The New South Wales State Championships are the only opportunity we have to watch the entire schoolgirl fleet race each other before the Australian Rowing Championships. Most Victorian crews make the journey up to Penrith to get a better sense of the competition they face from the NSW crews come Nationals. It is an event dominated by NSW and Victorian crews, with just two hailing from Queensland. It is difficult to predict how the crews from each state will rank against one another, and the Victorian crews are currently quite close together in speed.
Firbank Grammar
Firbank have been the most dominant Victorian crew this season, having won every event they have entered. Last weekend, they took home the win at the Nagambie Regatta; however, the close result suggests the other Victorian crews are gradually narrowing the gap on Firbank’s lead. The Firbank crew, coached by Will Acherman, is yet to be beaten and will be looking to continue their dominant streak this weekend.
Pymble Ladies’ College
Pymble Ladies’ College has emerged as the dominant New South Wales schoolgirl crew and will be looking to assert that dominance over the domestic competition this weekend. The girls from Pymble put down an incredibly quick time at the IGSA Sport Regatta at SIRC two weeks ago, winning in a time of 6:36. They were almost 15 seconds faster than St Catherine’s NSW, who placed second. They remain unbeaten this year, and will be keen to maintain their winning streak.
MLC Kew
After having their worst result in several years last season, failing to make the Australian Rowing Championships and Head of Schoolgirls A-final for the first time in over a decade, the MLC first eight looks to be on the rise. Annabelle Eaton, who has coached many Australian underage teams and high-performance athletes, has joined MLC as the first coach this season. Although they haven’t yet beaten Firbank this season, they have tasted success, winning the 2026 Wendouree Ballarat Regatta by three seconds over Loreto two weeks ago. This crew is certainly one to watch, and I will be eager to see how they perform on Saturday.
St Catherine’s School
Under new head coach John Keogh, the reigning national champions have had a slow start to the season. St Catherine’s did not take to the course at all in term four, only making their debut two weeks ago. As a result, there were some ways off the pace, but you can bet a school with this horsepower and heritage will be gaining speed with every race – and will look to challenge for the podium this weekend.
Kinross Wolaroi
The light blue of Kinross leading a race is something we’ve seen so many times it’s almost a given. Maybe not this weekend, though. While the girls from Orange looked strong in the opening few races of the season, they’ve played second-fiddle to Pymble the last few weeks. Given this is the second year in this event for most of the crew, they’ll almost certainly be frontrunners by the end of the season, but will they be able to challenge this weekend?
Prediction
My prediction would be Pymble Ladies’ College in first place, followed by Firbank Grammar in second, and third place will likely go to MLC Kew.
However, the results of last weekend’s Nagambie regatta showed that the top five Victorian schools are only a mere four seconds apart, and the podium positions will be challenged by the crews from Loreto Toorak, Melbourne Girls Grammar and Wesley College. Similarly, we may see St Catherine’s NSW and Kinross Waloroi challenge the Victorian schools for a medal. I also wouldn’t rule out the University of Queensland crew, a combination of schoolgirl rowers from across Brisbane. It is a controversial move to enter a club crew into a schoolgirl event designed to showcase talent from a single school, which I know many first eight coaches do not welcome.
Nevertheless, we are in for a great day of racing on Saturday, which will provide us a glimpse into what we can expect in the schoolgirl eight at the Australian Rowing Championships.
