Queen’s High School
Queen’s High School came back to the North End Rowing Club (where we began),
at the beginning of the 2014/15 season. We were most appreciative of the
warm welcome and the ‘can do’ attitude (right when we needed it most), as NERC
integrated us and our boats. We were a small group numerically, but came well
resourced, and with great coaching and parent support. We have all really
enjoyed getting involved in club activities, racing in black and red and having the
opportunity to compete in combined crews and to learn to sweep!
Back L to R: Rebecca Scott, Heather Knox, Cameron Abbey (coach), Loren Mathewson
(coach), and Gemma Clydesdale. Front L to R: Katie Atkinson, Carina McLay
(coxswain), Hayley Kettings.
Queen’s girls have enjoyed all the season had to offer; starting with the OSSRA
Indoor Rowing Competition, where Katie Atkinson did well in several events of
the GU15 section and Queen’s won the girls 2000m relay.
The Cromwell to Clyde Long Distance at Labour Weekend was our first chance
to compete in a combined club quad.
The OSSRA Term 4 Regatta resulted in a 2nd in the Intermediate girl’s quad
and a 2nd and 3rd in the singles for Hayley Kettings and Gemma Clydesdale.
They combined for the PCURC Regatta for a 3rd in the double, a 2nd in the
coxed quad and our first outing in a club eight. Yeah!!
Our first weekend away was to compete at the Dunstan Regatta, with
diminished numbers because of girls on exchange to Japan and France. We were
very pleased to again enjoy racing in combined club crews, to qualify for the A
final in the GU18 quad, 2nd in the club quad, with Hayley Kettings making 3rd in
the GU18 single.
As soon as school exams were over in December we headed to Twizel for rowing
camp before the Otago Champs, and once again benefited from the option of
rowing in combined club crews, qualifying for the B final in both the four and
the quad. Hayley and Gemma were 5th in the A Final in the double.
Gemma was our lone representative at the Canterbury Champs and made the A
Final in the GU17 double rowing with Juliette Alm-Lequeux.
Heading back to Twizel before the South Island Club Champs, Queen’s took
advantage of a few more training days, resulting in Hayley Kettings and Gemma
Clydesdale placing 6th in the A Final of the GU17 double and Hayley gained the
same place in the single.
In the boat park at Ruataniwha with our mascot Chloe.
In the OSSRA Term One Regatta, Queen’s placed 2nd in the senior girl’s coxed
quad, 2nd in the double and Hayley 2nd in the senior girls single.
Our last big regatta for the season was the South Island Secondary Schools
Champs in Twizel and despite being abandoned on the second day, the quad went
through to the B Final and Hayley Kettings was proud to come away with a
bronze medal after being the 3rd fastest qualifier for the A Final of the GU17
single.
Hayley Kettings, 3rd in GU17 single at South Island Secondary School Champs
Back in Dunedin for the OSSRA Head of Harbour Regatta, Hayley claimed a
2nd in the senior girl’s single to round off the season.
Our appreciation:
We are truly indebted to our wonderful coaches Cameron Abbey, who has been
with us for two seasons as our coaching scholar, and to Loren Mathewson (an ex
Queen’s rower) who has come back to join the fun. They both give so much to
our girls and to a sport they love, and we appreciate their unending good
humour, their ‘good cop bad cop’ routine and their taste in music, not to mention
their coaching expertise.
We also give HUGE thanks to our parents for everything they do to keep us
afloat; managing finances and the ever present fundraising, maintaining boats,
loading and transporting, and superb catering at regattas and camps. We
couldn’t do it without you, but we know you love rowing as much as we do!
Lastly a great big THANK YOU to North End Rowing Club, for opening your
doors and welcoming us in, it has been a fantastic season for us all.
We are training through the winter and actively working on increasing our squad
size as we look forward to another great season as North End members.
Heather Knox, Teacher-in-Charge Rowing, Queen’s High School