The Head of the School Girls is the biggest female sporting event in Australia and is based over three days on the Barwon River at Geelong with around 2,500 females participating at the regatta.
The regatta is very inclusive which allows small and large rowing clubs and schools to compete at the regatta.
Jo Somerville was entered in the year 10 single scull. Jo had a solid race in her heat where she was up against a slick sculler from Gippsland Grammar who went on to win the final in this event.
Jo then progressed through the cutthroat repechage on Saturday morning to progress through to the semi-final.
The weather conditions for the semi-final on Saturday afternoon were tough. The temperature was around 37oC and there was a strong northerly wind which made aligning the boats at the start line a tough job for the umpires.
Jo got off to a great start and was in a strong position at the halfway mark in second place. There was a great race for the second place and progression through to the A final with a sculler from Kardinia International College in Geelong. The two scullers had a great race as they charged to the finish line. Unfortunately for Jo, she missed out on progressing through to the A final by a mere second.
In the B Final, Jo had a solid race coming in second, a length behind the winner.
Jo Somerville’s double partner, Lily Rose Krause, had a successful weekend in the open school girls single scull, progressing through to the A final. In the A final Lily contested for the lead in the first 500m of the race, before a run of hit buoys slowed her momentum. Lily come in fourth spot in the A final which was a great achievement with 35 scullers entered for this event alone.
This weekend sees the rowing action at the Footscray and Essendon Regattas on the Marybrynong River. These two regattas offer plenty of fun over the shorter race distances.
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