The prestige of capturing the Launceston and Henley Regatta big double is not lost on Scotch Oakburn College.
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Both its male and female crews were crowned eights winners over the 2000-metre distance on Saturday.
Scotch head coach James Russell said the college still treasured the history behind the longest continuously-run annual regatta in the world.
Head of the River and the state championships have taken higher priority for most Tasmanian rowers in recent times, but Scotch’s triumphs were dedicated to keeping a Tamar River tradition alive.
“There’s just great history behind it. I think it is very important to keep the rowing in Launceston,” Russell said.
“It’s 180 years that it has been going for and we just feel a small part of it, but it’s been very important for us to win over the years.”
Russell said Scotch did not take for granted claiming the two blue-ribbon races that first began back in 1823.
He could only recall being able to count fingers on one hand the number of times that both crews edged out their rival boats for best part of his two decades in charge of its rowing program.
“This regatta is very important as local regattas are dying because they’re all at Lake Barrington,” he said.
“I believe, as a school, we really love bringing rowing to the community.”
Scotch 1 were declared the schoolboys 2019 champions in a race in which the Tasmanian youth eights entered by invitation and unofficially crossed the line first by more than three boat lengths.
“So we used this as a real benchmark to see where we at against the youth eight, as it’s the best the whole state can produce,” Russell said.
“It’s a really good measuring tool for us to go forward at the state championships.”
But Scotch found a much tougher time of it in the schoolgirls’ contest against a never-say-die Launceston Church Grammar crew.
The No.1 boat maintained a boat-length lead through the final 500 metres to hold on amid tricky conditions.
Scotch finished the day winning 21 of the 28 races on the water, including 17 of the 22 top-division events.
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