April 25, 2024 By Holly Moriarty
Come see the Hingham High School Crew team in action at the annual Salty Bow Sprints in Bare Cove Park this Sunday, April 28—races begin at 2:30 p.m.!
More than 100 HHS athletes will be competing in 1,300 meter “sprint” races on the Back River against Duxbury Maritime School. The ten races will last until about 4 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony. The athletes will be rowing in 8+ boats (eight rowers and coxswain).
“The Salty Bow Sprints has become a tradition that we always look forward to as we enter the spring racing season. It’s an exciting event all around, but especially fun to see the community turn out to cheer on the hometown team,” said Coach Pat Houle, the new program director of HHS Crew team. He has been with the team for more than a decade, coaching on the girls side.
The Hingham High School Rowing Association (HHSRA), the nonprofit organization that oversees the HHS Crew team, hosts the Salty Bow Sprints in the spring and the Frosty Bow Sprints each fall in Bare Cove Park. HHSRA will be grilling up burgers and hot dogs for the fans while they watch the races.
The HHS Crew team trained through the April school vacation with double practice sessions and two regattas, the boys team racing the first weekend against St. John’s Prep, and girls and boys teams competing last Saturday at the Exeter Invitational.
“What a great spring training week and launch to the season,” said Coach Houle. “We had a strong showing at the Exeter Invitational, with much improvement since last year. We’re looking forward to seeing how fast we get with our entire team back from April break and some more water days!”
The team won three of their four races against St. John’s Prep and competed against some of the top programs in New England at the Exeter Invitational, including Boston Latin, Exeter Academy, Kent School, St. John’s High School, Shrewsbury High School, and Simsbury High School. The HHS boys first and fourth varsity boats placed third, and the second third varsity boats both finished fourth in their races. On the girls side, the first varsity boat placed fourth, second varsity came in fifth, and third varsity crossed third.
“It was a gorgeous day for racing, and despite a week of double sessions, the team came excited, motivated, and ready to compete,” said Alix Howie, boys head coach of the HHS Crew team. “The boys 4V kicked us off, nailing their start, maintaining a solid stroke, and keeping their power up. The 3V jumped right out at the start, hanging with an incredibly fast field for the whole race. Our second varsity boat took off out of the gate, hanging with the big private schools the whole way. They grinded into their sprint, where unfortunately, a race official waked them out, causing a few near crabs. Despite the setback, they held their composure, pushing all the way through to the finish. The boys first varsity eight also had a quick clean start and pulled ahead with Kent and Exeter, leaving the rest of the field behind and hung with those big crews for most of the race. With Duxbury and Brookline up next in our schedule, I’m really excited to watch them continue to push against tough competition.”
“What a great way to kick off the season,” added Sydney Blasetti, head coach of the girls HHS Crew team. “The athletes trained hard all week during their spring break and it showed in their performance on Saturday. I’m excited to see what lies ahead at the Salty Bow this coming weekend. Go Hingham!”