Rowing

Rowing is not just a sport, it's a discipline.  Just like fly fishermen spend their whole lives perfecting the cast, so the rower continually strives for that perfect stroke, the stroke which leaves the boat perfectly balanced, with a maximum possible speed for his effort. But then there's another dynamic in that the rower is often not alone.  There is a crew of rowers, all working together, synergising their efforts to make the boat go faster. A crew of individuals who may be very different in terms of  personality, motivation,  emotion, skill and experience and yet they have a common goal that they all must achieve through commitment, perseverance and most importantly mutual tolerance and respect for each other.

• Some say that "a crew is only as good as its weakest rower" and so the stronger rowers must focus on improving their team mates abilities, as this may prove more important than just focusing on their own.  Encouraging, motivating through positive re-enforcement, whilst still having attention to detail, will be some of the challenges that they face, should they wish to achieve.  And that weakest rower will know that he cannot give up, and let down his team mates who have trained as hard, if not harder than himself. Persevere, never give up!

  This, described above, is the epitome of rowing at Bishop Bavin School.

  With our partner schools, Assumption Convent and Leeuwenhof Akademie, and under the banner of St George's Rowing Academy, our rowers strive for excellence, not only on the water, but in all walks of life.

  Notable achievements of our club in the 2010/2011 season are:

  • We won medals in 18 events at SA School and Junior Championships
  • The Girls U15 Scull, Girls U15 Double, Girls U15 Quad, Boys U15 Double, Girls U16 Scull, Girls U16 Double, Girls U16 Quad, Boys U16 Double were National Champions in 2011.
  • Our Boys 1st VIII were 2nd at Schools Boat Race, narrowly losing to KES in what was described as the closest finish in Schools Boat Race history.
  • 9 rowers were selected for Gauteng and were awarded provincial colours
  • 5 rowers were selected to represent SA Schools Rowing at an international regatta in Amsterdam.
  • Devon Miller and Edward Templemore-Walters were selected to represent South Africa at Junior World Championships in Eton.

  We have a new coach this season, Antony Patterson, arguably the most experienced and successful rowing coach in South Africa, having coached all over the world, with Olympic and World Championship medals under his belt.

  We look forward to the continued growth and success of St George's Rowing Academy in 2011/2012.

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