By Mrs Reeves (Head Rowing Coach)
Last weekend was another full weekend of racing across all squads in the Boat Club. On Friday 23rd June the BGS First VIII returned to the most famous rowing town in the UK, Henley-on-Thames, to compete in the qualifying races for Henley Royal Regatta. Henley Royal Regatta is a truly unique event, and is named the most prestigious regatta in the world. It is the highlight of the summer rowing calendar and social season in the UK. Henley Royal Regatta is visited by more than 300,000 people each year, and boasts over 300 races across 6 days of elite sporting competition. Taking advantage of such a fantastic opportunity, the BGS First VIII put in a great performance, and although not qualifying for the event this year, recorded a very respectable result. As a young crew, we are sure they will return next year inspired to go one step further and race alongside Olympic champions in the main regatta.
The following day, our Years 9 and 10 rowers competed at Peterborough Junior Regatta. This is a fantastic event that is solely focused on younger junior rowers, and is held on a 1000m four lane lake, giving our youngest squads a great opportunity to practice their side by side racing on a multi-lane course.
Many of our J14 and J15 rowers took the opportunity to race in small boats for the very first time, some competing in doubles, some in quads and some in single sculls. All rowers enjoyed a full day of racing, with every BGS boat qualifying into the finals of their event .The coaching team are very proud of everybody who competed at Peterborough on Saturday – not only performing well in the boat, but also for their outstanding sportsmanship and attitude to racing.
A special mention to our J15 double of Eva Blake and Bella Moretto who won a bronze medal in their event, and to Rosie Palmer, Rebecca Lock and Zena Breed who all competed in single sculls for the very first time – a brave decision and amazing achievement!
With these events completing the 2023 season, we now look forward to celebrating our season at the BGS Rowing Ball this weekend.
On behalf of all of our rowers, and the whole coaching team, thank you so much to all of our supporters for everything they have done to support all of our racing this year.
