The Year 10 Schoolgirl Eight is still a relatively new event, introduced in 2020 as the premier Year 10 girls’ division one event at the APS Head of the River Race. The event was therefore initially dominated by APS schools. This event has continued to grow, with an increasing number of non-APS schools now participating, raising the question of whether we will see more girls’ schools switch to racing eights rather than quads throughout the year 10 season. This weekend, Wesley College, Carey Grammar, Caulfield Grammar, Geelong College, Geelong Grammar, Lauriston and St Catherine’s will battle it out for victory on the Barwon.
Wesley College
The girls from Wesley took out this event convincingly last weekend, in a crew I’m told contained half of the top eight girls and half of the second eight, producing two boats across division one and division two at even speed. Despite this unusual strategy, they still took home the win in both events. Pre-Christmas, they also took out this event, beating Geelong College by a convincing six seconds. They are the clear favourites in this event, and it will be interesting to see if they continue this strategy this weekend, or gain extra speed by racing in their top eight combination.
Geelong College
Whilst the girls from Geelong College have not raced in this event since last year, they convincingly took out their heat against Caulfield Grammar at the 2025 Rowing Victoria Schoolgirl Regatta in late November, winning by 17 seconds. They then placed second to Wesley in the final. The Geelong College crew most recently raced in Division four of the Schoolgirl Open Eight, placing fourth in the final and gaining some valuable racing experience against some senior crews. I will be eager to see how the Geelong College girls have progressed over the summer and rank up against the other year 10 eights.
Geelong Grammar
It is hard to predict how the Geelong Grammar girls will shape up compared to the other year 10 crews, given they do not race in year 9 due to their year away at TimberTop. However, after a year spent pushing themselves at TimberTop, the Geelong Grammar girls always emerge into the second half of the season tough, strong and ready to compete. The school also has a large rowing program, boasting four eights plus multiple fours of girls in seniors. This depth helps increase the talent level in their top crews. Although little can be said about the form of the Geelong Grammar eight before we have seen them race, they are always A-final competitors in this event, and I would predict they are likely to take out the top spot this weekend.
Prediction
In such a short event, raced over only 1km, a good start and a strong crew are crucial to success, as races can be as quick as three minutes. I would predict that this weekend, the top spot will be taken out by Wesley College, followed by Geelong Grammar, and then Geelong College in third place. This is arguably the most exciting event of the day at a junior schoolgirl regatta, and gives us a glimpse of what to expect in the coming years at the Head of the River Regatta.
