CHS ROWING

1964 - 2017

Homebush Boys High School – Champion School of the inaugural season of CHS competition shown holding the Shield for 1 st Tub Pairs and the NSW Rowing Association Perpetual Trophy for the winner of the annual pointscore.

An Historical Study

Peter Bond

November 2017 CHS Rowing – a History

This chronicle gives a history of CHS Rowing covering the fifty one championship regattas conducted between 1965 and 2017.

Historical Perspective

The first NSW schools to be involved in rowing were private schools that became members of the AAGPS when that body was formed in 1892. The first GPS rowing championship was conducted in 1893 with the Head of the River regatta being continuous since then except for a period of six years during the Second World War. The first government school to participate in rowing was Boys High which joined the GPS competition in 1924.

Sydney Boys HS First Four 1924 – note the poppet oarlocks

The first school outside Sydney to take an interest in the sport was the Maclean District Rural School where a three man butcher boat was built by the students of the manual class in 1936. Two more equivalent boats were purchased by the school in 1937 and 1938 with intra-school racing beginning in 1937. The first inter- school regatta took place between Maclean and Grafton High in 1943 using the Maclean boats, a situation that continued until 1946 when Grafton High bought four butcher boats of their own. School regattas have continued on the since that time with the Head of the Clarence at Grafton being one of the biggest school regattas in the country.

‘Queen Mary’ the butcher boat built by Maclean District Rural School in 1936 The Combined High Schools Sports Association

The first government schools sporting body formed in was the NSW Public Schools Amateur Athletic Association (PSAAA), a primary school body set up in 1889 when “state high schools were virtually non-existent”. As the number of secondary schools gradually increased, the NSW Combined High Schools Amateur Athletics Association (CHSAAA) and the Girls Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) were formed as sub-committees of the PSAAA to co-ordinate sport in boys and girls high schools respectively. These sub-committees operated under the umbrella of the PSAAA which controlled the distribution of government funds and many other key functions. Following the dramatic growth in the number of high schools under the Wyndham scheme, the control of school sport was reorganized with the Combined High Schools Sports Association (CHSSA) and GSSSA becoming autonomous bodies in 1969. In keeping with the departmental policy of co-educational schooling and as a follow on from the amalgamation of boys and girls competitions in many sports into combined carnivals, the CHSSA and GSSSA were amalgamated in 1981 under the one title of CHSSA – commonly referred to as CHS.

1964 - CHS Rowing Established

The origins of CHS Rowing were outlined by the inaugural convener Sid Hawkes in his foreword to the first annual rowing championships in 1965: “CHS Rowing began as a small after School group in the Winter of 1962, at Narwee Boys High School. The following Summer it was admitted as a recognised sport. The following year, both Ibrox Park High School and Mosman High School made their appearance at regattas. In 1964, The CHSAAA decided to officially adopt the sport giving Mr S Hawkes of Narwee High the authority to act as convener on their behalf”

At that time, school events in eights, regulation fours and tub pairs were included on the programs of many Sydney metropolitan regattas. Government school crews were eligible to compete in these events but were outclassed by the more experienced GPS crews. In the first season of CHS Rowing, separate CHS events were conducted at a limited number of regattas for CHS crews in regulation fours and tub pairs. The season culminated in the CHS Championships with the title of Champion School decided by a pointscore covering all regattas that included CHS events. In the 1964/65 season, CHS events were raced over half a mile compared to one mile for the school regulation fours. Following that first season, race distances went metric with CHS tubs over 500 metres and CHS fours over 1000 metres compared to school regulation fours over 1500 metres. 1965 - The First CHS Championship Regatta

The first CHS Championships were conducted on Saturday 3 rd April 1965 as part of the Metropolitan Regatta hosted by Sydney Rowing Club on the at Abbotsford. Fifteen schools participated with ten schools from metropolitan Sydney, three from the North Coast Region and two from the ACT. As the schools of the ACT were under the directorship of the NSW Department of Education at the time, schools from both NSW and the ACT were eligible to participate in CHS events. Competing schools: Cleveland Street Boys HS, Drummoyne Boys HS, The Forest HS, Homebush Boys HS, Hunters Hill HS, Ibrox Park Boys HS, Narwee Boys HS, Newtown Junior Boys HS, Sydney Boys HS, Vaucluse Boys HS - Grafton HS, Lismore HS, Richmond River HS - Narrabundah College, Telopea Park HS.

