History
In The Beginning
The Saint Andrew's Rowing club was established in 1958 by Axel Ohlsson. In the words of Axel Ohlsson, quoted from the ANDREAN magazine 1958:
"Membership of the newly formed club was 40. Of these 10 were very dormant, but the remaining 30 are very keen. We travel to Howison's Poort in very cramped conditions, miss supper and return just in time for prep. In addition we have to use borrowed boats kindly lent to us by Rhodes University Boat Club."
This dedication has always been a characteristic of a College rower, and as the club has grown in size and influence, this determination and hard working attitude has carried through.
Club Highlights
Since 1975 Saint Andrew's has shown itself as a formidable competitor in schools rowing. This was the first year that Saint Andrew's won the prestigious South African Championships regatta at first VIII level.
The early 90's showed a building of what was to become a formidable College rowing machine. 1990 saw the College 1st VIII coming a close second (by a bow ball) at Buffalo regatta, followed by another close second the next year (1991) as well as a second at Champs. 1992 saw Steele-Gray and Lapping winning the 1st pair event at South African Champs. Come 1993 this same pair were selected to row as the South African Junior pair at the Junior World Champs in Norway.
The famous College winning streak came in the period 1995-7. With Martin Kennard's dedicated and intelligent coaching the College club was moulded into a fearsome winning machine. In these years College dominated schools rowing. We won SA Champs three years in a row, setting the course record in 1996. The 1st VIII was coached by Warren Bolttler in 1995 and 1996 and by Andrew Grant in 1997. In 1996 Richard Watt was awarded rowing honors for his great achievements in rowing. He was the first person ever to row and win three S.A.Championship1st VIII races. In 1997 College won the Buffalo regatta, and won the 1st IV event at Champs.
Through the years many Andreans and Old Andreans alike have achieved great individual heights in the world of rowing. In 1984 Harold Hobson rowed in the Springbok VIII which won the Thames Cup in Henley. In 1989 TE Carson rowed in the Goldie VIII in the famous Oxford/Cambridge 'B' boatrace event. In 1990 RG Teeling-Smith went on the Germany/Italy tour with the Springbok VIII. 1992 was a big year for Andreans; G Hillary rowed in the SA VIII at the Barcelona Olympics, while JS Kennard rowed for the British junior VIII, winners of the Coupe de Jeunesse Switzerland.
In 2002 the Saint Andrew's first IV (Bradley Smith, Kerian Robertson, Ben Whitfield, Andrew Craig and Walter Mullins) was selected to represent South Africa in the Junior World Rowing Championships in Lithuania where they finished in a creditable eighth place overall.
In 2004 the St Andrew's coxed four (Sean Irwin, James Thompson, John Luck, Ben Lovelace and Brendan Cole) was again selected as the National crew and represented South Africa at the World Junior Rowing Championships in Athens, Greece. They competed on the new Olympic rowing course at Schinias and won the bronze medal. This is a remarkable achievement when you think that they are actually a school crew competing against squads from the top rowing countries in the world.
In 2004 the 1st Four has again been selected as the National Coxed Four and represented South Africa at the World Championships in Spain.
World Rowing Championships 2004.pdf
The Club Today
From humble beginnings the club now has its own fleet of boats thanks to the hard work of staff, parents, and Old Andreans, supported by the enthusiasm of the club members. The club is now one of the biggest clubs in the country boasting a membership of over 70 boys, and is competitive in all age-groups country-wide. The St Andrew's rowing club continues to contribute to the national world of rowing, showing the great things that can be achieved thanks to the great enthusiasm of the staff, parents and of course the rowers.
