Schools join forces for oarsome effort
IT IS the ultimate rags to riches story, and three years of hard work has paid off for Townsville’s best young rowers.
It was a golden performance from the school-aged rowers bringing home a combined haul of seven medals, including four gold.
It was a combined team of more than 30 rowers from Ignatius Park, St Margaret Mary’s and St Patrick’s that took on the Queensland State School Championships at Wyaralong Dam.
And for the first time, the team was competing in their own boats at the championships after raising funds to secure a new fleet along with the support of fellow Edmund Rice Australia School, Gregory’s Terrace.
Led by Ignatius Park’s spirited rowing contingent, the team brought home four gold medals, which included the Year 10 quad and fours team of Zach Skipp, Eden Mordike, Jake Gilmore and Reilly Williams. Atticus D’mello coxed the team in both of their gold medal rows.
The Year 8 quad team of Joe Murphy, Sonny Crawford, Ethan Sampson and Ben Mcdougall also lifted in the final 100 metres of their final to claim gold with Adam Keymer coxing the boat.
Crawford also went on to claim an individual gold medal in the Year 8 single scull, and a fourth-place finish in the Year 8 double scull alongside Vincent Micale.
St Margaret Mary’s rower Sebasti Arends added to the combined medal tally with an individual silver in the Year 10 girls’ single scull, as did Zach Skipp in the Year 10 boys’ single scull.
But it was a medal haul that belonged to the entire team, with the onshore support willing the young rowers through every heat and final.
Team co-ordinator Tracy Klaassen said the spirit the team showed out of the boat was just as impressive as the performance they put in it.
“It was so exciting for the kids … they were coming off the water … hugging each other and cheering for each other,” she said.
“The way they support each other brings a tear to your eye.
“Even when things didn’t quite go to plan in the boats, the support never stopped.
“It really helped lift the kids competing.
“We are so excited for the future, some of these kids are only Grade 8 and Grade 9. What are they going to do when they are in Grade 12?”
It has been a period of development for the young Townsville rowers who have gone from having 12 competitors three years ago to more than 30 this championships.
That number is expected to keep growing with Klaassen already booking 60 seats for next year.
It is all part of a rebuilding process led by head coach Harrison Parks and boat captain Patrick Boniface, who have championed a willing and determined group of competitors.