National Schools' Regatta

National Schools' Regatta, the culmination of the summer season for junior rowing, took place on 26th - 28th May at Dorney Lake this year. 

Twelve Hinksey crews entered National Schools from the J14 squads upward. Racing conditions on Friday proved challenging for our WJ14 4x+, WJ15 4x+ and J15 4x+ crews, with strong winds creating rough water and difficulties attaching to the stake boats at the start of the 1km course. Whilst the WJ14 4x+ and WJ15 4x+ raced in the D and C final respectively after their time trial, coming 5th and 3rd, the J15 4x+ were disappointed to miss out on their hard-earned C final race after the decision was made to cancel races later on in the day. All of the crews racing that day, whether in time trials or side-by-side racing, coped extremely well with the conditions - and the coaches heard several compliments on their efficiency from umpires and marshalls!

Saturday racing proved calmer for the senior girls and boys coxed fours and the boys quad. Having come second in their semi-final, the boys' 4+ went on to place an impressive fourth in the A final, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal in a competitive event. The girls 4+ placed 7th in their semifinal, whilst the boys 4x placed 5th in the C final. 

Sunday saw another (mostly) bright and sunny day at Dorney, with many of the athletes from the senior squad racing again in different crew combinations. Members of the senior boys crews from the previous day split into three doubles, whilst the girls raced in a pair and two quads. The boys A 2x placed 2nd in their C final whilst the B 2x placed 3rd in the C final, with the C 2x missing out on a final after their time trial. The girls J16 A 4x placed 1st in their C final, and the 2- placed 1st in their D final, both gaining six and five places respectively on their time trial result. With five entrants and a time trial to determine lane order, the WJ16 B 4x went straight to the A final, winning a silver medal in the WJ16 2nd 4x event!

All of the races can be watched on the National Schools' YouTube channel here. 

Crews:
WJ14 4x+: Hannah Wood, Rebecca Marshall, Tessa Mills and Grace Hawksworth-Pratten, coxed by Daisy O'Keefe
J15 4x+: Oliver Mohr-Knox, Angus Callan-Smith, Archie Licudi and Freddie Trott, coxed by Nicholas Adam
WJ15 4x+: Mae Willoughby, Alegria Repila Smith, Helene Rittscher and Jojo Blyth, coxed by Dearbhla Reale-Vargas
1st 4+: Andrew Clark, Ewart Rees, Will Wakefield and Joe Elwig, coxed by Sam Farhan
G 4+: Clarisse Astruc, Amelia Ledgard-Hoile, Helena Beel and Vic Baird, coxed by Poppy Marshall
Ch 4x: Rafe Stanford-Meisl, David Angiolini, Hugo Binnian and Stanley Cannons
J16 G4x: Alice Vine, Maryse Girgis, Amelia Ledgard-Hoile and Clarisse Astruc
J16 G4x 2: Jessica Foster, Eliza Swanson, Bonnie Coughlan and Emma Foster
Ch G 2-: Helena Beel and Vic Baird
Ch 2x A: Joe Elwig and Will Wakefield
Ch 2x B: Rafe Stanford-Meisl and Andrew Clark
Ch 2x C: Ewart Rees and Stanley Cannons