Germiston Lake to host huge RMB VLC National Sprints Regatta
The Victoria Lake Rowing Club hosts the 116th edition of the RMB VLC National Sprints Regatta on 27 and 28 January at Germiston Lake.
Almost 1 000 boats will be in action at the two-day event, incorporating school-level rowers through Masters competitors, in their seventies and eighties, and the elite athletes who will represent South Africa at the Paris Olympics in July and August.
Competitors from all corners of the country will test their talent in a thrilling and vibrant spectacle.
The RMB National Squad, South Africa’s senior Olympic rowing team, will use the event as part of their Olympic preparations, with Christopher Baxter and John Smith (men’s pair) and Courtney Westley (women’s single scull) having already qualified for Paris.
On the weekend, however, they’ll be representing their clubs, which will serve as an inspiration for rowers of all ages. The public is also being encouraged to visit the RMB National Squad under their RMB Gazebo throughout the weekend.
Prominent participants included Katherine Williams and Holly Crews in the women’s double sculls, Paige Badenhorst, Courtney Westley, and University Games medallists, Chloe Cresswell and Nadia Gaspari.
An exciting duel is expected in the men’s pairs category between a number of teams, including John Smith and Henry Torr, Christopher Baxter and James Mitchell, and Adriaan Venter and Luc Daffarn.
Smith was, memorably, a member of the Oarsome Foursome who captured gold at the London Olympics in 2012 in the lightweight coxless fours event. Two years later, he and fellow Olympic gold medallist, James Thompson, won gold in the lightweight double sculls at the World Championships.
At the 2016 Olympics, in Rio, Lawrence Brittain and Shaun Keeling won Olympic silver in the men’s coxless pairs.
South African rowers have been consistent medal threats for quite some time, and since readmission to the Olympic Games in 1992, apart from the above successes, Donovan Cech and Ramon di Clemente also won bronze in the men’s coxless pair in Athens in 2000.
RMB has a partnership with Rowing South Africa, which spans grassroots development, to schools, universities and the RMB National Squad.
Darryl Williams, Chairman of the Victoria Lake Rowing Club, looking forward to the Nationals, said: “We eagerly anticipate another successful RMB VLC National Sprints Regatta. The presence of our national rowers adds a special significance to the event, especially in an Olympic year.”
Head Coach of the RMB National Squad, Tiago Loureiro, said the Nationals is a fantastic opportunity for the entire rowing community to come together and compete in short course competition.
“This regatta makes racing more spectator-friendly while exposing junior, student, under-23 and Masters rowing to the RMB National Squad,” he explained. “I am looking forward to some exciting racing.”
Grant Dodds, the RMB National Squad Technical Performance Manager, thanked RMB for its long-standing support of the Sprint National Championships, saying: “We really value the support from RMB that makes this all possible. It’s a vital event for the ongoing development of the sport.
“Being over 1000m, the racing is always incredibly close. It is always a real highlight of the rowing calendar, and we encourage rowing enthusiasts, as well as first-time spectators, to come and enjoy Olympians in action.”
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