Ione, Upper VI and Aurelia, Lower VI competed in the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston over half term.
Both students had the honour of representing Team GB in rowing over the summer and continue to amaze us with their dedication and skill.
Together, they participated in the Women’s Youth Coxed Quad. Not only did they finish first place overall, they also beat the course record by an incredible 35 seconds with a time of 17:32! What a phenomenal achievement!
Aurelia has shared more about the race, saying that, “It was the best experience. I didn’t really know what to expect but it was really wonderful”. Her best moment was, of course, finding out that they had won, “we had finished our race, we were absolutely exhausted as it takes it out of you completely, and there was a man standing on the bank who said we’d won! We had no idea who he was, or whether he was telling the truth, but we all went from being drained of energy, to being super excited! We had to wait until penalties had been calculated and then once our win was announced we were so happy and we were jumping around!”
It’s a huge achievement to win at Boston. The Head of the Charles Regatta is the world’s largest three-day rowing competition, attracting 325,000 unique spectators and 11,500 competitors. Aurelia explains that, “It’s known to be the biggest rowing event in the world so it was amazing. It’s also a nightmare to navigate, with the amount of boats, a tricky course, narrow bridges and crashes, it’s imperative to have an experienced cox. It has the toughest and most exciting reputation.”
Rowing with a cox differentiates rowing in the US to the UK for Ione and Aurelia’s category. In England it stops being coxed at 15, while in America it’s 18. So how is that different? “It’s heavier, so much heavier!” Aurelia immediately replies, “but it’s a huge weight off your shoulders. I steered all of last year and it was a big weight lifted not having to think about maneuvering around everyone and shouting at people to get out of your way as well as rowing yourself. Also if you have a cox, you’ve got someone speaking to you, encouraging you and motivating you which is a different experience to what we’ve been doing the last two years.”
That wasn’t the only difference in this race though. Aurelia shared, “we have similar length races with multiple bridges on the Thames and elsewhere in England but this was almost completely different because everything was just so American! It was massive, there were so many people there, the crowds were huge and enthusiastic and they enjoyed cheering on an English crew as well as their own American crews.”
Their race was what’s known as a head race in rowing – a time trial competition where crews start at intervals and race against the clock over a set course, typically in winter season. The team started 45th but having 44 boats ahead of them, with little chance of clear water, proved inconsequential. They overtook at least 12 boats as they claimed first place overall!
So how did Ione and Aurelia end up in the same boat?
Both Abbey students row for Marlow Rowing Club. As Aurelia moved up an age category this year, she joined Ione in the under 18 squad which has three U19 world champion medalists, including Ione.
Aurelia explains, “they naturally filled the first three seats. I was delighted that our fantastic and very dedicated Olympic Medallist coach -Pete Chambers, selected me for the fourth and final seat. Ione has been a role model for me – her dedication, effort, and athleticism is exceptional. Ione ,Eve and Lauren were wonderful to row with. Everyone was committed to doing their absolute best and we each wanted to win. So to row together, for me, was a special day. Ione and I travel to practice every day from the Abbey to Marlow and put our bodies on the line every day. It forms a special bond. When we were out there on the course in the US we were representing Marlow Rowing Club, GB and the Abbey . The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little bit extra. We know everyone’s behind us – it gives us that edge. Mrs Hart, Dr Tullis, the sports team… all help support our timetabling to help us make our training sessions.”
All of their training paid off, and as Aurelia explains, “35 seconds in rowing is a lot, especially when you think that you can win by the narrowest of margins. I was in disbelief! It was so desired yet so unexpected given our 45th place start!”
Aurelia finished by saying, “I speak for the whole crew in wishing to thank the HOCRR committee for such a fantastic event and for making us feel so welcome; Marlow Rowing Club and Pete Chambers for the hard work in training us and commitment in helping us achieve our own goals as well as those of the club- simply to be the best Youth Rowing Programme in the UK and in thanking The Abbey for recognising the importance to Ione and I of high level sport and for helping us at every opportunity to balance this commitment we are making with exceptional academics.”
The Abbey is so proud of Ione and Aurelia’s phenomenal win and we’re excited to see what the rest of the rowing season brings!