Wycliffe Big Head

Mr Murison reports on the latest rowing successes.

“On Saturday 4th Feb, GMSBC headed to Gloucestershire for our first race of the term. None of our rowers had been on the water since December due to river conditions, so 24 Km of rowing in calm mild conditions was a great change from yet more gym work.

While a few of the usual suspects were absent this year, we had good competition from the likes of Shrewsbury, Kings Chester and Shiplake as well as Sir William Perkins and the hosts Wycliffe, as well as many other clubs and schools.

The course is 4500m, but crews need to row 6000m to get to the start allowing plenty of warm up time.

In the first division our Year 9 Girls’ Quad dominated their class, winning very comfortably and putting down an impressive time vis a vis older crews.

The Boys’ Year 10 Quad had to race up a year against Year 11s due to scheduling and came an impressive 4th place.

The Year 11 Girls’ Quad had a good race overtaking a number of older girls’ crews. This sadly caused some minor delays at pinch points in the canal and they came second, a mere 2 seconds off the winners.

The top Boys’ Eight, with three Year 11s on board, had a solid row given the lack of time sweeping this season and came in just behind the Shiplake and Shrewsbury crews.

In Div 2, the Year 9 Boys’ Octo went off at the head of the pack and came first with little opposition, but their time would have put them second in the Year 10 event.

The other win in this division was the Year 11 Boys’ Eight, who had a good row and came off the water pleased with their performance.

Both top Quads performed well in competitive fields, boys 2nd and girls 5th.

A good weekend rowing for all those who competed.”

This website appreciates all the write-ups from Mr Murison and the hard work of the participants, their coaches and the parents and carers who support the rowers unstintingly.