The 2006 Andover Boys Rowing team followed a very strong regular season with an excellent showing overseas at the Henley Royal Regatta, a prestigious tournament held every year in England. Hard work and determination propelled Andover’s boat past several American and British boats to earn a very respected spot in the semifinals of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, the schoolboy eights division of the tournament. The Regatta, held annually in Henley-on-Thames, near London, is arguably the world’s most competitive rowing event, and winning one of its prizes is as prestigious as an Olympic Gold Medal. Co-Captain and stroke Justin Yi ’06 said, “I think personally that it was the coolest thing that I have ever done. It’s rowing at its highest level; you can’t really go higher than the Henley. There were over a quarter of a million people watching.” The 2006 First Boat was composed of Yi, Geoff Martin ’07, Andrew Faulkner ’07, Karl Hirt ’06, Scott Morgan ’06, Rush Martin ’07, Parker Washburn ’09, Chip Schroeder ’08, and coxswain Michelle Darby ’07. This year’s participation in the Regatta marks only the fourth time in the past 25 years that an Andover boat has raced on the illustrious Thames River. Although the delivery of the boat was delayed several days, the team did not let the error affect the oncoming races. The team started the two-week stay in England with a win in the ‘Schoolboy ‘A’ Eights’ division of the Reading Town Regatta. The rowers outperformed schools from both the US and England in rounds one and two and beat a fellow New England crew and infamous rival, Tabor Academy, in the final. Yi said, “The British teams are known to have good technique, they row together really well. They’re also known for getting out early and having a quicker start but they don’t tend to fight back as hard later in the race.” The Phillips Rowing team used the momentum built in the Reading Town Regatta to easily soar past the Kingston Grammar School of England and post one of the best times in the opening rounds of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup. Andover earned its spot in the semifinals by beating two other British teams in later rounds. They first beat Edward’s School by two-and-three-quarters lengths and then fought a tough battle with Abington School to an exciting finish. Yi said, “the third race was the defining moment for us as a team.” The Blue were losing by one boat length with 500 meters to go in the race when their coxswain Darby started to call for a sprint. Yi said, “We were down by six seats, but we knew we could win the race. We barely edged them out then maintained to win by 1/3 of a length. It’s the race we’ll all remember forever. ” The race between the relatively unknown PA crew and the crew from Abingdon School, the second place winners at British Nationals, was regarded by many as the event’s most exciting competitions. In the semifinals, Phillips Academy faced off against The King’s School of Chester, England, who handed Andover its first loss of the trip. Yi said, “We lost because we killed ourselves the day before. We were drained both mentally and physically and couldn’t beat a team that was not as talented as the one we faced the day before, we just felt really empty. It was one of the most frustrating experiences we had ever been through as a crew. Even though we did not win, our place in the ‘semi’s’ brought Andover crew to another level. We made a name for our school so that the next time we come, people will know who we are.”
