Rowing groups journey to England for Henley Royal Regatta

HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England — The Bates College rowing groups are getting a uncommon alternative this summer time, because the Bobcats are sending six boats “across the pond” to compete in three world-famous races, together with the Henley Royal Regatta. 

“Our senior class came to me over a year ago and expressed an interest in going,” head coach Peter Steenstra stated. “I told them what it would take and this group has earned the opportunity and then some. To experience our sport on this scope is pretty different. Millions of people will be watching.” 

This is barely the second time in program historical past Bates has despatched any crew to Henley. In 2009, the boys’s group despatched their first varsity eight boat. The Bobcats hoped to go in 2020, solely to have the COVID-19 pandemic put a kibosh to these plans.

Now, Bates is sending a girls’s eight, a males’s eight, a girls’s quad, a males’s 4, a girls’s double, and a males’s pair to compete towards crews from around the globe. 

“The chance to train like professional athletes in advance of this trip has been amazing,” sophomore girls’s varsity eight coxswain Leah Brody (Larchmont, N.Y.) stated. “It’s continued to foster our passion for rowing.” 

Bates will likely be competing at three completely different occasions, beginning this Friday by means of Sunday with the Henley Women’s Regatta.

Brody and her varsity eight crew will compete in a time trial Friday on the River Thames at 10 a.m. within the U.Ok. Wake up early to watch live online, as that is 5 a.m. on the east coast of the United States.

Then the ladies’s quad will compete in a time trial at 12:20 p.m. (7:20 a.m. japanese time)

The time trials will decide their placement in Saturday’s spherical of 16, with quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals set for Sunday.

While the ladies are racing on Saturday on the Henley Women’s Regatta, the boys’s group will head to the Marlow Regatta at Dorney Lake, Eton. It is an opportunity to pre-qualify for the famed Henley Royal Regatta. All three males’s boats can have an opportunity to compete in each a time trial and a last on the Marlow Regatta. 

Time trials for the Henley Royal Regatta are set for June twenty sixth for each the ladies’s and males’s groups, with racing for Bates starting July 1st. The males’s pair may also compete in a race on June twenty ninth. The Henley Royal Regatta is a sequence of one-on-one races on the River Thames, with the winner shifting on to the following spherical. It has been held yearly since 1839. More particulars of Bates’ schedule will likely be shared nearer to race day. 

Both groups are coming off robust seasons, making this end-of-the-year journey to England a pleasant bonus. The girls’s group gained the NESCAC title and completed nationwide runner-up on the NCAA Division III Championship. Meanwhile, the boys’s group positioned fifth on the IRA National Championship.

Regardless of what number of races the Bobcats find yourself competing in abroad, it is an expertise the rowers will always remember.

“It’s really the dream,” senior captain Olivia Smith stated. “It’s the best possible way to say goodbye to Bates… really slowly. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to continue rowing with my teammates for a few more weeks.” 

Bates Lineups:

Bates WV8+ lineup: Bow: Hannah de Fontaine; 2: Greta Oberdiek; 3: Arden Minor; 4: Megan O’Donnell; 5: Isabelle Martin; 6: Quinn Gleason; 7: Olivia Smith; Stroke: Virginia Adams; c: Leah Brody

Bates MV8+ lineup: Bow: Erik Lindholm; 2: Luke Johnson; 3: Samuel Perozek; 4: Conor McGuckin; 5: Roy Bellows; 6: Brendan Kelly; 7: Peter Gratwick; Stroke: Luke Desmaison; c: Darien Chiang

Bates WV4x lineup: Bow: Cal Dagner; 2: Ava Teleki; 3: Adina Suchman; 4: Maggie Gill

Bates MV4+ lineup: Bow: John Cleary; 2: Bryce Ahn; 3: Thomas Pacinda; 4: Kelly McKaige; c: Sara Maquera

Bates WV2x lineup: Bow: Olivia Hill; 2: Mia Senturk

Bates MV2- lineup: Bow: Logan Schlichter; 2: Nicholas Hoerle