Schoolboy rowers win national gold twice

BALLARAT Clarendon College’s open division one boys’ crew have won two gold medals at the National Rowing Championships at Sydney International Regatta Centre, Penrith.

The crew of Charlie McClure, James Forsyth, Max Mason, Stuart Hall, and cox Reece Belcher, coached by Ian Peele, placed first in the National Under 19 Men’s Coxed Four final, and the National Schoolboys Open Division Coxed Four.

They shared the podium with St Patrick’s College Ballarat, who won silver.

“James, the three seat, and I said went last year to Nationals in the division two crew and got fifth, so we sort of knew what the national racing was like,” said McClure, the crew’s stroke.

“We went to New South Wales states as well this year, so we had a good gauge on the competition and knew we were going to be close.

“We went and gave it the biggest crack we could, raced pretty hard, and St Pat’s were our biggest competition who we raced in the finals.

“The first under-19 final was a textbook race for us where we got out in front early, but the schoolboys final was a completely different story.

“We got jumped by everyone in the first 500 metres and used the next 1500 to work back through the whole field and got the second win of the week.”

The BCC crew were beaten by St Patrick’s College by 0.18 of a second at the 2024 Head of the Lake, but were otherwise undefeated, winning the New South Wales Under 19 Men’s Coxed Four and School Boys Open Division Coxed Four titles, and the Victorian state School Boys Open Division Coxed Four final.

They won silver in the Victorian Under 19 Men’s Coxed Four race.

McClure said it was an awesome feeling to be on the national podium with another Ballarat crew.

“We all know each other and we’re all good mates, so it was pretty fun,” he said.

Coach Peele said the two crews have a “massive amount of respect” for one another.

This Sunday, the BCC rowers are flying to Sydney where they will trial for a place in the Under 19 Australian team for the 2024 World Rowing Championships in Canada.

“We’ll race every day until Thursday and we just have to keep going faster and faster, and if we hit a certain time they will select us,” McClure said.

“It would almost be like a full stop on the season we’ve had. We came in term three last year thinking we’d be the underdogs.

“Stuart came over from Grammar, Max came up from the year 11s and we plucked Reece from the intermediate squad.

“To be selected for the Australian team would be great.”

Peele said the boys have been mature in their approach to the busy season of high-level racing which has been demanding of them individually, and as a team, and it’s not over yet.

“Trialling for the national team is a really exciting opportunity not only for the boys but for myself,” he said. “It’s a chance to see what we can be capable of at the highest level.

“We’ve had a couple of girls last year and the year before, Katie and Lucy, who have gone on to set a standard for what could be achieved at this national level for everyone.

“We hope we can go fast enough from day one and try and eliminate any questions around times to get straight through if we can.”

The last time BCC boys won the national championships was 33 years ago.

“I rowed in that crew with Charlie McClure’s dad Richard,” Peele said. “To be able to have another similar story for the two families this year has been pretty fun.”