A record high number of King’s Ely rowers competed in this year’s National Schools’ Regatta (NSR) – and there were lots of superb performances!

The NSR is the UK’s premiere rowing event for junior athletes, attracting thousands of competitors aged 14 to 18. Rowers from schools and clubs across the UK and Ireland race in the regatta, which is held at Dorney Lake.
Fifty of our rowing students got to enjoy the experience – Year 9s and 10s raced on May 26th, and Year 11s, 12s, and 13s competed on May 27th and 28th.

Craig Ward, Head of Rowing at King’s, said: “The NSR is an amazing event, and our students’ performances show the huge progress that King’s Ely Boat Club has made this year.

“Our Year 9 and 10 crews took on the 1,000-metre time trials. Our three Year 9 octuple teams performed amicably, beating other crews from major rowing schools but narrowly missing out on the finals. In Year 10, we had two coxed quads. The boys’ and girls’ boats achieved 29th and 30th places, respectively, in a field of over 50 boats, so this was a very pleasing set of results indeed.

“Our Year 11-13 rowers took on the full 2,000-metre course. On May 27th, our two senior quads impressed in their first races, and progressed to the repechage. Mary Garrod came 28th out of 49 competitors in the championship single in her time trial, which is an amazing result considering she is two years younger than most of her competition!

“The championship events were spread over two days, which meant that our seniors raced more than four times during the weekend. Some positive rows in tough conditions saw the girls’ quad finish 2nd in the D final, and the boys’ quad place 6th in the D final.

“The final day of the event also saw two of our J16 doubles race. Cole and John raced hard to beat six other crews, but they sadly missed out on the finals. Pippa and Nell raced in the J16 girls’ double and finished 21st in the time trial, winning a C final, and they then finished 5th in that final too.

“Well done to every single student who competed, and thank you to all the coaches for supporting the rowers and making the weekend happen.”

As one of the major sports available to students in Years 8-13, rowing is hugely popular at King’s. The School Boat Club is located just a short walk away, providing pupils with an uninterrupted stretch of water which runs for over 15 miles in each direction, including a 5 kilometre straight, making it the perfect place to train!

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