𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 - 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭

Well-carbed rowers from far and wide were welcomed by the first regatta of spring with clear blue skies, chirping birds and a mellow puff down the course. Indeed, the delectable conditions and zesty Champion Lakes aroma whetted the appetite of an already ravenous Westies contingent ahead of a two-course racing frenzy. State champs are finally here!!!

Despite sumerous (pun intended) spreadsheet errors, the squad excelled in the heats. Many Westies crews placed top 3 in their respective heats, thus progressing to the finals, some even taking convincing victories. Indeed, early jabs were thrown, but the signature moves were saved for when it mattered.

The women's D Grade Coxed Eight replicated the paw-to-paw argy-bargy between two alpha regatta dogs (Margot and Sebastian) as they claimed Westies’ first gold of the regatta. The dog-like mentality was then displayed by Kieran Reading in the Men's D Grade 1x, claiming bronze and the Women's C Grade Coxed Fours, snatching gold, silver and 6th. Meanwhile, doghouse-phobic Guster Lauftman hijacked the commentary. He had a job to do: ensuring people were aware of wildcard rower Georgia Seed who threw some heavy punches in the stacked Women’s A 1x Final.

There were no brakes on the Westies steam train as Joely ‘The Engine’ Patterson and Sam ‘The Skinny Controller’ Toland railed the rest of their fields, taking home gold in the B single sculls. We caught up with Sam after the race; he swears by a generous 6-month taper, 3 quality sessions in the boat class and a chugging premiership 500 (the 3rd 500). Furthermore, it was non-stop to Gold City as the Men's D Grade Coxed Eight caught the express with an impressive victory, arriving 0.23 seconds earlier than needed.

The Mens C Grade Coxed Four threw a firework display, winning bronze. A short time later, ‘Novice Flair’ Sophie Gillies and ‘Pocket-Rocket’ Alex Rossi in their respective division sculls put on flashy performances while achieving podium finishes.

As the smoke cleared, it was time for the second block of finals for the day. The Women's B Grade Coxless Four was first up. Whilst having a significant lead, the crew decided to celebrate with some open-season crabbing with 5 strokes left of the race. Despite the inappropriate time and place for such engrossing activities, the girls still snatched a formidable 7.26-second win. Feeling inspired by such action-packed racing, the Men's B Grade Coxless Four motored down the course, leaving nothing but a clean wake as they claimed a 10.18-second victory.

Blessed with the gifts of a short lunch break, the knights of Westies were bestowed with interviews conducted by the one and only Joseph Dawson, brother of Lord Xavier ‘The Magician’ Dawson. Watch this space for cheesy conversations 👀.

Speaking of cheese, the Men's Open Coxless Pair had a breathtaking cat and mouse pursuit claiming a close second to NTC hopefuls from Swan River. Next, both the Women's C Grade Eights stole the cheddar with an impressive double podium, adding gold and bronze to the board.

Up next, Men's C Grade Coxless Pair partners Archie Hoddinott and Aaron Crawley won our hearts that day. After an almighty dogfight with Fremantle rivals, they crossed the line in a potential dead heat. However, after consultation with NASA and high-tech satellite imaging, the consensus was the boys in red clutched the win by 0.02 seconds.

More medals were thrown into the pot by the Men's D Grade Coxed Four, Women's B Grade Coxless Pair and Men's B Grade Coxless Pairs, who all whipped up podium grade finishes. Notably, two of the newest and sauciest Nationals recruits (thanks, Simon), Charlie ‘Sprinkles’ Stevenson and Grant ‘Masterchef’ Hogarth in a scratch pair, dished up an authentic, spicy gold medal performance in the Men's B Pair.

As the sun drew closer to the horizon, Westies charged on in the Open Coxless Fours, Women's C Grade Coxless Pair and Men's C Grade Coxed Eight. The day's grand finale saw the schoolgirls (coxed by the wise George Warner) obtaining a fine addition to the Westies gold medal collection.

With Simon looking like a fresh tomato from Nonno Rossi’s garden, it had clearly been a long, hard-fought day of racing. Indeed, Westies had a good feed and devoured the other clubs on the medal tally. However, the Saturday feast barely touched the sides of the hungry Westies belly. It was time for the second course, Sunday.

More to come…