The weekend saw the opening head race of the new season on the Thames in Oxfordshire. Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, held over 4.25km, attracts top level scullers from around the region with Stratford fielding crews across the age range.

The event saw the J15 double scull of Alice Baines and Mya Kenny deliver a masterful sculling performance to win their event. During the competition there were further superb performances from Amelie Sartain in the J14 single scull event who battled hard to take second place, well ahead the rest of the field.

Fred Tyler fought hard in the J14 single scull event but was eventually displaced into second place by a quality sculler from Lea Rowing Club. The double scull of Max Griffiths and Dan Cox was also worthy of note whilst coming third in their event recorded the 6th fastest time of the day in the shorter 1500m course thus demonstrating the quality of competition at the season opener.

Taking a rest from their exertions on Friday, Richard Shepherd (Army) and Nathan Elton (RAF) both raced in the Joint Services Regatta. Nathan won in a senior eight and also won his heat and then came second in the final of the Novice singles to a very experienced opponent.

Last weekend saw Christine Goodwin compete in the Senior Women’s 1x at Monmouth Head as one of eleven women racing in this boat category over three categories. Christine gained on the category one rower who started ahead of her and succeeded in winning her category two with a very credible time of 8:53 minutes over the 2500m course. Said coach Helen Smith, “Another great start to the head racing season.”

For media coverage, see Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/stratford-start-the-head-season-in-style and p31, Stratford Herald p15 and online http://www.stratford-herald.com/76573-excellent-start-head-season-stratford-river-thames.html

For more great photographs, see Stuart Baines’ selection at https://1drv.ms/f/s!AiW2DAyn9tg9i_1TL1MpSvYJgs9kZA

Early September saw Stratford upon Avon Rowing Club Masters undertake the Club’s most ambitious overseas regatta competition with a 1,500 mile trip to Bled in Slovenia for the 2017 World Rowing Masters Regatta. The event, the biggest rowing regatta ever held, attracted 4,588 competitors from 862 clubs worldwide. Event entries were huge with over 1,200 entries each in men’s single sculls and double sculls age categories.

The large entry meant the organisers added an extra days racing to the competition which ran from Wednesday 6th through to Sunday 10th September. Great Britain lead the list of competing athletes with 852, closely followed by Germany with 800 and the USA, Italy, following closely behind: 46 countries were represented at the event.

The event demanded a large logistical operation to plan equipment requirements, transport and protect boats and associated equipment, and organise accommodation for the 1,500 miles journey through Germany and France to the regatta course in Slovenia. The journey was planned over several months between Stratford and Bridgnorth rowing clubs, and included transporting boats from Worcester, Ironbridge, Hollowell Scullers, and Pengwern Rowing Clubs. Towing duties were ably led and planned by Shan Stokes, Safety Advisor from Stratford Boat Club who along with daughter Becky and colleagues from Bridgnorth undertook the three day journey.

A fantastic sight of fields of boats greeted the competitors on arrival at the stunning lake Bled venue in Slovenia, overlooked by the imposing Bled Castle and picturesque church topped Bled Island and the international regatta course.

Tuesday saw frantic last minute training by multitudes of club crews on the warm up course which was not without incident with a number of boats heavily damaged in collisions.

Day One (Wednesday) saw the start of competition racing proper in hot conditions with races on a packed schedule on the 1000 metre course setting off at 500 metre intervals which meant three races using the course at any one time all day. First to race for Stratford was Tim Lunel and Tom Doherty in Mas D double sculls in a borrowed boat seventh in their heat in a time of three minutes and fifty eight seconds placing 127th overall out of 145 competitors. Rebecca Stokes was next to compete coxing a Bridgnorth eight to a fine fifth finish position in a time of three minutes and twenty eight seconds in Masters B eights.

A bright Day Two (Thursday) saw an increase in Stratford competitors with Tim Lunel in the heavily competitive Men’s single sculls Masters D event. Rowing in a borrowed boat, Tim nevertheless put in an excellent row to finish fourth in a time of four minutes and eight seconds in his heat and 122nd of 180 competitors overall. Later in the day saw the composite eights crew from Stratford and Bridgnorth clubs featuring Stratford rowers, Simon Beard, Richard Shepherd, Tim Lunel ,Tom Doherty, and cox Becky Stokes finish in fifth place in their heat in a time of three minutes and fourteen seconds in Masters D eights and 37th of 47th overall.

