a band of brothers Daniel Schaub, Rotary Student from Scottsbluff, Nebraska I grew up in a small town of 15,000 residents called Scottsbluff, Nebraska. I had always been fascinated by the idea of travelling overseas, but in the Midwest, world travel is not very common. I was so excited when I found out that I was placed in Geelong and even more ecstatic when I learned that I would be attending The Geelong College. My mother’s first comment when she saw pictures of the school on the internet was, “Wow, you’re going to Hogwarts!” At my previous school back in the USA, swimming was regarded as the most intense of sports, with only 10 guys from two schools on the team. We swam nine times a week, nearly 25 hours for 16 weeks straight. The only way we made it through the season was by supporting one another. We swam for each other, not for ourselves; we were like a band of brothers. Because sport is mandatory at College, the training sessions cannot be as intense or frequent as at home. I noticed that swimmers were working hard at practice, but
they were training only for themselves. This was evident at the first meet at Grammar – we split into separate lanes and only mixed during the relays. The team practised harder than ever after the summer break. We started to cohesively mesh with Grammar, obtain countless personal bests, and refine our strokes in preparation for the big APS meet. But before that we had the Geelong Independent Schools Sports Association (GISSA) event. The meet was College’s first in GISSA. We competed against Grammar, as well as six other Geelong schools. The College boys competed well, with the Open boys ending the day on top and breaking Kardinia International’s multi-year winning streak. By the time APS came around, I felt the team was ready. The team did phenomenally, with most swimmers achieving personal bests. Despite landing at the bottom of the ladder, by no means was the season a failure. The entire team grew through the hardship of practice, and by the end of the season we were swimming for one another. I know that I’ll always have my Aussie band of brothers after this amazing swimming season.
Head of the river Peter Blanchfield, Director of Rowing On Saturday 22 March, 200 Geelong College rowers and coxswains headed to Nagambie for the annual APS Head of the River Regatta. After many training sessions and regattas our rowers were ready to tackle Nagambie’s renowned arduous weather conditions. A strong side/head wind greeted competitors, creating difficulties with starts and crew race plans. Our crews produced outstanding performances in these conditions to execute some of their best races of the season. Twenty-three of our 30 crews raced in A Finals with 15 crews achieving first, second or third. This placed the College equal second. Our Year 9 Girls Division 1 crew of India Watson, Zara Edgar, Layla Murrihy, Eliza Lawson and Edwina Doery, coached by Louise Monotti, continued their excellent form with a fantastic win. Our Boys’ and Girls’ First VIIIs had mixed results, with the boys not handling the conditions well enough to make the A Final but then producing a time in the B Final that ranked them sixth overall. Our Girls’ First VIII, being a smaller sized crew, found the heavy conditions trying but produced a very solid race to finish third behind Carey Grammar and eventual winners Geelong Grammar. It was excellent to see such a large crowd from The Geelong College Rowing Parent Support group and wider community. Our supporters’ tent was a hive of activity and social interaction. Congratulations to all rowers, coxswains, coaches and parents for another wonderful season of rowing. It is exciting to see the joy that this sport is giving to so many students at our school.
Jonathan Ng, Harry Kershaw, Fraser Mahony and Daniel Schaub, Rotary Exchange Student.
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