Current Y11 students, Katie Jackson and Lucy Richardson, and Y12 student, Ellie McClure, have commenced training for the upcoming rowing World Championship event in Italy.
Katie, Lucy and Ellie were recently selected for the U19 Womens Eight crew within the 2022 Underage Australian Rowing Team. They will compete at the World Championship event in Varese, Italy, from 27 July.
“Being selected is a massive achievement and I’m so proud of how much we’ve accomplished,” said Katie. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for our crew.”
Coming off an incredible BAS rowing season, Katie, Lucy and Ellie were members of Clarendon’s Senior Girls Open Division 1 crew that won Head of the Lake and Head of Schoolgirls. They were also victorious at the Australian National Championships, winning the U19 Womens Coxed Four and Schoolgirls Coxed Four titles.
The students have been training 12 sessions between Monday and Saturday every week: 5 on water, 2 on ergs, 3 in the weights room and 2 cross-training sessions. On Thursdays, they leave school for Melbourne and return on Saturdays.
“We’re in such a privileged position to have been offered this opportunity and Clarendon has been so supportive of our endeavours,” said Lucy. “I’m so excited to represent our country.”
From 4 July, Katie, Lucy and Ellie will travel to Sydney to participate in the Australian team camp. Then, from Sydney, they’ll travel to Italy on 11 July to begin training in Garivaet.
The last time Australia sent an eights boat to the World Championships was in 2017.
“It’s crazy to think that within months, we’ve progressed from rowing on Lake Wendouree in our school crew to putting on the green and gold in Italy,” said Ellie. “Thank you to everyone who has helped us achieve this milestone, especially our families and Clarendon coach, Nicki Plucinski.”
We look forward to following these incredible students on their journey to the World Championships and wish them all the best for their training preparations.