From the outset, my lack of knowledge about rowing is well-known and I won’t try for one minute to comment on the technicalities of anything to do with the sport. Furthermore, if the truth be known, I have also been renowned for my banter with rowers, especially when I was convening tennis … with that all said, I can’t help but give this sport and in particular the boys, the recognition that they certainly deserve.

Rowing. It is a sport that requires patience, resilience, hard work and most of all, team work. It is a sport that by nature is not wonderful as a spectator sport and as a result, for crews it can be a lonely experience in the lead up to the Head of the River. When you consider Tennis, Cricket, Basketball, Swimming, Water polo, Football and Rugby – these are all sports that take place on main campuses and at the very least get the passers-by stopping to watch for short periods. Rowing on the other hand is hard to watch unless you are equipped with a boat or bike and even parents and coaches often only get to see a minute or two of a race.

When we talk about team sports, for many, rowing may not be the first sport that comes to mind, however, if you think for a moment about seeing a crew in action, their synchronisation is quite incredible and paramount to their success … if one person falls out of time then the whole crew suffers. Crews develop great trust in and reliance upon each other – rowing certainly epitomises team work.As a result of this, the boys who compete in rowing do form very strong bonds with each other as a simple result of being around each other for long periods and also being conscious of the ups and downs that each other face throughout their quest for success.

Our crews have every reason to get excited about the Head of the River day – not only is it the climax to their season, it is also the only opportunity they have to perform in front of friends and family and they deserve to enjoy the day and no matter the results, celebrate their efforts, their development and indeed celebrate each other as part of their team.

This year at the Head of the River our rowers did us incredibly proud. In all, we had Year 11 boys represent us in seven crews who competed at the regatta.

Our Third VIII was well represented by Year 11 boys with Joffy Rhodes (Drummoyne), Max Behan (Oatlands), Tim McGrath (Longueville), Will Canning (Maroubra) and Charlie Waldren (Red Hill) all a part of this crew. They finished second to Kings by less than five seconds and received a wonderful commendation from Convenor of Rowing and GPS Rowing stalwart  Mr Bob Shirlaw who described the crew as the most enjoyable crew that he worked with all season.

The Fourth IV was an all Year 11 crew represented by Nathan Illy (McMahons Point), Kobi Bates (Haberfield), Ryan Voulgaris (Hunters Hill), Charlie Hanigan (Coonamble) and Harry McEvoy (Killara). These boys finished in sixth place in an incredibly close race where there was only six seconds separating 2nd and 6th place. Well done to these boys who were up against Year 12 boys from other schools who have been rowing for an extra year – they certainly did us proud!

In the Third IV, Alex Guilfoyle (Cronulla) joined forces with four Year 12 boys and came a creditable fifth place and only two seconds behind their Newington opponents.

Our Second IV had an absolute ripper of a race being coxswained by Harry Bateman (Cremorne Point). This is a crew that has had many fine successes during the season fighting close battles each week with Shore and victories going each way. Today, the final result went in favour of Shore by an incredibly close 2 seconds. This has been a fine crew all season and deserve every recognition on this wonderful result.

The First IV was a special race for the day. It is the only race that contained all nine GPS schools. It has been great over the last few years to see The Armidale School (TAS) join us at the Head of the River and this year they raced in the First and Second IV – since Sydney High did not race in the Second IV, this was the only race where all nine schools entered a crew. In this crew we were represented by Nick Leaver (St Ives), John Ell (Cottage Point) and Roman Hoferek (Hunters Hill). The boys finished right in the middle of the pack and can be very pleased with their efforts throughout the season and in particular on the Head of the River day.

Our Second VIII had a great day and you can check out about more about them in a separate article.

And then there is the First VIII – the final race of the day. In this crew, we were represented by Hugh Courts (Bourke) and Jono Mumby (Northbridge). This crew followed suit with the rest of the crews on the day and did the College incredibly proud, finishing in a super close second place (only 2.04 seconds behind Shore). They fought all the way to the end ensuring that Shore were not able to relax until their boat crossed the bubbles at the end of the course.

I have been privileged this year to see first hand the hard work of the boys who participate in rowing. In the same way as the boys who compete in all our other sports at Joeys, the rowers put in a huge effort day in-day out throughout the season and have every reason to look back on their season with great pride and certainly look forward to their final season at Joeys with great promise and opportunity.  Well done to all the boys involved!

Photo 1: The Third VIII race in front of a booming cheer squad!

Photo 2: The Third and Fourth IV on stage at the Rally.

Photo 3: The First and Second IV on stage at the Rally.