National Success for King’s Rowers at Dorney Lake

Seventy-seven of our rowers competed at the National Schools’ Regatta over the May bank holiday weekend, the largest event in the British junior rowing calendar. With more than 5,400 athletes racing at Dorney Lake, our crews produced an impressive set of performances in superb but demanding heatwave conditions.

Friday featured racing for our Year 9 and 10 crews over 1500m. Our Year 9 boys’ and girls’ quadruple sculls gained valuable experience in their first major regatta, while both Year 10 boys’ quad sculls narrowly missed out on finals. In the J15 Girls Quad Sculls, our first crew reached the D Final and finished second, while our two entries in the Girls Second Quad placed 4th in the B Final and 5th in the C Final.

Saturday brought intense competition for our senior crews. Our Championship Boys Quad Scull progressed from the time trial and repechage into Sunday’s semi-finals. The Girls Championship Coxed Four and Coxless Four both reached B Finals and finished 6th, while the Boys Championship Coxless Four placed 8th in the B Final and the Boys Second Quad Scull finished 5th in its B Final.

A standout Saturday result came from the Boys Championship Coxed Four of Felix T, Bentley L, Luke M, Freddie G and Joseph R. After placing 8th in the time trial, they raced superbly in a fiercely contested A Final to finish 6th in the country.

On Sunday, our Boys Championship Quad Scull delivered a dominant semi-final before producing their fastest row of the weekend to take 3rd in the C Final. The Championship Girls Pair also ended strongly, finishing 6th in their C Final after placing 17th in the time trial.

Our Fifth Form rowers also impressed in the quad scull events. The girls placed 17th in the J16 1st Quad Scull time trial before finishing 2nd in the C Final, while the boys’ 1st crew reached the B Final and placed 5th.

The weekend’s final highlight came from our Fifth Form Boys Second Quad Scull. After placing 3rd in the time trial, they backed up that performance in the A Final to secure a superb bronze medal.

It was an exceptional weekend of rowing, and all of our athletes deserve great credit for their commitment, resilience and performances on the national stage.

Thank you to our supporters and to the parents who provided wonderful support and kept our rowers fuelled throughout the weekend.

Full results