On Sunday 18th May LEH Boat Club had 46 L4 (J13)pupils racing at the Maidenhead Junior Regatta in nine Quads, all the crews had a great day of racing - every crew got to race twice and four of the crews made it through to the semi-final in their Groups. All the girls enjoyed their first experience of a regatta. The J13 Quad of Sabri Chavda, Annis Russell Fraser, Isabella James, and Chen Yu Hong had this to say about their day:

"On Sunday 18th May, the J13 rowing squad travelled to Maidenhead for our very first regatta. The atmosphere was full of excitement and anticipation as we prepared to compete in a series of 500m races. Nine quads took to the water, and it was a fantastic opportunity to put into practice everything we’ve been working on during training.

Nerves were creeping in as this was our first regatta, but everyone was ready to go and excited to get started. It was a team effort as we rigged the boats and put blades in each of the four quads.

The morning got off to a great start, with a packed schedule of races and brilliant weather adding to the upbeat mood. Importantly, there were no capsizes, and the crew changes and boat handling all ran smoothly. A huge thank you goes to all the parents and supporters who came along – their cheers from the sidelines gave us a real boost and made the event even more special.

From the first races, it was clear this would be a day of tight races and high standards, but our crews held their own and delivered some outstanding performances. The racecourse was very difficult to navigate for our coxes as we had to paddle down to the start while skillfully avoiding the race happening next to us. Once we were there, we met our opponents with a smile and the race had begun.

Throughout the 500m distance each boat rowed with determination and endurance to finish their races. After doing the sprint starts we had practiced for so long we were almost two boats in front of the other crew, which also belonged to LEH! By the time we were finished and the horn sounded, we were euphoric. Though we had just been racing against our friends we were through to the semifinals!

As the day progressed, the competition heated up. Four of our J13 quads made it through to the semi-finals, an impressive achievement given the strong field of competitors, which included crews from established clubs and schools such as Maidenhead, Henley, and Headington.

Each crew showed real racing spirit and technical skill, although none of the quads passed into the finals, the races were closely competed and were enjoyed thoroughly. I think everyone had great fun competing and did so well for their very first regatta experience

After derigging it was time to go, and I am confident in saying that Maidenhead was the first and certainly not the last regatta. The J13s should be extremely proud of their performances – each crew showed great spirit, effort, and sportsmanship throughout the day. For many, it was their first experience of racing at a regatta, and they handled the pressure brilliantly."

Well done to all our J13 rowers!