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Ghent International Regatta in Belgium:
Three College boys participated in the prestigious Ghent International Regatta in Belgium this past weekend as members of the SA Schools Rowing Union.
The South African crews excelled with the College boys playing a significant role in their success.
Jake Green and Michael Bennett rowed in the u18 Four achieving a silver in the coxed fours.
Matthew Kroon rowed in the u16 Eight picking up gold in both the u18 and the u16 Eights races and narrowly missing out on breaking the Belgian u16 course record.
Being part of the SASRU crews has been an invaluable experience for the boys and has shown that College rowers can hold their own at an international level.
We congratulate Jake, Michael and Matthew for doing us proud..jpg)
More photos:http://gallery.saprepschool.com/index.php?/category/381
The start of the race may also be viewed on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlXVDQ_59Ew
Rowing news 20 March:
3 boys were invited to the SA National Crew Compilation and Selection Trials last weekend in Gauteng.
Jake Green and Michael Bennett trialled for the Junior National squad and Matthew Kroon for the Development / U16 squad.
The boys were involved in seatboat racing on Saturday.
Jake Green and Michael Bennett fared well and were selected into the Junior National Squad in a Coxed Four, whilst Matthew Kroon was selected for the U16 Eight. This indicated that both Green and Bennett were ranked between #3 and #7 sweep oar rowers in the country, whilst Kroon ranked within the top 8 sweep rowers in his age group. Sunday saw crews formed from Saturdays racing competing for the best prognostic times possible over 1500m. All rowers did themselves proud.
Jake and Michael’s Coxed four will now compete in the Gauteng Senior Championships in mid April, and will have to clock a good enough time, relative to other National Crews, in order to gain selection for the SA Junior Team which will compete in the Junior World Championships in Bulgaria in August.
Matthew Kroon will stroke a very strong SA U16 Eight in a major international regatta in Ghent, Belgium in early May.
The South African Junior Championships took place on Roodeplaat Dam, outside Pretoria over the Half Term weekend. A contingent of 53 rowers took part in the regatta, held in trying, windy conditions over 3 days.
Friday saw the pairs and sculls finals take place. In the U14 single sculls, Nicholas Kroon made the A final, finishing 8th. Richard Hobson and Jade Repapis finished 7th in the U16 Pairs A Final. The 1st pair of Jake Green and Michael Bennett performed well, winning their heat, but were unable to capitalise in the A Final race, finishing 6th overall.
There were a number of events on Saturday in which College crews made A Finals.
The U14A Octuple was unfortunate not to medal in their A Final, after being in contention right to the line. 4th place, however, was a commendable result for the crew. The much improved U15 A quad rowed well in their A final and were well worth their 5th place. The U 16A Eight rowed to a 6th place in their A final after a promising 2nd place in their heat. After a 2nd place finish in their heat, the 1st Four were unable to move on in their A Final, finishing 7th in the last race of the day.
The final day of competition was a blustery one, with almost gale force winds causing havoc on the course. The regatta officials did well, however, getting all the events completed by late afternoon.
The U14 A and B quads finished 1st and 8th in their Quads B final. The U15 Octuple were unlucky to bear the brunt of an uneven rolling start in poor conditions, and had to settle for 5th place in their Octuples A Final. The U16 A Four found the going tough, whilst the B Four did well to win the B Final.
The 1st Eight had a good heat and led the field for most of the race, but were reeled in, in the closing stages. The 1st Eights A final was quite a spectacle as College was, once again, in contention for a medal until the final stages but found the going too hot and fell off the pace just before the line. The crew ended 7th, finishing as the top school outside of Gauteng, which is some consolation.
And so ended another rowing season for the club. Thanks must go to all the rowers who gave it their all this season, committing to hours of hard training. And to the coaches of the 4 age groups for dedicating many hours of their time towards helping the crews achieve their goals. A final word of thanks to the rowing staff as well as the parents who contributed in many ways to make the season a memorable one.
Rowing Results – Buffalo and Selborne Regatta’s:
The Buffalo and Selborne Regattas took place on the Buffalo River in East London this week. This year marked the 125th anniversary of the regatta, making it one of the oldest sporting events in South Africa.
The Rowing Club found the going tough in its first test against its Gauteng counterparts but some good results were achieved across the age groups.
On Thursday, the 1st Pair and 1st Four won their Buffalo heats. Some high placings were achieved by the U16 and U15 age groups in their heats, with the U16A pair winning their heat and the U15A double and quad rowing well in their division.
Friday was Selborne Sprints day and wins were attained in the 2nd Four, 2nd Pair, U16B four and U15B quad in the 500 meter sprint races. The Club placed 5th overall on the day.
Saturday saw the Buffalo finals take place. The 1st Four placed 5th in the fours, as did the 1st pair, good results amongst experienced opposition. The 2nd pair managed yet another win in their 2nd Pairs Final. The U16A pair placed well in their pairs A final, and the U16B four won their division. The U15B quad won their final, whilst the U15A quad had a good race in their A final, finishing 5th.
All in all the club’s results were satisfactory, but with two weeks to go to the SA Championships, all will be looking to raise their game to achieve their desired goals.
Rowing - Eastern Cape Sprints Regatta - Settlers Dam
The St Andrew's College rowing club had home ground advantage for the first time in over 20 years on Saturday as we took on Selborne and Grey at Settlers Dam. Strong winds played havoc with the younger and more inexperienced crews, resulting in a decision to cancel most of the junior small boat events.
