Millfield Rowers beat Cambridge at British Rowing Championships

Millfield rowers beat Cambridge University’s development crew in the British Rowing Championships bringing home multiple medals. 

Millfield pipped the Cambridge team to win the silver medal in the Women’s Club 4+. The young school team competed against university-aged crews including Cambridge, who’s squad are competing for a prestigious spot in the famous Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race. The Millfield crew consisted of Year 11 students Poppy Clothier, Charlotte Godsell and Zara Barnett, and two former Millfield students Honor Gerald and Lucy Buckingham, who learnt to row at Millfield. 

Over the four-day event, 11 crews competed across multiple categories, with the team’s efforts culminating in outstanding results, including four crews reaching A Finals and multiple medal wins. 

Upper Sixth student Felix Merritt and Lower Sixth student George Monk achieved silver medals in the Men’s Beginner 2x category, in their first year of rowing together, competing against university teams. 

Year 11 Poppy Clothier and Zara Barnett reached the A Final of the WJ16 2x category and just missed out on a medal. They earned a silver medal at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta in April, representing the South West region, with Poppy learning to row at Millfield just over a year ago.  

Lower Sixth Emily Brooke and Year 10 Vienna Townsend competed in the Women’s Beginner 2x category reaching the A Final.   

Three rowers from Year 8 and Year 9, each with less than six months of rowing experience, reached the finals. Year 9 Louis Wilson, Manon Glynn-Jones and Year 8 Tabitha Buchan-Moore, all participated in the Millfield Summer Rowing Camp ahead of the Championships. 

Millfield Head of Rowing, Zoe Brain said, “It’s wonderful to see the development of our rowing programme and to watch our rowers winning medals at national level so early on in their careers. The entire team and I are very excited to build on this success next year. We also appreciate coach Matt Paul’s support and dedication to Millfield School Boat Club.”  

The squad are already preparing for their first race of next season in October. 

The Millfield Rowing squad, consisting of twelve members, trains at the Minerva Bath Rowing Club on the River Avon in Bath, with students on the water twice a week to prepare for upcoming competitions. They also take part in three gym sessions before school each week and attend twice-weekly strength and conditioning classes to improve their performance.  

Learn more about Rowing at Millfield by clicking the link here.