Head of the River (Queensland)
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The Queensland Head of the River refers to two high school rowing regattas in Queensland Australia, one for boys (Great Public Schools Association of Queensland Inc., GPS) and one for girls (Brisbane Schoolgirls' Rowing Association., BSRA). The boys regatta is held in mid to late March whilst the girls regatta is held in late August early September. Because of the lack of water at Wivenhoe Dam the boys Head of the River is held at Lake Kawana on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Due to the fact that the girls need 10+ lanes to race, the Head of the River is held at Hinze Dam.
Contents |
[edit] Queensland Schoolboys Head of the River Regatta
[edit] Schools
Seven of the nine GPS schools compete at the annual Head of the River. Only GPS Schools can compete.
| Crest | School | Location | Enrolment | Founded | Denomination | Day/Boarding | School Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Anglican Church Grammar School | East Brisbane | 1,700 | 1912 | Anglican | Day & Boarding | Blue & Grey |
 |
Brisbane Boys' College | Toowong | 1,600 | 1902 | Uniting Church | Day & Boarding | Green, White & Black |
 |
Brisbane Grammar School | Spring Hill | 1,400 | 1868 | Non-Denominational | Day & Boarding | Dark Blue & Light Blue |
| Brisbane State High School | South Brisbane | 1,900 | 1921 | Non-Denominational | Day | Sangria & Navy Blue | |
 |
St Joseph's College, Nudgee | Boondall | 1,470 | 1891 | Catholic | Day & Boarding | Blue & White |
 |
St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace | Spring Hill | 1,240 | 1875 | Catholic | Day | Red & Black |
 |
The Southport School | Southport | 1,200 | 1901 | Anglican | Day & Boarding | Maroon, Navy & White |
[edit] 1st VIII - O'Connor Cup
The O'Connor Cup for the 1st VIII was first presented in 1918. 1955 was the first year in Eights.
- 1983 The race was run but due to multiple protests the race was deemed a no race by the Headmasters at the time.
- 2005 The race was shortened to 1800m due to lack of water in Wivenhoe Dam.
[edit] Points Score - Old Boys Cup
The Old Boys Cup for overall points score was first presented in 1988. Only the 12 championship events count for points.
| Year | Champions | Points | 2nd | Points | 3rd | Points | 4th | Points | 5th | Points | 6th | Points | 7th | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 |  BGS |
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| 1989 |  TSS |
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| 1990 |  ACGS |
|||||||||||||
| 1991 | ACGS |
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| 1992 |  BBC |
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| 1993 | BBC |
|||||||||||||
| 1994 | BGS |
|||||||||||||
| 1995 | BGS |
|||||||||||||
| 1996 | BGS |
|||||||||||||
| 1997 |  GT |
|||||||||||||
| 1998 | BGS |
|||||||||||||
| 1999 | ACGS |
|||||||||||||
| 2000 | TSS |
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| 2001 | BBC |
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| 2002 | BBC |
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| 2003 | BBC |