The U14's did have their first taste of success this season, however, as they won the U14A and B octuples and finished 2nd in most of the other races they competed in.
The U15's had an excellent day winning the A octuples in fine form. Along with this they took a win in the U15B quads and U15A double.
The U16's continued with their good form edging out Selborne in the U16A eights. In addition to this they won the pairs and fours.
The Opens had an outstanding day with the 1st pair and 1st four having good wins over Selborne and Grey. This was topped up by SAC wins in the 2nd Pair, Fours and Eights and 3rdsingle and fours. The premier race of the day certainly delivered a spectacle as their bitter rivalry continued. The 2 crews were neck on neck to the finish line, resulting in a dead heat finish! These results are an exciting prospect ahead of next week's Buffalo Regatta, where we will have the opportunity to race the best schools in the country.
2011 ROWING: BOATRACE:
The 12th Annual School's Boatrace took place on 9th and 10th December 2011. A record entry of 18 boys crews participated. St. Andrew's qualifying time placed them in the C Final, where they lined up against a very big Selborne crew. They eventually lost the C Final to Selborne, which meant that they were placed in 6th place overall.
Rowing Club Committee for 2010/2011
Captain: William Cahill
Vice-Captain: Nick Jackson
Boatman: Simon Harvey
Secretary: Marcel Bovijn
Rowing Parents Handbook 2011 - 2012
Knysna Midway Regatta
This past weekend saw school’s rowing clubs from the Eastern and Western Cape descend upon Belvedere Estate, for the Knysna Midway Regatta. Once again St Andrew’s College Rowing Club was a force to contend with. Top performers of the weekend were undoubtedly the u16 boys, who dominated their age group, winning the u16A eight, A and B four, A pair and A and C single scull events.
The 1st eight had some tough competition in their 1000 meter sprint, placing third, within one second of a Selborne /Bishops dead heat, a rare occurrence in rowing. The 1st four placed 3rd behind Selborne and SACS. All was not lost though, with Slack and Bovijn managing a win in the 1st pair.
The u15 boys placed well in their A events and in addition they won the B double.
St Andrew’s College Rowing Club finished second to Grey High School in the Victor Lidorum points standings based on the Saturday regatta results.
On Sunday morning the boys open eights took part in a 6 kilometre heads race. The St Andrew’s 1st eight came a close 3rd to Bishops and Selborne respectively. The St Andrew’s 2nd eight were the highest finishing 2nd eight, beating Bishops, Selborne and Somerset crews.
St Andrew's Rowing Honours
The St Andrew's College Rowing Club took top honours at the Eastern Cape Rowing Association Junior Championships, held on the Buffalo River, in East London on Saturday 22 October. The SAC 1st eight and 1st four crews (stroked by Greg Slack) both brought gold home to Grahamstown. The SAC u16 squad dominated their age group, with wins in the u16A eights, A and B four, A pair, A double and B and C single scull events. The u15A quadruple and B single scull both came 2nd, behind Grey High School.
The Inaugural South African Indoor Rowing Championships were held in the Orient Theatre in East London on Saturday 1 October.
St Andrew's College Rowing Club sent through a strong contingent of rowers to take part in the event. All rowers would row a 2000 meter distance on a Concept 2 ergometer.
In the boys U 18 event, Jake Green rowed a personal best of 6 minutes 27 seconds to win the school boys title, whilst John Dempster won the U18 Lightweight title with a time of 6 minutes 52 seconds, also his best to date.
Michael Bennett won the U16 title, with an excellent 6 minutes 33 seconds, finishing over 100 meters ahead of his nearest competitor.
Julian Smith won the U15 title with a respectable 7min 11 seconds and Jack Brunette rounded up a clean sweep for all the SAC rowers who took part, by winning the U 14 title.
Mention must also be made of Harold Hobson's achievement of winning the Masters 50-54 years category in a very good time of 6 minutes 40 seconds, which was the fastest time of the day when compared with the world record for that particular category.
Our club also won the overall team trophy, including a handy R 2000 cash prize for being the strongest team on the day. All rowers can be very happy with their performances so early in the season, which can only point towards some exciting rowing results to come.
Interhouse House Rowing:
On Sunday 7th August, the Rowing Club staged an Inter-House Regatta for the first time in many years. What was unique about this regatta, was that races were staged specifically for novices - each House had to submit a crew of Non-Rowers, as well as crews comprising a mixture of rowers and non-rowers. It was meant to be an event full of fun and participation with some friendly rivalry thrown into the mix and so it proved to be - the novices soon found the sport to be a lot more difficult than appearances would suggest, but nonetheless greatly enjoyed a new challenge. The Senor Fours event was won by Upper House, while the overall points trophy was won by Espin House. The regatta was a great success and with a few adjustments, looks to become a permanent fixture on the St. Andrew's sporting calendar. Many thanks must go to Simon Harvey for this great initiative and to his parents, who backed him up with their valuable support.
