Cornish schoolchildren thrive at 2012 School Games
Secondary school rowers from across Cornwall gathered at Newquay Tretherras School on Friday June 22nd, for the 2012 Cornwall School Games (CSG).
The CSG was originally intended to feature gig rowing races but, with the British ‘summer’ continuing to play havoc with the weather, high winds forces organisers to turn to plan b.
Instead of a gig rowing event, the assembled 25 teams and 150 pupils – from secondary schools throughout the county – competed in an indoor rowing competition.
Schools took part in teams of six, competing in three relay events for a coveted CSG medal. Two seeding rounds of 1000m races preceded a grand final over 2012m – a nod to this special Olympic year.
Racing took place across four categories: Year 7-9 open, Year 7-9 girls, Year 10/11 open and Year 10/11 girls.
There was close racing across the board, with 0.6 seconds between 3rd and 4th place in the first final – won by Fowey Community College.
The race for gold in the Year 7-9 Girls’ final was also extremely tense, with Torpoint Community College launching into frenzied celebrations upon clinching first place.
Mullion School took gold and silver in the Year 10/11 Open final – with strong performances from their Cadgwith and Coverack gig rowing contingent. The girls’ equivalent was also won by Mullion School.
Several schools had linked with local clubs to prepare their teams for the gig rowing competition, forging strong partnerships. Here’s hoping these partnerships will continue to develop for the benefit of junior rowing across Cornwall.
The rowing competition was run by British Rowing’s Rhiannon Halliday, with help from staff and young leaders from the local colleges involved. The rowing was part of the Cornwall School Games, which was organised by Cornwall Sports Partnership.
Rhiannon Halliday
