Winter Sport (Term 2 and Term 3 Nominations)

Winter sports for Terms 2 and 3 are currently open for nomination via Clipboard; these will stay open until Friday 17 March. Places in sports are limited, so please ensure that you nominate your daughter to secure her spot. More information regarding Winter sports will be distributed once nominations are finalised. If you are having trouble with your login credentials for Clipboard, please contact The Hive.

School Sport SA Swimming Championships

On Tuesday 28 February, a group of 17 swimmers represented Wilderness at the School Sport SA Swimming Championships. The group performed excellently with 27 podium finishes, including finishing first on eight occasions. The team finished the night in second place overall, with a total point score of 777 (just two points shy of eventual winners, Trinity College). We congratulate the girls on their strong showing and look forward to seeing them swim again at the Independent Girls' Schools in South Australia (IGSSA) Carnival next week.

Wilderness Hosts the SPS Regatta

Wilderness Rowing Club hosted the last Schools Premiership Series (SPS) regatta for the season. A huge thank you must go to our parent volunteers on the day and our Rowing Club Committee. The Wilderness Rowing Club parents, family and friends truly showed up and created such a wonderful, vibrant atmosphere and community. The club received positive feedback from Rowing South Australia and the Boat Race Officials on how well the regatta was run by the club.

Regattas are long days; we were fortunate to have Mrs Belinda Arnfield, Mr Ben Manifold, Mrs Rhiannon Giles and our new Director of Sport and Recreation Miss Ashleigh Young join us at the regatta in full support of the girls and sport. The rowing club was excited to welcome the Julie Chenery and the Georgina McGregor-Reid quadruple scull boats into our shed. The crews racing in them already seem to be getting great results. It was an honour to have Julie and Victoria McGregor-Reid (Georgina’s mum) join us on the momentous occasion.

The Schools Head of the River is on Saturday March 18. There are no spectator restrictions for the first time since 2020. We look forward to lining the West Lakes banks in a sea of Wilderness supporters. Congratulations to all Wilderness crews on making the A Final for Head of the River, based on their results averaged from the SPS regattas.

Eleanor Trovas
Director of Rowing

Wilderness Rowing Claims Intercol Trophy

Last weekend, Wilderness Rowing took part in the fourth and final School Premiership Series Regatta for the 2022/23 season. This regatta was made even more significant for the crews as they were racing Seymour for the 2023 Summer Intercol points tally. History did not favour our crews entering this regatta, with Seymour having won every Rowing Intercol tally and the First VIII race for the Intercol Rowing Trophy since it began in 2016.

The first crews to compete were our Year 8 crews, who are improving each week toward their first Head of the River event. Our Year 8Cs had a strong race, but were not able to claw back the early lead established by Seymour and finished in second place. Our Year 8B and A crews were next, and both these crews continued their strong form by earning consecutive wins in their respective races and giving Wilderness an early lead in the tally, 2-1.

The Year 9 crews took to the water in some closely contested races. The Year 9E, D and C crews gave it their best, but fell just short in their races against Seymour. We are proud of these girls for never giving up and fighting hard right to the last stroke of their races. Our Year 9B crew rowed exceptionally well and won their second Premiership race of the season in spectacular fashion. Our Year 9A crew had a good performance placing fifth just ahead of Seymour in sixth, taking the tally to a draw at 4-4.

Our Year 10 crews were up next with our Year 10Ds adding another win to their season record and finishing ahead of Seymour in second. Our Year 10C, B and A crews have had some tough racing this season, but they are improving each week and placed well in their events, unfortunately just behind the Seymour crews. These girls should be incredibly proud of their efforts as there are three girls from their age group selected in the Senior crews, making their results all the more impressive.

Our Senior First and Second VIIIs needed to win to draw the Intercol tally. Our Second VIII raced first. Seymour had won all Premiership regattas so far this season, while our Second VIII have rowed with a different crew almost every week due to injury, illness and changes beyond their control. With 250m to go, our Second VIII rowed past the crowd with a small lead over the race. With the cheers of the crowds willing them on, they stormed ahead for a clear water win to Wilderness for the first time in this event since 2009. It was an incredible effort and an emotional result for our girls and families. Finally, the First VIII race was underway. The Wilderness crew has been incredible all season, remaining undefeated in Schoolgirl races. Despite the nerves and pressure, our girls delivered another inspirational performance, just over two seconds ahead of Seymour and 12 seconds ahead of the rest of the field to win the Intercol Rowing Trophy for the first time.

This was a truly historic Intercol for our girls, drawing the Rowing Intercol Tally for the first time and with the First and Second VIIIs earning their first Intercol wins over their Seymour counterparts. Head of the River is now just a week away and we wish all our girls the very best in their final preparations.

Jon Trovas
Rowing Head Coach and Fleet Logistics