Crews shine at Shrewsbury and Bedford

Last weekend, the Rowing Club split into 2 teams as they competed in both the Bedford and Shrewsbury Regatta’s.

SHREWSBURY

It was the Shrewsbury squad that received the best of the weather, with bright sun throughout the day and some excellent performances from our rowers.

The 1000m course on the River Severn was taken on by some fantastic crews from all over the country and our King’s rowers did their club proud on and off the water. The 38-strong team raced in a variety of boats, coming away with three fantastic wins and great racing ahead of the National Schools Regatta in just two weeks’ time.

Wins of the day came from the Girls J16 coxed four of Eleni Maoudis (5BRD), Helena Barker (5FOX), Eleanor Heritage (5FOX), Elisa Shaw (5GLA) and Eve Jawara (5DUT). Eve and Helena also claimed victory in the Girls J16 coxless pairs earlier in the same day also, well done to the J16 girls.

In the Girls J14 octuple final, King’s were drawn against local rivals from The Grange School, after a strong start from the Hartford school, King’s were trailing for the majority of the race. Their determination prevailed and they took the victory in a final sprint for the line.

Congratulations to our J14 girls’ team and the rest of the King’s rowers for their fantastic performances at the Shrewsbury Regatta.

BEDFORD

The Bedford team, which consisted of 60 athletes from J14 to J18, were not as fortunate with the weather as they made the long trip down south!

The Boys 1st VIII made short work of defeating a crew from South Africa in the J18 Eights event before meeting the eventual runners-up, Bedford School, losing out by ¾ of a length.

The Boys J15 A Eight beat their opponents from Bedford School by a canvas in the first round which set them up for what proved to be an enthralling second round encounter against Abingdon School, finishing a very close second.

The Boys J15 Coxed Four beat local rivals Shrewsbury School in the first round before losing to the eventual winners from Bedford School in the semi-finals.

The J15 Boys 2nd boat had an enjoyable day and in doing so made it to the finals after defeating Norwich School and Abingdon School in the preliminary rounds. In the final, the King’s boat raced valiantly against Hampton School eventually placing as runners-up.

The Girls J15 A boat raced well in round one to defeat a strong crew from Putney High School while in the semi-final they held the crew from Bedford Girls on home water for much of the race. A spirited row from the King’s girls kept Bedford’s winning margin to just 1 length.

The J14 squad was very well represented at the Regatta with two Boys Octuples and one from the girls flying the King’s flag. The Boys ‘B’ boat beat Shiplake College by a strong four-length verdict in their first race before losing to the eventual winners from The Norwich School.

The Boys ‘A’ Octuples received a tough draw at the outset lining up against St Paul’s School in the first round. The King’s Boys raced with great heart and skill and will have learned an enormous amount from this race with St Paul’s coming out on top by a small margin.

Performance of the day must go to the J14 Girls Octuple who ended an excellent day of racing by winning their event, and along with it winning individual pots and a trophy for their efforts on the day.

The King’s girls were victorious against Bedford Modern School in round one, defeated a well-drilled crew from Putney High School in the semi-final and topped off a tremendous day by defeating Shrewsbury School in the final.

Our crews contributed to what was a wonderful day’s racing with plenty of lessons learnt. All athletes and crews should now look forward to racing at the National School’s Regatta which commences on May 25 at Dorney Lake, where all support would be hugely appreciated.