http://gallery.saprepschool.com/index.php?/category/198
Inter-House Rowing 7 August:
The Rowing Club staged a new activity at the school last Sunday, in that they held an Inter-House Regatta. Inter-House Rowing competitions have been a feature in years gone by; there used to be an Inter-House Fours Competition as well as an Inter-House Sculling trophy, but what was unique about last weeks event, was that the format was formulated, so that there would be participation by boys who had never rowed before - each House had to submit a crew of Non-Rowers, as well as crews comprising a mixture of rowers and non-rowers. It was meant to be an event full of fun and participation with some friendly rivalry thrown into the mix and so it proved to be - the novices soon found the sport to be a lot more difficult than appearances would suggest, but nonetheless greatly enjoyed a new challenge. The Senor Fours event was won by Upper House, while the overall points trophy was won by Espin House. The regatta was a great success and thanks go to Simon Harvey for this great initiative. Thank you also to his parents, Gavin and Sharon for their valued support. Harold Hobson
Report on Buffalo Regatta:
St Andrews College Rowing Club participated at the Buffalo Regatta held in East London last weekend. As one of the most prestigious races on the rowing calendar, all school clubs aspired to put in a strong performance at this regatta. College was no exception, and started off their Buffalo Regatta campaign by winning their 1st 8 heat against some of the top schools in the country.
Heat wins were also recorded by the 1st Four and 1st Pair and the U16 A 4 and 8.
On finals day, The first 4 finished third, behind Bishop Bavin and St Benedicts. The 1st Pair came second to Bishop Bavin and the 2nd Four won their 2nd Fours race, all good signs for what was later called the race of the day, the 1st 8.
Tightly contested, the St Andrew's 1st 8 had the lead in this great race until the last 200m, after 2 km of flat out racing, 3 eights crossed the finish line within 1 second of each other. St Benedicts beat College by 0.3 of a second and Bishop Bavin followed College by 1 second. This is an excellent result and the 1st Team is to be congratulated on such an achievement.
The U16 age group followed the lead of the 1st Team by winning the U16A Four in a tightly fought battle with Bishops. The U16A Eight came 4th and the U16B Four came 2nd.
Although the U15 age group did not win any medals, they were close enough to contest most races and gained valuable experience for the upcoming South African Championships in March.
Report on Selborne Sprints:
Held between the heats and finals day of the Buffalo Regatta, Selborne Sprints is a crowd pleaser of a race with crews sprinting hell for leather over 500m, resulting in some extremely close finishes.
The 1st Four used explosive power to win their sprint, the 1st 8 came 4th and the 2nd four came 2nd.
The U16A Eight put in a solid performance in winning their 8's race.
The Eastern Cape Rowing Championships took place on the Buffalo River Rowing Course in East London on Saturday 5 February.
The Club asserted its position as the top performing boys school in the region by taking most of the honours up for grabs on the day.
In the boys open sections, raced over 2000 meters, St Andrew's won the 1st Sculls, 1st 4's and 1st 8's. The U16's, likewise, took home the U16 4's and 8's titles comfortably.
In the Junior sections over 1000 meters, St Andrews came up against better competition from Grey and Selborne but still fared well. The U15 A Quad narrowly lost to Selborne but came back well to win the Octuples race, teaming up with the U15B quad who won their quads race as well. The U14's gained valuable experience at their very first rowing regatta.
The Cacadu section of the Eastern Cape Indoor Rowing Championships were held here at St Andrew's College in the Centenary Hall on Saturday29 January.
Junior U 14 and U15 Events of 1000 meters were rowed on Concept 2 Ergometers, with the U16, and U18 Opens competing over a 2000 meter distance.
Of the 200 registered times submitted from around the Eastern Cape, William Cahill posted the fastest overall time of the day, 6 minutes 33 seconds for his 2000 meter trial, which won him the Boys U18 title. This is the 4th fastest U18 time in South Africa to date this year.
The boys U16 title was won by Michael Bennett, whose time of 6 minutes 46 seconds set a new Eastern Cape championship record. This is the 3rd fastest U16 time in the country to date, this year.
Other notable senior performances were those of Marcel Bovijn , Jake Green and Sebastian Williams Wynn who also finished in the top 10 times overall.
In the Junior sections over 1000 meters, Matthew Kroon won the U15 section with a time of 3 minutes, 22 seconds and Jack Brunette finished 4th in the U14 section with his time of 3 minutes 51 seconds.
OLD MUTUAL SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS BOAT RACE, PORT ALFRED DEC 2010:
The 10th staging of the prestigious Old Mutual South African Schools Rowing Boat Race was held on the Kowie River in Port Alfred this past weekend, hosted by St Andrew's College. The event was greeted with some stiff wind conditions which added a bit of spice to the racing. Thirteen boy's crews rowing VIII's, and seven girl's crews rowing quads, participated. The Saturday time trial, known as the Heads Race, produced some interesting results with Bishop Bavin being a surprise finalist in the boy's event and DSG in the girl's event.
The finals on Sunday produced some exciting racing throughout the day. The event is modeled on the Oxford/Cambridge rowing event over 6km for the boys and 4km for the girls. There are two-boat finals all the way down the order and these boats race down the length of the course on the serpentine Kowie River where the corners and sandbanks always produce interesting tactical challenges.
Last year's bronze medalists, KES from Johannesburg, were crowned the Boat Race champions for the first time, beating Bishop Bavin from in the A Final. Taking the bronze medal was St John's who accounted for St Benedict's and SACS in the B Final.
In the girl's event there was an epic struggle between DSG and St Andrew's School, which saw the boats racing neck and neck all the way to the finish.
The Most Improved Performance trophies were awarded to Bishop Bavin in the boy's event and to DSG in the girl's event.
