Windy Western Cape Champs & Volatile VLC Sprints
Bradley Smith - Master in Charge (MiC) & Head Coach
It was an eventful weekend with the majority of the club at WC champs that was intended to take two days. A group of our u15 Rowers were not present as they attended VLC in Johannesburg which will have its own report however there were still a few leftover crews that had a fantastic weekend. Overall the Saturday was event filled, with our u14s leading the charge and racing around 4 races each and winning a large majority of them. The u15s also had a great day and were competitive with the various A crews. Unfortunately, the Sunday was eventually canceled due to adverse conditions and so were the remaining few races of which our first 8 and u16 would have competed. Well done to all those who competed and we give mention to the coaches and officials who were able to make it happen.
The open age group had a mild weekend. They only had their fours and sculls on Saturday with most of the events being set aside for the junior rowers. In the sculls event, Jett Bacher did well to make the A final and come 4th overall. It was a powerful finish that impressed the most. In the fours, our First coxed four won their race and claimed first position overall. In the Coxless four race our boat which have hardly been together and who hosted a novice, did well to finish fourth and were close to the other crews despite their inexperience.
Well done to the opens on their racing and well done on leading the club in a successful regatta. Bishops looked strong and showed great manners and ambition.
Image #1: Open Coxed Four Stamping their Authority
U16 Report: Coach- Dannielle Ritson
The Western Cape regatta that was held this past weekend was supposed to be an opportunity for the u16 age group to be acknowledged for their hard work however, due to the challenging weather this was not achieved. Although our U16 4- (coxless four) managed to race and pull off first place in the coxless four division and our u164+ placed 4th in the coxed division. This was a great achievement considering the tough conditions and the u16 coaches are really proud of these results.
Sunday proved to have been even worse conditions and thus resulting in no racing. Therefore, the pairs and eight could not be raced. Hopefully, the regattas to follow will allow this talented and hard-working age group a chance to show off their speed.
Despite these obstacles, this age group keeps a positive attitude and provides the determination to continue their upwards trajectory for the rest of the season.
We look forward to this and the chance to race again.
Image #2: U16 Coxless Four finding their Groove
U16 Results:
U16 4- (Coxless four) -1st
Crew: (Stroke) Jack Breslin, (3) Cameron Redfern, (2) John van der Watt & (4) Matthew Maurel.
U16 4+ (Coxed Four) - 4th
Crew: (Cox) Nico Schreuder, (Stroke) Viggo du Plessis, (3) Callum Darnell, (2) Christian Gloyne & (4) Veer Daya.
Image #3: U16 Coxed Four - Experiencing the Joy of Last Minute Boat Alterations
U15 Report - Head Coach Simone Correia:
The U15s were split into two this weekend with 11 boys touring up to Joburg for the VLC sprints regatta and the remaining 8 staying here and racing at Western Cape Champs hosted in Elgin.
The VLC Sprints regatta was an epic tour that allowed our boys to compete against the Joburg schools and scope out our competition from other provinces. We flew up on Friday morning and had a training session with St John’s on Friday afternoon. Saturday the 28th was the big race day where our boys competed in 14 events.
Our boys raced like champions and even though the races were tough they left everything they had out on the water and made their coaches proud. It was good to see how fast our competition is and allows us now to focus for the next 4 weeks until SA Champs where these schools will race again!
While all this was happening the u15 boys also represented us here in Elgin at Western Cape Champs. The Saturday was exceptionally windy and cold but the boys still brought the heat nonetheless. Many obstacles were faced this weekend and the boys really dug deep to overcome these challenges making it another successful weekend. Every race is a great experience and is a huge learning opportunity to see what work still needs to be done. Unfortunately, the regatta, which is a two-day regatta, was canceled on Sunday morning due to high winds that made it merely impossible to race that day.
The u15 rowing boys are training very hard and making us proud with every session we have. I know they will sharpen their focus in the last 4 weeks of the season and the hard work will pay off!
Image #4: U15 B 2x (Double) - Ratcliff & Bromley 'Hanging' Together
VLC Champs - U15 Results:
JM15 A 1x: 20th, 22nd, 27th & 29th
Crews: Forsyth, Planting, Hudson, Bromley.
JM15 B 1x: 5th, 22nd & 23rd
Crews: Moran, Sedgwick, De Jager
JM15 A 2x: 3rd & 5th
Crews: (Stroke) Planting & (Bow) Hudson, (Stroke) Forsyth & (Bow) Bacher
JM15 B 2x: 2nd & 9th
Crew: (Stroke) Luke Ratcliffe & (Bow) Angus Bromley 2nd, (Stroke) Joshuna Moolman & (bow) Max Marshall-Smith.
