On Saturday 8th June Canford School Boat Club held their annual House Regatta. The event followed its usual format with fast and furious racing, supportive spectators, some joyous music from Poole Borough Brass Band, a Pimm’s Bar supported by the Friends of Canford Rowing, and an excellent cream tea provided by Canford’s in-house catering. Highly informative and entertaining compering was provided by Will Moreland and Ed Johnson.
The overall winners of the House Regatta were Lancaster after a dominating performance in the senior categories. Boys’ Boat House Captain, Dan Coupe, collected the house trophy. The Regatta was followed by the Boat Club dinner with special guest Sebastian Benzecry (Cambridge University Boat Club President 2024) giving a speech that inspired every rower in the room. Seb obtained a B.A. in English from Princeton University in the United States from 2016 – 2020, with a certificate in Visual Arts, before moving on to Cambridge and the MPhil in Film and Screen Studies. Seb’s rowing highlights include winning the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley in 2015 and winning the Boat Race in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
The results for the individual events are as follows:
Event 1 Girls: Senior Coxed Pairs: Lancaster - Freya C, Ella J, Rebekka N (cox)
Event 2 Boys: Senior Coxed Pairs: Lancaster - Archie J, Dan C, Millie G (cox)
Event 3 Girls: Senior 1X: Marriotts - Susie J
Event 4 Boys: Senior 1X: Lancaster - Dan C
Event 5 Shell Girls: Quad Sculls 4X+: Day house Composite - Alice H (S), Rosie S (S), Lyra E-A (W), Scarlett S (L), Zygi H (cox) (S)
Event 6 4th Girls Single Sculls: Salisbury (Darcey W)
Event 7 Shell Boys: 4X+: Salisbury/Franklin Composite - Kangho C (F), Henry M (F), Alex G (S), Leo J (S), Zygi H (cox) (S)
Event 8 4th Boys: Single Sculls 1X: School House - Will T
Event 9 Shell Girls: Single Sculls 1X: Marriotts - Celyn H
Event 10 Shell Boys: Single Sculls 1X: Franklin - Henry M
Event 11 4th Girls: Coxed Fours: De Lacy/Beaufort - Ellen C (D), Ella D (D), Zoe W (B), Leena K (B), Amelia B (cox) (B)
Event 12 4th Boys: Coxed Quads 4X+ School House/Wimborne - Jayden C (cox) (SH), Ed F (SH), Will T (SH), Aaron B (W), Ethan G (W)
Event 13 Senior Girls: Coxed Fours: de Lacy - Isabelle K, Maddie W, Clem W, Elisabeth K, Devon P (cox) (S)
Event 14 Senior Boys: Coxed Fours: Lancaster - Dan C, Archie J, Arun S, Will F, Millie G (cox)
House places:
1st Lancaster
2nd Salisbury
3rd School House
Ian Dryden, Director of Rowing, commented:
The annual House Regatta is a highlight of our school rowing calendar, bringing together rowers of all ages and abilities together for an afternoon of competitive sport mixed with a lot of fun out on the river. We were delighted to welcome Seb Benzecry, CUBC President 2024, to Canford for the Boat Club dinner to talk about rowing after school. Thank you to all the rowing coaches, catering staff, our Guest Speaker, Seb Benzecry and our Development team, Rowena Gaston and Rachael Daniel for making the event one to remember!