CGS rowers travelled en masse to Belfast this weekend to compete in the head of the river races. The rowers competed over a course of just under two
miles in length and for many this was their first competition. Team work came to the fore and slightly more experienced rowers steadied the nerves
of the novice athletes. It was great to see large numbers of parents and grandparents travelling to lend support, also and greatly appreciated
was the presence of volunteer coaches Ross, Alan, Jamie and Marc.
All the rowers gave 100% effort and displayed sportsmanship both in victory and defeat; they were a credit to the school. The junior 14 boys and girls
in their first race faced well drilled competent crews and lost out on this occasion. The junior 15 boys came a very creditable second missing
top spot by 11 seconds after rowing for thirteen minutes, very small margins split the placings even at junior level. The junior 16 boys competed
in small boats – double sculls and a single scull. The doubles struggled to find the racing line which lost them valuable time meanwhile, the single
sculler competed in two races getting significantly faster in the second race as his confidence grew.
The junior 15 and 16 girls quadruple sculls and double scull excelled, winning their events. Another girls 16 quad in the third race posted a faster
time than the two winning quads from race two.
These Head of the river races are ideal for introducing rowers to competition.They are fun days away that make all the training worthwhile. We look
forward to the forthcoming season.
