The Armidale School’s three rowing crews all set new benchmarks at the AAGPS Head of the River regatta in Sydney on 7 March, clocking their fastest times of the season over 2000m and setting a new standard for the school.
This is the fourth year TAS has competed in the event, which attracts around 10,000 students from the nine NSW GPS schools and their families to the Sydney International Regatta Centre (SIRC) which was built for the 2000 Olympic Games.
The TAS First IV crossed the line in seventh place in a time of 7.03:43, 13 seconds faster than their time at state championships last month The crew had a strong start and at the 1000m mark were coming fifth in front of St Ignatius College, The King’s School and Sydney Grammar.
Similarly in the Second Fours, TAS pulled away earlier and were fifth at the 500m mark, before coming seventh in a time of 7:16:03.
The Third IV had a tremendous race, shaving 25 seconds off their previous best time, crossing the line in fifth place in 7:19:43.
“As a coach you hope that everything goes to plan and that crews row to their best. This year’s Head of the River was one of those magical occasions when everything falls into place,” Will Caldwell said.
“The boys had wonderful support from a committed group of parents, staff and students and I felt privileged to be part of the whole experience.”
The three TAS crews have been training since November on Malpas Dam near Black Mountain, often staying overnight to allow the boys to be on the water at dusk and dawn. They also took part in camps and regattas at Grafton and Taree during the school holidays, and competed in the State championships earlier this month.
Click on the photo below for a gallery of images from the day.
Photo: Finishing the season with personal best times at the AAGPS Head of the River on 7 March were (l-r) Will Brissett, Hunter Hine, Edward Howard, Angus Lloyd, Joe Kingham, Dan Allen, Lachlan Apps, Jack Berry, Ben MacDougall, David Williams, Harry Wright, George Rodgers, Henry Hughes, Lewis Erskine-Smith, Will Raleigh.