|||||||||||||
| 2004 | ACGS |
|||||||||||||
| 2005 | ACGS |
|||||||||||||
| 2006 | ACGS |
|||||||||||||
| 2007 | GT |
106 | ACGS |
94 | BBC |
85 | BGS |
82 | TSS |
73 |  NC |
31 | BSHS | 8 |
| 2008 | GT |
98 | ACGS |
89 | BBC |
85 | TSS |
66 | BGS |
63 | NC |
62 | BSHS | 13 |
[edit] 2008 Head Of The River Championship Events
| Crew | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U15 6th Quad | BGS |
NC |
GT |
BBC |
TSS |
ACGS |
|
| U15 5th Quad | BGS |
TSS |
BBC |
NC |
GT |
ACGS |
|
| U15 4th Quad | BBC |
BGS |
GT |
BSHS | ACGS |
NC |
TSS |
| U15 3rd Quad | GT |
NC |
BBC |
ACGS |
BGS |
TSS |
BSHS |
| U15 2nd Quad | BGS |
ACGS |
NC |
GT |
BBC |
BSHS | TSS |
| U15 1st Quad | BBC |
ACGS |
NC |
GT |
TSS |
BSHS | BGS |
| U16 3rd VIII | BBC |
GT |
ACGS |
TSS |
|||
| U16 2nd VIII | GT |
BBC |
TSS |
ACGS |
BGS |
||
| U16 1st VIII | TSS |
GT |
NC |
ACGS |
BGS |
BBC |
BSHS |
| Open 3rd VIII | ACGS |
BBC |
BGS |
GT |
NC |
||
| Open 2nd VIII | ACGS |
TSS |
GT |
NC |
BGS |
BBC |
|
| Open 1st VIII | GT |
ACGS |
NC |
BBC |
TSS |
BGS |
BSHS |
[edit] 2007 Head Of The River Championship Events
| Crew | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U15 6th Quad | BGS |
BBC |
ACGS |
GT |
TSS |
||
| U15 5th Quad | GT |
ACGS |
BBC |
TSS |
BGS |
||
| U15 4th Quad | BGS |
GT |
ACGS |
BBC |
TSS |
||
| U15 3rd Quad | BBC |
BGS |
GT |
TSS |
ACGS |
BSHS | NC |
| U15 2nd Quad | GT |
BGS |
TSS |
BBC |
ACGS |
NC |
BSHS |
| U15 1st Quad | BGS |
TSS |
GT |
ACGS |
BBC |
NC |
BSHS |
| U16 3rd VIII | ACGS |
BBC |
GT |
TSS |
BGS |
||
| U16 2nd VIII | GT |
ACGS |
BGS |
BBC |
TSS |
NC |
|
| U16 1st VIII | GT |
ACGS |
TSS |
BBC |
BGS |
NC |
|
| Open 3rd VIII | GT |
ACGS |
BBC |
TSS |
BGS |
||
| Open 2nd VIII | ACGS |
NC |
BBC |
GT |
TSS |
BGS |
BSHS |
| Open 1st VIII | BGS |
GT |
TSS |
BBC |
NC |
ACGS |
BSHS |
[edit] Winning Head Of The River Championship Events
| Crew | 1st VIII | 2nd VIII | 3rd VIII | U16 1st VIII | U16 2nd VIII | U16 3rd VIII | U15 1st Quad | U15 2nd Quad | U15 3rd Quad | U15 4th Quad | U15 5th Quad | U15 6th Quad |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | GT |
BBC |
GT |
BGS |
BGS |
GT |
BGS |
BBC |
BGS |
BGS |
GT |
GT |
| 1995 | BGS |
GT |
GT |
BGS |
BGS |
GT |
GT |
BGS |
BGS |
BGS |
TSS |
GT |
| 1996 | GT |
BGS |
BGS |
GT |
BBC |
BGS |
TSS |
GT |
BGS |
BGS |
BGS |
BGS |
| 1997 | BGS |
GT |
GT |
BGS |
GT |
BGS |
ACGS |
TSS |
GT |
GT |
BGS |
ACGS |
| 1998 | ACGS |
TSS |
BGS |
BGS |
ACGS |
BGS |
ACGS |
TSS |
BGS |
TSS |
TSS |
TSS |
| 1999 | BGS |
GT |
ACGS |
ACGS |
ACGS |
BBC |
ACGS |
BGS |
BGS |
BGS |
BGS |
BBC |
| 2000 | TSS |
TSS |
TSS |
TSS |
BBC |
BBC |
BBC |
ACGS |
BGS |
BGS |
BGS |
ACGS |
| 2001 | BGS |
GT |
GT |
BBC |
BGS |
ACGS |
BBC |
ACGS |
BBC |
BBC |
BGS |
BBC |
| 2002 | BBC |
BBC |
BGS |
BBC |
BBC |
BBC |
ACGS |
GT |
GT |
GT |
ACGS |
GT |
| 2003 | NC |
ACGS |
BBC |
ACGS |
BBC |
BBC |
ACGS |
ACGS |
BBC |
GT |
BBC |
GT |
| 2004 | ACGS |
TSS |
BBC |
BSHS | GT |
GT |
ACGS |
BGS |
BSHS | ACGS |
ACGS |
ACGS |
| 2005 | ACGS |
ACGS |
GT |
ACGS |
GT |
ACGS |
BGS |
BSHS | ACGS |
BGS |
BBC |
BSHS |
| 2006 | TSS |
ACGS |
ACGS |
GT |
GT |
ACGS |
GT |
GT |
BBC |
BGS |
ACGS |