Four events were conducted in 1965 with the inaugural winners being: First Four (Champion Four) - Lismore HS, Second Four - Ibrox Park Boys HS, First Tub Pair - Homebush Boys HS and Second Tub Pair - Richmond River HS. Homebush Boys HS won the title of Champion School with 42 points ahead of Narwee Boys HS on 36 points.

Finish of the 1965 Champion Four - 1st Lismore HS, 2 nd Narwee Boys HS, 3 rd Richmond River HS

1966 & 1967 - The Second and Third Championships

The second and third seasons of CHS rowing competition followed the same format as the first, with CHS events included at club regattas around the harbour and championship events conducted at Sydney Rowing Club’s Metropolitan Regatta. The increased prestige of CHS was shown on the cover of the regatta program with “C.H.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS” given the largest font on the page.

Although Sydney Boys HS had entered crews in the first championship regatta, these had been junior crews only. This attitude changed for the second championship regatta in 1966 with the convener’s foreword stating “Sydney High has realised our worth by offering us their very best Fours to compete against.” The Sydney High crews lived up to their reputation, winning both the First and Second Fours and taking the trophy for Champion School.

Program covers for the first two CHS Championship regattas

The Champion Four event at the 1967 regatta was a close tussle between the two schools from Lismore; Richmond River HS and the 1965 winners Lismore HS. A member of the winning Richmond River crew was Islay Lee who was to go on to become an Olympic oarsman, CHS convener and president of the Australian Rowing Council. In the First Tub Pair event, Homebush Boys HS’s win made it three in a row for the school which they backed up by winning the Second Tub Pair as well. Although North Sydney Boys HS had not featured strongly in the championship placings, their performances at lead up regattas won them the title of Champion School.

Sponsor Clubs

During the early years of CHS rowing, the schools were totally dependent upon the sponsorship of rowing clubs which provided the boats and coaching expertise. Although Sydney Boys HS had an established fleet and boatshed at Abbotsford, no other Sydney school owned boats. The situation was different in the North Coast Region where Maclean HS and Grafton HS had established their own fleets decades before. Vaucluse Boys HS was the first Sydney school to buy a boat which they used successfully to win the CHS First Four in 1968. Later that year, Homebush Boys HS followed suit, having a regulation four built with poppets in place of swivel gates, the only boat in Sydney to use that outdated technology. The following year, the “controversial poppets” were replaced with orthodox swivels. This boat enabled Homebush to win two CHS First Fours in the early 1970s. However, the convener’s statement of 1967 held true for all schools: “Rowing in the C.H.S. Schools could not exist except for the generosity of the Clubs in making both equipment and coaches available and for this we extend to these Clubs our sincere thanks.” 1968 - CHS Rowing “Arrives”

The convener’s foreword in 1966 had included the statement “With two years of good competitive rowing behind us, we can look in the near future to the time when a C.H.S. eight-oar race will be rowed. Then we shall have arrived!” The eight arrived in 1968 as the fifth event of the championship regatta, the first title going to Canberra’s Telopea Park HS. The First and Second Fours went to Vaucluse Boys HS and North Sydney Boys HS respectively while the Second Tub Pair had been converted to a Third Four won by Narrabeen Boys HS. Another change for 1968 was the venue, with the CHS events held in conjunction with club events on Iron Cove. The race distance for fours was extended from 1000m to 1500m while the tub pair remained at 500m. Telopea Park HS won the pointscore for Champion School.

A lightweight four was added as a sixth event in 1969, for oarsmen of not more than 10 stone 2 pound in weight with a crew average not more than 10 stone. Drummoyne Boys HS won the inaugural Lightweight Four event with Sydney Boys HS first in the Eight and Manly Boys HS winning the First Fours. Unfortunately other details of the regatta have yet to be uncovered.

Telopea Park HS – winners of the first CHS Championship Eight event. Jack Cannock (coxn), Steve Bisset, Chris Slater, Gary Napper, Jeff Pollard, Stan Bakker, Peter Harris, Pete Thompson, John Engeldow. Inset Nigel Murray-Harvey (coach).

1970 - A Change of Format

The regatta moved from the city to the country for the 1970 CHS Championships, conducted on the Clarence River at Grafton. Race distances for the Champion Eight and First Four were extended to 2000 metres, the Second, Third and Lightweight Fours remaining at 1500 metres and the Tub Pair at 500 metres. A significant change occurred in the pointscore system, with the title of Champion School determined by results at the championship regatta alone. Points awarded were proportional to the distance raced with one point per place per 500 metres. Points given for positions first to sixth were [C8+ and 1st 4+: 24, 20, 16, 12, 8, 4], [2 nd 4+, 3 rd 4+ and Ltwt 4+: 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3] and [Tub 2+ : 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1].

