Summer Term 2012

 British National Championships Nottingham  13- 15th July Silver & Bronze Medals 

A demanding 2000 m course which is a long way to row and full pelt.

RGS had 2 crews entered

Tom Commins and Rob Eyres in the J16 double

Nick Davison, Sam Williams, Connor Howlett,  Milan Russell and Lewis Howlett on the J14 quad

The J16's had to negotiate 3 rounds (or 2 if they won the first race) the J14's had to negotiate 3 rounds. The qualifiers were on the Friday and the finals on the Saturday. - We booked Hotels for the Friday night in hope !

Tom and Rob were up first, Rob was on antibiotics and had been unable to train all week and they set off knowing they would have to dig deep. They dug very deep in the race and came in first which meant their racing for the day was done and they had to prepare for the final. Next up the J14 quad. They had a great start and quickly got into a rhythm winning round one. Round 2 was more competitive as the slower crews had been knocked out. After a lengthy wait at the start line they set off and managed to hang on to third place - both boats were into day 2.

After a good nights rest and an early warm up every one entertained themselves until the finals in the afternoon.

Tom and Rob were first up again knowing that all of the previous finals had been very tight, after the first 500 they were in second and still pushing, the boys from Nottingham started to make a push and both boats were neck and neck overtaking the St Neots boat previously in first. In an amazing final burst they boys came in with Silver Medal - second to Nottingham followed by St Neots.

It was now up to the quad to avenge themselves losing out by a foot the previous week. There was nothing in it in the first 500 m then Henley followed by Claires Court , Great Marlow followed by  RGS started to draw away. At the 1000m mark they knew they had to push - they dug deep and managed to overtake Great Marlow and despite a collision with a swan they started to eat into the other boats lead eventually coming in with a very well deserved Bronze Medal showing absolute composure over the final 500m.

An absolutely stunning performance  by both crews who surpassed themselves. Congratulations to the boys and their willing band of parent helpers backed up by Geoff Bakers wise coaching words
Julian Commins

Congratulations also to Alasdair Butler whose exceptional performance rowing for Maidenhead RC won him the Silver Medal in the J14 single sculls.

Kingston Regatta 7th-8th July

Kingston Regatta is split into 2 days. Day 1 for J16 upwards is over a 1000 m course for J16 and up and the Sunday is a 500 m course for J12 to J18

RGS had their largest ever contingent of boys competing at this event with 19 boys and 10 boats.

 Saturday 7th we had 6 boys competing. Toms Commins and Rob Eyres in J16 doubles and singles, Tom Ryland in a J16 single and a double with Jack Rizvi and Liam Halliday and Waseem Iqbal in a J17 double.

The morning session was dedicated to J16 doubles - both crews won their semi finals which meant RGS had 2 boats in the final. In the final Tom and Robs fitness showed through and the hung on for victory. In the afternoon singles all crews won their semis which meant all of the boats in the final were from RGS - we would definitely medal but who........? In the end Tom Commins surged to the front ahead of Rob (later on antibiotics due to tonsillitis) and Tom R. Liam and Waseem just had a final but came in 3rd - recent exam pressure curtailing their recent training.

 Sunday morning  started off with J14 doubles of Adam Dad with Ollie Knightley, Sam Williams with, Connor Howlett and James Beagles with Milun Russel. Adam and Ollie were disappointed to be knocked out in the first round after their fine showing at Richmond 2 weeks before - they will be back to fight another day. In the semi final both RGS crews were drawn against each other with Connor & Sams experience showing through. In the final they were drawn against Maidenhead and in a thrilling race lost by 1/3 length.

The newly formed J13 quad of Tom Paterson Jones, Scott Clare, Oscar Wright, Theo Simmonds coxed by Lewis Howlett were up next, in a fantastic semi they held on to win by 5 feet and in the final held on to win by 1 length - their first ever win.

Nick Davison rowing up a year in his first race in his single was unfortunately knocked out in round 1 along with Matt Eyres J 13  who put up a stirling performance in his single.

It started to dry out in the afternoon and as the ground steamed with a glimpse of sun the J14 quad of Sam Williams, Connor Howlett, Nick Davison Milun Russel coxed by Matt Eyres launched. With a 500 m course it was always going to be tight but they put in some impressive performances to reach the final against Windsor Boys. In another nail biting event they lost by 1 foot............

In the J13 doubles Tom PJ and Scott tried hard but the lay-off got to them and they can in second in the semi

In the J14 singles Meehir Patel tried hard in his first race but lost to s stronger crew, Lewis Howlett looked unbeatable in the J12 Singles category but was swamped by wash in the final and ended up swimming - he will be back ! Tom Commins remained the backbone of the team and pushed through to some impressive victories in his single to take home another tankard.

