On Friday 14 June, our Boat Club gathered in the Great Hall for its annual End of Year Dinner. There were pupils from Year 9 through to Year 13 present in addition to all of the coaches who had dedicated their time and expertise to the group. As well as reflecting on the year and handing out awards, there was also an opportunity to pay tribute to one of our teachers who has been coaching rowing at Shiplake since 1997!
Ahead of the dinner, with the Boat Club standing on Skipwith Terrace, Director of Rowing Mr Currie invited Mr Alcock to join him on the lawn where the J15 VIII boat was waiting. Mr Alcock, who is sadly retiring at the end of this academic year, has been coaching rowing at the College since 1997. The number of pupils that have benefitted from his expertise is staggering and there is no better way to thank Mr Alcock and continue his legacy than by naming one of our boats, SHP 809, Chris Alcock. And while Mr Alcock will not be able to take this newly named boat away with him, he will be able to take home a gifted, engraved Shiplake oar that thanks him for his 27 years of service to the Boat Club.
Following the boat naming ceremony, the Boat Club took to the Great Hall for their dinner and awards ceremony. There were speeches and in his, Mr Currie thanked all the coaches and supporters from the College. He also spoke of resilience and rowing teaches this, as well as how it is a key attribute to rowing and skills for later in life. Next year's Captain of Boats were announced with the Boys' Captaincy going to Isaac Dean and Assistant Captaincy to Henry Day Clark. The Girls' Captain will be Amelia Westbrook and Assistant Captain will be Katie Proudlove.
Also speaking at the dinner was current Joint Captain of the Boat Club, Emily Over, who said:
‘Approximately 104 weeks, 730 days, or 17520 hours is how long my rowing streak at Shiplake has lasted. All that time, but it only feels like one minute.
We spend these two years rushing and waiting until time is up. One year left until Henley turns into one month. Next thing we know it is one minute until we go home. One minute until we never step foot in a boat together again. But we never realised how much we would want another minute. One more minute to enjoy the magic of rowing here at Shiplake.
I honestly would give anything to have just one more minute to walk down the steep hill after lessons one more time.
Five minutes into your Henley race or National Schools' final isn’t what you would define as the enjoyable part of rowing. It’s the people around you that makes waking up at 6.00am worth it, meaning my memories in this Boat Club have been the highlight of my time at Shiplake.
If there’s one thing I would want all of us to take from this is that we spend a little too much time worrying and wanting something to end, but we never really appreciate the moment. Please don’t forget to enjoy your time at Shiplake, if that’s two months, or another three years. Remember to stop and just enjoy yourself.’
The awards given out on the evening were as follows:
Year 9
- One to Watch: Joe Swankie
- Best Rower: S Lee
Year 10
- Most Improved Rower: W Huckle
- Best Rower: Max Shevlane
Year 11
- Most Improved: Oli Bennett
- Best Rower: Rupert Evans
Senior Awards
- Year 12 Most Improved Boy: Archie Heading
- Year 12 Most improved Girl: Eva Rootkin-Gray
- Year 12 Best Boy: William Harper
- Year 12 Best Girl: Katie Proudlove
- Year 13 Most Improved Boy: Ben Brooks
- Year 13 Most Improved Girl: Amelie Parker
- Year 13 Best Boy: Jack Duggan
- Year 13 Best Girl: Emily Downing
- Top Cox: Monty Walker
Flickr album: Boat Club Dinner and Awards 2024 |
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