SUBC's men's eight won their 1000 metre and 6,000 meter events at the recent Nam Chang International Regatta.
Last Thursday (15 August 2024), with a few weeks of solid training on the beautiful waters of Lane Cove, the 11 strong contingent made the journey north to experience all that Chinese rowing has to offer at the 2024 8th Nanchang Masters Regatta & Prestigious Universities’ Invitational Gan-Yue Intercity League. It unfortunately was not smooth sailing on the way over. Our bow seat, the best out of Canberra since the ACT won the Kings Cup all the way back in 1997, Will Gregory and Will Wiff, the man who has been demoted to the 12 and under slopes at Perisher, both had their connecting flight from Guangzhou cancelled. Taking it in their stride the boys got to explore the Chinese countryside via bus, train and Hànbǎobāo before joining up with us at Teensen Genesis School on Friday afternoon. However, for the rest of the group, it was a late night after a flight delay, getting into the hotel at 2am and before we knew it, we were off to the course to rig the boat and some training before a cultural excursion in the afternoon.
At Teensen Genesis School all the universities competing - which included Yale, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge and 2 universities from Japan – presented the university and rowing life that exists at their respective universities. Of course, we had to remind everyone that Sydney University is known colloquially as “The Home of Rowing” and how we have the best water to row on! There was a Q&A session with Marcus getting asked the all-important question “What is your 2k?”, his answer was met with oohs and ahhs from the crowd (power to weight erg was not asked). After the formalities, the crew were able to meet some of the students by competing in a 5-person erg race, two rowers and 3 students aiming to see who could get 2k done the quickest. There was also a drawing class where you could learn to draw Chinese characters and a fan making section in Tie Dye. To really get the full school day experience we were treated to dinner at the school cafeteria.
In the evening, the group was split into two, with the majority going on a walk through the heart of Nanchang. With a few of the boys put on a show for the locals with their pitch-perfect rendition of Waltzing Matilda, with 100s of locals and a few Tik Tok influences looking on in awe of their talent. Lizzie and Marcus however went off to a community face-to-face, doing some interviews and another presentation on the university. The highlight being having a few young kids (under 6) to come and try on the erg and a little 100m erg challenge to cap it off.
Day 2 marked the all-important 1k race and the battle for glory in Nanchang. The gameplan was simple. Execute the first 40 strokes trying to get the most distance per stroke (simple yes but in a foreign boat and oars it is easy to forget). The heat went to plan with the crew getting through and able to keep the powder dry, a massive bonus heading into the final in the afternoon. Nerves were high on the bus heading down to the course for the final, but the crew was confident they could get the job done. After a rousing speech from coach Pete that would compare to Russell Crowe in the Gladiator, the crew pushed off in what were fast conditions with a good puff of tail going straight down the course. The Sydney University crew was down 1 or 2 seats in the first 10 strokes with conditions favouring the competition comprising in smaller bodies but once the boat got up to full speed it was full steam ahead from there with each 100m the boys coxed by Lizzie were striding out more and more to take a commanding win.
To celebrate the regatta (and of course the Sydney University win!) there was a Gala Dinner following the regatta with plenty of music, food and rice wine. The crew performed another lovely rendition of Waltzing Matilda, however, they struggled to reach the same heights off the water as they did on the water with a few technical difficulties with the guitar and slightly off key, but the crowd still loved every second of all the performances from the universities. The night was capped off with a massive conga line, cake and a DJ making it a great night of celebration.
With a big 6k time trial in the morning, it was straight to bed for the rowers who made sure they were at their physical best for a gruelling race in the heat of Nanchang. Motivations and vibes were high with the crew looking to end the weekend on a high note. The goal was to hold themselves to a high standard and stay on the speed that would bring home the win. It was a mental challenge to stay hungry in a long race in the sweating heat, but the crew managed to hold form and power charging to a resounding victory and set a new course record (was the course 6km this year, most definitely not, but we will take the record). The crew was awarded their medals and trophy to cap off a great weekend of racing.
The afternoon saw us get to experience all that Nanchang has to offer with trips to the National Virtual Reality Innovation Centre and the Pavilion of Prince Teng. First stop, the innovation centre gave an insight into all things virtual reality and Artificial intelligence. With some of the highlights including the robot coffee maker and robot checkers player (who went undefeated to all those that tried their hand). The Pavilion was built in 653 AD and reconstructed several times. The pavilion features traditional Chinese architecture with wooden carvings, intricate tiles, and beautiful tiered roofs overlooking the banks of the Gan River. To cap off the festivities of the trip we were treated to a wine tasting at the course where there was plenty of cocktails and wonderful food on offer to celebrate all the crews from across the globe coming together with one common love, rowing.
After an early morning flight on the Monday, the crew had a few hours to explore Shanghai with a bit of sightseeing around the markets and the main shopping hub Nanjing Road in the heart of the city. Where there was plenty for food and some cinematic shots around all the tourists' traps in the city. All in all the trip was a success with a cultural experience like no other, with the crew getting to see China in a way not many get to experience.
The crew that went to Nam Chang was:
Bow: Will Gregory
Hayden Mounter
Sebastian Atterton
James Scott Brown
Will Fowler
Max Elliott
Alex Page
Marcus Della Marta
Elizabeth Bolster
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