BBC |
| 2007 | BGS |
ACGS |
GT |
GT |
GT |
ACGS |
BGS |
GT |
BBC |
BGS |
GT |
BGS |
| 2008 | GT |
ACGS |
ACGS |
TSS |
GT |
BBC |
BBC |
BGS |
GT |
BBC |
BGS |
BGS |
[edit] Queensland Schoolgirls Head of the River Regatta
[edit] Schools
| Crest | School | Location | Enrolment | Founded | Denomination | Day/Boarding | School Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
All Hallows' School | Brisbane | 1300 | 1861 | Catholic | Day | Lightish Blue, White |
| Brisbane Girls Grammar School | Spring Hill | 1150 | 1875 | Non-Denominational | Day | Royal Blue | |
| Brisbane State High School | South Brisbane | 1900 | 1921 | Non-Denominational | Day | Sangria & Navy Blue | |
 |
Lourdes Hill College | Hawthorne | 850 | 1916 | Catholic | Day & Boarding | Silver, Purple and White |
 |
St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School | Corinda | 800 | 1929 | Anglican | Day | Navy Blue, White & Brown |
 |
St Hilda's School | Southport | 750 | 1912 | Anglican | Day & Boarding | Red, Yellow & Blue |
 |
St Margaret's Anglican Girls School | Ascot | 900 | 1895 | Anglican | Day & Boarding | Navy, White & Maroon |
 |
St Peters Lutheran College | Indooroopilly | 2000 | 1945 | Lutheran | Day & Boarding | Maroon & White |
 |
Stuartholme School | Toowong | 700 | 1920 | Catholic | Day & Boarding | Red, Gold & Blue |
 |
Somerville House | South Brisbane | 1200 | 1899 | Uniting Church | Day & Boarding | Navy Blue, Bottle Green & White |
[edit] History
Schoolgirl rowing in Brisbane has existed in one form or another for nearly a century. Both St Margaret's and St Hilda's include references to rowing in their school magazines dating back to the first decade of this century.
During this time, schoolgirl rowing was largely recreational. Towards the middle of the Eighties, several small groups of girls began competing in the Annual Queensland Schools Championships each September. By 1989 a mini-explosion of schoolgirl rowing had taken place. Most schools were operating from a local club with the help of club coaches or parents with a rowing background.
The following year a representative from three of these schools, Tony Elliot (St Margaret's), John Hanson (Brisbane State High School) and Peter Jell (Somerville House) decided it was time for a more structured season of racing. On 13 October 1990 the Inaugural Schoolgirl's Head of the River was held on the Milton reach of the Brisbane River. The seven schools that competed were All Hallows', Brisbane State High School, St Aidan's, St Hilda's, St Margaret's, St Peter's and Somerville House. Sixteen events were competed with 118 competitors and 3 entries in the Open 8+.
In 1991, Tony Elliot, John Hanson and Peter Jell formed the Brisbane Schoolgirls Rowing Association adopting the logo from the now folded Brisbane Districts Rowing Association. The logo depicts Brisbane's flower, the Poinsettia, over the top of crossed oars. The newly formed association conducted the Head of the River with additional competitors from Brisbane Girls' Grammar School, Clayfield College, Indooroopilly State High School, Kelvin Grove State High School and Stuartholme School.