Results follow:
OLD MUTUAL SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS BOAT RACE 2010 Final Results:
Girls
1. St Andrew's School for Girls 15:28:22
2. Diocesan School for Girls 15:21:38
3. St Stithian's College 15:37:65
4. St Mary's Girls School 16:06:87
5. Bishop Bavin High School 14:01:80
6. Holy Rosary Convent 14.22.28
7. Clarendon Girls High School 14:53:15
Boys
1. King Edward IV School 24:47:10
2. Bishop Bavin High School 24:52:60
3. St John's College 20:28:12
4. St Benedict's College 21:02:77
5. SACS 21:19:57
6. St Andrew's College 17:47:35
7. St Stithian's College 18:24:40
8. Jeppe Boys High School 18:39:27
9. Parktown Boys High School 19:10:63
10. Rondebosch Boys High School No time
11. Bishops No time
12. Selborne College 19:06:26
13. Rondebosch Boys High School 19:54:51
The Old Mutual South African Schools Boat Race will be held on 4 & 5 December 2010 on the Kowie River at Port Alfred, in the Eastern Cape.
For more information and the programme, please click on the links below:
Boat Race 2010 Programme http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=452359
The Buffalo Heads Regatta took place in East London on Saturday 30 October.
The 1st Eight continued its unbeaten run by winning the 2500 meter Selborne Challenge Eights Race in convincing fashion, a number of lengths ahead of Selborne College. Racing was then done in Heads Races over 3000meters in a number of boat categories and age groups. St Andrew's took the spoils in every sweep oar event on offer, and added a number of sculling events to its tally.
The Under 15's won the single, double as well as the quads races. The under 16's won the single, as well as pairs and fours and the opens won the 1st Pairs and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fours. The final event of the day was the Mayors Plate, held over 6 kilometers. The 1st Four pulled of yet another win, retaining their unbeaten run in the process. They appear to be a force to be reckoned with, come the major races in the new year . All in all, a very successful days racing.
A selection of St Andrew's rowers travelled to Knysna on Friday 22 October, to participate in the Knysna Regatta.
Saturday saw the sprints regatta take place over 1000 meters. The Under 15's recorded wins in the A Sculls and B Doubles and attained a number of hard fought second places.
The Under 16's won both the A and B Fours and backed this up with a second place in the A Sculls.
The 1st Eight Squad retained their unbeaten form by winning the 1st Pairs, 1st Fours and 2nd Fours. The 1st Eights race was the highlight of the day and we were involved in the tightest of finishes with SACS, the current SA Champions, after leading quite convincingly at the halfway mark. We managed, however, to hang on and take the win on the line.
This left only Sundays 1st Eights Heads Race Trophy to add to the cabinet. The Heads Race, over 6km, was raced in a time trial format. Our 1st Eight rowed with dynamic form and managed, once again, to win in a time of 20 minutes 46 seconds, 8 seconds clear of SACS in second place. This wound up an outstanding weekends racing in what must be, our best start to the rowing season in years.
The ergo trophy is awarded to an oarsman who shows very high commitment to his fitness training on the Concept II indoor rower and is usually given to a top level rower who achieves the best time during a 5000m time trial. With a 5000m time of 17min.57 sec, William Cahill is the winner of this trophy for the 2009/10 season. 17 August 2010
Interhouse Ergo 25 July 2010:
St Andrew’s College Rowing Results - 8 May 2010:
The St Andrew’s College 1st Four were selected to represent the Eastern Cape at the SA National Selection Trials which took place at Roodeplaat Dam, Pretoria last weekend. The purpose of the trials was to select crews to represent South Africa at the Junior World Championships which take place in the Czech Republic in August.
The four raced four races, placing 2nd three times and 3rd once, with only a strong heavyweight composite crew from Gauteng proving themselves stronger over Saturday and Sunday. These performances put the St Andrew’s 1st Four in contention to be one of the crews that could be announced on Friday, to race at the World Championships in August.
Being the only crew at the National trials having all rowers from the same school, the boys produced some outstanding racing, including a 6 minute 36 second time in their second race over 2000 metres on Saturday, 3 seconds faster than the 6 minutes 39 second time which won them the SA Schools Championship title in February this year.
Rowing results - 27 April 2010:
The St Andrew's College 1st Four competed in the Senior SA Championships in Pretoria last weekend, as preparation for the National Selections which will take place on the 8th and 9th of May.
On Saturday the four placed 5th in the coxed four event, in unfavourable conditions, having led the field for the first 600 meters.
On Sunday the crew competed in the Coxless fours event, the premier event of the championships. This proved a great experience for the boys, competing against the cream of South African rowing.
The race was won by the SA National Heavyweight four, followed by the National Lightweight Four. St Andrew's finished sixth, having a good battle with Rhodes University and UCT all the way to the line.
The St Andrew's College 1st Four competed in the senior National SA Championships in Pretoria last weekend (24 & 25 April), as preparation for the National Selections which will take place on the 8th and 9th of May.
On Saturday the Four placed 5th in the Coxed events, in unfavourable conditions, having led the field for the first 600 meters.
On Sunday the crew completed in the Coxless Fours event, the premier event if the championships and competed against the cream of SA rowing. The race was won by the SA National Heavyweight Four, followed by the National Lightweight Four. St Andrew's furnished sixth, having a good battle with Rhodes University and UCT all the way to the line
The following pupils were awarded colours for rowing, 13 April 2010:
Michael Blunden (re-award), William Cahill (re-award), Graham Pringle (re-award), Andrew Barnes-Webb, Marcel Bovijn, Cameron Gardner, Craig Mullins, Daniel Still and Luke van der Nest.