The stand-out school of 1970 was newcomer South Grafton HS who revelled on their home course, taking either first or second place (or both) in five of the six events to win the pointscore on 100 points ahead of the other local school Grafton HS on 63. The only event in which South Grafton did not feature was the Champion Eight won by Sydney Boys HS. Sydney had chosen not to travel with their full squad, entering single crews in the Eight and First Four only, though the four had not progressed past the heats. Over the years, Sydney Boys HS would be selective with their entries, balancing their commitment to the GPS with competition at the CHS level. In many years, only their junior crews would be entered (as had happened in 1965) while in other years, only seniors would be entered to secure the elite Eight and First Four events. This system has worked well for them in the Eight, with Sydney Boys HS securing 37 of the 44 races contested.

1971 to 1974

The structure of CHS rowing competition remained set for three years with no change in events or the pointscore although the venue of the regatta did vary. The championship regatta went to Lake Burley Griffin in the ACT for 1971, the only time the regatta was run outside the state of NSW. Penrith HS in their second year of competition won First, Second and Third Fours, topping the pointscore to be Champion School.

The 1972 regatta was conducted on the NSW Rowing Association championship course on the Nepean River at Penrith, considered to be one of the best natural rowing courses in the world. This began a fifteen year sequence of two regattas in the city followed by one in the country which reflected the relative number of city and country schools rowing at that time. Up until 1994, the city venue was to be the Nepean River although floods did upset the pattern in 1975. Sydney Boys HS won three of the six events to be Champion School of 1972 although Homebush Boys HS did take out the first of their two successive First Four wins.

1973 saw the introduction of two new events, a Fourth Four and the competition’s first sculling event, an Invitation Single Scull that became a championship event in 1975. In either 1973 or 1974, the remaining Tub Pair event was removed from the program. 1973 was the second year of competition on the Nepean River with the 1974 regatta being rowed on the Manning River at Taree, a course that the championships would return to many times. In both of these years, even though they won only one event at each regatta, Penrith HS took the title of Champion School due to their depth of rowing across all events.

1975 - Girls Rowing Introduced

A significant innovation for the 1975 regatta was the inclusion of an Invitation Girls Four event won by Taree HS. This was the beginning of a rapid and successful growth in schoolgirl rowing that led to the addition of another six girls events over the next seven years, all conducted over 1000m. Until the amalgamation of the boys and girls associations in 1981, pennants, and later medals, for members of winning crews were supplied separately by the CHSSA and the GSSSA.

In keeping with the sequence of two regattas in the city followed by one in the country, the 1975 championships were due to be conducted on the Nepean River, however flooding at Penrith caused the regatta to be transferred to Iron Cove. The Champion Eight was won by Telopea Park, the last win by an ACT school, providing a brief interruption to the continuous success of Sydney Boys HS in that event. Chatham HS from Taree became the tenth different school in eleven years to win the First Four while Sydney Boys HS reclaimed the title of Champion School.

Taree HS – winners of the Invitation Girls Four in 1975. Peter McHugh (coxn), Bronwyn Crisp, Megan Crisp, Jill Connellan, Jenny Blanch.

1976 & 1977

A Girls Lightweight Four and an Invitation Boys Coxed Pair were added for the 1976 championships on the Nepean River at which Sydney Boys HS dominated. Sydney won five of the seven boys pointscore events to convincingly win the title of Champion School. Their dominance was only broken by Taree HS in the Lightweight Four and Springwood HS’s Steve Foster in the Champion Single Scull. Steve was also a member of the winning Springwood Pair. 1976 was the last year of participation for ACT schools following the transfer of control of territory schools to the ACT Department of Education.

The regatta returned to the Manning River in 1977 with a Girls Second Four added to the program and the Boys Coxed Pair becoming a championship event. Host school Taree HS won four of the eight boys events although they were outscored by Sydney Boys HS for the title of Champion School. 1977 saw the introduction of a pointscore for Champion Girls School with Grafton HS winning the trophy.

1978 & 1979 - The Emergance of Co-educational Schools

Following the pattern set for CHS regattas, the championships were conducted on the Nepean River in both 1978 and 1979 with a Girls Third Four added in 1978 and an unaltered program run in 1979. The Boys and Girls Pointscore winners remained unchanged for 1978 but 1979 saw two new claimants with Taree HS winning the Boys Pointscore to be Champion School and Nepean HS on top in the Girls Pointscore. Up until that time, the strength in rowing competition had been with the schools running single sex programs. This pattern was broken in 1978 when Taree HS and Nepean HS demonstrated strength in diversity to become the first schools to win both boys and girls events at the same championship regatta.

