Head of the Lake 2023 preview: Ballarat Grammar School

It presents an almighty task for Head of Rowing Martin Francis, who is in his first year of the role at Ballarat Grammar School.

"I'm really enjoying being in Ballarat and at Ballarat Grammar," Francis said.

"It is a good energy around the place, people are excited and there's a lot of people that do a lot of things to get our kids on the water which is amazing."

WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW

The boys line up as a youthful crew, but Francis said that should be no issues come race time.

"It's quite a young boys crew, Charlie (Savage) is year 12 but the other members are all year 11 kids that are coming through," Francis said.

"I think what they lack in experience they make up for with grit and determination.

"The boys have a very strong sculling background and preparation which will set them up extremely well."

A feel-good story headlines the girls' open division one crew as Angie Gowty joins the crew along with some familiar faces.

"We've got a couple of returning girls in the firsts crew," Francis said.

"Angie our cox is a pretty cool story, she came down to help fill some seats in November and two months later she's coxing our firsts crew which is a pretty phenomenal effort."

The boys approach Head of the Lake with gold to their name in the Wendouree Ballarat Regatta, while the girls placed second to Ballarat Clarendon.

"The form has been good throughout the season, compared to our competition we come at it a little bit differently and what we're probably finding now is we're coming on really strong and we're happy with that progress," Francis said.

"We're focused on putting our fastest crew together and doing the best performance we can on Sunday.

"The kids are ready to race, we've had a good preparation and we're really excited and looking forward to it."

Stay tuned to thecourier.com.au/sport as The Courier previews all schools ahead of Head of the Lake.