The New South Wales Rowing Championships annually sets itself up to be a precursor for the Australian Rowing Championships, an opportunity for athletes to demonstrate the hard work they have put in over the long preseason and their summer training camps, before refining and putting it all on the line at the Australian Rowing Championships at Lake Barrington at the end of March. This year, the New South Wales Rowing Championships feature over 1900 athletes competing from all over the country, and the Schoolboy Single Scull features 33 athletes originating from 20 clubs and schools.
The single scull is a staple event in rowing, showcasing athletes’ raw ability to make the boat go fast. Each year, the top junior sculler from the Australian Rowing Championships single scull event almost always earns a place on the U19 World Rowing Championships team. By performing well this weekend at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, these junior boys will be able to set themselves up for success at both the Australian Rowing Championships and then at Junior Trials.
Tyler Fitzpatrick
Tyler Fitzpatrick is a promising young sculler coming out of the smaller Victorian club, Essendon Rowing Club. He has posted outstanding results this season, including a stellar 16-second win at the Melbourne Head Regatta last November against a field of 47. Furthermore, at the Wenduress Ballarat Regatta a couple of weeks ago, he again demonstrated his speed, turning in a rapid performance, beating the second-place finisher by a staggering 37 seconds. Although he didn’t compete at the RNSW Small Boats Regatta at the end of January against some of the top competition New South Wales has to offer, I believe he could throw down a courageous win this weekend.
Williams Spuij
Another contender this weekend is Williams Spuij, a sculler out of Leichard Rowing Club. William competed valiantly at this season’s December NTT time trial, where he placed fourth in the field of under men’s scullers over the 5km course. He has also had experience racing at the regatta centre, where he placed fourth in his respective division at the RNSW Small Boats regatta, just last week. The Sydney local could use the home ground to his advantage over the interstate competition.
Alexander Tailby
One more to watch out for: fresh out of the U17 season is Alexander Tailby from Radford College. Although he has raced the scull less than others this season, he did perform valiantly at last year’s national championship – recording A-final visits in both the U17 double and coxed quad – an awesome effort. It will be a big ask for him to break into the medals this weekend, but he still stands a chance.
Prediction
With such a large and diverse field of athletes in this event, many of the top scullers are instead contending in the U19 single scull rather than the schoolboy counterpart, making it hard to draw a prediction. With that said, I believe Tyler Fitzpatrick from Essondan Rowing Club will be able to get the job done over his 32 competitors.
