The Rowing almost end of season review…

The 2021 rowing season started for Damascus College with 2 rowing camps, the Junior and Intermediate Squads were in Ballarat and the Senior Squad was in Nagambie. These camps ran from Monday the 18^th January – 2 weeks before school returned from holidays! We had fantastic attendance from all 3 squads and all camps ran perfectly, primarily due to the support provided by the volunteer coaching staff. Special mention to Hamish Walsh and Nikki Hexter, without them the rowing camps would not have been as successful as they were.

On January 23^rd, the Senior and Intermediate rowing squads travelled to Geelong to compete on the Barwon River in the Barwon RC Regatta… This was the first major hit out of the 2021 competitive rowing season and all crews performed extremely well – especially given they had just completed a week long training camp!

On January 30^th & 31^st, all Damascus crews competed in the Wendouree-Ballarat RC Regatta held on Lake Wendouree. Angus Shillito won the Schoolboy Single Scull event, beating three scullers from Trinity and one sculler from Geelong College. Well done Angus! All other crews had very good rows in challenging conditions.

On February 6^th, the Intermediate and Junior boys raced at the Barwon River and tested their skills against various other school crews. While the Senior crews travelled to Nagambie and competed against other schools and clubs from around the state. Each crew performed well in their respective divisions and we are so proud of how much effort our crews have put in and how well they work together. A big shout out to Angus Shillito who again won the Schoolboy Single Scull event beating the 2^nd placed sculler from Hawthorn Rowing Club by .36 of a second!

The BAS Head of the Lake was held on Sunday 21^st February, after allot of uncertainty surrounding the running of the regatta the Damascus College crews banded together and all performed beyond their coach’s expectations! The coaching squad was extremely impressed with the positivity of all crews as they finished their racing for the day. This was the first time that single sculls and double sculls were featured in the regatta, Angus Shillito rowed his single scull and Cooper Reid and Lachie Jurcan rowed the double scull, each crew had a great row and we are proud of their efforts.

It was very exciting to see Damascus College competing in the Head of the Lake Open Division 1 events again, these events are very competitive and our crews executed their race plans perfectly. Well done to all senior rowers on a fantastic effort!

The Victorian State Championships and the Junior Boys State Championships were held on Saturday 27^th February. At the Junior States in Ballarat, the Year 10 crews both won medals! The Year 10 Division 1 crew won a bronze medal and the Year 10 Division 2 crew won a silver medal. A fantastic turnaround from their previous regatta – well done boys!

At the Victorian State Championships in Nagambie the senior crews all had a fantastic day of racing, the Girls 1^st and the Boys 1^st crews made the A Final in the U19 Coxed Four events and Angus Shillito again made the A Final of the Schoolboys Single Scull – unfortunately having to withdraw from the final due to illness. The Girls 2^nd crew again had a brilliant row against very tough competition.

These were the final regattas for the boys half of the rowing program, what an exciting journey they have all been on these past few months, plenty of personal and physical growth for all rowers, coxes and crews. We are excited to see how next season looks with the success of this season behind us!

We now look forward to the final two regattas of the season, the Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta in Geelong and the Australian Rowing Championships in Tasmania. We wish the best of luck to all girls competing in Geelong from 12^th to 14^th March; it is sure looking to be another fantastic regatta!

At the Australian Rowing Championships, Damascus College have two rowers who were selected to compete for our host club, Wendouree-Ballarat Rowing Club. Angus Shillito is competing in the U19 Coxed Four with two rowers from St. Pats, one from Ballarat High School and a cox from Ballarat Grammar. Alex Western is competing in the U17 Coxed Quad Scull with one rower from Ballarat Grammar, two from Clarendon College and a cox from Clarendon College. The Australian Rowing Championships run from 22^nd to 28^th March at Lake Barrington in Tasmania.

What a fantastic season we have had! Well done and thank you to all involved, Coxes, Rowers, Coaches, Teaches, Leadership and Parents / Guardians. Your contribution to rowing does not go unnoticed.

Regards,

Your rowing leaders.

Olivia Reyntjes Angus Shillito Paul Blanchfield

Damascus College Damascus College Damascus College

Captain of Boats Captain of Boats Rowing Logistics and Technical Direction