Crews headed to Dorney Lake, Eton, in order to take in the prestigious rowing event National Schools' Regatta over the bank holiday weekend. Having won the Schools' Head earlier in the year, the pressure was on for the crews to live up to their reputation, and they did not disappoint.
The Championship Coxed Four had a fantastic race, achieving a Silver Medal. The crew were nine seconds behind St Paul’s School in the time trial, finishing third, before reaching the final. The crew battled to finish just four seconds behind Gold Medal winners, St Paul’s, achieving second place. This was a particularly impressive performance from the Shiplake crew, as all four of the rowers in the winning boat will be forming the top GB boat in the Junior World Championships. Two of the four Shiplake rowers, Henry Blois-Brooke and Sebastian Newman, will be representing GB in the Junior World Championships. Austin Burnand and Oliver Newton have also now been invited to participate in the time trials, to win a place at the Junior World Championships.
The 1st VIII achieved the best result in Shiplake’s recent history, achieving second place in the time trials and then winning a Bronze Medal in the Championship final, falling just behind crews from St Paul’s and Eton College. The 2nd VIII did incredibly well, also achieving a Bronze Medal, only seconds behind Eton College and Shrewsbury School. The 3rd VIII reached the B final, which was a first for Shiplake. The crew also achieved a Bronze Medal, behind Eton College and King’s Chester.
All crews exceeded expectations. The J15 VIII raced in the A final, which was the first time they had raced in the Championship race, achieving fourth place. The J16 VIII crew also raced in the Championship race, getting sixth place. Reaching the A finals was a main aim for the J15 and 16s, so being fourth and sixth in the country respectively is a fantastic achievement. The J14 crews raced well in the time trials, reaching the C finals, but unfortunately adverse weather conditions meant that the races were cancelled. The Ch Coxless 4 came 12th in the time trials, but unfortunately didn’t quite make it to the final, following a tough race in the semis.
Sixth Form pupil Georgia-Mae Frye rowed in the Ch G 1x, coming 13th out of 49 in the time trial, and then just missing out on a place in the final by coming sixth in the semi-finals. The Girls’ Quad finished sixth in their time trial, and achieved fourth place in the B Final, placing them 12th in the country. The crew will now be in the mix for qualifying for Henley Royal Regatta, as 16 crews across the country qualify. This also means that there is potential for the crew to do well in the upcoming Henley Women's Regatta. Credit to Girls' Rowing Coach, Mr Charlie Jenkins, for the fantastic work he has done this year, helping put girls' rowing at Shiplake on the map.
Director of Rowing Mr David Currie commented: ‘it was an absolutely fantastic weekend of rowing! The rowers were up against the best crews in the country, and all performed admirably. It was great to see every senior boy coming away with a medal, and all of the coaches are just ecstatic with the depth of the results. It’s not just the senior rowers that put in impressive performances; the girls and lower years performed very well. The results show good potential for the future of Shiplake College.’ Headmaster Mr Gregg Davies added: ‘I’m exceptionally proud of all the pupils who took part in the racing this weekend. It has been the best Nat Schools for Shiplake College in recent memory.'