Day Three (Friday) saw an early start in changeable conditions for Stratford masters D coxed four of Simon Beard, Richard Shepherd, Tim Lunel, Tom Doherty, and cox Becky Stokes. A solid row produced a fifth finish in a time of three minutes and thirty eight seconds for an overall position of 21 of 36 competitors. Stratford women entered the competition next with Kjersti Woolley racing in a composite crew with Bridgnorth in Women’s Masters E double sculls finishing fifth in a time of four minutes and thirty two seconds, 68 out of 77 overall. Becky Stokes continued her coxing during the day with a fourth place in a heat of Masters A coxed four in a time of three minutes and twenty five seconds with Bridgnorth to finish 12 of 17 overall. The final Stratford race of the day saw Simon Beard and Richard Shepherd in Masters D pairs finish fifth in their heat in a time of three minutes and fifty four seconds for an overall position of 37 of 48 entries. Tim Lunel however not content with his two previous races took to the water again in an international Masters E coxless four with a combined crew from Gorge Narrows in Canada and Bridgnorth to record a time of three minutes and forty eight seconds.

Day Four (Saturday) saw the penultimate day of racing in much changed conditions with increasing wind and rain. First up for Stratford was a combined International Masters’ E eighth featuring Stratford rowers Simon Beard, Richard Shepherd, Tim Lunel ,Tom Doherty, and cox Becky Stokes, assisted by Bridgnorth rowers and Egyptian rower and Bled medal winner Hany Anwar to record a time of three minutes and twenty one seconds with an overall finish position of 21 of 37 entries. Worsening conditions saw Stratford Masters’ D coxless four of Simon Beard, Richard Shepherd, Tim Lunel and Tom Doherty record another fifth place finish in a time of three minutes and thirty three seconds for an overall event position of 40 of 59 entries. The women were next to take to the water in by now choppy conditions in Masters C double sculls with Kjersti Woolley and Victoria Brennan recording a creditable time of four minutes and forty three seconds in challenging conditions. The final Stratford race saw a combined Bridgnorth /Stratford crew of Paul Wallis and Tom Doherty competing in by now rough conditions in Masters’ E double sculls to record a time of three minutes and fifty three seconds and an overall finish position of 106 of 156 competitors.

Day Five (Sunday) saw a rapid deterioration of the weather with heavy winds and rain forcing a number of withdraws from the scheduled competitions. Stratford braved a mixed Masters’ E double sculls race with Tom Doherty and Kjersti Woolley who were forced to battle the elements down the course for a seventh place finish.

Although the weather was unkind towards the end of the competition, the event was an outstanding success enjoyed by all who took part in the competition, credit being given to the organisers who ensured despite the large numbers of competitors that there were no queues or hold ups.

Said Tom Doherty Men’s Masters Vice Captain, “This was an huge undertaking to organise and safely transport boats across Europe and huge credit and thanks must go to Shan and Becky Stokes for their organisation and efforts in achieving this. It was also great to have a number of Stratford crews competing at such a high standard regatta packed with former international rowers in such a stunning location.”

For media coverage, see Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/…/stratford-impress-at-worl… and Stratford Herald p15

For more great pictures of Bled and rowing, see Shân Stokes selection https://drive.google.com/…/fo…/0BxUSbfbK2ReqaTVBcTNUakZnUDg…

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club Explore rowers had a fun afternoon at the weekend in Bewdley in the sunshine and showers. The crew (pictured: Simon Price, Nils Purser, cox Celia Price, Rosie Stone and Paul Harrold) had a tricky encounter with an overhanging willow tree in their first race but finished a credible second place. Their second race however was a display of smooth and powerful rowing that saw Stratford overcome a fit Pengwern crew, an exhibition that made their even their coach marvel!

Said Glyn Hawkins, the Explore crew’s coach, “The regional Explore programme continues with events at Stourport, Birmingham and Upton with Stratford hosting their own mini Explore regatta on Sunday 08 October. Explore rowing has been a great success at Stratford and our current Explore squad came through previous years’ Learn to Row programmes which this year start on Monday 11 September.”

See media coverage see Stratford Observer p31, Stratford Herald p17 and online http://www.stratford-herald.com/74156-explore-rowers-enjoy-bewdley-fun-day.html

Due to a very successful British Universities & Colleges Sport Regatta in May, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club members Imogen North racing for University of Nottingham (gold medals in LW4-, LW4x and a silver medal in LW2x) and Franklin Hamilton racing for Reading University (gold in LM4x, bronze in LM2x and bronze in M4x) proudly qualified to race for the Great Britain university crew at the European University Sports Association Regatta (EUSA) in Subotica, Serbia recently.

Franklin racing in the Men’s lightweight quad and lightweight double and Imogen also racing in the Women’s lightweight quad and lightweight double competed in the heats on Friday, beating tough competition to secure their places in the A finals on Sunday. This gave them Saturday to recover and watch the repêchage events.

Sunday morning’s weather brought challenging racing conditions but Franklin and his partner raced a close final wining a silver medal in the LM2x just missing out on the gold by two seconds to the University of Vienna. Imogen’s LW4x then won a silver medal in another tightly contested race, gold being won by a very strong crew from the University of Amsterdam.

