The National Schools’ Regatta 2017 was a busy three days for the Boat Club, with 82 boys representing the School.

Friday saw our J14 squad compete in three Octuple Sculls. The C boat raced well, finishing 25th out of 37 in their time trial, just out of the places for a side-by-side race. The B boat finished 11th in the same event, and went on to come  5th in their semi-final and 5th in the B final; a great result. The A crew raced in the 1st boat event and finished just five seconds off the top 12 for the knock out semi-finals, showing they have the speed to be in the mix with the top rowing schools in the country. The wind conditions prevented them from showing their true potential in a side-by-side race.

Saturday conditions were another strong crosswind. The J15 squad were the first to race in their time trials, with the A crew qualifying for the A/B semi-final, and B crew qualifying for the C final in the 2nd VIII event. The A crew raced well, but didn’t manage to progress to the A final. The B crew had a fantastic race in the C final, winning it in style.

The J16 squad raced in two VIIIs against all schools, including the top in the country. The B boat qualified 9th in their time trial, then finished 5th in their semi-final in a very tough field. The A crew raced well in their time trial, finishing just outside of the A/B semi-final. They raced a great C final, winning by an impressive margin. The result placed them 5th in 1st VIII schools in the country.

The Senior boys raced in two VIIIs, both racing in their respective event against crews from the top rowing schools. The 2nd VIII struggled in their time trial, although managed some great side-by-side racing, just beating Dulwich School and finishing a respectable 4th in the B final. The 1st VIII had a disappointing time trial, which led to a difficult lane draw in the windy conditions, however, they raced a fantastic C final to finish in a blanket finish with the three crews ahead of them; hopefully a sign of more to come before Henley Royal.

The conditions calmed down for Sunday, when the 1st VIII split into two fours. The A boat, stroked by Ben Grainger and coxed by Fred Bryce, finished a very competitive 9th in the time trial, with the B boat, stroked by Matt Shimmin and coxed by Tom Bryce of Year 8, finished 18th in the time trial. The B boat went on to race a great C final, with another blanket finish in 4th place. The A crew raced well in their semi-final, but just missed out on the A final. This means that they finished in the top 10 of coxed fours in the country; a very respectable achievement.

Thank you to all the coaches, and to all the parents who came and supported and provided such great atmosphere over the days.

Mr Edmondson, Head of Rowing