Miss Gowing (Senior Rowing Coach)

Five crews raced at Hampton Head on Saturday 1st February. For context, this event usually involves being freezing cold in a field so muddy you sink up to your knees! Last year, the event was cancelled due to snow and cold conditions, so to have the event on a day that just about hit double figures on the mercury was something of a rarity. Nonetheless, I am not sure this blessing registered with the girls, as the wind gusts of 30 mph knocked the warmth out of them all the same.

The morning division saw two Year 10 coxed quads take to the water in an event with 50 crews competing. The ‘A’ boat gave it everything, placing 7th in their category, and they were the fastest crew from outside the Thames Valley region. Given the breezy and sometimes choppy conditions, this is quite the achievement.

In the afternoon, the Senior Squad boated an eight and a coxless quad. The Year 11s also boated a coxless quad. For Year 11, this was the first time steering a new river and despite having a solid first 2 km of the race, a small altercation with the bank meant that this crew’s time did not reflect their efforts.

The Senior 8+ looked tidy with 1 km remaining of the race, and finished a respectable 6th, again only losing out to Thames Valley crews. The Senior quad, with a guest appearance from Year 11, Ellie Ewen, gave an estimable performance as a scratch (newly-formed) crew.

As Hampton Head is an all-junior event, it is a good place to see where you rank ahead of the big head races before Easter: Schools’ Head for the seniors on 18/03/2020 and the Oarsport Junior Sculling Head for Years 9-Sixth Form on 20/03/2020.