With February’s end drawing near, we’re rapidly approaching the pointy end of the Australian racing season. In NSW, only a few select regattas remain before Head of the River and for those progressing on to the Australian National Championships, making these regattas essential for final race plan adjustments. The schoolgirl coxed quad will be one of the more intensely contested races at the IGSA Sport Regatta, and as it’s one of the remaining schoolgirl regattas of the local season, some great results should come out of SIRC this weekend.
Canberra Girls Grammar
Returning from the NSW State Championships, the current state champions of Frost, Walker, Bowen, and King will be causing concern as they line up to race this weekend. With a season that has seen them virtually undefeated in NSW and ACT, the competitive quad from Canberra Girls Grammar will be looking to use this weekend to hone their plan before they aim for another medal at the Australian National Championships in a month. With two returning rowers from the 2024 national silver medal-winning crew, these athletes are sure to provide an exceptional race
PLC Sydney
Following a Division 1 win at Roseville College Regatta, McCartney, Burge, Cameron, and Barrett will be looking to race for redemption this weekend after their knockout in their heat at the NSW State Championships. With a relatively quick time in the 1500m from Roseville, they should come in this weekend with the knowledge that they have the capability; however, they must maintain this through the last 500m of their race plan. Facing the tough competition they are up against this weekend will certainly put them to the test.
Ascham
The seventh-place finishers at NSW States, Elias, Bugg, Hitchens, and Koczkar, will be another crew looking to make their mark against their competition this weekend. It’ll be essential that they get off to a quick start this weekend in order to keep up with their Canberra Girls Grammar counterparts; however, with the only other crew in this race to have made the state championship finals doing so via a quick heat, these four athletes more than have the capability. They’ll certainly want to use this opportunity to test themselves against the national silver medallists and should attack this race with full intensity.
MLC School
Another crew looking to make their mark against their state championship finalists, Hu, Beaton, Kershaw Macdonald, and Winnall, raced an exceptionally fast heat at the state championships but were unfortunately knocked out before the finals. With a relatively competitive season for MLC drawing to an end, it’s clear to see that they will be looking to use every opportunity of racing to their advantage. They will no doubt be looking to make the finals at Head of the River in a few weeks so this will be an essential test for this boat as they approach the final race of the season.
Prediction
The schoolgirl coxed quad remains one of the most competitive races in schoolgirl rowing, with times getting faster year after year. IGSA will see some exceptional quad racing this weekend, but I predict that the true race will be for the second and third places. Canberra Girls Grammar will undoubtedly take a clear lead in the race and win overall; however, I believe the competition between PLC, Ascham, and MLC will be extraordinarily tight and challenge all these athletes as they race to the finish. I expect we will likely see Ascham take second place following their competitive performance at the state championships, and we will see MLC finish up in third.
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