CDRA Sprint Championships 2018: 11th November

We travelled for the second time to Newcastle to compete in the CDRA Sprint Championships. The penultimate event of the day was the GPA Matrix Linwood Throsby Gift Relay. After last year's victory we were keen to give it another go this year. There was plenty of more racing also which gave everyone the opportunity to test out their sprinting abilities with NSW State Sprint's less than a month away.
Non-championship events kicked off our day with Jack and Hugh taking out their division of the D double while Miles and Will put up a good effort but a late substitution in the other boat resulted in the boys placing second in their C double. Jack went on later in the day to claim a comfortable win in the C single.

Jack and Hugh: D double

Will and Miles: C double

Next up was the much anticipated relay. Daniel and Aimee were first off in the double. Getting off to a good start they pushed away from the other crews throughout the race with a rough but effective last push in the final stages to ensure a good lead for the next crew. The four of Jason, Tallara, Will, Jacqui and cox Hugh capitalised on the lead and continued to push the other crews further away. The quad of Jack, Miles, Victoria and Hugh started with a less than desirable line but quickly corrected this and sealed a well deserved team victory. 

Daniel and Aimee: Relay double

Jason, Tallara, Will, Jacqui ad Hugh: Relay Coxed four

Jack, Miles, Victoria and Genevieve: Relay quad

Relay team: Jack, Aimee, Jason, Genevieve, Miles, Tallara, Victoria, Jacqui, Will, Hugh and Daniel

We had some fantastic results in the singles. Jason claimed second in the Championship event and won the Wavecutter invitational. Though rumours are that if he rowed more aggressively like his brother he could go faster but this is only speculation. Tallara won the Championship event with a tight race in the final against Newcastle University though in typical Tallara fashion it looked very controlled, some would say too controlled, but it was enough to take the win. Jacqui claimed the Master's title after a protest in the first race meaning she had to race twice but this proved to be in her favour with her second race being a better one than her first. Hugh and Aimee both claimed third in their under 16 singles. 

Jason: Championship single

Tallara: Championship single

Jason: Wavecutter single

Jacqui: Master's single

Hugh: Under 16 single

Aimee: Under 16 single

The doubles were another successful event. Tallara and Jacqui claimed the championship double with a good win over Hunter Valley Grammar. The men's Championship double saw the two Nepean crews progress to the final to face off with each other in the final. Will and Jack had a good race but Jason and Daniel proved too strong in the later stages of the race and they went away with the victory. It was a good accomplishment to have an all Nepean final in this event. In the younger age categories, Miles and Hugh claimed second in the under 17 double while Aimee and Genevieve placed third in the under 19 double. 

Tallara and Jacqui: Championship double

Will and Jack along with Jason and Daniel: Championship double

In the big boats we claimed a good win in the Championship quad with Jason, Daniel, Jack and Will while in the Championship coxed four the crew of Jason, Daniel, Will, Miles and cox Hugh had a tough race against Newcastle but were able to push enough in the final stages to take the win. 

Jason, Daniel, Will, Miles and Hugh: Championship coxed four

Retaining the relay title for the second year and winning many other events was a great accomplishment by everyone racing on the day but it all would not have been possible without the support from everyone. From loading, unloading and everything in between. As always, a big thanks to Mark for towing the trailer and looking after the boats on the day.