The Douglas Cup recipient: the Under 18 Four Rowing Crew

The Douglas Cup is for the best sporting performance of the year – for the best individual performance in any sport whilst representing the School, and the 2021 recipient is: the Under 18 Four Rowing Crew of B. C. Shortt, O. T. Welch, C. J. Johnson, A. N. John and coxed by G. H. Higgins.

On the final day of the Maadi Cup regatta, the Under 18 Four competed for the Springbok Shield, one of the premier races and the highlight of the Friday morning racing. The shield is made of segments of woods from South Africa and was first rowed for in 1965. With plenty of confidence from the pairs race earlier in the day the crew was eager to start well and control the race from the front. It was a tight race and both Saint Andrew’s College and Christ’s College fought hard to overtake the Grammar boat.

In the end, due to a very strong finish from the crew, the Under 18 Four won the Springbok Shield. The last time Auckland Grammar School held this national title and the Shield was in 2011. This year’s crew rowed the same boat and recorded the second fastest time on record for this event, just 1 second off the record.

This was a performance that impressed the national selectors with several of the crew being selected for higher honours.

The performance from the Under 18 Four make them worthy winners of the Douglas Cup in 2021, and Captain of Rowing B. C. Shortt crossed the stage to accept the trophy on behalf of the crew.