The St Hilda’s School recorded a historic victory in the annual Head of the River on Saturday, smashing the record in the Schoolgirls Open Eight to claim their first victory since the school began rowing in 1914.
The girls crossed the 2000m finish line in at time of 6.17.64 ahead of the second placed crew from Somerville House in a time of 6.24.17.
The win sent a roar through the St Hilda’s supporters and Head of Sport, Jillian Moore, said the celebrations continued long into the evening.
“In the last 250 metres they just took the handbrake off and really went for it,” she said.
Asked what the secret to their success was, Ms Moore paid tribute to the hard work and dedication of the crew and their coaching staff.
Ms Moore also said a surprise visit to the crew from the St Hilda’s headmaster, Dr Julie Wilson Reynolds, earlier that day may have helped.
“She surprised them by being out on the water at 6.30am for their final training – it certainly gave them a thrill,” she said.
Year 12 boarder, Jess Scott, who hails from Roma, said to win the Head of the River was incredibly special.
“The pain from the race never came, it felt like it was the easiest race we had ever done,” she said.
“It was the most rewarding thing you can experience with all that hard work put into the one six minute race.
“The secret to winning is based on your crew and the amount of training we did as a team from start to end.
“From rowing 33 minute pieces at 5am on the water, to doing two five kilometer ergo tests in the afternoon, this shows the dedication of my crew.
“The connection between the crew and coaches is also really important.”
For a full list of race results visit: https://qld.rowingmanager.com/?regatta;file=5809