Great Scot May 2020 Great Scot 159_MAY 2020_ONLINE_V3 | Page 50

SPORT
A STRONG PERFORMANCE
ANOTHER EXCELLENT SEASON OF ROWING WITH MANY SUCCESSES
ABOVE: THE 2ND VIII AT THE VICTORIAN STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS. LACHIE PHILLIPS
(COX), NED HARRISON (STROKE), PETER FINCH (7), THOMAS CULLEN (6), EDWARD
FINDLAY (5), THOMAS HEERDING (4), TOM CAINE (3), NIK TSOURVAKAS (2), CHARLES
O’HARA (BOW)
Scotch’s 1st VIII finished the 2020 season undefeated in its races
in Australia, in a year where the COVID-19 pandemic led to both the
Head of the River and the Australian Rowing Championships being
cancelled.
It was the first time in 153 years of continuous regatta
competition that the Head of the River had not been held. In addition
to the season being cut short, the January rowing camp held in
Gippsland was cancelled following the bushfires that affected much
of Australia.
The 1st and 2nd VIIIs held a hastily arranged camp at Huonville
in Tasmania. Rowing on the Huon River, the crews completed some
solid training, and we are thankful to John Driessen and the Huon
Rowing Club for hosting them. The senior and Year 10 crews held
their camp at Scotch, and the boys and coaches did their best in
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Great Scot Issue 159 – May 2020
trying circumstances created by combinations of heavy hail and
rain, flooding, and air quality issues stemming from the significant
bushfires.
Over the course of the season the Scotch 1st VIII won both the
NSW and Victorian State Championships, along with Australian
Henley, the Barwon Regatta and the Melbourne Head Regatta.
In addition, the crew won the school eight division one at the Head
of the Yarra. For the second year, club eights were allowed to enter
the schoolboy event. In a strong performance the Scotch crew beat
a Sydney Rowing Club eight, as it had the year before, to win
the title.
At the NSW State Championships, held from 7 to 9 February,
25 schoolboy eights from around Australia raced in unrelenting,
pouring rain, which resulted in flooding across Penrith and Sydney.