This year’s Buffalo Regatta entrenched East London as the pulse behind the longest running sporting event in SA.
Though the University of Pretoria made a clean sweep of all the major events in the finals, the growth of rowing in Buffalo City, from school to club level, bodes well for the sport and for its revenue generation capacity for the city.
Rowing at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) made a heroic comeback at the regatta with a podium finish despite the sport almost succumbing to an end due to Covid.
UFH sports officer Tim Leeuw said the students’ worked hard despite limited access to the river and to a fleet of their own.
Their incredible performance pushed UFH to seventh nationally.
Leeuw’s goal is to attract more rowers and to develop strong B-teams to push the A team rowers, however, this will require increased funding and partnerships with clubs in the city.
Selborne College headmaster Andrew Dewar said the school was excited to see the leaps its senior rowers made at this year’s regatta, despite losing their foundational rowing years to Covid.
Rowing at Selborne is in a transitional phase given the school’s move last year to Nahoon Dam and Dewar said the impact of this was reflected in the seniors’ and juniors’ strong show at the regatta.
“This year we hope to build on the century-long tradition of rowing at the school by supporting the quality coaching we have, investing in what works in terms of our rowing development and attracting more boys with a passion for the sport . . .
“The move to Nahoon Dam presents a lot of opportunities for Selborne rowing and for Buffalo City because it enables rowers to do long course events which adds to the endurance element of the sport and makes it an ideal venue for events such as SA rowing champs.
“It’s exciting for rowing and for East London that there is a possibility for two world class venues in the city,” Dewar said.
East London Boating Association president, Graeme Mountfort agreed, especially with accommodating the growth in the sport, spurred on by UFH and Walter Sisulu University. Mountfort said: “At varsity and senior club level we have seen such hard work and growth and we want to build on this.
“Both Nahoon Dam and the Buffalo River give us opportunities to work with … the river is at capacity but the dam offers opportunity for expansion.”
Olympic and German rowers from Lower Saxony added to the fierce competition at the regatta and Mountfort believes building on these relationships will help further build local rowing.
