SCHOOLS BOATRACE!

Its Boatrace time again…

The KES 1st eight has been hard at work on the Vaal River and are ready for some hard racing in Port Alfred on the Kowie River.
The event, now in its 10th year will once again be hosting school 1st teams in the form of boys eights and girls quads.

It is difficult to say who will be in the mix this year, but the Gauteng contingent will be fighting it out after the close racing at Gauteng Champs a month ago. The St. Benedicts crew has been dominant so far, but has not yet been pitted against the crews from SACS (last years SA Champs winners) and St. Andrews College Grahamstown (Hosts and Silver at SA Champs). Bishops could also be dark horses this year, with some strong boys back from last year’s quality combination.
No one is writing off the gaggle that have been chasing Bennies in Joburg either - that would be St Stithians, St Johns, KES, Parktown and Jeppe. Bishop Bavin are also bound to be quick, putting some strong small boat specialists into the eight for this prestigious event.

The heats are on Saturday the 4th of December. It is a head race against the clock, starting 30 seconds apart in last years finishing order. Based on the heat times, crews will then be paired into finals.

Last years results were as follows and this is the starting order for the heats,

A FINAL Abingdon (UK) beat SACS
B FINAL King Edward VII beat St Benedict's
C FINAL St Andrew's beat St John's
D FINAL Selbourne beat Bishop Bavin
E FINAL Somerset College beat St Stithian's
F FINAL Bishops beat Jeppe Boys
G FINAL Rondebosch Boys beat Parktown Boys
H FINAL St Alban's beat Grey High
I FINAL Nemato/Abingdon beat Mondeor

For more information go to www.sasru.co.za

Go School!

World Championships

Tony Paladin (far left), old boy from 2000, represented South Africa at the World Championships this year. Tony has made a late comeback, replacing Matt Brittain who suffered a back injury recently and is rehabilitating after surgery. That is not to say Tony will give up his seat now: These seats are very hard to come by. Tony did SA proud, bringing some experience to the unit - they tussled with current olympic champions Denmark in the B final.
The newly formed unit seems bound for a good year in the 2011 season where they will race for olympic qualification. It is likely that they will go back into squad formation for a period now.
The lightweight coxless four, known to be one of the most fiercely contested events is definitely worth following. Have a look ... www.worldrowing.com for coverage of this and all international rowing.
Tony is not the only KES boy involved at this level, Dustyn Butler is the assistant National Coach and is working hard with Olympic Squad (including this four), as well as athletes that are being developed.
Have a look at the SA Team rowing blog for more insight http://web.me.com/barrowrow/Site/Home.html

Gauteng Champs: Sunday 31st October

The 1st eight struggled to hold speed over the second 1000m on Sunday, stiffening up and shortening a bit. Saints and Bennies took full advantage, but remain wary of our crew. A few seconds closer to bennies that we were last week - 9 seconds - unfortunately Saints and St. Johns pushed their way between us and the leaders this week.
Needless to say, the boys were disappointed. The KES will have to make up for what they lack in raw horsepower with guts, determination and efficient rowing this year. I am confident that they will move forward as the technical execution of the stroke improves.
Our new sculler and bowman in the eight, U17: McDonough finished 11th overall in the 1st singles trophy. Matthew Kelly also placed a very credible 13th overall. This was a respectable result which he is focused on improving into the season. Unfortunately the pair could not race due to a clash with the fours event in the programme.
On a whole, it has been a pleasure working with such focused athletes - and we look forward to the second half of the season. We back you gents!

Besides the 1st squad, the 2nd eight has come on in leaps and bounds. Again, lacking a bit of raw grunt – they have made strides towards the medals, missing St Stithians in the bronze medal spot by less than a second. Not only the eight, but fours and quads have come on substantially.

We had some encouraging results from all other age groups as well. The U16 quad placed 4th, showing a lot of improvement from last week. The first medal of the day came in the form of the u14 quad (silver). Incidentally, an event which we fielded 3 boats in the “A” final! Well done juniors! Viadana and his partner also managed bronze in the U14 doubles. So overall for the regatta, our junior boys (u14’s) were outstanding.

In U15, the respective A and B u15 octopul combinations were 5th (in A final) and 4the (in B final). Dos Santos was 10th overall in the single scull championship – this was his debut in this event. Daniel Kelly, our regular sculler placed 7th overall.
Once again, we must believe in this group – the future is in their hands. Concentrate on the basics and keep things simple. With the horse power on tap, increasing the efficiency and cohesion will bear fruit not only this year, but more so into the senior age groups. Progress of the kids is a process - this needs to be understood by all.

For those of you that are involved and supporting the club, thank you!