The women’s junior 18 8 competing at the Trinity Regatta
THE boat club at Portora Royal School made its second trip to Dublin this month, on Saturday, as it took part in the Trinity Regatta.
70 athletes from the club travelled in total, and they came away with four big wins on the day.
The men’s J18 four, of Ewan Murray, Karl Anderson, Tom Mills, Alistair Crawford and coxed by Evan McClean, were one of the big winners of the day.
They were given a bye in the first round and came through another round, seeing off opponents City of Derry before facing Athlunkard BC in the final. Despite the long day and other races, the boys were able to pull it out of the bag and produced the goods to cross the line first.
The men’s junior 16 8 ‘A’ crew, of Barney Rix, Josh Kennedy, Ben Irwin, Euan Gebler, Ryan Ballintine, Sam Armstrong, Chris Irvine, Conor Blackwell Smyth and coxed by Michael Woodhouse also topped their category.
They beat Colaiste Iognaid in the first round, before coming up against their own C crew in the second heat.
The ‘C’ boat, of Conor McLaughlin-Borlase, Josh Shirley, Nathan Rodgers, Johnny Wilson, Callum McClements, Liam Rafferty, Oisin Mackin, Conor Goodall and coxed by Ellyn Reynolds did not make it easy for the A crew, who led from the start, but who were still put under pressure from the very young ‘C’ crew.
Coming into the last few hundred metres, the ‘A’ crew really had to up the rate to pull away from their clubmates, and it was an exciting race to watch from the banks.
The ‘A’ crew then progressed to the final against Shannon BC, where they were put to the test, but once again, they came out on top.
The girls, not to be outdone by the boys, also came away with two big wins.
The first was in the J18 four, where Emma Glover, Phoebe Mulligan, Dineka Maguire, Elizabeth Clarke and cox Chloe McClean.
They were racing off against the B crew, of Alice Beacom, Orla McConville, Chloe Finlayson, Sophie O’Dolan and cox Zoe Donaldson. In a tightly contested race, the A crew edged ahead of the B crew to take a well deserved win.
The women’s J18 8 also took home the gold, coming through an Athlunkard crew, a Shannon crew and finally a Commercial crew in the final.
The Portora team, made up of Alice Beacom, Emma Glover, Phoebe Mulligan, Elizabeth Clarke, Dineka Maguire, Chloe Finlayson, Sophie O’Dolan, Orla McConville and cox Zoe Donaldson, powered through all of their rivals on their way to taking the top spot. This will no doubt help to strengthen their self belief as they prepare to head to Queens Regatta next weekend.
Overall, it was another successful day for the Boat Club from Portora Royal School. With the next competition only a few days away, the boat club has shown their ability to shine at the junior levels and will hope to continue this as the move further into the competitive season.
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