THERE will be bagpipes, drums, and thousands of cheering schoolboys – and three rowing crews from The Armidale School will be drawing on this unique atmosphere at the GPS Head of the River, at the Sydney International Regatta Centre on Saturday, to bring their boats home in the coxed fours events.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
“The progress through the season has been phenomenal and we’re all raring to go,” said captain of boats Henry Hughes, who after coxing crews at four previous Heads of the River is this year pulling a sweep oar.
He added: “The atmosphere makes it the most significant sporting event on the GPS calendar and we will all be using that to motivate us to finish as strongly as we can. The crews have done everything in their capacity to get their boats going as fast and efficiently as possible, and everyone’s ready to the take to the water and battle it out.”
Rowing coordinator Will Caldwell said the season could already be considered a success, by the measure of the progress of the rowers and the relationships they have formed.
“Every year our rowers are more diverse yet more connected, a reflection of their unity forged with a common purpose,” he said.
While illness had impacted on the final preparations of the rowers, including a late-minute replacement of one rower diagnosed with glandular fever, Caldwell said their camaraderie and resilience was inspiring.
“There have been some challenges and while I wouldn’t wish those on any of them, they are positive experiences in terms of character development. If they can have their best row of the season on the day, they should be well satisfied,” he said.
It will be the seventh time TAS has competed at the AAGPS Head of the River, growing from a single crew in 2012.
Around 10,000 students from the nine NSW GPS schools and their families will flock to the Sydney International Regatta Centre for the event. This year TAS also fielded girls and boys quad sculls, which finished their season with personal best times at NSW Rowing’s Schoolgirls and Schoolboys Heads of the River earlier this month.
The five crews started training in November on Malpas Dam near Black Mountain and took part in camps and regattas at Grafton and Taree during the summer school holidays, as well as a number of regattas in Sydney earlier in the year.
The crews are:
First IV: Ben Louis (Hernani), Nicholas Makeham (Walcha), Dan Lethbridge (Armidale), Joshua Jones (Gunnedah) coxswain Annika Rhoades (Inverell).
Second IV: Joe Sewell (Armidale), Luke Rorke (Sydney), Anthony Russell-Thomas (Sydney), Henry Hughes (Glen Innes), coxswain Henry Pitman (Goondiwindi).
Third IV: Toby Markerink (Moree), Ben Hamparsum (Gunnedah), Lachlan Oates (Tamworth), Will Swales (Kingstown) coxswain Molly Pinnock (Sydney).
