Aurelia, Lower VI, represented Team GB at rowing this summer! Her Marlow Rowing Club J16 crew were selected to represent their country in a match against France – with GB coming away overall winners.
Aurelia says, “It felt incredibly exciting and I felt real pride in representing GB. We have worked hard for the past two years and it felt like a reward for that commitment”.
“We trialled for Team GB in early July, won against the other trialists and were selected to race in the GB v France match on 12th July in the London Docklands. It felt like an amazing achievement . We had been winning everything this season but didn’t want to be complacent and we were desperate for the selection and so incredibly excited and happy when it happened. We took on a really strong French quad made up of their best four rowers across France.”
So how did Aurelia feel at the start line in her GB kit? “I am always nervous at the start and particularly so here as we had no idea how good our competition might be – France is a larger country with a larger pool of talent too. I had researched their selection times and they were fast but you can never tell what conditions they were selected under and it is always necessary to go into a race believing strongly that we can win. I strongly believe that winners focus on winning. We have our own individual head chats to steady our nerves and help us focus and this race was no different really to any other. I always want to win every race. I just wanted this one a little bit more!”
It was a scorching day, with great conditions for racing, and then the monumental moment came, when Aurelia heard the umpire announcing her Great Britain crew, “That was when for the first time, it felt completely real! Hearing ‘GB’ was really thrilling and throughout the race all our team mates were yelling, ‘Go GB!’”.
The French team proved a tough challenge, “The French girls proved formidable from the start, were fast off the start and we were on the back foot. We have huge strength but they were strong and consolidated on their start and despite our best efforts we just couldn’t get ahead and did well to hold them for a period. We stuck to our race plan and if we had been ahead at the start I think things may have been different but it just wasn’t meant to be. We did our absolute best and they say you learn from your losses and come back stronger.”
Aurelia’s ever gracious character shone through in defeat, “I congratulated the French girls immediately on the pontoon and they were really lovely and it felt good to have had the opportunity to row against such talent”. Team GB ultimately beat France overall on points and Aurelia says that “I will remember the experience forever and my first Team GB rowing suit is a treasure.”
This is just the beginning of Aurelia’s GB journey and her “ultimate goal” of competing at the Olympics. She explained that, “the GB v France match is the first step on the GB rowing pathway and aimed at giving young rowers a taste of rowing for Team GB . I always knew that I wanted to be selected but you are reliant on the whole boat being selected, so it is not just down to your own commitment but that of your teammates too. We have just been through our GCSEs and thus training wasn’t always in a boat with the 4 of us when the girls had exams to prep for, so selection was never guaranteed no matter how much we wanted it. The GB selection was on my wish list for this year and I was so incredibly excited and happy when it happened. Next year I will be able to trial for the GB under 19 Team and I can’t wait!”.
A huge fan of sport, Aurelia has played competitive netball and hockey and has been a member of Maidenhead Marlins swim club since she was 7 years old. She said, “I pretty much tried every sport as hobbies and was encouraged to be active and involved at every opportunity.” But it is rowing that she is now focussed on, “I love rowing, how it makes me feel, the challenges posed and the gold medals which reward the effort. I love the exercise, the fresh air – there is nothing better than being out on the water – the sense of success and achievement when we do well and my squad teammates. The sound of rushing water underneath the hull of the boat when it’s moving! Hugh Laurie said “Winning a rowing race is not like winning anything else. Here’s my theory: you’re facing backwards, so you’re looking at the people you’re beating – and there’s something exquisite about that” which is so true!”.
Aurelia is a proud member of Marlow Rowing Club and describes it as “exceptional, one of the best programs in the UK, as are the coaches who are all wonderful and so it was a no brainer to join there.” For the past two years she has rowed in their Women’s Junior 16 coxed quad and from September she can join the Marlow J18 squad. Aurelia is looking forward to expanding her skills and hopes to get to row alongside fellow Abbey student and Marlow Rowing Club member Ione, Upper VI, who she describes as “phenomenal and a great friend and mentor.”
The future “feels full of promise” to Aurelia, “I absolutely want to represent Team GB many times over the next decades and hope my future holds Olympic Medals!”. Aurelia has already been contacted by various scouts for American universities but for now her focus is on being the best rower she can be, as well as “nailing” the academics at The Abbey which she says is “so important to me”.
Aurelia is grateful for the support that The Abbey has given her, “I want to thank The Abbey for consistently encouraging and supporting sport over the years. The Abbey has produced so many incredible role models, and I feel fortunate to play a small part in that tradition.”
“I am incredibly grateful to The Abbey and my teachers and form tutor Fiona Mair who have all shown me such huge support. Fiona Mair has even been lakeside supporting me along the way. She has been tremendous: encouraging me when things haven’t gone to plan and excited for me and with me when things have gone well. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
“The Abbey has given me confidence to believe in myself and my dreams, to know that effort is always rewarded and that life can present opportunities at every moment and the key is to grab those moments with both hands, making the most of the opportunities we are so very lucky to have and simply enjoying the ride. Life is not about the number of breaths we take, it is about the number of moments that make us breathless and I intend to live every moment to the fullest, with kindness, compassion, determination and perseverance.”
The Abbey is behind you every step, row and breath of the way Aurelia!