A massive congratulations to all crews and parents for a day of fun and very competitive  racing

Julian Commins

 Richmond Regatta Sat 23rd June

 RGS had 3 crews entered and all competed extremely well in difficult  conditions with wind and fast moving tides.
 J14 Double Ollie Knightly and Adam Dad in their first competitive race together managed to get to the semi final.
 J16 Double Jack Rizvi and Tom Ryland also managed to get to semi final and narrowly missed the final.
 J14 Quad Nick Davidson, Sam Williams, Connor Howlett, Milan Russel and Cox Lewis Howlett  managed 1st place after a very competitive final with Westminster.  Congratulations to all crews

Marlow Town Regatta Sat 9th June 

After hurricane winds and floods it looked like all of Marlow rowing club events were fated however Saturday dawned bright but breezy. RGS had 6 crews entered into Marlow town regatta and here is how we got on :
J13 Quad of Tom Paterson Jones, Scott Clare, Charlie Collins, Theo Simmonds on their second competitive outing had a flying start and were leading at the halfway stage, they unfortunately caught a crab and despite valiant efforts were unable to catch up the ground lost before the finish. A very strong showing though and plenty of future promise.
J14 Quad of Nick Davison, Meehir Patel, Adam Dad and Ollie Wright showed great control and composure by winning their heat which took them into the final with Maidenhead rowing club - unfortunately there were unable to make any impression on the strong Maidenhead crew.
J14 Double of Sam Williamd & Connor Howlett struggled with the conditions and despite good speed were unable to make it through to the final
J16 Doubles of Tom Commins & Rob Eyres and Jack Rizvi and Tom Ryland both won their heats which meant an all RGS final - this was ultimately won by Tom & Rob
J16 Singles of Tom Commins and Rob Eyres both again won their heats giving another all RGS final - both crews pushed all of the way but Tom hung on for final victory.

Well done to all crews and supporters - next big outing Richmond Regatta on 22 June

 National Schools Regatta 1st June 2012

RGS had 2 crews entered for the National Schools Regatta - two J14 doubles - Nick Davison and Milan Russell and  Sam Williams and Connor Howlett. The event was split into a qualifying time trial followed by side by side racing in the semi final and finals. The boys set off out on the water cool and calm - parents and supporters a bundle of nerves ! Both crews qualified in the top 12 getting through to the semi finals. They were drawn in the same semi final with Connor and Sam coming through to qualify for the final in second and Milan and Nick coming in sixth.  In the final Connor and Sam worked hard but came in just outside the medals in fourth - they know they can do better so some hard work and technique sessions are the order of the day for the next few weeks 

Inter regional Regatta Nottingham

The Inter Regional championships is a national rowing event where the UK is split into 12 regions which then compete against each other rather than for an individual club. RGS had 2 crews that had qualified to represent the Thames up river region they were the J14 double of Sam Williams & Connor Howlett and The J16 double of Rob Eyres and Tom Commins.

The event was split into qualifying races followed by a final. Tom and Rob were out first - some rapid massage on Tom who had a frozen shoulder muscle. In their heat they qualified 3rd which took them through to the final. As the day progressed the wind gradually increased and with the wind coming down the course the waves got bigger and bigger until the organisers decided it was too dangerous to continue to row. So a frustrating day all round Tom & Rob knowing they could row better and Connor & Sam unable to see how they compared against their peer group.

Spring Term 2012

Saturday March 24th
The Thames Upriver Trials took place on Saturday 24th at Dorney lake and The Royal Grammar School were represented by two doubles, Connor Howlett and Sam Williams for J14 and Rob Eyres and Tom Commins for J16
Both boats won despite tough regional competition from Henley and Marlow.
Only the first place winners qualify to represent the Upper Thames area at the Junior Inter-regional regatta in Nottingham on April 28th.

On March 20th the RGS boys took part in the Junior Sculling Head at Dorney Lake in only their 2nd event together. 45 Crews took part in this event and RGS came 6th just 60 seconds behind 1st place winners. Well done lads. 

For the Thames Valley Head 29th January 2012 race report please click here.

Autumn Term 2011

Rowing report for the Wallingford Long Distance Sculls 01/10/2011
 
Tom Commins and Rob Eyres entered into the Wallingford Long Distance sculls. They were drawn against their old rivals from Nottingham and Pangbourne. They started strongly and had drawn level with Pangbourne who had started first. However traffic on the river forced them to drop back and they struggled to regain the  initiative. In the final results they came in 3rd however with 15 seconds between them and the winning Pangbourne crew. The boys both know they can do better!
 
Pairs Head – Tidal – 08/10/2011
 
Tom Commins in Rob Eyres were entered into the Pairs Head on the tidal stretch of the Thames in London. This was a large event with over 480 crews entered. Their rivals from Nottingham were seen as their key competitors. They started last in their age group and by the end had overtaken 4 boats - they knew they had a good time but was it 
good enough? A nervous wait clicking on the refresh button on the results web page for several hours  paid off with a win by 2 seconds over the current national champions. Well done boys!
 
First race for Pair at Bedford 09/10/2011
 
Sam Williams and Connor Howlett set off to Bedford for their first race. After a lot of hanging around at the start and despite having to almost stop when another crew got in their way they put in a great time. There was one other crew in their age group who were rowing in the last division of the day. After another long wait they found they had won by a handsome 50 seconds a fantastic result and only 5 seconds off the winning quad time which shows great promise for the future.
 
 

For rowing reports from Julian Commins please click here.