At the 1978 regatta, the early pacesetters in girls competition, Malvina HS and Riverside Girls HS, each won their third successive CHS event. However, Riverside Girls HS was not to re-appear on the winners list until 1994 while Malvina HS would have one last success in 1980 before dropping out of rowing completely two years later, leaving the way open for co-educational programs to dominate the next phase of schoolgirl rowing.

In winning the Boys Champion Single Scull at the 1978 regatta, Dave Foster completed a triple for Springwood HS started by his brother Steve in 1976, while Taree HS’s win in that event in 1979 began a triple for Murray Doust that would lead to his representation for at the World Junior Championships.

1980 – Combined Pointscore for Champion School

For the 1980 regatta at Grafton, the program expanded from 12 events to 15 with the addition of a Girls Champion Single Scull, Girls Fourth Four for rowers in Year 10 or below and a Boys Fifth Four for rowers in Year 9 or below. At some time between 1974 and 1979, the race distances for Boys Champion Eight and Four had been reduced from 2000m to 1500m, making the distances of all boys events equal. For the 1980 regatta, while Boys Champion events and Second Fours remained at 1500m, the Boys Third, Fourth and Fifth Fours were reduced to 1000m. The title of Champion School, previously applied to the winner of the boys pointscore, was transferred to the winner of the combined boys and girls pointscores. The pointscore system was equivalent to that used by the NSWRA, with 4, 2 and 1 points awarded to the first three crews in a lockout scheme. A new trophy was awarded to the overall pointscore winner with the original trophy retained for the boys pointscore. Although the 1980 championships saw race honours well spread among many schools, Nepean HS prevailed in both the Boys and Girls Pointscores to become the first recipient of the overall Champion School trophy. The program of races was unchanged for the 1981 championships on the Nepean at which Taree HS won 5 of the 15 events as well as the Boys Pointscore and Champion School with Nepean HS taking the Girls Pointscore. For the 1982 regatta, the coxed pair changed to a coxless pair and a Girls Champion Pair was added to the program. Sydney Boys HS regained the Boys Pointscore trophy with 4 wins from the 9 boys events, but Taree HS’s strength overall gave them 5 wins and the title of Champion School. Nepean HS won 4 of the 7 girls events to retain the Girls Pointscore trophy. Among Nepean’s medal winners was Marilyn Kidd, who won her second Girls Champion Single Sculls ahead of selection to represent Australia at the World Junior Championships.

Marilyn Kidd First Australian representative woman rower from CHS.

A Junior Boys Single Sculls for students in Year 10 or below was added to the program for the 1983 championship regatta at Taree where Sydney Boys HS recorded 6 first placings to convincingly take out the Boys Pointscore while Taree HS’s depth in both boys and girls earned them the trophies for Girls Pointscore and Champion School.

1984 – A Change in Rowing Philosophy

1984 saw a significant change to the philosophy of CHS rowing that had previously emphasised sweep oared competition. At recent coaching conferences, national coach Reinhold Batschi had advocated sculling as a means of teaching the skills of rowing and, in documentation distributed by world rowing body FISA, the symmetry of sculling had been promoted as being more beneficial for the growing spines of young oarsmen than the uneven forces of the rowing stroke. A successful motion at the 1983 rowing masters meeting introduced quad sculls for both boys and girls in Year 9. At the same time, the hierarchical naming of events was replaced with “Champion” (open to all competitors), “Novice” (competitors in their first year of CHS competition), “Junior” (competitors in Year 10 or below) and “Year 9” (competitors in Year 9 or below). The events conducted in 1984 were: Year 9 Quad Sculls (previously 5 th 4+), Junior Four (previously 4 th 4+) and Junior Single Sculls, Novice Four (previously 3 rd 4+) plus Championship events in Four, Lightweight Four, Pair and Single Sculls for both boys and girls with Champion Eight for boys only. The Second Four events were omitted from the program in 1984.

The 1984 championship regatta was a triumph for Nepean HS who won 9 of the 17 events, the Boys Pointscore, the Girls Pointscore and the title of Champion School. Nepean HS won all six of the sculling events conducted and was to be a strength in school and junior club sculling for many years to come. Notable among these performances was that of Nepean’s Edwin Sargeant, winning the first of his many Boys Champion Single Sculls titles as a Year 10 student.

