Great Scot September 2019 Great Scot 157_September 2019_ONLINE | Page 77

Yet again, Scotchies have had great success in
the northern hemisphere regatta season. School
crews made their mark at the Henley Royal Regatta,
while Old Boys in the Australian rowing team stood
on the dais at World Cup events, and represented
Australia at the Under 23 World Championships in
Sarasota, Florida, USA.
There was a big turnout of Scotch family members
at the Henley Royal Regatta (3 to 7 July), where the
Scotch 1st VIII were gallant runners up to traditional
rivals Eton in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup.
As well, a composite crew rowed a quad scull in the
Fawley Challenge Cup.
Many Scotch families cheered the boys on from
the stewards’ enclosure and quite a few Old Boys
with a rowing background, including Chris Gough
(‘14), Charlie Dixon (‘12), Max Cooper (‘17), Andrew
Rook (‘80), Andrew Murchie (‘77) and recently retired
Rowing Australia Director, Andrew Guerin (‘73), made
the trip to Henley to soak up the atmosphere and
support their younger Collegian compadres.
A big Scotch contingent also enjoyed Rowing
Australia’s Kings Cup Centenary Luncheon at
Australia House on 2 July, which was held in the lead-
up to the Royal Henley Peace Regatta centenary.
At the senior elite level, this year’s World Cup
series has been a big success for the Australian
rowing team. The Aussies were named winners of
the 2019 World Cup Series, something Australia has
never been able to claim since the inception of the
World Cup series in 1997.
At World Cup II in Poznan, Poland, held from 21
to 23 June, gold medals went to Josh Booth (‘08)
in the pair and James Rook (‘15), who coxed the
women’s eight, beating long-standing champions,
the USA. James and the women’s eight backed up
in World Cup III in Rotterdam (12-14 July) with silver in
challenging conditions to win the World Cup for their
event and wear the yellow bibs on the dais.
Making his debut in the green and gold zootie,
Alexander Wolf (‘15) represented Australia in the
Under 23 World Championships. Sitting in three
seat, Alex and his crew rowed well to finish second
in a fast-finishing repechage race, where the young
Aussies rowed over Canada after trailing them for
most of the race. This win booked the Aussies a
place in the A final, where they finished sixth.
The international rowing season finished on
Sunday 1 September, with the World Championships,
held in Linz, Austria. Josh Booth was selected in the
men's sweeps squad and James Rook as the female
crew's coxswain. The World Championships doubled
as a Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification regatta. The
men's eight qualified, and the women's eight won a
silver medal and also qualified.
JOSH BOOTH
(’08, RIGHT) AND
ALEXANDER HILL WHO
WON THE MEN’S PAIR
AT WORLD CUP II IN
POZNAM, POLAND
JOSH BOOTH (’08) IN THE FIVE SEAT
OF THE AUSTRALIAN CREW AT THE
WORLD ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
IN ROTTERDAM, HOLLAND
PAM KELTON-ROOK – PAST PARENT
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
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