Rowing Update: Grit, Growth and Sportsmanship

Kingston Borough Regatta 2025

On Sunday 13 July 2025, depleted of Year 9s who were on the DofE expedition weekend, 6 students raced at Kingston Borough Regatta, which was heavily oversubscribed, meaning that our two entries in OpJ15.1x were rejected.

Sanjana (Y8) wanted to race in a single scull, but there was no event in her age group, so she raced up a year against Year 9 girls in the WJ14.1x.  It was only her second time in a single scull, so the focus was on completing the course with good technique, which she largely discovered, through curiosity, determination, bravery and exploration.

One of the boys didn’t turn up.  Ryan (Y10) was attending as support for and to spectate his Year 10 friends.  He subbed in the double scull to allow Alex (Y10) to race, showing great sportsmanship.  They were drawn in the same heat as Tomasz (Y10) and Oliver (Y10), with Globe Rowing Club completing the three-lane line-up, with only the winner progressing to the semi-finals. 

If the umpire has to warn the crews, s/he raises a white flag, calls the name of the club and points in which direction they should move.  When there is more than one crew from the same club in a race, the surname is also used.  The umpire decided it was easier and quicker not to use Alex’s 5-syllable surname, nor Oliver’s 2-syllable one, instead using their forenames. 

Whilst Alex and Ryan were at the back of the trio of crews, Tomasz and Oliver came back from a boat length deficit to finish only 1 foot behind Globe, in the closest race of the day.  It was by far their gutsiest performance, demonstrating determination and resilience.

In the afternoon division, Sanjana raced again, this time in a double, again sculling a year above her age bracket, with Noor (Y9).  The two girls had not been in a double together before their race.  They set off well against Putney High School, who gradually drew away to win by 5 lengths.

In the first two weeks of the Summer Holiday, Tomasz, Charlie (Y9) and Maisie (Y7) have all been granted free places to attend the week-long Eton Dorney Summer Rowing Camps, totalling over £1,000 of grant funding.

Our next race will be the British Rowing Indoor Championships in December.