’s Regatta is turning into an exceptional event, and one which the girls will definitely remember for the rest of their lives.
The BGS rowers now move on to the last regatta of the racing calendar at Reading Town. This will be an opportunity for our Years 9 and 10 rowers to emulate the exceptional standard of rowing that the Senior girls produced at Henley.
