82 rowers represented Shiplake College across twelve crews at the National Schools’ Regatta at the weekend, coming away with one gold, three silvers and a bronze. Director of Rowing, Mr David Currie, said: “This was one of the most successful National Schools' Regattas Shiplake has had and it is the students’ reward for all the dedication and hours they put into their training. The coaches and students have worked so hard for this achievement - now we move our focus to Henley Royal Regatta.”
Senior Boys
Championship Eight
The 1st VIII finished their 2,000m time trial in an encouraging second place, just one second behind St Edward’s and one second ahead of Eton College. They then came second in their semi-final race, just behind Eton, although their time was still faster than the winner’s St Edward’s in the other semi-final race. In the final, however, Eton went off fast and led the pack all the way down the course whilst Shiplake, St Edward’s and Kings College School tousled for a medal position. The Shiplake crew was sitting in second at the 500m mark but the other crews were hot on their heels and whilst the last 500m was exciting for the spectators on the bank, heartbreak ensued as Shiplake finished fourth - just a second between second, third and fourth place showed just how tight a race it was. Crew: D Hillier, M Johnston, E Tayler, S Critchley, J Birch, F Fox, F Middleton, E Dallas and W Fisher (cox).
Second Eight
The 2nd VIII got the fastest time trial in their category, then coming second in their semi-final just behind a fast Radley College crew and 18 seconds ahead of third place. Radley led the field in the final and whilst Shiplake was in second position at the 500m they spent the next 1000m in third, pulling it back again in the final 500m to take the silver. The boys were racing in the boat named after former Headmaster Gregg Davies, who was part of the commentary team for the weekend and he was delighted to announce the silver medallists in the boat of his namesake. Crew: F Arkle, T Madden, T Rackett, E Humphris, T Houghton, R Pritchard, N Floyd, L Byca and C Keena (cox).
Third Eight
There were only six third eight crews in this category, reflecting the depth of Shiplake’s rowing programme despite being a relatively small school in comparison. As a result all crews were guaranteed a place in the A Final and the time trial served as to which lane they would be placed. The crew were second in their time trial and in the final they chased Radley down the course and whilst they were unable to close the gap, they comfortably came in second place to claim silver. Crew: L Swinburne-Johnson, N Summerfield, H Harper, S Verzone, L Creighton, M Provoost, F Worthington, G Elliott and O Joiner (cox).
Senior Girls
The four Shiplake girls’ crews had a fantastic weekend’s racing, coming home with gold in the coxed four, silver in the first quad, bronze in the double and a 5th place finish in the second quad. Mr Dan Safdari, Lead Girls Rowing Coach, said “It highlights the depth and determination within the squad. It’s my second National Schools’ Regatta with Shiplake and once again I’m very proud of how they stepped up to the occasion and what they achieved.”
2nd Quad
R Pendlebury, H Boddy, L Stokes and P Young came fourth in their time trial and then proceeded to have a strong semi-final race, finishing third which meant they progressed to the A Final in which they came fifth.
Championship Coxed Four
Whilst E Webb, G Catlin, G Hallmann, C Green and M Walker (cox) came fifth in their time trial, their second-place finish in their semi-final was still the fourth fastest time of both heats. In the final they started strongly and were leading at the 500m mark, slipping to second at half way but working back past the Tideway Scullers to finish in first place by 4 seconds. A well-earned gold to claim the Jim Mason Plate.
Championship Double
M Hadfield and M Jackson waited until the Sunday for their event, posting a fast time trial, finishing second just behind Sir William Perkins’s School. They came second in their semi-final behind a speedy Tideway Scullers School. They went fast in the final, leading at the first 500m but slipped to second behind Sir William Perkins at the half-way point and then the strength of Tideway Scullers came through as they took gold and the Shiplake girls finished with a well-deserved bronze.
Championship Quad
There was just .11 of a second between Marlow’s first and Shiplake’s third in the time trial in this event, showing the strength of the field and the challenge ahead for M Vickerman, S Maleham, J Weir and M Oakes to retain the trophy. They raced well in the semi-final and took first place ahead of the Claires Court crew, which had taken second in the time trial. Marlow went out strong in the final and whilst Shiplake were in third place at the 500m they closed the gap on Marlow and by the finish line they moved up to second and were just 1.77 seconds behind.
Junior Boys
J16s
The Year 11s had to wait until Sunday for their Quad race and with an injury to one of the crew towards the end of the week it was touch-and-go as to whether they would be able to participate at all. Up stepped B Watkins to join B Brooks, O Smee and T Lebeau so the rowers could enjoy the experience of national schools’ regatta however a 17th place finish in the time trial meant they wouldn’t proceed to the semi-finals.
J15s
The Year 10 boys had an early start on Saturday as the J15 1st and 2nd eights had completed their 2000k time trials by 8.30am. The 1st eight came 21st in their category and the 2nd eight came 18th so unfortunately neither crew had the opportunity for side-by-side racing this year.
J15A: J Lucking, H Johnston, S Bailey, M Gorshkov, A Tufail, H Brough, A Malcolm, L Poundall and F Collar (cox).
J15B: L Cawdell, J Scanlon, L Wilson, Z Dransfield, M Fairhurst, H Steel, F Teague, J Dawn and T Sanders (cox).
J14s
This was the first major regatta for the Year 9 boys who only started rowing in January. Coach Mr Andy Jones commented on how they showed great maturity in their commitment to training and preparation for their races on the Friday of the three-day event at Eton Dorney.
The J14 1st eight came ninth in their time trial which progressed them to the B Final for the second six fastest crews. They had a strong start in the side-by-side race and at the half-way mark there was less than a second between third and fifth, with Shiplake sitting in 4th, however as they crossed the finish line at 1000m their final position was fifth. Crew: S Crehan Mills, F Coultas, M Taylor-FitzGibbon, T Lane, O Bennett, S Pickering, W Tavinor, R Evans, B Loggie (cox).
The J14 2nd crew came 20th in their time trial which unfortunately meant they didn’t proceed to the final races. Crew: Z Powell, E Jones, C Rees, G Coultan, A Kami-Hawkings, J Scotchbrook, C Watkins, R Campbell and B Parrott (cox).
A big thank you to all the parents, staff and Old Vikings who attended Eton Dorney and supported all the crews. There was a wonderful atmostphere at the Shiplake marquee, with picnics, drinks receptions and a Headmaster's lunch all adding to the occasion.