JM15 A 4x+: 8th
Crew: (Stroke) Jordan Planting, (3) Stuart Hudson, (2) Theo Forsyth, (1) Kai Bacher & (Cox) Matthew de Jager
JM15 B 4x+: 2nd
Crew: (Stroke) Luke Ratcliffe, (3) Max Marshall-Smith, (2) Finn Moran, (1) Nicholas Sedgwick & (Cox) Joshua Moolman
JM15 A 8x+: 6th
Crew: (Stroke) Jordan Planting, (7) Angus Bromley, (6) Luke Ratcliffe, (5) Theo Forsyth, (4) Stuart Hudson, (3) Kai Bacher, (2) Finn Moran, (1) Nicholas Sedgwick & (Cox) Matthew de Jager
Western Cape Champs - U15 Results:
JM15 B 2x: 5th
Crew: Max Peterson & Zak Ndindwa
JM15 A 8x+: 5th
Crew: Ketan Govan, Matthew Couves, Max Peterson, Zak Ndindwa, Sam Clarke, Liam Hacking, Benji Koch
Image #5: U15 A 1x (Scull) - Stuart Hudson
U14 Report - Declan Gleeves Watling
Saturday 28th of January saw the U14 boys take on Western Cape Champs in Elgin. In comparison to their last regatta, WC Champs is much bigger and busier, and the boys did well to stay focused and race hard.
Despite the poor and very wet weather, this regatta was another great day for the Bishops U14s, with medals won in almost every boat class and great rowing throughout the day.
Specifically, I would like to commend our coxes on their great effort on Saturday: despite the poor conditions and an ever-changing race schedule, our coxes kept great lines and we were able to avoid any boat damage despite the tricky weather… Well done Dhruv Daya and Yazeed Lalken on a flawless day of racing!
In terms of results, I am pleased to say I struggled to find a single race that our U14s took place in where Bishops did not place at least third or higher! The coaches are particularly impressed with the boys’ performances in the small boats seeing as we have focused more on larger boats and not spent much time in the Sculls or the Doubles. Despite this, we did well in the Double,. L. Traut and M. Merryweather placed 2nd in the A event, as well as D. Traill and Y. Allie placed 2nd in the B event. We also saw huge results in the Sculls, with 1st place being won in all three events: L. Traut in the C event; M. Cloete in the B event (with M. Bennet in a close second); and B. Redfern coming first in the A event by over 10 seconds. Really great to see and well done to all Scullers who competed.
We saw the same success in the Quads, with 1st place in the B event by L. Traut and his crew as well as 1st place in the A Quad event by D. Bowers and his crew. What was especially great to see in the Quads, was that we had two crews in each event whereas most schools only managed one, and all Bishops U14 Quads placed 3rd or higher. Very Impressive!
Lastly, it was very rewarding to see the hard work we have been putting into the Octs pays off for both crews. This race is challenging for the boys as it always comes at the end of a very hard day of racing (and rain in the case of Saturday). Despite these challenges, all the boys rose to the challenge and put on a great display of racing. Once again, we were the only school with more than one crew in this event. The Oct stroked by L. Traut and coxed by D. Daya came in a close fourth, not far off Rondebosch, whilst the Oct stroked by Bowers and coxed by Y. Lalken came first by over 11 seconds.
These great results are why we put the work in during the week and on weekends, and I hope they will inspire the boys to keep learning and improving at the rate they currently are. I have no doubt Rondebosch and SACS are eying up medals at the next event, so let’s make sure to keep arriving to practice focused, and ready to get better. Lastly, we wish Oscar Weldon a speedy recovery after his knee injury and hope he will be back to rowing in no time!
Thanks so much to the boys and parents for a great week and we look forward to the next one!
U14 Results:
JM14A 1x
Crews: 1st - Ben Redfern & 2nd - Gabriel Elsley
JM14B 1x
Crews: 1st - Matthew Bennet & 2nd - Matthew Cloete
JM14C 1x
Crews: 1st - Luke Traut & 3rd - David Traill
JM14A 2x
Crew: 2nd - (Stroke) Luke Traut & (Bow) Michael Merryweather
JM14B 2x
Crews: 2nd - (Stroke) David Traill & (Bow) Yaasin Allie, 3rd - (Stroke) Blake Slabber & (Bow) Roman Waltman
JM14A 4x
Crews: 1st - (Stroke) Daniel Bowers, (3) Benjamin Redfern, (2) Gabriel Elsley, (Bow) Michael Merryweather & (Cox) Dhruv Daya
3rd - (Stroke) David Brink, (3) Jesse Morgan, (2) Adam Carter, (Bow) Edward Potgieter & (Cox) Yazeed Lalken
JM14B 4x
Crews: 1st (Stroke) Luke Traut, (3) David Traill, (2) Roman Waltman, (Bow) Blake Slabber & (Cox) Yazeed Lalken
3rd - (Stoke) Yaasin Allie, (3) Matthew Bennet, (2) Matthew Cloete, (Bow) Luca & (Cox)
JM14A 8x
Crews: 1st (Stroke) Daniel Bowers, (7) Jesse Morgan, (6) Ben Redfern, (5) Adam Carter, (4) Michael Merryweather, (3) Edward Potgieter, (2) Gabriel Elsley, (1) David Brink & (Cox) Yazeed Lalken.