Photo credit to All Mark One.
As the rowing season edges towards an end, we reflect on what has been an incredible season so far for rowers of all ages across the school.
For those of us who know rowing well, there are no words to describe the hours of demanding training that must be put into the sport, particularly during the harsh winter months, to make for success on the water during the glorious racing months.
The race that kicked it off for this year’s rowers was at the Basher Head in January, the boys’ first major racing day of the year over the old Olympic course at Dorney, which took place on a crisp winter’s morning. All crews raced well that day, showing plenty of promise for the season ahead. Perhaps the stand-out performance of the day was the 1st VIII, who battled over the 5,700m course to just pip Abingdon to the post.
Hampton Head followed in February, providing more vital race experience and getting the boys in great shape for Schools Head in March, which saw a staggering 300 crews taking part on a very wet and soggy day. Our boys did not let the conditions get the better of them, and managed to scoop three gold medals between them (1st VIII, J16 VIII and J15A VIII).
More training and race practice followed giving the boys the impetus to put their absolute all into the hometown highlight of the rowing calendar, the Bedford Regatta. The 1st VIII’s training come to fruition when they raced the fastest race of the day over the Bedford course.
Next up was the National Schools Regatta, held over the May bank holiday weekend, an esteemed event for all the racing crews. It was therefore extremely pleasing to see the Bedford Boat Club finishing with a very positive set of results across all age groups.
The Colts A crew produced the standout performance of the regatta for the school taking the bronze medal in the J16 8s behind Eton and St Paul’s and ahead of Hampton and Latymer. This is the first championship 8s level medal the school has won since 2005.
The 1st VIII finished third in the B final to finish eleventh overall in championship eights. It was a solid performance, and the losses to Dulwich and Shrewsbury in the B final left the crew eager to improve ahead of Marlow and Henley Royal Regattas. They are a young crew with six potential returners next year, if they are able to keep up the pace of development they have made this year, there is the possibility that next year they could become one of the strongest 1st VIIIs.
The 2nd Four performed exceptionally well to finish fifth in the A final of championship coxed 4s, ahead of Bedford Modern School’s top ranked crew. The 3rd Four performed well, but found the level of competition a little high, finishing last in championship coxless fours.
Peterborough Regatta followed on Saturday 3 June, which saw some of the boys from the senior and colts squads race and gain valuable race experience in a slightly less pressurised environment than the National Schools Regatta. Highlights from the day included the seniors winning the coxless fours and finishing first and second in the coxless pairs. The colts finished second in coxed fours.
In the most exciting race of the day, the colts saw victory snatched away from them. Having just scraped through their heat by finishing fourth, they considerably upped their game in the final and were looking confident half a length up coming into the closing stages, only to catch a huge boat-stopping crab, which pushed them back to fourth.
With big events such as Marlow, Star and Henley Regattas still to come, there is still a competitive air about the boys and much more to look forward to.