“Good, better, best” is perhaps the best way to sum up the performance of the Tuks rowers at this year’s University Sport SA (USSA) Boat Race along the Kowie River in Port Alfred.

The Tuks women’s A-team won this race for the ninth consecutive year. Their opponents in the final were Maties. This was the first time the Stellenbosch team had competed in the final.

For Doné Erasmus this was her fourth USSA title as part of the Tuks A-crew. According to her, a fast start was important in the final.

“We managed to do so. The goal was to make the gap as big as possible. Our coxswain, Rhett Zillen, was amazing in the way he got us on course over the sharpest line,” she explained.

As to how the women’s crew has mastered the art of winning, she said, they share the same goal, and each of them is prepared to sacrifice themselves to make their dream come a reality.

“It led to us having amazing synergy in our boat,” she said.

Asked what is unique about the USSA Boat Race, Tanna Diplock said racing on the Kowie River over nearly six kilometres means every crew member has to trust everyone, including the cox, who plays a crucial role in steering and communication with the crew.

“Forming a winning crew requires dedication to the goal many months in advance. All nine members of the crew must be able to communicate and work together effectively, especially when fatigue sets in during long sessions. It is important to motivate those around you when they are struggling,” said Diplock, who has now been involved in three of the Tuks victories.

In the meantime, Tuks’ men’s A-team prevented UCT from winning for the fourth consecutive year by also taking the gold medal.

Phume Tshabala has the distinction of being the “old man” of the men’s A-crew.

“I’m the only person left from that 2022 Tuks boat who won it, so it’s really nice for me to be able to give the younger guys their first win as well. Our final was really interesting. We had two very big clashes in the first kilometre of the race around the first turn. It meant we had to restart the race three times. After the third restart, we came really close to clashing once again, but we narrowly avoided the crash and started pulling away. After that, it was a very routine performance,” Tshabala summed up the experience.

What makes USSA Boat Race so special for Tshabala is that participants are given a chance to be part of history.

“If you look under the bridges, there’s graffiti with all the university badges and mottos. So even rowing on the course, you can feel that you are part of something very special,” said Tshabala, who has competed in five Boat Races.

Troy Zillen, brother of the Tuks coxswain Rhett Zillen, believes that it has shown over the last few years how truly difficult it can be to have a boat race winning crew.

“To have a winning crew, you need eight oarsmen who are both explosive out of the blocks to get ahead and take the preferred line. My brother often says the Boat Race is a 5km heat and a 1km final. If you can control the race, as well as being fit enough to put down a long, hard pace for the time trial, you will always be competitive,” he remarked. 

To make matters more complicated, teams need a cox with the skill to hold a predetermined line and make in-the-moment decisions. If they are wrong, you can find yourself on a sandbank or rowing in slower water. 

“Rhett making the decisive decision to go off as close behind UCT as possible and let us have the feeling of hunting down a crew gave us that extra motivation, resulting in us winning the heads race,” Zillen concluded.

– The Tuks men’s and women’s B-crews were also victorious.

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