East Gippsland’s pristine waters are a major drawcard and in January attracted many of Melbourne’s top private schools.

Last week the Mitchell River once again played host to Methodist Ladies’ College’s (MLC) senior rowing team with four eights and two quadruple sculls teams staying at Bairnsdale Riverside Holiday Park.

The 44 year 11 and 12 girls spent most of their week-long trip, which concluded last Saturday, on the water, fine-tuning their techniques with three training sessions a day, two before lunch and one after.

The rowers also went on a week-long trip to Nagambie before Christmas. Both of these camps prepare the rowers for the first regatta of the season over the Australia Day weekend, the Barwon Regatta in Geelong.

The biggest event on the calendar is the Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta (March 1517), which MLC were the champions of in 2017.

“It will be good to test ourselves and see how we shape up after all our training,” MLC rowing coordinator, Tim Dolphin, said.

“The school has been coming here since at least 2002. I’ve been coming here for 17 years with MLC and Melbourne University.

“The river is fantastic. We can row for 20 kilometres uninterrupted. It is pretty flat and there is a great landing where we can put all our boats on the water at once.

“It is my favourite place to conduct this camp.”

A team of coaches and parents ensure that the rowers are well looked after.

“The parents, who are all volunteers, do all the cooking,” Tim said.

“They certainly get enough food. They do a lot of exercise so we have to make sure they have enough fuel and stay hydrated.”

The girls enjoy their time in East Gippsland with some on their fourth trip to the town.

“We enjoy the town and river, which is really flat and good to row on. We get some free time so we spend time in Bairnsdale doing activities,” rowing captain, Indi Allen, said.

IMAGE: Methodists Ladies’ College grey eights rowing crew, Annabelle Johnson-King, Anna Morrison, Indi Allen, Maddie Narguet, Ella Innes, Lissy Fraser, Sisi Koh, Pip Byrnes and Lucy Wentworth, trained on the Mitchell River last week.