Rowing Club Committee for 2009/2010
Captain: Michael Blunden
Secretary: William Cahill
Boatman: Craig Mullins
Vice-Captain: Graham Pringle
SA Schools' Championship Regatta Report:
The rowing season for St Andrews College has ended on a high with a very positive and triumphant SA Championship. The club took 5 teams to Pretoria to compete in 13 different events. The club brought home six medals from these events. At the SA Championship, the format is different to other regattas, in that there is only one division per event. To win a medal, you have to be one of the best in the country.
The U14s found it tough to compete against the Gauteng crews, some of whom have been rowing for at least a full season longer than they have, but nonetheless were able to rely on their fitness to compensate and gain a well deserved bronze medal in the big boat Octuple event. The stroke was Jade Repapis.
The U16s went to the regatta with solid preparation and high expectations. They did outstandingly well, securing a Gold medal for the U16 Pair event (stroke Greg Slack) and two Silver medals, one for the Eights and one for the Fours event. Both crews were stroked by Charles Price-Smith. A further highlight was that the U16 B Four crew (stroked by Jake Green) also qualified for the A Final, the only B crew in the country to do so. The standard of the competition was extremely high, in the Fours event our crew broke the old record in near-neutral conditions, yet still came second by half a length to the St. Benedict's crew.
The 2nd eight (stroked by Nick Jackson) were strong contenders and had an excellent race, but came second by a length to a powerful crew from Bishops. Unfortunately, medals are not awarded to the minor placings for the 2nd eights event.
The 1st Eight (stroked by William Cahill) had a poor start and at the 1000m (halfway) mark were not even in contention. Digging deeper than they've ever done before, these boys hauled themselves back into the race and stormed through to take the Silver Medal, a mere canvas behind the winners SACS. The standard of competition was amazing, with the old record being smashed by all four top crews. This is the third year in a row that we have taken the Silver medal in this event. As one of the smaller crews on the water, this crew have achieved well more than should be expected, they boxed far above their fighting weight and should be proud of their achievement.
The highlight of the competition for St Andrew's College was undoubtedly the performance of the 1st Four, stroked by William Cahill. This crew literally blew away the opposition to win the Gold by four lengths of clear water.
The Rowing Club confirmed its status as one of the very top rowing school clubs in the country and is justified in being proud of its outstanding performance.
Harold Hobson
Selborne and Buffalo Regatta Report:
The rowing club has returned from a very successful weekend in East London, where it took part in a three day regatta event comprising two regattas, the Selborne Sprints over a course of 500m, and the Buffalo Regatta, raced over standard distances of 1000m and 2000m for juniors and seniors respectively.
The first highlight for the weekend was the performance of the 1st 4, which won the Selborne sprints and the Buffalo Regatta races. They totally dominated their opposition in the Buffalo race, winning by more than 6 lengths.
The 2nd eight came agonisingly close to winning the Buffalo event on Saturday, with less than half a second separating the 1st three places. If that wasn’t enough excitement, the 1st eight had a humdinger of a race, where they put on a stunning final sprint to almost snatch a win from the highly rated SACS team. The margin separating the two was less than 30 cm. The 2nd pair also won a close contest.
In the U16 division, the eight came second to the powerful crew from St. Benedict’s, but won everything else, the sculls, pairs and the four. The four was particularly impressive against very strong opposition and have maintained their unbeaten status for the season.
The U15B quad did well by winning their heats, but a breakage put them out of contention in the finals.
The Rowing Club is very positive after this weekend and looks forward to good results at SA Schools Champs in two weeks time.
H. Hobson
St Andrew’s College Rowing Club Regatta Grey Junior Regatta 8 February 2010:
The St Andrews Rowing Club junior oarsman attended the Grey Regatta in Port Elizabeth this past weekend. This regatta is open to U14 and older oarsmen that will not be able to compete at the Buffalo Regatta.
Altogether 21 boys competed from U14 and Open Age groups. For a change the weather was good and St. Andrew’s did exceptionally well. They won the Quadruple sculls in the A, B and C divisions and convincingly won the Octuple race in spite of mid-race mayhem caused by too many boys watching their opposition boat, instead of concentrating on their own rowing!
St. Andrew’s did exceptionally well to win all six double scull events and also did well in the single scull events, winning most of their races, against opposition that specialises in small boat training.
Ultimately, St. Andrew’s were winners of the Victor Ludorum points trophy with 66 points, well clear of second placed Grey High School on 44 points.H. Hobson
Rowing Camp 2010:
On Tuesday 5th January, 60 College boys returned early to Port Alfred for the annual, rowing camp. Included in this number were 18 new boys, who had a very busy and enjoyable week learning the skills of sculling. Within two days they had mastered the skills needed to complete their sculling test, which was remarkably quick.
Unlike previous years, Grey High School did not come to Port Alfred this year, preferring to stay in PE and save costs; this meant that the two clubs were not able to partake in the traditional New Boys Regatta. Nonetheless, judging from the skills shown by our new boys, we are going to have some excellent junior teams this year.