Second Four events were reinstated for the 1985 championships on the Nepean River where a resurgence of activity from the schools of the Northern Coast Region saw 12 of the 19 events taken out by Northern crews. Grafton HS with 5 wins took home the Boys Pointscore trophy while Maclean HS, also with 5 wins, took out the Girls Pointscore and trophy for Champion School. Although Grafton HS’s participation at CHS regattas had been continuous since the first regatta in 1965, Maclean had made very few entries until a positive commitment in 1984 began a period of successful competition that has earned Maclean HS wins at every regatta since.

1986 to 1989

Murwillumbah HS hosted the 1986 championship regatta on the Tweed River where North Coast Region schools won 16 of the 21 events conducted. In keeping with the introduction of quad sculling events for junior crews, Invitation Quad Sculls were added to the program for senior boys and girls. Sydney Boys HS chose to send junior crews only, enabling their sequence of ten straight wins in the eight to be broken by HS. The major honours for the regatta went to Grafton HS with 8 wins and a clean sweep of the Boys, Girls and Champion School pointscores.

Sydney Boys HS returned to senior competition for the 1987 regatta on the Nepean River, reclaiming the Eight as well as winning the First, Second and Third (now termed Novice) Fours to win the Boys Pointscore, however, Grafton HS’s overall strength in winning 6 girls and 3 boys events won them both the Girls Pointscore and the trophy for Champion School. In 1987, Nepean HS’s Edwin Sargeant claimed his fourth Boys Champion Single Sculls title, having extended his studies by one year due to absence overseas at the World Junior Championships. Edwin also won 3 consecutive Australian Schoolboy Single Sculling championships, creating a record that will be difficult to equal and will certainly not be surpassed.

Edwin Sargeant with coach Reg Galvin In 1988, the pattern of two regattas in the city followed by one in the country changed to a single year rotation between city and country, reflecting the change in participation in CHS rowing. Most of the boys schools that had established CHS rowing in the 1960s, notably Narwee Boys HS and Homebush Boys HS, had disappeared from the sport although Sydney Boys HS remained as a strong contender.

For the 1988 regatta on the Clarence River at Grafton, the 2 senior quad sculls became championship events while 3 invitation events were added: Boys and Girls Double Sculls plus a Girls Eight, bringing the program of events for girls into line with that for the boys. At the same time, race distances for girls became the same as for boys with Championship events and Second Fours over 1500m, Junior and Year 9 events over 1000m. Novice Fours were removed from the program for 1988 although they would reappear intermittently as invitation events until cancelled completely ten years later. Grafton HS and Sydney Boys HS tied in the Boys Poinstscore, with the trophy awarded to Grafton due to their greater number of wins, however Grafton were clear leaders for the Girls Pointscore and Champion School trophies.

North Sydney Girls HS made a spectacular debut to CHS rowing at the 1989 championship regatta on the Nepean River, winning 4 events including Girls Champion Four and Girls Champion Eight as well as taking out the Girls Pointscore at their first attempt. The 3 invitational events of the previous year had gained championship status with girls and boys rowing holding equivalent status from then on. Sydney Boys HS regained the Boys Pointscore trophy with Grafton HS being crowned Champion School for the fourth successive year. Edwin Sargeant’s younger brother Richard won the Boys Champion Single Sculls for Nepean HS and, like his brother before him, earned Australian representation to the World junior Championships. Another Australian representative was Jenny Clarke of Gymea HS who won her second Girls Champion Single Sculls prior to becoming a member of Australia’s Trans Tasman team.

The 1989 race program with 7 championship events, a second four and 3 junior events was to continue until 1995 with the addition of Junior Double Sculls in 1993 being the only change.

North Sydney Girls HS with their 1989 trophies – Grabrielle and Geoff Pritchard (coach) at centre rear. 1990 to 1995

For the first six years of the 1990s, Sydney Boys HS dominated sweep oared events, winning the eight and most fours at every CHS regatta. The one exception was the First Four which was won by four different schools during the period. This dominance saw Sydney Boys HS take out the Boys Pointscore in each of those six years as well as winning the title of Champion School in 1992 and 1993. During the same period, the girls honours were shared between Sydney Girls HS and Maclean HS who each won two Girls Pointscores and shared a third while North Sydney Girls HS won the Girls Pointscore in 1992. Maclean HS came to the fore overall being Champion School in 1990, 1991, 1994 and 1995.

