Local rowing clubs and school sides showed their mettle at the 126th annual Buffalo Sprints Regatta in East London last weekend.
Local rowing clubs and school sides showed their mettle at the 126th annual Buffalo Sprints Regatta in East London last weekend.
The regatta, which is the oldest rowing event in the country, first started in 1879 and now encompasses the Selborne Sprints regatta, hosted specifically for school-going rowers.
The Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) made an impressive record at the weekend’s regatta, with eight out of their 13 boats making their respective finals.
The tenacious DSG rowers took second and fourth places in the Junior Women’s U15 doubles event and came second in the Junior Women’s U15 sculling event. “We’ve done well,” said Jessie Stidworthy, head of DSG rowing, “especially because we’re one of the smallest clubs”.
Her words rang true when they took gold in the Junior Women’s U15 coxed quad. Also proving their talent was the newly formed Makana Rowing Club.
“We’re unbeaten so far,” said former Rhodes University rower Rose Thornycroft after winning their heats in the Senior Women’s doubles event.
The fledgling club showed great potential at their first-ever regatta, racking up a host of achievements. One of these was watching Jenienne Curr win gold in the Senior Women’s A sculls final after blitzing her way through her heats event.
Last year Curr won silver at the Junior World Rowing Championships in Bulgaria. The St Andrew’s Junior Men 2nd coxed fours took gold in the Selborne Sprints, with hard-earned second and third places in the Junior Men’s 2nd coxless pairs event, losing by less than half a boatlength to the King Edward VII Rowing Club.
The St Andrew’s Rowing Club also came second in the Junior Men’s 2nd Eight and third in the Junior Men’s 1st coxless pairs event, with a much-deserved win in the most prestigious event of the sprints regatta, the Junior Men’s 1st Eight.
In the Buffalo regatta that sees school, university and club teams all compete against one another, St Andrew’s managed to take third and fifth places in the Junior men’s 2nd coxless pairs event, and second place in the Junior Men’s 2nd coxed fours event.
Their search for gold was not in vain, however, and the team finally took a first-place finish in the Junior Men’s 1st coxless pairs event.
But in the hotly-contested final event of the day the St Andrew’s Junior Men’s coxed Eight lost to Grey High School in a heart-racing final. The Grahamstown school came fourth.