The senior crews also had a very productive rowing camp, and made good progress. Although Settler's Dam is too empty to row in, we look forward to much success this season with these crews. H.B. Hobson
South African Schools’ Boat Race Dec. 2009:
Our 1st Eight took part in the 10th Annual Old Mutual Schools’ Boatrace in mid December last year. This Boat Race was unique, in that a top international school, Abingdon, was invited to compete in the race. This served to raise considerably the profile of the Boat Race as an event, as well as the sport of Rowing in this country.
The Abingdon crew was a very high quality crew and rowed the fastest time at the time trial. The St. Andrew’s crew rowed well and were right up in time, compared to the other top crews, with only a few seconds separating the top 4 South African crews. Unfortunately though, Abingdon’s presence meant that St. Andrew’s were pushed out of the medal contending finals, and had to row in the C final against St. John’s College, which was won comfortably by St. Andrew’s.
Abingdon went on to win the A final against SACS, who put up a brave fight against awesome opposition.
Although very disappointed with the outcome, our 1st VIII rowed very well in this event and can be proud that they have maintained their position as a top South African School’s rowing team.
ZRC Regatta October 2009:
This past weekend the St. Andrew’s College Rowing Club took part in the ZRC Regatta in Port Elizabeth, and had a successful day’s racing. In the Open division, the stylish 1st Eight, stroked by William Cahill won the 6km Heads Race from the Selborne 1st Eight. The 2nd Eight stroked by Nick Jackson comfortably won their event, while St. Andrew’s also took 1st place honours for the River Cup event (1st Four, stroked by Cahill), the 2nd Four event (stroked by Craig Mullins) and the 1st Pair event (stroked by Graham Pringle). St. Andrew’s had a second crew in this event, which took Silver. Other results for the Open division squad were 2nd places for the 2nd Double Scull and 3rd Four events, plus 3rd places for 1st Single Scull (Cahill), 4th Scull (Michael Wilkinson) and 5th Scull (Graham Maxwell).
In the Under 16 division, St. Andrews easily won the U16A Eight event (stroked by Charles Price-Smith), the A and B Fours events and the U16A Single Scull (Marcel Bovijn). The U16 C scull was won by Bradley Pieter, while Charles Price-Smith and Matthew Shone took third place in the Double Scull.
The Under 15 Age group had a slightly quieter day, fetching second places in the A and B Quadruple Sculls (Fraser Muskett and Joshua Alexandre), A Double Scull (Muskett) and A Single Scull (Muskett again), but are looking forward to settling the score at the Knysna Regatta next weekend.
Congratulations to Grey High School, who excelled in the sculling events to win the overall points trophy. St. Andrew’s, however, played to its strength by dominating in the crew boat events and is well satisfied with this positive start to the rowing season.
Knysna Regatta Report October 27, 2009:
The St Andrew’s College Rowing Club took three teams of boys to Knysna, to compete in the annual Knysna Regatta.
The U15 crews battled against the competition, mostly in the form of a large squad of rowers from Grey High School. In most of their events, they fetched second place, but congratulations must go to Fraser Muskett for his win in the U15B Single sculls.
The U16 eight had a largely successful day. Having convincingly beaten the other Eastern Cape schools at the previous week’s regatta, our crew took on the fancied crew from Bishops and beat them by more than the length. They also beat the opposition in the U16A Fours race, came second in the U16A Quads, Marcel Bovijn won the U16A sculls and together with Greg Slack, took 1st place in the U16A pairs event. Second place in the Pairs went to Charles Price-Smith and Matthew Shone. This is a highly talented age group and will go far, if they can maintain their focus.
The St Andrew’s College First Eight had a moderate day against a strong field from the Western Cape. Graham Pringle and Michael Blunden won the 1st pairs and William Cahill came 2nd in the 1st Single Sculls race. In both the Sprint Race and the long distance Heads Race, our crew came a close third behind SACS and Selborne. The 1st Eight is determined to set the record straight, when they meet Selborne again this coming weekend at the Buffalo Heads regatta in East London.
H. Hobson MIC Rowing
2008/2009 Rowing Season Report
Inaugural Inter-House Ergo Regatta - September 2009
On Sunday, St Andrew’s boys experience their first every Inter-House Ergo Regatta. It was a chance for them to experience a taste of the phenomenon that is Indoor Rowing races, which are catching on in popularity at gyms throughout the world.
There was a great vibe on the go at the DSG Hall, which was the venue for this regatta and the event was well supported – although not equally across the houses.
The races were held over distances of 500 metres, which was intended to be short enough to level the playing field between rowers and non-rowers. Although rowing boys had a clear advantage over non-rowing boys, there were many from other sports codes who gave impressive performances.
The houses that scored the best times for the junior age groups was Espin House followed by Armstrong, while amongst seniors, it was Espin House followed by Merriman House.
The two fastest individual times for juniors was achieved by Greg Slack and Marcel Bovijn, in times of 1’33.0 and 1’34.3 respectively. In the senior event, a competitive rivalry between James Edwards (Mer) and Daniel Vale (G) made for a gripping contest. In the last few metres a furious late charge allowed James Edwards to narrowly beat Daniel Vale in a time of 1’26.5 to Daniel’s 1’27.0. Both times are highly impressive, they would place these boys in the top five in their age group for Concept 2’s Online World Ranking.
Our congratulations go to these four boys and our thanks to everyone that participated. It is hoped that the Inter-House Ergo Regatta will become a formalised permanent event on the College Sporting Calendar.
