𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝟰 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮

Saturday morning - the delicate crisp air greeting one's face, the faint sounds of David Bowie "Blue Jean" in the far distance, tents being hoisted ready for the day's performances, spectators' gumboots trotting on the dewy grass, the smile from the paramedic on standby in case things get a bit too hectic. No, this isn't Glastonbury festival, but just as iconic. We are reporting from the great banks of Champion Lakes, in preparation for the final Pennant to conclude the 2022 season.. Pennant Four!

As we head toward the back end of the season, from last minute sicknesses taking key rowers down, to Jack's Wifi reception not receiving the coach uniform memo - (lollypop top, blue jeans, white hat supercombo).. this regatta did witness its set of interruptions; but never fear, the Westies Army demonstrated their resilience, rose up to the challenge and as a result delivered some stellar performances.

Live from the green carpet as rowers mentally prepared for their races, the men's squad exchanged new season style tips with one another, showcasing the latest crocs, snap pants and new zooties, meanwhile the ladies opted to participate in a warm up exercise by setting up the almighty red tent (ok, Simon helped a little) and showing how it's done.

For the first races of the day, the lake was filled with a swarm of single sculls for the season's long anticipated time trials for the Men's and Women's A & B divisions. It was a fierce competition all round with rowers showing hunger for that States spot. Not a bad start to the day with Alex Rossi and Blake Whyatt taking out the silver and bronze in the A division as well as John Purcell and Charlie Stevenson bringing home the gold in their respective divisions. Next the girls singles were up, strong competition across the board with Freya Walsh and Maddison Ford coming out on top taking out a Gold and Bronze.

Intermission from the sculls, taking you to race 10 - the Women's D coxed quad. Under the guidance of Keana, the Ladies held it together consistently and came in at a cool second. Yeah clubbies (and Liv!) Back to the single sculls, Sam Clode the lone WARC scull in the Mens C division put on a show fending off the other sculls and gliding through the finish lines bringing home the silver.

As the majority of single scull races were completed, a welcome surprise from mother nature had arrived to shake things up for the second half of the regatta as surf boat rowing was the unexpected item on the agenda. Double scull crews proceeded up to the starting line, square blades buried, ready at the catch and facing up to the challenge.

The waters didn't seem to be double trouble for these crews as Alexia and Mia brought home the bronze in the Women's C grade double. Additionally, it was A+ effort indeed from Archie and Aaron pulling off a last minute dash for Gold in their race and finishing with Charlie and Aria in the UWA heat holding off 2 out of the 4 UWA crews to take home a bronze.

Moving onto the quads. The first race off the rank was the Mens B coxless quad in what was a very tight race. With seconds apart between all four crews, the boys backed themselves and rowed hard to  finish with bronze. A delighted D grade Men's quad paddled up to the deck as they secured silver holding off Curtin by a split second. It wasn't such pleasant news in the Men's A grade coxless quad as an unwelcomed visitor by the name of "Big Bad Crab" made an appearance in their race however they paddled away with their heads held high, moustaches intact and pivoting their focus to their next race.

Under the watchful eye and commands of Florence Barnett, The Womens c grade coxed quad placed a very comfortable first with the second crew under Izzey's guidance taking out a sweet silver. Soon after, bearing the brunt of the waves, stellar efforts from Sophie Gillies adding to her medal collection and taking home a silver in the D grade single scull.

It was big boat time as crews carried out their boats against the gustily winds with an eager spirit ready to tackle the seven seas. The added element of the waves made it anyone's game with the women's and men's B coxed eights coming home with bronze. For the Men's C grade coxed eight, it was a battle to the end with a difference of a second between first and second place with the westies crew taking home silver.

Next up was go time for our illustrious Men's and Women's A Grade 8 to take the stage. Head to head with our long term frenemies Swannies and despite much quicker times since last pennant regatta for the both races, it still was not quite enough to hold off the navy and white with both crews taking home the silver. 2 more weeks until States, is this a preview of what's to come, or do westies have something hidden in their back pocket? Stay tuned.

Notable mention to the greatest comeback of Pennant 4.. The Men's C grade Coxed Quad … What seemed to be a comfortable win for Uni with the crew drifting into a daze thinking of that celebratory sausage sizzle, the Westies boys launched a sneak attack, whipping out a 10 long and hard showstopper that made all the difference with WARC flying through those red buoys to take home the Gold.

As the day progressed, what used to be a lake was no more as ocean waves became more prominent at this point but that didn't phase the lethal "Jojo" taking third place and landing with bronze for the Women's d grade double scull.

With fatigue settling in coupled with winds building up momentum, posed a question mark outcome for the last race of the day, the women's c grade coxed eight. Two Westies crews presented themselves, with both crews fighting hard to take their wooden boats across the course, brilliant effort by crew 1 taking the silver and the crew 2 placing 4th milliseconds after Uni.

That concludes Pennant 4 and starts the countdown for regatta we've all been waiting for… States Championships 2022. A shout out to the Westies loyal supporter fan base - humans and canines alike who came down. We hope to see you with your pom poms in a couple of weeks!

Until the next instalment of your favourite rowing report - stay well and keep dry!

Pennant 4 Regatta stats:

- Overall medal count: 20 (Gold = 6, Silver = 7 & Bronze = 7)

- Weather conditions: 6.5/10

- Dejan planking in various locations within the Westies domain? Absolutely priceless!