It’s with a sense of wonder that I walk through the Payne Hall with its aged wood floors and high ceiling. Each photo lining the walls acknowledging the rich sporting history of Jeppe.

Why Are you here, I hear you ask? The reason is the launch of the book “History of Jeppe Rowing”.  This coffee table book of over 200 pages celebrates the history of Jeppe rowing from its inception.

While the weather was cold and most of the boys were on their way back to school from the annual Northwood sports and cultural tour, we gathered to hear Terry Marsh describe how his labour of love, supported by Greg Le Roux and the crew of ’64, is coming to fruition. The first Jeppe Rowing Old Boy Martin Maine who started rowing under the tutelage of Dr J.R.D. Tomlinson in 1958 was in attendance with his son Brian and members of the 1964 crew that Terry was a member of.

The energy behind the book is to raise funds for the future of rowing at Jeppe and to have a documented record of the rich history of rowing at the school. The hope is that the book, a full colour, hard cover coffee table edition, will be ready for distribution by the end of July.

The book talks about the beginnings of rowing in South Africa and then details school and specifically Jeppe rowing, beginning with the formation of the Jeppe Rowing Club in 1959 and taking a scenic journey through time, with the help of many past rowers and rowing captains, all the way to 2022.

The price of the book will be between R450 and R500 and anyone interested in sponsoring a page in the book can do so at the cost of R1,500 that will see the sponsors name at the bottom of the page and a complimentary copy of “History of Jeppe Rowing”.

To pre-order your copy of the book or to sponsor a page please CLICK HERE

Alex

The story of the addition of 13 new boats to the Jeppe Rowing fleet began with 5 eager Jeppe representatives sitting on an auction site in November 2020, bidding on pre-selected boats.

Still basking in the success of having purchased the new Swift Carbon Elite for the 1^st VIII, the opportunity of acquiring a fleet of smaller boats in one sitting was a dream come true. With the help of the school, the dream became a reality and we walked away with 3 x 4+’s, 4 Pairs, 6 Skulls and their blades for R220k.  This was a bittersweet moment, as Jeppe Boats and Blades, we had accomplished a 5 + year plan in 1 day but it came at the expense of Bishop Bavin and its Rowing Club having to close their doors.

This Decision Tree reveals the path to ultimate happiness and in many ways should be seen as the mantra for Jeppe Old Boy Rowers.

Evidence of the impact that these boats have already made is that many of them contributed to the points tally at the 2022 SA Schools Rowing Championships that saw Jeppe come 2^nd overall.  Take a minute to let that sink in… YES, a government school beat all but 1 school in the country in the most expensive school sport.  And YES, your support helped make this possible.

This achievement in itself is staggering, but this is not the whole story. Reflecting on what Jeppe Boats and Blades and the wider Jeppe Rowing Community has achieved in the last 2 years, in the midst of a global pandemic and challenging times, beggars belief.  Here are some notable achievements:

Purchased a new Swift Carbon Elite – R500k

Acquired 14 other boats (13 on auction and 1 gifted by an Old Boy) – R222K

Helped 3 Jeppe boys compete at events – 2 of them at international level – R45k

Launched the ‘Jeppe Rowing’ coffee table book with the crew of ‘64Established 2 Social Media forums for Jeppe Old Boy Rowers to re-connect and engage with the school and the sport that we all love (WhatsApp and Facebook).

This speaks volumes about who we are, and the school Motto ‘Forti nihil difficilius’ is as true for an Old Boy as it is for those wearing the black and white now. I for one am a proud Jeppe Old Boy Rower.

Greg

Those who know the story of Jeppe Boats and Blades will know that in 2020, in the midst of COVID lockdowns and worldwide uncertainty, the Jeppe Rowing Community comprising of current and former oarsmen, coaches, parents and the school were able to acquire 15 Boats for the club, including Damascus, the new 8+.

There have been many successful initiatives in the past to acquire equipment, but I do not believe any of them have had the support from the wider Jeppe rowing community many of whom are living in other countries.

In addition to acquiring equipment, we have seen the community thrive, with the WhatsApp group being the most recent epicentre of this.  If you are not on the group yet and would like to join, please let me know.

Together we have all been able to celebrate the amazing results that Jeppe is achieving in the current season.  The ingredients that make this success possible is the grit of our oarsmen, the commitment of the coaches and the unwavering support from parents and family.

