UQ Boat Club rides the wave of success
Monday March 30, 2009
The UQ Boat Club (UQBC) had a lot to celebrate recently, having showcased one of their best ever performances when they took to the water at the annual Australian Rowing Championships earlier this month.
The club continued their long-standing history of success, winning five gold, five silver and seven bronze medals at the national event that ran from 3rd to 9th March in Lake Barrington, Tasmania.
After an intense six-day club regatta, the event culminated with an interstate competition on the final day, which saw UQBC field their strongest ever representation in the Queensland state team.
UQ’s Head Rowing Coach, Lincoln Handley, said gaining so many places on the state side was a true testament to the overwhelming talent in UQBC.
“With 27 athletes and three coaches on the Queensland team, we had a majority of the seats, which is a tremendous effort for any club,” Lincoln said.
Another record was set at the event, with women achieving better overall results than their male counterparts for the first time in decades.
The men still lived up to their reputation as traditional competition heavyweights, though, scoring their fair share of medals.
With such strong results across all teams, picking the standout performances was always going to be hard.
Alison Scobbie ensured her performances were remembered, winning gold in the U23 lightweight women’s single and combining with Catriona Rose to win gold in the U23 lightweight double scull.
Alison pulled out a strong effort late in the single, having spent the first 500 metres in last place before winning with a big margin of five seconds.
Angus Morton combined with Chris Bigg to give the UQBC combo an all-the-way win in the open men’s lightweight double scull.
In another strong performance, UQBC’s Jared Bidwell won bronze representing Queensland in the President’s Cup. Jared earned himself a personal best, coming in under seven minutes for the first time.
Jared boldly led Beijing Olympic Gold medallist, David Crawshay, through the 1000 metre mark, but could not hold him off in the sprint to the line.
Another highlight was the silver medal in the women’s under 23 eight going to an all-UQBC crew featuring six UQ students including the Krippner sisters, Fran Patterson and Kirstin White. It was the first time UQBC had entered a straight women’s U23 eight.
Some competitors had more than just their medals to celebrate, with 10 UQBC athletes invited to compete in the national selections in Sydney from 15 to 26 April.
