High’s best boys back in the boat

BALLARAT High School’s boys first crew of 2002 made a splash when they won the Australian National Rowing Championships.

Chris Nielson, Nic Moran, Heath Baker, Lachlan McKenzie and their coxswain Karl Waldron – who steered four seasons’ worth of firsts crews – were one of the most impressive combinations the school’s rowing shed has ever produced.

To celebrate 20 years since their Nationals win, the crew reunited for a race down the Lake Wendouree course this month, with great success.

Hopping into the Glenn Kallio boat, they won the men’s C grade coxed four event at JG King Wendouree-Ballarat Regatta.

It all started with a Messenger group chat 12 months ago. BHS director of rowing Rob Simmonds suggested the school mark the anniversary.

“We’re all very much out of touch with rowing. Even though we all live in Ballarat, and were aiming for it, deep down, I thought it probably won’t eventuate,” McKenzie said.

“But about a month ago, we locked it in, and we decided it would happen. It was all about fun.”

Before the regatta, they got together for a couple of training sessions, where their unity “instinctively” kicked back in, and they enjoyed a few quiet, reflective drinks on the jetty afterwards.

On race day, Baker said they had “perfect, textbook beautiful conditions” and enjoyed the row, but Nielson said that didn’t stop some old feelings from his school days coming back.

“I still got quite nervous, though. As the other crew were touching up to the start blocks, I got that nervous feeling in my gut,” he said.

The crew had family, friends, BHS rowing club members, and others in the Ballarat rowing community come to watch and support them.

The guys were proud to bring some extra excitement and positivity to the High shed, and to its culture, which has given them so much.

They continue to value the life skills they learnt during rowing, like time management, discipline, and teamwork, and the social side of the sport.

For years after they left school, the crew remained close friends with their generation of rowers, not just at BHS, but across Ballarat.

“Karl remains tight with another crew he coxed, and we’re all good friends with people from school, especially those we knew through rowing, very much,” McKenzie said.

“If it wasn’t for rowing, we might not have been mates with a lot of people in our lives.”