The old boy community has also played a part by purchasing equipment that makes it possible for these crews to compete at the highest level.

But there is still work to do.  We still need R72k to pay off the last of the boats purchased in 2020 and, if we want Jeppe to continue to grow the club and stay on its current upward trajectory, there will always be the need for financial support.  

So where do we start and how can you help?  That’s a great question, and I am glad you asked.

Let’s start by paying off the 2^nd pair that is shown in the boat barometer (above) with 1 gold and 1 silver seat.  We only need R2k to pay this off, lets aim to have this paid off by SA champs in a weeks’ time.  

If you are able to purchase a boat outright at R10k a seat, that’s amazing, we have had several people support the club in this way. You can also make a monthly contribution of R100 to the club safe in the knowledge that 100% of your money will go towards equipping the crews.

Remember, its not about how much you are able to give but that you are part of Jeppe Rowing success.   With more race worthy boats, more boys will get the opportunity to experience rowing for themselves. 

Together we can make this happen please contact me to get more info on any of this

Section 18A Tax certs available

Over this coming weekend Jeppe crews will be testing their metal against other schools at the Gauteng School and Junior Rowing Championships.  The event will be held at VLC due to continued contaminated water issues at Roodeplaat dam.

Regardless of venue, the weekend is set to hold some exciting racing. As usual, we invite you to follow the results of the Jeppe crews on the Jeppe Rowing Old Boys WhatsApp group.  If you are not signed up to this yet and would like to join, please send us your mobile number (trust@jeppeboatsandblades.co.za ) and we will get you set up. You can also watch the action of day 2 live on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9exAskTSDaM .

After the great results achieved by Jeppe crews last weekend we can be sure that the weekend will deliver some exciting racing.  It will also be the first time since the expansion of Jeppe’s boat fleet that there will be an overall school ranking and given the fantastic progress made, we are hoping that the club achieves a podium position.  

The journey to getting back onto the podium as a school has been a steady one and records from the South African Schools Rowing union (SASRU) show the progress made.  Given the current results it’s difficult to believe that in 2013 Jeppe was placed 13^th out of 15 boys’ schools competing at SA Champs. Since then, the club has shown a steady improvement and by 2017 Jeppe was placed 6^th. 

By 2020, Jeppe was placed 4^th overall with only 7 points separating them from a 3^rd position and 14 points for 2^nd, making the school the highest-ranking government boys’ school in the country.  Further evidence of a remarkable comeback that the school and its oarsmen can be proud of.  

As part of this, Jeppe is well represented in the 2021 Gauteng Champs with 38 crews competing in the 58 races (primarily heats at this stage) in the boy’s school category. We look forward to cheering all the teams on.

Greg

Jeppe Boats and Blades (JBB) are excited to announce that the Jeppe Rowing community has paid for one of the 4’s we acquired for the Rowing Club.

This is the first boat in the fleet that has been paid for through collective contributions. At R40,000 (R10,000 a seat) this is a significant achievement and makes a positive impact on the overall payment of the fleet.  The community are now also well on the way to paying for the first seat of a pair (silver seat shown on the boat barometer).

We are grateful for your continued support and in recognition of this, we are opening up the naming of the 4.

We are calling on suggestions of a suitable name for the boat. In keeping with tradition, boats are often named after blades, but should you want to submit alternative names, these will be considered.

Please send your suggestions to trust@jeppeboatsandblades.co.za. We will collate them and present a selection of these back to you to vote on.

This is a great way to engage with Jeppe Rowing and we look forward to your proposed names.

Should you want to find out more about what we are about and how to get involved please contact us on the same email address or visit the website https://jeppeboatsandblades.co.za.

Thanks,

Greg

The Homestead Knockout Regatta that took place over the weekend of the 9/10 October 2021 was significant for a number of reasons. In addition to getting the season underway and the first regatta that some of the oarsmen had participated in, it was also the inaugural regatta for Damascus.

Jeppe oarsmen came to the regatta straight from their October camp with many of the crew selections taking place in the week. Looking at the results, it’s clear that the coaches have done a great job in selecting the crews and seat positions. The 1^st 8 crew were no exception and the newly formed crew delivered. 

After a convincing win against St Johns in the heats the 1^st 8 went through to the finals where they came second being narrowly beaten by St Benedict’s.

Jeppe Rowing looks to be well placed for a remarkable season and we look forward to supporting them.