After their great start to CHS competition in 1989, North Sydney Girls HS continued with wins in Girls Champion Eight, Girls Champion Four and Girls Champion Pair in each of 1990, 1992 and 1993 then disappeared from the winners list for fifteen years. In 1991, David Cameron of Maclean HS won his second Boys Champion Single Sculls before representing Australia at the World Junior Championships of 1992, four World Championships between 1993 and 1998 and the 1996 Olympic Games.

David Cameron pictured in 1988 holding the Howard Croker trophy for Boys Junior Sculls.

In 1993, Nepean Rowing Club introduced a Talent Identification Program that worked in conjunction with the NSW Academy of Sport. In the following year, squad members Simon Gray and Cassandra Dunn of Nepean HS won the two CHS Champion Single Sculls events, then in 1995, TIP students from Kingswood HS and Jamison HS dominated the competition to win 8 of the 14 championships conducted. From this group, the winners of both CHS Champion Single Sculls, Karl Parker and Leith Johanson of Jamison HS plus Meghann Russell of Kingswood HS went on to earn Australian representation. As quickly as these schools had risen to prominence, so they fell, with the TIP program being discontinued in 1996 and none of the participating schools re-appearing on the winners list for over a decade. The Gabrielle Pritchard, the Reg Galvin and the Terry Baskett Memorial Awards

In 1991, a trophy was introduced for the outstanding female competitor of the championship regatta. The award was in memory of Gabrielle Pritchard of North Sydney Girls HS who had died as the result of a car accident in Samoa in January 1991. Gabrielle had stroked North Sydney’s winning Champion Eight and Champion Four in 1989 and 1990 as well as the winning Lightweight Four of 1989.

In 1995, a trophy for the outstanding male competitor was introduced, named in honour of Reg Galvin. Reg, who passed away in 1994, had been a coach at Nepean Rowing Club where he made a major contribution to the sculling success of the schools of the Nepean District. Reg coached many scullers to CHS success and accompanied several of them overseas as their national coach.

In 2013, a trophy was introduced for the outstanding junior competitor, either male or female, of the championship regatta. The award was named in honour of Terry Baskett, captain of Nepean Rowing Club who coached junior rowers for over 30 years until his death in 2008. Terry had been heavily involved in the establishment of Nepean’s successful TIP program and had set up a rowing program for the Western Sydney Academy of Sport.

Gabrielle Pritchard Reg Galvin Terry B askett

1996 – Sweeping Changes to the CHS Program

The rowing masters meeting of 1995 introduced sweeping changes that completely rewrote the rules of CHS Rowing. Lightweight Fours, Second Fours and Pairs were dropped from the program, leaving 5 championship events: Eight, Four, Quad Sculls, Double Sculls and Single Sculls. The junior categories that had previously been classified by school year were changed to an age classification. “Junior” (Year 10) and “Year 9” were together renamed “Junior 2” for rowers 16 years of age or below. Junior 2 events included Four, Quad Sculls, Double Sculls and Single Sculls. A new junior category was introduced; “Junior 3” for rowers 14 years or below with 3 events: Quad Sculls, Double Sculls and Single Sculls. Novice Fours were retained. Race distances were set at 2000 metres for Championship events and 1000 metres for J2, J3 and Novice. Finally, the labels “Boys” and “Girls” were changed to “Mens” and “Womens”. These changes brought CHS terminology, status rules and distances into line with those of the NSW Rowing Association.

The first regatta run under the new rules was held on the South Arm of the Clarence River at Maclean in 1996. Although the regatta had been due to return to the city, Maclean HS was appointed as host to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of rowing in their school. The move away from sweep rowing was pronounced with the Womens Champion Four being the only one of eight sweep events offered to attract sufficient entries for a race. Maclean HS took regatta honours, winning the Boys Pointscore and Champion School trophies and sharing the Girls Pointscore with Taree HS and Grafton HS. After many years out of the winners circle, South Grafton HS began a phase of rebuilding with 4 wins in Junior 3 events.

Sweep rowing underwent a revival in 1997. Eight races were conducted at the regatta in Grafton including Champion Pairs (which had been reinstated), Champion Fours, J2 Fours and Novice Fours although racing in eights was not to return until 1999. With a low attendance of Sydney schools (neither Sydney Boys nor Sydney Girls attended), North Coast Region schools won all of the mens events except the Novice Four. Grafton HS and Taree HS shared the womens championship events although Sydney schools did win 4 womens age events. Taree HS took out the Girls Pointscore with Grafton HS victorious in the Boys Pointscore and Champion School.