H Hobson
Master in Charge: Rowing
SA Junior Championships - 6 to 8 March 2009 Roodeplaat Dam, Pretoria:
A contingent of 49 boys took part in this years championships.
Day 1:
Day 1 saw single sculls races, as well as pairs races across all age groups. St Andrew's had an encouraging first day's results by picking up a gold and two silver medals:
- - Marcell Bovijn won the U15 Sculls title with a record breaking time. There were 48 entries in this event
- - William Cahill won a silver medal in the U 16 Sculls, being defeated by less than 1 foot in the final race. There were 42 entries in this event.
- - Clive Hunting and James Edwards won a Silver Medal in the U19 Pairs.
Another result worth mentioning was a creditable 4th place out of 42 attained by Nick Fleisher in the U 14 Sculls
Day 2
The club suffered a disastrous setback on Day 2 when almost half the club went down with a stomach virus, which left many rowers bedridden for the day. The gold medal contending U15 quad, as well as medal contending U 14 crews had to field weaker teams which were unfortunately unable to bring in any medals for the club.
Some notable results, however, were:
- - 5th Place for the U 14 Octuple
- - 4th Place for the U 15 Quad
Day 3
The final day of competition involved a mixture of boat classes and age groups. Although most of the club were on the mend from illness, many boys were still too weak to perform to their expectations.
- - This said, U15 Octuple performed excellently to win the bronze medal.
- - The 2nd Eights placed a determined 5th in their final
- - The U16 Quad overcame odds to also achieve a 5th place in their final.
The 1st 8 clocked the fastest time in the heats, defeating the favoured St Benedict's crew convincingly by over 1 length.
This bade well for the crew going into the final, and premier race of the regatta.
The final got underway with SACS getting a sublime start, leaving St Andrew's, KES and St Benedict's to chase them down as the finish line approached. St Andrews were the crew up to the challenge and produced the fastest 2nd 1000m of the race. In the final 200m a spent SACS crew watched as their lead was eaten away stroke for stroke by a surging St Andrews boat. On the line however, St Andrew's were left stranded under a canvas short of the SACS crew, and as such had to settle for the silver medal this year. It was a valiant effort though with many onlookers commenting on the fact that the result would have been different just 2 or 3 strokes later.
This left the club with an overall medal haul of 1 gold, 3 silvers and one bronze, a commendable effort!
Selborne and Buffalo Regatta Report:
The rowing club took part in a three day regatta event this past weekend, comprising two regattas, the Selborne Sprints over a course of 500m, and the Buffalo Regatta, raced over standard distances of 1000m and 2000m for juniors and seniors respectively. The Selborne Sprints is not an event that College usually excels in, but nevertheless, the boys achieved some notable successes. The U15s won the quad sculls event to take the U15 Challenge Trophy. The 1st IV won their race, while the 1st VIII came second in theirs.
At the Buffalo Regatta, the U15 age group had a very successful day, winning both the A and B quad events. Marcel Bovijn easily won the U15B sculls, while Nick Fleischer, competing above his age group achieved a creditable second place in the same event. In the senior division, our powerful 1st IV had a disastrous injury halfway down the course, which dashed their medal chances and also jeopardised their chances in the following 1st VIII’s race. Drafting in a 2nd team replacement, the College 1st VIII crew rowed out of their skins to surge into 2nd place behind the SACS 1st VIII and ahead of the highly rated crew from King Edwards VII School. In their races, the 3rd VIII achieved a third place, as did our 2nd VIII.
College also scored the most points in the competition to win the Sun Trail Trophy, a notable achievement.
ROWING ERGO TROPHY:
This trophy is awarded to the boy who achieves the best ergo time in a 5000 m time trial and this season is awarded to James Edwards, who did 5000m in a time of 17 minutes 24 seconds, the second best time ever achieved by a College boy.
Rowing Camp January 2009:
On Monday 5th January, the rowing club welcomed 73 College boys to Port Alfred for the annual, week long rowing camp. Included in this number were 26 enthusiastic new boys, a record intake. The fact that so many boys would willingly give up a part of their holidays for a week of hard exercise, sun and blistered hands, once again shows the inexplicable love that boys have for this sport. By the end of a week of hard rowing, beach runs, ergos and even theory sessions, the boys were no doubt tired, but raring to get started with the Autumn regatta calendar. On the last evening of the camp, we had a braai to which families and friends were invited. Over 200 people attended, and all enjoyed plentiful food and the warm, welcoming atmosphere, which was a fitting end to a great rowing camp.
With such an excellent start, the club can look forward to a very active and rewarding season. The challenge remains to ensure that the College teams use the weeks ahead to prepare themselves better than the other crews on the water. This will ensure that the St. Andrew's Rowing Club's reputation for tough competition will grow and lead to our ultimate success.
Thanks must go to all those who worked hard to make this camp not only possible, but also highly successful. Special mention may be made of all the team coaches, who gave much more than their duty, to ensure the highest quality of coaching and also productive use of the time available.
South African Schools' Boat Race December 2008:
After weeks of intense preparation on the part of the 1st VIIIs, the 9th Old Mutual South African Schools Rowing Boat Race was held on the Kowie River over 7th and 8th December. The event was blessed with beautiful summer weather with a moderate easterly breeze. Fifteen boy's crews rowing VIII's, and eleven girl's crews rowing quads, participated. The Saturday time trial, known as the Heads Race, produced interesting results with SACS being a surprise finalist in the boy's event. The St. Andrew's team did not make the A final this time round, although their time was relatively closer to the best heats time achieved, than had been the case in the previous year's Boat Race.
