On Thursday 23rd March, it was the Schools’ Head of the River Race held on the Tideway in London, between Chiswick and Putney, or at least that’s what we had trained for! Unfortunately, the conditions on the day meant that the race was initially delayed, then altered while crews were on the water. This led to a relatively short sprint in variable conditions. The First and Second VIIIs struggled in the waves and headwind, the 1st VIII finished 10th in their ca tegory and the 2nd VIII finished 12thamongst the 2nd VIIIs. Conditions improved slightly on the falling tide and the J16 A and B boats both put in gutsy rows, both finishing 8th in their categories. The J15 crews raced well, particularly after being on the water for a couple of hours before their race, with the A boat finishing 14th amongst J15 A boats, and the 2nd crew 13thamongst B boats. All crews coped admirably with the lottery of difficult conditions and supported each other as a whole squad. They are looking forward to a Summer season with hopefully some more favourable conditions!

On Friday, it was the turn of the Year 9 squad. We have been fortunate this year with so many boys committing time and effort to learning a new sport, we had 27 boys representing Blue Coat across three Octuples. Fortunately the sun came out on Friday afternoon and the wind did not have such an influence over conditions. All the boys raced in the last event of the day, with a total of 61 crews from all across the UK racing over two 1800m time trials.

The A Octo stroked by Miles Edwards, put in an excellent performance, overtaking both Radley College and St Georges to finish 15th overall, 12thamongst the A crews. The B Octo also managed to overtake, and finished 44th overall, 14th out of the B crews. The C crew put in a sterling performance finishing 52nd overall, 9th out of C crews. It was a fantastic squad performance, and one that they can hopefully build on in the Summer Term and at the National Schools Regatta in May.

Both days were an emotional roller coaster of experiences, for both the rowers and the coaches! But it was great to see 81 boys representing Blue Coat on the national stage, and enjoying the experience. Thanks to all the boys and coaches involved, particularly to Mr Stuart, Mr Maxfield, and Gus, who had a very long couple of days.

Mr Edmondson, Head of Rowing