By 1992, entries in the Open 8+ had doubled to six, the number of events expanded to 19 and 11 schools competed.
1993 saw the dominance of Brisbane State High School and Somerville House in the Open 8+ broken for the first time. Brisbane Girls Grammar became the first school to win an Eight's race outside of State High and Somerville. This year saw the first presentation of the BSRA Trophy for Open First Eights donated by the Grummitt family and was presented to Brisbane State High School. The trophy was back-dated to the Inaugural Head of the River in 1990.
Problems with the starting system in 1993 and doubts over the fairness of the river prompted the 1994 Head of the River Regatta to be held at Lake Wivenhoe for the first time. The Open First 8+ race was extended from 1500m to 2000m and was won by Somerville House.
In 1995, insufficient water at Lake Wivenhoe meant that the Head of the River was moved to Hinze Dam. 1995 also saw the beginning of a development plan to change younger crews across to Quad Sculls. This move was made to provide girls with a better technical and physiological development. This year also saw the first presentation of the Aggregate Trophy for the most successful school and was presented to Somerville House.
1996 saw the full implementation of the BSRA development plan with Year 8, Under 14 and 15 girls all competing in Quad Sculls. This has produced competitive and high quality racing across these groups. The inaugural presentation of the Percentage cup based on school population was made to Somerville House. All Hallows' achieved their first Head of the River victory in the First VIII, while St Margaret's won the Aggregate cup for the first time.
The 8th Schoolgirls Head of the River demonstrated the enormous growth of schoolgirl rowing in recent years. With nearly double the number of events and a 670% increase in competitors from the Inaugural year, it was the most competitive on record. St Margaret's won both the First 8+ trophy and the Aggregate Cup with Somerville winning the Percentage Cup. Meanwhile, the Associations by-laws were changed to identify crews by year level rather than age, which eleviated problems with a minority of girls rowing outside their peer group.[1]
2007 saw St Aidans winning for the first time in years.
[edit] Open 1st VIII - Brisbane Schoolgirls' Rowing Association Cup
1990 was the inaugural Schoolgirl's Head Of The River.
[edit] Open 2nd VIII
| Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 |  St Margaret's |
 Somerville |
Brisbane Girls Grammar |
| 2000 | St Margaret's |
Somerville |
 All Hallows |
| 2001 | Somerville |
St Margaret's |
All Hallows |
| 2002 | Somerville |
St Margaret's |
 St Aidan's |
| 2003 | Somerville |
St Aidan's |
St Margaret's |
| 2004 | Somerville |
St Aidan's |
 Stuartholme |
| 2005 | Somerville |
St Margaret's |
St Aidan's |
| 2006 | St Aidan's |
Somerville |
St Margaret's |
| 2007 | St Aidan's |
St Margaret's |
Brisbane Girls Grammar |
[edit] The Open Single Scull (Div 1)
| Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Brisbane State High School | St Aidan's |
Brisbane Girls Grammar |
| 2000 | Race cancelled due to bad weather. | ||
| 2001 | St Margaret's |
 St Peter's |
St Aidan's |
| 2002 | Brisbane State High School | St Margaret's |
Somerville |
| 2003 | St Margaret's |
 Lourdes Hill |
Brisbane Girls Grammar |
| 2004 | St Margaret's |
Lourdes Hill |
Brisbane State High School |
| 2005 | Stuartholme |
St Peter's |
Somerville |
| 2006 | Stuartholme |
Somerville |
St Peter's |
| 2007 | St Peter's |
St Aidan's |
Somerville |
[edit] References
- ^ Brisbane Schoolgirls' Rowing Association (accessed:14-05-2006)
- Great Public Schools Association of Queensland Inc., Head of the River Program (2007)
- Brisbane Schoolgirls' Rowing Association, Head of the River Program (2006)
[edit] See also
- Head of the River (Australia)
- Great Public Schools Association of Queensland Inc.
- Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association
