Jeppe Boys’ rowing fleet grows
The two boats launched at VLC are part of a 14-boat extension of Jeppe's fleet thanks to the Boats and Blades initiatives.
Jeppe High School for Boys rowing department christened two boats and grew its racing fleet at the Victoria Lake Club in Germiston. The new rowing boats – a four named JDR Tomlinson and an eight called Damascus – were officially launched at the school’s annual rowing prize-giving ceremony on April 11 on the banks of the lake.
The JRD Tomlinson is named after Dr Tomlinson, the first rowing coach at Jeppe and the man who is credited with starting the sport of rowing at schools in Johannesburg in 1959.
Funds to purchase it was donated by Martin Maine, Jeppe’s first rower and the nephew of Dr Tomlinson. It can seat four rowers and the coxswain.
The Damascus, a state-of-the-art Swift Carbon Elite Eight, was bought for the school by the Jeppe Boats and Blades Trust. It can seat eight rowers and the coxswain.
The trust is a fund-raising body started jointly by old boys of the school who were rowers and who are members of the school’s parents’ rowing committee. A total of R500 000 was raised by the trust during lockdown and the boat was delivered in December.
At Jeppe, there is a tradition of naming boats after blades and the steel used to make them. Damascus steel is forged from different alloys, it is hard yet still quite flexible.
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Continued restrictions on school sports meant the new boats could not be raced at the SA schools championships this year. The rowers, however, have trained hard throughout lockdown and will be fit and ready when the sport resumes. The two boats launched at VLC are part of a 14-boat extension of Jeppe’s fleet thanks to the Boats and Blades initiatives.
There are sponsorship and boat-naming opportunities available to those who are interested. Contact the trust at trust@jeppeboatsandblades.co.za for more information.
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