Bachelor of Biomedicine student Sara De Uray has been named as the recipient of the John Hall Rowing Scholarship for 2023.
The achievement came for Sara in the year she was selected in the Australian rowing team and won a bronze medal at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
While it is no mean feat being an international-level athlete and a university student simultaneously, it’s fair to say that Sara is experiencing quite a high at the moment. Her success with the Victorian rowing team earned her a place on the Australian team in the Women’s Coxless Four at the championships. She describes the podium finish in Bulgaria as the biggest highlight of her rowing career. The news of the scholarship has just made the win sweeter.
Sara feels having university along with rowing gives her a balance in life. For her, the key to rowing through the life of a student-athlete is prioritising the commitments – sometimes a training session will have to be missed, and sometimes university will have to give way. The John Hall Rowing Scholarship will help Sara continue her success in the sport and pursue her education at the University.
The scholarship offers up to $10,000 to a University of Melbourne student-athlete who rows for the Melbourne University Boat Club. The iconic club dates back to 1859 and has produced several talented rowers. The scholarship was established in memory of one such champion rower, the late John Hall, a University of Melbourne student and Melbourne University Boat Club member during the early 1950s. Unfortunately, due to financial considerations, John had to give up the sport in 1953. In 2020, his son Richard Hall created this scholarship to ensure that the young rowing talent of the University today doesn’t face the same premature end to their career.
National Champion Eliza Gaffney, who represents the Australian senior team, is a past scholarship recipient in 2020, 2021 and 2022 – the third award being shared with Felix Oliver. Sara would take plenty of inspiration from Gaffney and hope to continue in her footsteps as she aspires to make the senior Australian rowing team.