𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟮

The zooties are red, the skies are blue.
The table is set, it's time for course two!

The lake, so sombre and still, sparkled under the mellow spring star. The blossoming flora busked in a sublime mosaic yet to become a theatre of war. Truly, an eerily charming calm before the storm of day two galore!!!

Without the need for gongs and banners, the westies rowers picked up where they left off. Boats rigged, oars gathered, zooties up and carbs eaten, the red and black were ready to battle, never surrendering until beaten. 

The never die attitude was displayed by Westie's own Sam Clode in the Men's C Grade Single Scull. A blanket could have been thrown over the field between 3rd and 8th, but Sam tied a knot in his boat as he managed to hold his place from ANA and UWABC trying to roll him over. Undoubtedly, the rest of the shed fired up for some intense rounds of oar-to-oar combat.

Feeling hungry for a bite, the Mens D Grade Double Scull swung by the last-500 fast-food outlet to get themselves a bronze medal happy meal. Meanwhile, the Women's C Grade Coxed Quad deliveroo team driven by Anna Salmon and navigated by Keana Hall knocked on the door with a steaming gold medal seasoned with an extra-hot 0.22 seconds of victory.

Then, the dynamic duo of Caine 'sponge whisperer' Holdsworth and Aria 'covid specialist' Almassi, caused double trouble in the Mens B Grade Double Scull taking a convincing bronze medal finish.

Next was the Women's B Grade Coxless Quad, which Syked the opposition revealing they were Saturday’s dominant Women's B Grade Coxless Four in disguise. With the field frozen in fear, the girls motored down the course to a 12.09-second win, this time shellfish free. Nevertheless, they had a pearler!

Some hot fields saw the Open Double Sculls and the Women's D Grade Double Scull display valiant efforts. Later, fired up for revenge, the Men's B and C Grade Coxed Quads brought the heat and seared down the course with blistering speed securing 2 podium finishes.

The red storm was rolling in as Maddi Ford struck silver after a lightning-fast last 500 pushing an 11.6-second gap on the next place. What soon followed was Joely 'MVP' Patterson and Sinead 'not Keely or Kieran' Reading, thunderstricking their competition in a 20.86-second win.

When the sun reached its peak of the day, Joey 'The Technician' Dawson came out to play. With a microphone in hand and a camera at the ready, those in the boat park got a bit unsteady. Yes, he caught people off-guard and his questions saw people lose all self-regard. Stay tuned to see this expert in action; I am sure he will leave you without dissatisfaction.

Without further ado, it was time for more racing to pass through. Indeed, the Open Coxless Quads, Mens D Grade Coxed Quad and Women's C Grade Double Sculls all graciously flew. 

The sound of the Mario-Kart final lap jingle was in the air as the B Grade Coxed Eights scored a bullet bill from the mystery box and blasted through the line. As NASA is closed on a Sunday, a generous spectator, Elon Musk, remotely used his nearby Tesla to determine the women claiming bronze by 1.88 seconds and the men taking bronze by 0.07 seconds.

Off the bat from the close racing, the Men's C Grade Double Sculls had a good innings scoring a double podium, taking both silver and bronze. Then, the Women's D Grade Coxed Quad stepped up and hit for six bringing in the gold.

Finally, as the eye of the storm passed over the lakes, it was showtime. It’s the reason for enduring months of pain, rain and grime. The creme de la creme is what the state awaits; here comes the Open Championship Coxed Eights.

This year was particularly special, featuring the inaugural Ann Tamigi Open Women's eight. Despite the rivals fiercely jumping out of the gates, Westies left everything out on the lake to secure silver to finish an outstanding season for the Women’s squad. Next up are the men. The young, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed crew in red gave the much more experienced crew in blue a scare in the first 600. Then, made them work for their victory as they surged with 600m to go, only to step again in the final 300m to secure silver.

At the day's end, satiated with a full belly, Westies rowers had the time to digest that they had topped the total and gold medal tally. Indeed, having strong performances through all grades was a testament to all coaches and rowers, the committee, and the broader Westies community. The countless hours of work behind the scenes were reflected by dominant performances on the water.

What a club to be a part of, thanks to all involved and bring on next year when we will be back hungrier, wiser, stronger and faster.