The finals on Sunday produced some exciting racing throughout the day. The event is modelled on the famous Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race, with the field of entrants competing in a series of two-boat finals over a 6 km course. The serpentine Kowie River has many corners and sandbanks, which always produce interesting tactical challenges.
The 2007 winners of the boy's event, St Benedict's College were once again triumphant, beating SACS from Cape Town in the A Final. In the B Final, St. Andrew's took an early lead over Selborne College and stamped their authority on the race, eventually reaching the finish line over half a minute ahead of Selborne to claim the Bronze Medal.
St Andrew’s College Rowing Club Report, October 27, 2008:
This past weekend, eighteen rowers competed in the Halfway Regatta at Knysna. St. Andrews crews were ready to make up for a relatively slow start at ZRC Regatta last weekend and an early arrival on Friday allowed for a session to familiarise ourselves with the water conditions and also to shake off some “Balloon Week” rust.
A very early start saw St. Andrew’s crews making a good showing. Clive Hunting with Andrew Alexander and James Edwards with Daniel Vale each won their heat in the U19 pairs. The Hunting crew had an especially easy win. In the Open Fours race, the College Crew stroked by Graham Pringle also produced a convincing win. In the early stages of the Under 16A Quad sculls race, our crew stroked by Nick Jackson found themselves down to the talented crew from Grey, but fought back with determination to snatch victory in the last seconds of the race. In the U16B pairs event, the College crew stroked by Sebastien Williams-Wynn also took a commanding win. Thereafter, the wind, which had been getting steadily stronger, rendered the course unrowable and racing was suspended. When it became clear that the wind would not subside, the racing was abandoned for the day. A Heads race scheduled for the end of the day was postponed to early on Sunday morning. This Heads race over 6 km was won by SACS of Cape Town, with College fetching second place. This regatta was to many of the boys a somewhat testing weekend, most of them not having previously experienced a regatta being abandoned because of wind, but it was also evident that St. Andrew’s Rowing Club crews are getting better with every week. We look forward to the third and final sprint regatta of the Spring Season, which takes place in East London this coming weekend.
St. Andrew’s College Rowing Club – ZRC Regatta Report:
This past weekend (18 October), St. Andrew’s College Rowing Club took part in the ZRC Regatta in Port Elizabeth, together with other local rowing clubs Selborne, Grey High, Clarendon Girls High, Zwartkops Rowing Club and Nemato Rowing Club from Port Alfred. As has often been the case in past years, there was a stiff crosswind across the course, which made for difficult racing conditions.
St. Andrew’s won the U19 1st VIIIs event and the U19 pairs event in the Heads Race, while their U19 1st Four came second to Selborne in the River Cup event. St. Andrew’s also entered a crew into the Men’s A Pairs event, competing against university crews, which they also won. The 2nd eight came a very narrow second to Selborne in the U19 2nd eights race, while the 3rd eight fetched a creditable 3rd place in the same race, racing outside of their division. St. Andrew’s also won the U19 5th four event.
In the Junior divisions, St. Andrew’s U15B quad were delighted to win their race, after several near-misses as U14s last season. The St. Andrew’s junior oarsmen also fetched 2nd places in the U16A doubles, U16 C Fours and U16 Eights, two podium finishes in the U15 C sculls and 3rd places in the U15A doubles, U15A & C quad sculls and the U16 A & B single sculls. Third place also went to the U16 B Four.
Credit must be given to the resurgent Grey High School, who were overwhelmingly strong in the small boats, winning every single scull event and most of the Junior events, and securing the overall points trophy. After several lean years for them, this is a welcome change and is very good for the future of Eastern Cape Schools Rowing.
H. Hobson
Buffalo Heads Regatta Report, November 2, 2009.
This past weekend, the rowing club participated in the Buffalo Heads Regatta in East London. The format of the regatta was different this year, in that almost all the races were conducted as Heads races, involving a time-trial race which circled around either one or two buoys. This format allowed the organizers to run a high number of crews in many events over a relatively short space of time.
The format seemed to suit St. Andrew’s crews well, as they have all done a fair bit of long distance training and they dominated the racing as a result.
In the Open division, St. Andrews won the Selborne Challenge Eights event. Since there were no other eights events taking place during that day, our 2nd Eight and U16A eight also participated in this event and fetched 3rd and 4th places respectively, both beating the Selborne 2nd Eight.
St. Andrew’s crews also won the Mayor’s Plate (for Open coxed fours), and the Open Pairs, stroked by Mullins.
In the U16 group, the U16A four (stroked by Price-Smith) easily won their event, while Slack and Bovijn won the Pairs. The U15 crews did well too, winning the A quad (Muskett), the B quad (Simpson)and the B double Scull (Mseleku).
The club are well pleased with these results and will get stuck into their academics, while the 1st Eight prepare for the huge challenge of the upcoming SA School’s Boatrace, due in Port Alfred in early December. H. Hobson MIC Rowing
Missing Helen8th May 2012
"Missing Helen" will be St Andrew's College and DSG's Dance 2012 Production. Updates on the preparation and production will be posted here.
Ireland Debating Tour4th May 2012
13 College Debaters participated in the St Andrew's Ireland Model United Nations competition in Dublin.
