High’s club history inspires top crews
Open Girls Firsts: Tara Jones, Nicole Sims, Jenna McCartney, Kaitlyn Gatacre and Tanika Smith. Photos: CHIPPY RIVERA
BALLARAT High School’s rowing leaders are ready to prove themselves, approaching Head of the Lake on Sunday.
Competing against the pool of Ballarat Associated Schools on Lake Wendouree, Director of rowing Rob Simmonds said the club’s Open Girls and Boys First crews have been “impressive” in the lead up to the iconic annual two-kilometre races.
“Both crews have had great attitudes and commitment to their training,” he said.
“The girls have been sent some big challenges. They’ve met, if not exceeded their training with a no-fuss attitude and done more work than last year. They’ve responded well.”
Coxed by Tanika Smith and coached by Glenn Kallio, Simmonds said the young women are mindful of one another under pressure.
“They know if they’re hurting, it’s for their teammates.”
The “lads” are also a tight-knit group, enjoying their leadership role in the shed, but still driven to achieve success.
Coxed by Fraser Perkins, who will make his Head of the Lake debut, the five are especially inspired by their coach, Patrick Hawkes.
Hawkes was part of Ballarat High School’s winning Head of the Lake crew in 2014, which set the current race record of 6 minutes and 39 seconds.
“Everyone needs a goal. They’ve got a positive benchmark and it was only a few years ago that that happened,” Mr Simmonds said.
“If they have a red-hot crack on the day and weather conditions are kind, you can get the job done. If anyone’s going to break our record, we’d like to.”
The 2014 time is written in various spots around the boatshed on whiteboards, the fridge and mirrors, reminding this year’s cohort of athletes of their potential and club history.
But BHS’s rowing future is looking just as strong and exciting as its past.
“Through the shed, there’s lots of brand-new rowers and I think it’s fantastic that a lot of new students have put their hand up,” Mr Simmonds said.
“A lot of those new students have made it into some pretty high crews, so it’s great attracting new students to the sport, maintaining 21 crews this season.”
“We’ve all being rowing for a really long time, so it’s about putting the years of work on display,” she said. “We’re having a shot at breaking the 29-year drought that the girls have had at our shed.”
Tara was part of the 2019 Open Girls Seconds crew.
“It comes down to how hard we’re willing to work and how much we want it,” she said. “We’ve all been working really hard, we want to show what we’re made of.”
Nicole was an Open Girls Seconds rower last year.
“I’m looking forward to a good performance, all getting into the same mindset and rhythm we know we can execute.”
Jenna has progressed from the Open Girls Seconds crew in 2019.
“I think that we’re always underestimated, so I just want to surprise everyone,” she said.
Kaitlin has also moved up from the 2019 Open Girls Seconds crew.
“I know the girls can do this,” she said. “I’ll be getting them in a positive mindset because when we know we can do it, we perform much better.
Tanika coxed the Year 10 Seconds crew in 2019.
“I want to see what we can prove, because we’re physically a smaller crew,” he said.
Zac has come from the 2019 Open Boys Seconds crew.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how we match up against the other schools,” he said.
2020 is Alex’s second rowing season in the Open Boys First crew.
“I want to cross the line on the day and know we’ve worked as hard as we can,” he said. “First or last, doesn’t really matter to me, as long as we had a good row and we all worked hard.”
Jack has tested himself to progress from the 2019 Open Boys Fifths crew.
“If we all row well and together on the day, we’re in with a chance,” he said. “The boat will not move as fast if we’re not together. Togetherness is the race.”
Jack was previously in the 2019 Open Boys Seconds crew.
“Hopefully I’ll steer the boat straight,” he laughed. “I know how hard they’ve worked all season. I’m looking forward to seeing what the boys can achieve, and making sure they’re not leaving anything on the course.”
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