National Schools Regatta
Words can’t really describe the awesomeness of National Schools Regatta this year for Leeds Rowing Club. This was the first time we had sent a squad covering J14 through to J18 and taken this many boats.
We had some amazing performances throughout the entire weekend, the J14’s showed their class with the J14 boys quad missing out on the A Final by a second and then winning a thrilling B Final. The J14 girls oct demonstrated they are a force to be reckoned with, coming 3rd in the time trial and then having an epic 3-way battle for silver and bronze, sadly just missing out on the medals by less than a second.
The J16 boys had another good race with a solid 3rd place in the D Final of J16 4+, the J15 boys had what would prove to be one of the races of the regatta, leaping out of the blocks and taking everyone by surprise by holding the lead until 1800m where they would be pipped into an agonising 4th place.
The J18 boys in the Championship Quad, took on all comers and showed that they were a force to be reckoned with. Following not their best time trial, the boys picked themselves up and turned on the grit and determination, outclassing more experienced crews to bag a C final slot in the semi-finals. Coming in 24th overall, this placed them nicely in the zone for Henley Royal.
The J16 girls first and second quads capped off a fantastic weekend. The first quad leapt out of the blocks in classic Leeds style and took the lead in their B final, they then showed their tactics and settled into a good rhythm where they knew they could just sit on the opposition and secure the 3rd place.
The J16 second quad showed speed and maturity in their race, they also leapt out of the block and put the pack under pressure to keep up, having forced a split in the pack, they simply sat on 3rd place and secured a Bronze medal!
Reflecting on the regatta as a whole, this was the product of many years work. The Leeds Junior Academy programme has been going into schools to find children from deprived and culturally diverse backgrounds who could become amazing rowers of the future and this was mission accomplished. National Schools far exceeded expectations and surpassed any targets the coaches had. A huge thanks to the coaches, to the athletes and to the parents for their hard work during the season.
Results:
3 x A Finals including a Bronze medal for the J16 Girls 2nd Quad
2 x B Finals
1 x C Final
1 x D Final