SCHOOLS VIE FOR HONOUR OF REACHING THE FINALS
Perfect weather conditions greet competitors at the start of the annual Buffalo Regatta on Thursday morning as the 132nd edition gets under way
Perfect weather conditions greeted competitors and fans at the start of the annual Buffalo Regatta on Thursday morning as the 132nd edition of the popular event got under way.
It was solely a day for the schools on day one as they battled it out in the heats, trying to qualify for Saturday’s day of finals.
The usual suspects were at the top of their game with St Albans and St Mary’s impressing, while St Andrew’s College and St Andrew’s school for girls also featured.
Local schools Clarendon and Selborne had a decent day as well, making it through to a number of finals.
“It has been an excellent day. The weather has been good, everything has run smoothly,” said East London Boating Association chair Philip King.
“There wasn’t too much excitement today, with it just being school heats. It was very relaxed and it was more schools just going through the motions of trying to qualify.
“But we are all really looking forward to the Selborne Sprints tomorrow. It makes for some extremely tight racing. The schools love it, and with the universities also getting involved it really makes for a great atmosphere.
“Saturday will then be a fantastic day. The final day of the regatta is always an absolute blast, and hopefully the fantastic weather will continue straight through.”
Looking on to Saturday’s finals day the Rhodes University rowing team aim to impress.
The team, made up of 20 athletes, arrived in East London after a tough training period, as due to the Settlers Dam being dried up they had to commute to the Kowie River in Port Alfred, where the teams committed to a month-long training camp over January.
Rhodes has been one of the top rowing universities in the country for many years, battling it out with the likes of perennial rowing powerhouse Tuks, Nelson Mandela University, University of Johannesburg and UCT, among others.
Rhodes sent a men’s team to the Head of Charles Regatta in Boston in 2017.
The team, featuring Murray Bales-Smith and Bradley Betts, participated in the men’s double and won the college division of the regatta.
They returned in 2018 with a coxed four team of Michael Thomas, Bales-Smith, Chris Hale, Lyle Swanepoel and Welcome Sidyiyo, but did not return with medals.
Bales-Smith is now in East London as the captain of the Rhodes men’s team, and they will be going all out to claim the Grand Challenge.
The Rhodes women’s team is captained by Erin Herschel, who was the Clarendon captain in 2017 at the Buffalo Regatta, and their main focus is the University eight race.
“I love coming to East London to row on the Buffalo River where I learnt to row over the five years of my high school career,” said Herschel.
“Our team has worked really hard sacrificing our festive holiday period and most weekends leading up to this event, so we are hoping our commitment to the training will pay off.”
It has been an excellent day. The weather has been good, all has run smoothly