This weekend the first race of 2025 took place for Great Marlow School Boat Club (GMSBC). Traditionally, so many races are cancelled due to fast-flowing rivers and flooding at this time of year, GMS has opted for Wycliffe Big Head race on the Sharpness canal near Gloucester, as a more reliable venue.
For our rowers, it was a good opportunity to experience time on the water as well as test themselves against some quality opposition. Despite being early in the season and the variation in amount of water time between different clubs is considerable, this 4500m race is a good test of form for our squad.
In the First Division was the Year 10 Boys’ Eight, two Year 11 Quads and two 2nd Quads racing in the open categories. The early birds for the first division were there at 7:30 to rig the boats and the first crew to boat was the Year 10 Boys’ Eight.
The Year 10 Boys’ Eight had a good race and coped well against competition, considering they only a handful of outings in the sweep discipline. Their second place just behind a strong Abingdon School crew was an exciting result at this stage. The Year 11 Quads both did well, with the boys third in their category and the girls fourth. However, both crews will need to push on over the next six weeks or so, to be in the medals at the nationals at the end of term.
The afternoon division had the Year 10 Girls’ Quads and both top crews in the J18 Quads with top class opposition. The Year 10 Girls’ Quads both raced well , although the B crew sadly got caught up in a three way collision through no fault of theirs, when a crew ahead of them crabbing, slewed across the river. Both crews looked solid and committed in their racing, which you can see from photos on the website.
The Girls’ Quad, which was missing Poppy Spense with illness, had a solid result in the middle of a very strong field, hard on the heels of Wycliffe B who qualified for Henley Royal Regatta last summer.
The boys picked up our only outright win of the day, beating Marlow and Wyclliffe who were the main contenders from the rest of the field.
While still early in the season, the results look promising for some good results in the upcoming National Long distance races at the end of March.
