Shoalhaven Sprints Regatta

After a big attendance at the previous week’s regatta in Newcastle, we again had god numbers with nineteen rowers putting their hands up for the 400 metre sprint racing at Shoalhaven. With larger numbers we were able to boat a lot of different crew boats and with many having not trained together this presented an exciting element.
First up was the women’s under 16 singles. Victoria was first off and though she favoured an unconventional course that lead to her taking out the buoy on the far side of the course, she took out the win. Staying in a straight line proved to be an issue many rowers faced, however after their first unsuccessful attempt they improved in their following races which was good to see. Genevieve was the second race and she took out another win in the under 16’s. Victoria and Genevieve combined to take out the under 16 double, open quad with Alyssa and Tallara, and the C grade quad with Elizabeth and Maral. The other C grade quad division was won by the other Nepean crew of Aimee, Jacqui, Alyssa and Tallara. Alyssa and Genevieve along with Victoria and Maral took out their respective divisions in the C grade doubles. The C grade single saw Maral and Victoria face off and Victoria came out with the win but shortly after Maral backed up in the single to win in her under 17 race.
The men’s racing kicked off with the under 16 singles and Jooya pushed out early to take the win. Single victories continued in C grade by Alaaddin, under 17 by Angus and under 19 by Joel. Quad crews were different than usual but this did not stop some good racing being displayed with both open quad divisions being taken out by Nepean crews of Johnathon, Will, Jason and Joel, and the other crew of Miles, Jooya, Henry and Angus. The C grade quad event saw two Nepean crews pushing each other to the line but it was Johnathon, Jooya, Miles and Henry who beat Sam, Jason, Joel and Angus to the line. The 19 double was won by Henry and Joel with Joel then going on to take out the open double with Angus. The other open double division was won by Will and Daniel, with Daniel earlier in the day taking out the C grade double with Jason. Jooya and Miles took out their division in the C grade double also.
In total we had twenty two wins for the day which is a credit to everyone involved. However, more important than how many medals we attained is how we held ourselves in victory and that we always remember that success is not based on how many wins we may attain but rather about each of us doing the best we can.
A big thank you to everyone who made the day possible and once again got in and helped where required. The teamwork in the past two regattas in loading and unloading, rigging, cheering fellow crews and so on has been very good and is something everyone who has been involved in should be very proud of.
Results summary
1st: 22
2nd: 9
3rd: 3