24 October 2024
To reiterate the question posed on Saturday, how lucky are we? Like the sun, the Parents’ Committee shone on the Torrens for our Season Opener.
The first week of term was tumultuous, not just with the Year 12s graduating, but also weather-wise. West Lakes crews had to come off the water on Thursday because of lightning and high winds, which made training more challenging. We had barely got everything back in place after camp before it was all on the move again for the Season Opener.
The weather cleared for Saturday morning, greeting the Seniors and Inters crews with glass-like water, even if it blew up later. The Torrens water, however, was churned up by the constant passing of St Peters’ boats. The Junior squads were “hot desking” again, or should we say “hot boating”? The Year 8s got their first outing in, left their boats on the landing stage for the Year 7s to step into, and then the Year 8s went out again afterwards. It seemed like we had emptied every boat out of the boathouse. Excellent work by the coaches, marshalling them all on and off the water.
In the midst of this maelstrom of blue and white boys from 7 am, a crack team of parents were preparing a celebration for our community. Unfazed by the delivery of seventeen boxes from the Skala bakery to West Lakes instead of the Torrens (Berry to the rescue!), they were only slightly more fazed by the coffee machine ceasing to function. Remedy was found by dedicated barista Jing, who ferried coffee orders from the new coffee machine upstairs. Our top team of coffee engineers, Jonny and Lino, pored over the whole BBQ trailer to identify the offending tap that had been turned off. The show rolled on.
Friday had seen a dedicated team of parents clean the kitchen and BBQ trailer from top to bottom. They were back in action on Saturday, directed by the zen-like Elise, to erect tables, marquees, and bunting. Elise’s team had all the juniors fed before the Seniors and Inters’ bus arrived from West Lakes. Nigel and Joe erected the blade teepees, and we only just disentangled Nigel from the ladies’ tights in time to get proceedings started. We welcomed back three stalwarts of the Parents’ Committee who served throughout their sons’ rowing careers to name the boats: Tabitha Healy, Anna Seppelt, and Lyndi Gepp. Nigel had secured a supply of exploding bottles to replace our rubber ones.
The new boats we named are a manifestation of the School’s commitment to the renewal of its fleet, not just at the top but at all levels. The two new junior quads will allow us to phase out the wooden quads, some of which are over 30 years old. Rick Sawers, who spoke on behalf of the School’s Foundation and Quick Start, appealed for BRO volunteers for SA Rowing, hoping we can find a new home for the old quads at a new rowing school in Renmark.
The boats are named after John Holroyd Hill and Wilfrid J. Ferguson, an outstanding coaching team who guided the club for nearly fifty years, from Hill’s captaincy in 1910 to Ferguson’s retirement in 1960. I would love to share with you a potted history of these two remarkable characters but will instead refer you to the Blackmore club’s publication sent to parents last year: St Peter’s College Boat Club, the First Hundred and One Years. St Mark is the only gospel writer we have not honoured in our small boat fleet; we are working up to being able to boat an VIII in pairs.
Coaching is one of the pillars upon which the club is built. Thank you for the warm welcome you extended to Brigette Carlile, returning from maternity leave to lead us through this season. We are lucky to have her and Lucy Stephan guiding the senior squad, with Clare Romaniuk also returning from last season. They are not alone. The club produces its own coaches. We are fortunate to have the inimitable Tom Beresford, who mentored Ed Chipperfield as a Y8/9 coach, with the addition of last year’s Y12 coach, Murphy Eaton. At every level of the club, we find Old Scholars passing on their enthusiasm for rowing to the next cohort. It is a tribute to Mr McRae’s years of coaching that we have so many boys keen to pass on their love of the sport. I would add how pleased I was to see so many of the Year 12 coaches come down in their coaching uniforms. We even had two down at 7 am the morning after their graduation – how keen?
Welcome to an exciting new season for the St Peter’s College Boat Club. Below are a list of key dates:
2nd November Murray Bridge regatta and 3 mile race Senior and Inters
9th November Junior Regatta at West Lakes
16th November 3rd Grade & Novice State Champs, Inters and Year 8 students
Seniors training weekend at Murray Bridge
23rd November School Premiership Series regatta #1 at West Lakes, whole club including Year 7 students
Details available https://rowingmanager.com/sa/
