It has been a superb season for the boat club so far and, on Saturday 10 June, more success was enjoyed by our junior crews, whose turn it was to shine at Bedford’s Star Regatta.
Whilst the 1st VIII were being put through their paces at a training camp in Earith, the boat club recorded a staggering total of 10 event wins across all age groups. Lots of boys won their first event (and therefore their first pot), but perhaps most poignant was Upper Sixth Former Wilfred Barker winning his first event in his last race for the school.
Director of Rowing Pete Mulkerrins commented, “While the Star Regatta is often a successful regatta for the school, I can’t offhand remember the boat club winning 10 events in a single race day.”
The wins came from: J14 A octuples, J14 B quads, J15 A and B eights, J15 quads, J16 eights, J16 coxed fours, J16 quads, Band 2 coxed fours and Band 1 eights.
The J14 A crew won their event beating Hampton School in the final. The J14 B crew reached the semi-final of the B crew event losing to St Edwards; however, the J14 C crew reached the final before also losing to St Edwards.
J14A Octo.
The J14 A crew then broke down to race in two quads. The A quad reached the final of the J14 A quad event, losing to Hampton School. The B quad beat Norwich school in a dramatic race, which saw both crews tangle blades and come to a complete halt, to win the J14 B quads event.
Through a quirk of the online entry system, the J15 C crew ended up in the J15 A eights event, being drawn against our A crew. A handicap delay of 12 seconds was agreed between the coaches before the start, and while the A crew overcame their handicap, there were some nervous moments, as it took three quarters of the race for them to overhaul the C crew. The A crew then went on to beat Hampton in the final.
Junior 15A Crew
Junior 15B Crew
The J15 B crew beat Hampton and Dulwich to win the J15 B eights. The J15 A crew also raced in the J15 coxed fours, losing to Norwich School in the semi-final. However, the other half of the crew won the J15 quads beating King’s Ely.
The Colts squad won all the events they contested, winning the J16 eight beating Hampton, the J16 coxed four also beating Hampton and the J16 quad beating regatta hosts, Star Rowing Club.
The senior squad won band 2 coxed 4s beating Northampton and Newark rowing clubs. They also reached the final of Band 2 VIIIs, losing to Southampton universities 2nd VIII.
Senior Coxed Four
The Temple 8, a combined Colts and Senior crew who will later compete at the qualifiers for the Temple Challenge at Henley, won Band 1 VIII, beating Southampton Universities’ 1st VIII to be the fastest crew at the regatta.