The Road Autumn 2020

2019/2020 ROWING SEASON REVIEW
DAMASCUS COLLEGE ROWING
In my first season of rowing with Damascus College, we had 60
students participate in the rowing program from Year 8 to Year 12.
With the assistance of staff members Nicole Hexter, Hamish Walsh
and Andy Robertson, I was given the task to lead the squad into a
new era of rowing at Damascus.
Focusing on both personal and squad growth, we trained both
on and off the water throughout Terms 3, 4 and 1 – all the while
gradually building our strength and skill. A new method of training
was introduced where the entire squad trained together on a
Thursday morning at school; this was received very well – as was the
bacon and egg rolls!
The goal of the Thursday morning sessions was to reinforce the bond
within the rowing community and to build strength in numbers. This
underpinned the entire season and assisted in building a group of
rowers and coxes who knew how to work together for a common
goal.
A highlight of the season was the club trivia night that was organised
and run by our captains Charlotte Ashley and Bailey Wilson. The
night was a total success and aided in bonding our squad, coaches,
teachers and parents together with an enjoyable team-building
exercise.
Term 4 saw the start of our main competitive season, with all crews
performing well and learning what it takes to be competitive in
rowing. The junior rowers having the added challenge of learning
to row from scratch! Some of the crews were also allowed to try
rowing in quad sculls or single sculls at various times. This was a new
challenge for many as it was difficult at first but became a welcome
change and proved to be very popular.
After rowing camp ended, we reverted to our regular training
schedule in the lead up to Head of the Lake, attending various
regattas around Victoria and honing our skills to be able to perform
to our best.
With several cancelled regattas, our opportunities to compete were
slightly diminished but our spirit was not; we raced to our potential
at every opportunity to outperform ourselves every time we hit the
water. Our best performing crews were the Junior Boys 1st Crew,
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