Rowing ahead at the Worcester Head
It has been a busy term so far for Rowing, with teams attending two important events in the Rowing calendar with the Wycliffe Big Head and Worcester Head. In school, the pupils have also enjoyed participating in the eagerly contested RGS House Rowing Tournament.
Worcester Head
The River Severn which had rising water levels all week, retreated just in time for the Worcester Main Head last Saturday, with the river remaining swirly but safe for racing. On the home course of 6km, ten RGS crews prepared to race.
In Division 1 the J18 Coxless Quad of Tobey Butler, James Preece, Freddie Davies and Ben Koutrouki completed the course in 22:42 finishing 3rd. The J17 coxless quad of Tom Cartwright, Matthew Smith, Harry Rutter and Oliver Giles achieved a time of 21:56, placing them 4th in the event. The Women’s Novice Coxless Quad of Lottie Bond, Saffron Crump, Menna Sutton and Zara Povey pushed hard down the course, and won their event in a time of 23:35. The Women’s Novice Coxed Quad was sculled well by Alexa Pinches, Poppy Pinfield, Mischa Denny-Richards and Jasmine Day coxed by Lucy Smith. This was Poppy’s first ever event and the girls provided a great support for her throughout their time together on and off the water.
Due to the popularity of rowing in the Year Ten boys group, we entered two quads. The first in Division 1 crewed by Matthew Ferris, Oliver Scott Worrall, Micheal Liu and Zachary Jew, coxed by Alexander Cutler Tucker. They raced the course in a time of 26:12. The Year Ten girls quad of Eleanor Crampton, Charlotte Lamb, Katherine McCabe and Zara Martin Green coxed by George Pottinger, battled the weather and water showing incredible resolute sculling the course in a time of 31:11.
Three crews raced in Division 2. Firstly, the J17 Coxed 8, with a crew of Tobey Butler, Matthew Smith, Charlie White, Oliver Giles, Rayyan Styles, James Robinson, Joshua Marks and Ben Koutrouk, coxed by Felix Silvey. This was Felix’s first race. Unfortunately, during the paddle to the start, the boat sustained a mechanical fault and the steering system was lost, which resulted in a very difficult situation for the boys. However, we deployed the rowing team along the course to bring them home safely. They should all be very proud of the way they dealt with the situation. Lottie Bond, Menna Sutton and Zara Povey teamed up with Lucy Smith, in this division and raced in the Women’s J18 Coxless Quads. They achieved a time of 24:59, placing them 2nd in the event.
Finally the second J15 Coxed Quad of the day raced with Zachary Jew, Micheal Liu, Alexander Cutler Tucker and George Pottinger coxed by Oliver Scott Worrall sculled the course with a time of 27:21.
The RGS Rowing Coaching team were extremely proud of the way in which the RGS rowers conducted themselves throughout the event, showing a good demonstration of technique, their effectiveness of working together as a team. We have more excitement to come as we enter the closing stages of the winter rowing season and start the regatta season soon.
House Rowing
Pupils in all Year groups enjoyed competitive House Rowing last week. With the opportunity to win precious points for their respective House, rowers went all in, pushing themselves to achieve the best time.
The Performing Arts Centre was the venue selected to host this year’s competition. With the support of IT, Maintenance and the Drama Departments, the School’s rowing machines were installed on the stage and live-action progress of the rowers projected onto the big screen behind. The scene was set, complete with atmospheric stage lighting and music, which added to the drama and excitement of the event.
Rowers were supported by an animated audience of staff and pupils from all Year groups cheering on their House competitors. After an exciting 45 minutes of racing, the results culminated in a four-way tie. Please do enjoy watching a snapshot of the occasion in the film below.
Mr Timothy Messent
Head of Rowing
