Head of the River (New South Wales)

The Head of the River rowing regatta refers to two New South Wales school rowing competitions, one for boys and one for girls.

NSW Schoolboy Head of the River Regatta

The schoolboys NSW Head of the River regatta is run by the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales, and takes place in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia every March at the Sydney International Regatta Centre (SIRC).

From 1936-1995 the races were held on the Nepean River and before that on the Parramatta River. It is the culmination of the GPS (Greater Public Schools) rowing season for senior crews, and has been held since 1893. Eight of the nine GPS schools, Sydney Grammar School, The King's School, Newington College, Sydney Boys High School, The Scots College, St. Joseph's College, St. Ignatius' College and The Shore School, send their crews to the Head of the River.The race is held over 2000m. It is the last race of the official GPS rowing season, following on from the Riverview Gold Cup held on the Lane Cove River. The Head of The River is one week after other summer sports premierships (such as Cricket and Basketball) have finished. This enables over ten thousand school students and other supporters to attend. Despite this, in 2008, Head of the River will be held on Wednesday, with all GPS schools giving Thursday off as a holiday to students due to a booking by NSW Kayak Association.

The current (SIRC) record time (and former Junior World Record / World Best time until 2001) for the First VIII is 5:42.6 set by the Shore School on 23 March 1996.fact|date=March 2008

During the 2007 Head of the River the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority attempted to test some rowers of the Shore and Kings first eight crews.cite news| first = Luke | last = McIlveen| coauthors = Dale, Amy | title = School students stripped naked for drug tests| url = http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21502257-2,00.html| work = News| publisher = The Daily Telegraph| location = Sydney, NSW| date = 2007-04-04| accessdate = 2008-03-10]

Regatta winners

The regatta consists of ten races.

Past Winners

The 1st IV - Yaralla Cup

The 4th IV - Penrith City Council Cup

The 2nd Year 10 VIII

1st VIII (The Head of the River) - NSW Union of Ex-Oarswomen Rose Evans trophy

Open Four - University of New South Wales Trophy

Year 9 Coxed Quad Scull - UTS Rowing Club Perpetual Trophy

References

ee also

*Head of the River (Australia)
*Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales
*Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools

External links

* [http://www.rowingaustralia.com.au/homepage.shtm Rowing Australia]
* [http://www.rowingnsw.asn.au/ NSW Rowing]
* [http://regattacentre.nsw.gov.au/ Sydney International Rowing Centre]
* [http://www.aagps.nsw.edu.au AAGPS]
* [http://www.aisnsw.edu.au/cis/ NSWCIS]