The Armidale School’s rowing season was officially launched at Malpas Dam on Friday 11 November, with two additional boats and an all-girls crew boosting the sport at the school.
The sport was reintroduced at TAS in 2011 with just one crew, after a hiatus of 11 years. Since then it has grown in popularity, with the school fielding three schoolboy ‘fours’ at the AAGPS Head of the River in the past three years.
With the introduction of co-education at TAS this year, the sport has also been introduced to girls, as well as the fleet of boats being expanded with the acquisition of a quadruple scull (four rowers each with two oars sculling) and a ‘four’ (four rowers each with one oar, sweeping).
The crews started training on the water at Malpas Dam north of Armidale in mid-October, and the school’s chief coach Will Caldwell said the new generation of rowers is ready to rise to the challenge and compete against some of the best crews in the State, ultimately finding the win within.
“The road ahead is paved with hard work and sacrifice and many trips to Malpas Dam lie ahead. On the water at Grafton and Taree, they will commit 10 days of their Christmas holidays to train, to race, to prepare and to develop the teamwork and synchronicity that is critical for success,” he said.
The crews will also race at the NSW State Championships and the Kings/PLC Regatta, before their ultimate challenge at the AAGPS Head of the River (for the boys) and Rowing NSW’s Schoolgirl Head of the River, both in March.
“The introduction of girls to the program has brought an exciting new dynamic but the commitment and camaraderie is as strong as ever.”
TAS Captain of Boats Sebastian Scott said this year’s rowers were committed and enthusiastic, and there were strong friendships developing between returning and new rowers.
“Our strengths and opportunities outweigh our weaknesses and threats, and that has been a great motivator for us as we start the season and develop a strong sense of teamwork that embraces all the values and culture of the TAS rowing program.”
Click on the photos below to go to the gallery of images from the rowing launch.
