Silver medal for King’s Ely rowers at Blenheim Palace Junior Regatta

King’s Ely rowers won silver at this year’s prestigious Blenheim Palace Junior Regatta.

A total of 32 of the school’s Year 8 and 9 rowers competed in the multi-lane regatta on June 9th, racing over 500m from a standing start. The event is specifically designed for students in Years 6 to 9 and rowers from across the country compete, including those from well-known junior rowing clubs from the South of England.

The morning division consisted of King’s Ely’s Year 9 boys and Year 8 girls racing in coxed quads, whilst the Year 8 boys raced in double sculls. In the second division, the Year 9 girls and Year 8 boys then raced in coxed quads and the Year 8 girls went into double sculls.

All but four of King’s Ely’s crews made the finals on the day, with all pupils showing true grit and determination in some very hard-fought races, but the stand-out performance was that of the Girls’ Under 14 Coxed Four crew, who won their heat and then placed second, taking home the silver medal in a very exciting final. The crew was Clare Sergeant, Mia Gray, Georgina Schosland, Stephanie Watson and Otilia Salgado.

King’s Ely’s success on June 9th comes just a week after students competed in the three-day National Schools Regatta. The highlight there was when crew Emma Tarshish and Holly Lancaster won the B final of their race in impressive fashion to place 7th overall in the country – a truly outstanding result for the girls.

King’s Ely rowers also enjoyed success at the Peterborough Spring Regatta earlier this month. Highlights included Conall Comley and William Buckingham winning the Under 14 2x race, Holly Lancaster and Rahera Greatrex winning the Under 18 2x race, and Alex Millard helping a King’s Ely and Peterborough composite Under 18 4x coxless crew winning their race.

With arguably the best stretch of river for rowing in the country, it is not surprising that King’s Ely has been a strong force in UK rowing for many years. As one of the major sports available to students from Year 8, rowing is enormously popular at King’s Ely. The King’s Ely Boat Club is located on the river just a short walk from the school, providing an uninterrupted stretch of water that runs for over 15 miles in each direction.

To find out more about opportunities at King’s Ely, please visit www.kingsely.org.