1998 – The Olympic Course

The CHS championships were conducted on the Olympic rowing course at the Sydney International Regatta Centre (SIRC) for the first time in 1998. With only one day available for competition, all age group races were run as divisions giving multiple winners in most events although heats and finals were run for championships. To stay in line with NSWRA terminology, “J2” and “J3” had been renamed “Under 16” and “Under 14”. South Grafton’s concentration on rebuilding paid off in the mens events. Their winning J3 crews from the past two years stepped up to success in the three Mens U16 events and the Mens Champion Four to win the Boys Pointscore while Taree HS gained the trophies for the Girls Pointscore and Champion School. In winning the Mens Champion Quad Sculls, Irrawang HS became the first Hunter Valley school to feature on the CHS winners list although Taree HS had carried the Hunter Region’s colours since the second regatta in 1966. Six competitors from the 1998 championships went on to wear the green and gold of Australia: Tom Laurich (Barrenjoey HS), Krysten Winkley (Taree HS), Anna Seale and Kyeema Doyle (Mackellar Girls HS), Kate Morphett (Blaxland HS) and Livia Laborczfalvi (Crestwood HS).

1999 to 2004 – The South Grafton Era

For the 1999 CHS regatta on the Manning River at Taree, the U16 Fours and Novice Fours were finally dropped from the competition while Championship Eights returned. The program of events stabilised at the six championship events, three U16 sculling events and three U14 sculling events for both sexes that have remained set for these age groups ever since; the only change being one of terminology in 2003.

Sydney Boys HS returned to the competition in 1999 after a three year absence although they were beaten by South Grafton HS in the Champion Eight and Four. South Grafton HS’s overall strength resulted in their winning eight events plus the three pointscores for Boys, Girls and Champion School. The only Sydney school to feature in the boys events was Kirawee HS, winning Mens Champion Pair for the second time as well as Mens Champion Double Sculls with Daniel Stewart going on to Australian representation.

This began a period of six years from 1999 to 2004 in which South Grafton HS dominated CHS rowing, being Champion School in each of those six years as well as winning four Boys and five Girls Pointscores. During that time, the strength was certainly in the North Coast Region with Maclean HS the next most successful school in the number of events won, being second behind South Grafton in nine of the eighteen pointscore trophies awarded. The only school to challenge this North Coast dominance was Taree HS who won the Girls Pointscore in 2001, winning 25 events during the period compared to 34 for Maclean HS and 54 for South Grafton HS.

The victorious South Grafton HS squad of 2003. The trophy for Champion School is held aloft by the student in the front row 3 rd from right. The Girls Pointscore trophy is at centre rear. 2001 – The Final Program of Events

In 2001, the final addition was made to the CHS championship program with the introduction of Under 15 events in Single, Double and Quad Sculls, giving a full program of thirty events. In 2003, a change in nomenclature saw the labels “U14”, “U15” and “U16” become “U15”, “U16” and “U17” to maintain consistency with NSW Rowing Association and Rowing Australia terminology. One final change was made for the 2010 regatta with the distances of U17 events extending from 1000m to 2000m. The program has remained stable since 2001, including all of the events currently conducted: Single, Double and Quad Sculls for Under 15, 16 and 17 year age groups as well as Championship events in Single, Double and Quad Sculls, Pairs, Fours and Eights for both boys and girls.

2005 to 2011 – The Maclean Era

After playing second fiddle to South Grafton HS for the previous six years, Maclean HS prevailed in 2005 to win the Girls Pointscore and the title of Champion School. Maclean retained the Girls Pointscore trophy from 2005 to 2011 and were second behind Sydney Boys HS in the Boys Pointscore for five of the six regattas conducted in that time. Of the 180 events run during this period, Maclean HS won 52, well ahead of the next most successful school Sydney Boys HS on 39. These results earned Maclean HS five titles of Champion School in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. Maclean could well have added to these successes but were denied the opportunity due to flooding on the Clarence River in 2009 and the Nepean River in 2012 which resulted in the cancellation of both championship regattas.

Sydney Boys HS and Sydney Girls HS Dominate

After a period of seven years in which they had either not attended or had entered limited squads, Sydney Boys HS returned to CHS competition in full strength in 2003. For the twelve regattas conducted over the 14 year period from 2003 to 2016, Sydney Boys HS was to be unbeaten in the Mens Champion Eight, beaten only once in the Mens Champion Four and clear winners of the Boys Pointscore at every regatta as well as taking out 44 of the 108 mens under age events conducted in that time. Their domination of the boys half of the program gave Sydney Boys HS the title of Champion School in 2006, 2013 and 2014. This stranglehold on the boys competition was terminated in 2017 by Sydney Boys HS’s non-attendance at the Grafton regatta.

