It has been 13 years since Joeys last won the GPS Seconds Tennis Competition and with Kings, Shore and Newington having very strong Firsts and Seconds squads, our boys certainly entered the season as the underdogs. The problem with this theory was that someone forgot to let the boys know this. From the first competition game late last year, this team had a genuine belief that they could give their more fancied rivals a “shake”. Indeed this is what they did.

They couldn’t have started the competition any better than defeating their Sydney Boys’ High School opponents 12-0 and hence going into the Christmas holidays with great confidence. The much anticipated match against Newington was disturbed by rain, however, on the back of strong doubles results, the boys won in a wet and nail-biting 7-5 scoreline. Shore and Scots were also close victories for us before we were totally washed out against Kings. The important victory of the season was definitely against Riverview which our boys won 9-3 while the rest of the GPS sat around courts unable to play due to rain. This victory put our boys in a strong position leading into their final match. The scenario was that if they were to win (by any margin) against Grammar in the final round then even if their closest rivals Newington won 12-0 we would still finish ahead.

It was certainly a nervous day for the boys and with Jarrad McAuliffe (Cherrybrook) being injured, it was always going to be a tough day. Newington did all that they could and defeated Scots 12-0. This really put the pressure on our boys. They handled this pressure exceptionally well, defeating Grammar 10-2.

As it turns out, the Joeys Seconds team led the GPS competition for the whole season. At times this was by the thinnest of margins and in the end, Joeys finished on 60 points with Newington on 58 points. Considering the maximum number of points to be scored is 72 … you can appreciate how close the season was.

Congratulations to Jack Larkin (Geurie) and Jarrad McAuliffe (Cherrybrook) as well as their team-mates and coach Mr Gavin Pitt-Ware for bringing the GPS shield back to Joeys!

Photo: Liam Dougherty, Jarrad McAuliffe, Tom Fahey, Mr Gavin Pitt-Ware, Ben Spencer, Nick Keighley, Jack Larkin and Joe Flannery.

Congratulations to our 6ths Basketball who completed the season as undefeated premiers for 2013. This team which comprises only of Year 11 boys have shown amazing fight and persistence and to win each of their games after winning none of them in the trial season is a fantastic effort.

They didn’t have it all their way each game, having to come back from behind on a number of occasions.

In one particular match late in the season, the boys were down 8 points to 16 points. For many teams this would be enough to discourage them – not this team. Our boys fought back gallantly on the back of some Braidon Burns brilliance win the second half 19-6 and finish up winners of the game by 27 points to 22 points.

It was this “never-give-up” approach though that got them through each week and has them walking away with a pennant.

Photo: Mr Peter Tucker, Michael Ziade (Eastwood), Koim Wingti (Noosaville), Braidon Burns (Coonamble), Kuyan Pitt (Oatley), Ben Wilkinson (Cowra), Scott Atkin (Pymble), Jonathan Chow (Randwick), Harrison McMullan (Mosman), Tom Warwick (Abu Dhabi), Reece Leavers (Carringbah) and Hayden Leung (Hong Kong).

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.

The Head of the River is a huge day not only for the boys who row but indeed the whole school. Each crew pours hours upon hours of time and effort into their sport for this one race of the season. Keeping this in mind, to come out on top at the end of the day is an incredible effort.

This year, our Second VIII rowed an awesome race finishing in first place and almost five seconds ahead of second placed Shore and eleven seconds ahead of third placed Scots. From the banks of the river, it is very difficult to know how the crews are going in the early parts of the races with the live commentary impossible to hear over the cheering of over 10 000 students from all GPS schools. Having said this, early in the race word got back to the boys on the bank that our crew had made a strong start and were leading early in the race. They were able to keep this strong lead to win the race by a convincing margin and there is no doubt that it was a victory enjoyed by not only the crew but all the Joeys supporters on the bank and in the stand.

For Year 11, this is a wonderful achievement with five of the nine boys in the crew being in Year 11. They have been a crew that has gone about their preparation in a quiet and unassuming manner and maintained superb modesty despite their achievements.

Congratulations to George Davis (Sutton), James Hookham (Kings Langley), Ben Quinn (Hunters Hill), Jake Finnane (Blaxlands Ridge) and Nick Rainnie (Tewinga) on their win of the LC Robson Memorial Trophy – the first time that Joeys has won this trophy since 2002.

Photo 1: The Second VIII steam ahead during the race.

Photo 2: George Davis (Sutton), James Hookham (Kings Langley), Ben Quinn (Hunters Hill), Jono Hardy, Daniel Lewis, Jake Finnane (Blaxlands Ridge), Nick Rainnie (Tewinga), Joe Bokeyar and Lachlan Mount celebrate being on top of the podium.