Johannesburg schools consistently lead the pack when it comes to rowing. They usually take the top 5 spots at the two premier events of the school rowing season, SA Champs and the Buffalo Regatta.
South African rowers from top rowing schools are actively sought after by prestigious international universities, including Harvard and Yale, because our top rowing schools are known to produce individuals who are able to cope with the rigorous academic requirements of Ivy League schools, and they show high levels of discipline and resilience.
Best girls’ rowing schools in South Africa:
St Andrew’s (Bedfordview):
Winner of the SA School Rowing Championships in 2026, they often dominate with both first team and number of teams in all age groups.
St Mary’s School (Waverley):
Consistently ranks among the top schools, securing top spots with a large number of rowing teams.
Holy Rosary School (Edenvale):
Earned first position as top girl’s school at the prestigious Buffalo Rowing Regatta in 2026; consistently ranks in the top five in overall rankings.
St Stithians Girls’ College (Sandton):
A frequent contender for top places in girls’ regattas, especially in younger or smaller boat categories.
Clarendon High School for Girls (East London):
A strong challenger often found in the top ranks at national championships.
Other schools:
Schools that also perform well at top regattas include Assumption Convent, St Dunstan’s College, Diocesan Girls School, Somerset College and Umtata High School.
* Source: The South African Schools Rowing Union and school records.
How do the top rowing schools get ahead?
The best rowing schools begin training even before school starts.
Training kicks off with a pre-season camp, which is tough but fun, and builds up core physical strength and team spirit.
Young U13’s will often start with two training sessions a week, and progress to four per week, with seniors training an average of six days a week.
The school rowing season leads up to SA Champs, which is the culmination of many hours spent practicing.
In 2025/2026, Holy Rosary was placed 3rd overall in the country at SA Champs.
Rowers learn to make the most of their time
SA Champs is usually held at Roodeplaat Dam in Pretoria. It begins at the crack of dawn with sculls out on the water, getting into the rhythm of the day. Family members come to cheer the rowers on and the event has a great atmosphere with music, cappuccino stands, food trailers and gin bars for the parents. Girls and boys mingle, plan dates and share party invites with rival teams.
Rowing is also seriously hard work. It takes determination and discipline, as well as many hours out on the water. Sometimes parents ask, how will my child manage to get good academic results with rowing? Incredibly, top rowers often receive the highest academic awards in matric.
We find that rowers learn to make the most of their time – they will study late on a Friday evening, or in the bus on the way to the boathouse.
This stands them in good stead later in life; they are able take on the hard work at university without getting overly stressed.
The main school rowing events in South Africa
There are two main events on the school rowing calendar:
SA Champs, where the schools battle it out for top spots and the Buffalo Regatta in East London, a prestigious event which solidifies the elite rowing teams, and is especially important for senior rowers with ambitions of making it onto national teams.
When it comes to rowing, Holy Rosary punches above their weight and offers strong competition to much larger rowing clubs.
In 2026, Holy Rosary won first place at the Buffalo Regatta and were the Top Girl’s Rowing School at this elite event.
Over the last 3 years, Holy Rosary has placed 3rd and 4th at SA Champs, reinforcing their position as one of the top 3 girl’s rowing schools.
This is remarkable for a smaller club, evidenced by the fact that Holy Rosary qualified for every A-final but one – the highest number of finals appearances of any girls’ school at 2026 SA Champs.
Holy Rosary also had the most girls selected for the SA Schools Rowing Union team – 4 Holy Rosary athletes will represent South Africa in England later this year.
Top Rowing Coaches
Coaches are the driving force behind success. The top schools often employ rowing coaches that have been part of the South African national team and won medals at international events, such as Holy Rosary’s coach, Thabelo Masutha.
Thabelo has spent ten years in the national team and has won many accolades in this time. He says that the medal he is most proud of is one that he won on home ground at the oldest event in SA rowing, the Buffalo Regatta.
In 2019, he won the Silver Skulls in a single. He was the youngest, first and the only black athlete to win this event.
Thabelo Masutha, rowing coach says:
“The biggest thing I’ve tried to do is treat every athlete as a competitor. Every rower has something to race for. It is not only the 1st quad that is important, each U13 rower and each team is important.
I tell each athlete they need to have a dream and goal and to think about it every night before they go to bed. This is why I’m working so hard …
I love the moments athletes achieve their dreams, even when they didn’t really believe they could do it.”
Many of the top schools have the support of a team of high-achieving coaches.
South Africa’s reputation in the international rowing community
Training at the top rowing schools is top-notch and South African rowers are sought after by international and Ivy League universities.
Over the last 5 years, several Holy Rosary rowers have earned scholarships to universities in the USA and England – Recently Jeanne Riemann & Hannah Roetger earned scholarships to row and study at top universities in the USA, and Garth Holden from our brother school, St. Benedict’s, who went to Yale University.