Sydney Boys HS – Champion Mens Eight 2006. T.Hurrell, B.Angell, J.Tiedgen, A.Farrow-Palmer, S.Gribble, A.Szabo, A.Pham, S.Cunningham, Cox: A.Huang.

2003 also saw the beginning of a similar period of dominance for Sydney Girls HS in girls events. This started with success in both Womens Champion Eight and Womens Champion Four in 2003 and continued with wins in either or both of those two events for the next eleven regattas. Although Sydney Boys backed up their championship wins with a significant number of firsts across all age groups, Sydney Girls did not achieve overall success for another ten years. In 2013, with five age group winners supporting success in the Champion Eight and Four, Sydney Girls HS took out the Girls Pointscore for the first time since 1995. Sydney Girls have maintained that advantage ever since, winning 40 of the 68 womens events conducted over the last five years to convincingly win the Girls Pointscore in each of those years as well as being Champion School in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

The Hunter and South Coast Regions

While the schools attending CHS championship regattas have been predominantly from metropolitan Sydney or the North Coast Region, schools from the Hunter Region have been well represented during the last 20 years. For the first 30 years of the competition, Taree HS was the sole Hunter Region representative, being the sixth most successful school in the history of CHS Rowing. After sporadic attendances during the 1990s, schools from the Hunter Valley became regular competitors in the 2000s with 7 Newcastle based schools winning events, the most successful being Merewether HS on 9 wins and Maitland Grossmann HS with 11. Schools from the South Coast Region have made limited appearances at championships regattas with Nowra HS on 3 wins the only school to make any impression.

Maitland Grossmann HS - 2016

Some Statistics

Over the 51 championships conducted since the first regatta in 1965, Sydney Boys HS has been the most successful school with 168 wins restricted to boys events (31.7 % of the boys results and 17.2% of the total across boys and girls). The three North Coast Region co-educational schools have been the next most successful, winning events in both boys and girls disciplines; Macelan HS - 154 wins (15.8% of the total), Grafton HS – 111 wins (11.4%) and South Grafton HS – 91 wins (9.3%). Sydney Girls HS rounds off the top five with 84 wins in girls events (18.9% of the girls and 8.6% of the total). The remaining schools with ten or more wins are Taree HS – 78 (8.0%), Nepean HS – 44, Murwillumbah HS – 25, North Sydney Girls HS – 23, Mackellar Girls HS – 12, Maitland Grossmann HS – 11, Penrith HS – 10 and Homebush Boys HS – 10.

The sixteen regattas conducted in the 2000s have been overwhelmingly dominated by four schools that between them have won 310 of the 463 events conducted in that time; 101 wins to Maclean HS, 85 to Sydney Boys HS, 64 to South Grafton HS and 60 to Sydney Girls HS. Fully two thirds of the trophies have gone to these four schools with the remaining 153 wins shared by 35 other schools. Of these, Grafton HS with 43 wins and Taree HS with 27 have been the next most successful with Maitland Grossmann HS on 11 the only other school in double figures.

CHS Rowing – an Ongoing Asset

The Combined High Schools Championship Regatta has held a significant place in the regatta program of New South Wales for over fifty years. Aspirations for CHS success have driven the enthusiasm of many young rowers giving them inspiration and a purpose in their sport. CHS Rowing will continue to be a valuable nursey for the development of state and national champions as well as providing an ongoing source of Australian representative rowers well into the future. Most Successful Schools in CHS Rowing

Sydney Boys High School Maclean High School Grafton High School 168 wins 154 wins 111 wins 26 Boys Pointscores 2 Boys Pointscores 4 Boys Pointscores 5 Champion School 7 Girls Pointscores 6 Girls Pointscores 11 Champion School 5 Champion School

South Grafton High School Sydney Girls High School 91 wins 84 wins 78 wins 6 Boys Pointscores 7 Girls Pointscores 2 Boys Pointscores 5 Girls Pointscores 3 Champion School 4 Girls Pointscores 6 Champion School 4 Champion School

Nepean High School Murwillumbah High School North Sydney Girls High School 44 wins 25 wins 23 wins 2 Boys Pointscores 2 Girls Pointscores 5 Girls Pointscores 2 Champion School