School rowers to be reckoned with

Pulling together: The UCT development rowing team (from left), Glenn Stevens, Brent Maarman, Badroedien Abduragmaan and Dean Louw worked up a sweat as they prepared themselves for the South African schools/junior championships at Roodeplaat Dam, staged over the weekend.

Over the past weekend, the university's development rowing team competed in the South African schools/junior championships at Roodeplaat Dam in Pretoria.

The team of five boys - Badroedien Abduragmaan (aged 15), Dean Louw (13), Brent Maarman (15), Glenn Stevens (14) and coxswain Andre van Willing (14) - all from Grassdale High in Lotus River on the Cape Flats, will be competing in a number of races over the event. They'll contest for medals in the under-16 quad, then break off into under-15 and under-16 doubles teams, and rally again for the invitation four.

Last week, sports administrator Keith Hart, who has been working with the team since 2002 and chaperoned them to Roodeplaat, predicted good things for the squad, especially in the light of their other performances this year. A mixed team - boys and girls - took top honours at the Summer Regatta in Elgin in January, and did so again at the Springfield Rondebosch Regatta when they returned to the apple and pear town in early February.

The boys also edged out more fancied schools like SACS and Bishops to bag gold in the under-15 quad at the Springfield competition.