The St Andrew’s College/DSG rowing clubs had home ground advantage for the first time in over 20 years on Saturday as they took on Grey High School, Clarendon High School for Girls, Selborne College and the Zwartkops Rowing Club at Settlers' Dam. The event was the Eastern Cape Sprint Regatta, hosted by St Andrew's.
The St Andrew’s College/DSG rowing clubs had home ground advantage for the first time in over 20 years on Saturday as they took on Grey High School, Clarendon High School for Girls, Selborne College and the Zwartkops Rowing Club at Settlers' Dam. The event was the Eastern Cape Sprint Regatta, hosted by St Andrew's.
Strong winds played havoc with the younger and more inexperienced crews, resulting in a decision to cancel most of the junior small boat events.
Around 220 rowers took part in the various events held throughout the day, with the 1000m races ending close to the dam wall.
In the main event of the day, St Andrew's A eight came up against the crews from Selborne and Grey. The premier race certainly delivered a spectacle, as the St Andrew's crew's fierce rivalry against Selborne continued. The last time the two crews met, St Andrew's won. Since the start of the rowing season towards the end of 2011, the two crews have shared the wins.
At Saturday's regatta at Settler's Dam, things were no different, as the two crews were neck and neck to the finish line, ending in a dead heat. The St Andrew's eight was made up of Christopher Brown (cox), Matthew Shone, Greg Slack, Marcel Bovijn, Matthew Kroon, Michael Bennett, Jake Green, Johnathon Dempster and Jethro Weeks.
The St Andrew's opens also won the first pair and first four over Selborne and Grey. This was topped up by St Andrew's wins in the second Pair, Fours and Eights and third Single and Fours.
The U14s had their first taste of success this season, however, winning the U14A and B octuples and finishing second in most of the other races they competed in.
The U15s had an excellent day winning the A octuples in fine form. Along with this they took a win in the U15A quads.
The U16s continued with their good form edging out Selborne in the U16A eights. In addition to this they won the Pairs and Fours.
“These results are an exciting prospect ahead of next weeks Buffalo Regatta, where we will have the opportunity to race the best schools in the country,” said St Andrew's rowing coach, Donovan Cech.
The DSG crews also did well at the regatta, with the open crews continuing their dominance over their East London counterparts, Clarendon. They won the first Single, first Double and first Quad in convincing fashion.
The DSG first Quad side, made up of Lizzie Abel (cox), Jen Cleary, Georgie Edwards, Kayleigh Scheepers and Jenniene Curr, are still unbeaten since the start of the rowing season in 2011 and are the number one school side in South Africa. Clarendon won most of the spoils in the U16 age group, whilst DSG managed a good win in the U15A quad and U15B single, the only U15 events which took place.
