Penwith Schools Indoor Rowing Championships 2009

The Penwith School Sports Partnership Indoor Rowing Championships was held at Mounts Bay School on the 24th March. The event, run by Martin Salome, members of the Penwith SSP team and the ARA, saw entrants from four partnership secondary schools.

Hosts Mounts Bay entered a large number of pupils, keen for success on their home turf. The lower two age groups saw Mounts Bay take an early lead in the team competition, with wins in both year seven categories. Jessie Pender-Carter rowed an impressive 503 metres, scoring 102% of the gold medal target. This was Jessie’s personal best and meant that she was the best performing year 7 pupil of the day, male or female!

The year 8 boys race was won by Edward Francis-Smith of Humphrey Davey, achieving 100% of the gold medal target in 817 metres. In the girls section Harley-Lily Jackson scored a win for St Ives, rowing 650m in 3 minutes.

Barney Poznansky kept the St Ives winning streak going in the year 9 boys race, whilst Cape Cornwall swept the board in the year 9 girls race. Cape then went on to win the year 10 boys category by a large margin, with a great performance by Oliver Semmens. Mounts Bay managed to bounce back in the year 10 girls race with a win by Jade Sedgeman. The final race of the day was the year 11 boys, with Jeremy Hitchens from Cape triumphing.

The overall team competition was won by Cape Cornwall, a well deserved result from a school with a well established rowing club run by members of Cape Cornwall gig club.

Rhiannon Halliday – ARA HSCT Coach, Cornwall