As the day went on, conditions gradually became more challenging with gusts of high wind making tough conditions especially for lightweights. However Franklin and his crew went on to win a gold medal convincingly in LM4x beating top crews from Poland and Germany amongst others. One of the last races of the competition was the LW2x but even with waves breaking over the riggers, Imogen and her partner battled it out to win their second silver medal for the competition, a feat made all the more impressive because they are both first year students at their respective universities.

For media coverage. see Stratford Herald p16 and Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/…/stratford-bc-students-pa…/

Christine Goodwin made her debut, rowing on the Thames, at the prestigious Molesey Rowing Club Regatta on Saturday.

Her heat in Women’s Masters C 1x was against a much younger sculler from Oxford Academicals: however Christine showed her skill and strength in beating the sculler (whom she had previously beaten), by winning comfortably by five lengths.

Then Christine faced a formidable and technical sculler in the final from Tideway Scullers: her opposition was just two years older but gained a nine second start advantage by virtue of racing up an age group at Women’s Masters D category. Christine pushed hard off the start but, on this occasion, was beaten by a worthy and more experienced opponent.

Christine’s own personal achievement was to race in a new boat against experienced London crews with an effective and capable rows in strong current conditions.

Said Helen Smith, Masters’ Women’s Vice Captain and Christine’s coach, “We are so proud of Christine’s journey over the last two years, arriving at where she is today where she has shown her potential against very competent opposition.”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald p15.

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Fun Regatta took place on Sunday amidst good humoured rivalry. Although the crowds hoped for from Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire and further afield didn’t appear in great numbers, the weather helped by being not too hot. Cheers from crew supporters and visitors spurred on some twenty two crews to their fleeting place in history – winning, surviving, completing the course or being the best well dressed crew on the river!

Said Dawson Curnock, Stratford Boat Club’s Fun Regatta Organiser and Chairman elect: “This year’s Fun Regatta, our fifteenth, was another great one in terms of number of local crews from companies and organisations such as Robert Welch from Chipping Camden and Paxford Cricket Club to name just a few. This year we also had several crews from parents of our young rowers: fierce competition – Mums against Dads!”

Dawson said. “The ingenuity and effort put into the fancy dress was amazing – Flower Power, Jim’s Privates, The Mummies, Riversvoir Dogs, Pie & Lattes and Marooned Pirates –  brought a smile to everybody’s face! Already we’ve seen several competitors sign up for Stratford Boat Club’s autumn Learn to Row courses for those wanting to try rowing even more seriously or just for recreational exercise.”

“We enjoyed hosting so many visitors and local residents at the Fun Regatta,” said Paul Stanton, the Club’s President. “This year we were so pleased to have NFU Mutual’s Stratford agent sponsor the Fun Regatta: this was only the second time for us and it proved a great success to have local companies support us in this very exciting year when we have done so well in local and national regattas and Henley Royal Regatta. The Fun Regatta helps us to show that rowing isn’t just about serious competition and that there is also the fun and recreational aspect to our sport. We are a community club and NFU Mutual’s Stratford agent’s support will help us to pay for our increase in facilities and increased our ability to provide sport for all especially those looking for weekday recreation and exercise.”

For media coverage, see Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/fun-and-frolics-on-the-water and also Stratford Herald p16

For more great pictures of the Fun Regatta, see David Phillips’ selection https://www.flickr.com/photos/135872444@N08/albums/72157683645288871 and Trevor Tiller’s stream https://1drv.ms/a/s!Ajo1zADNwhQAhlZXIFqbtZbLGbmJ

Henley Royal Regatta is the pinnacle of the UK rowing season as well as being one of the places to be seen over the summer. Famous for its Pimms, its blazers and riverside picnics, Henley also boasts a tough 2112 metre stretch of river marked off with unforgiving log booms on either side. 2017 saw two crews from Stratford upon Avon Boat Club aiming to bring back some rowing glory to the West Midlands.

First up was the Wyfold Cup coxless four entry of Club Captain Oli Smith, Ben Smith, Alastair Collier and Harpreet Mander who were asked to go through Henley Qualifiers held the Friday before the Henley Royal Regatta start. The aim of the qualifiers was to whittle down the sixty strong entry to thirty two. Unfortunately despite rowing strongly, the crew fell just ten seconds short of qualifying.

The second crew targeted the Britannia Cup for coxed fours. The crew of Chris Thomas, Ben Twiney, Tom Coles and Ed Lewry were coxed by Eleanor Willetts. Only sixteen crews were allowed entry and due to their early season form the crew was automatically qualified into the main draw where they were pitched against Riverside Club from the River Charles in Boston, America. In all, eight crews had flown in from around the world to take on Britain’s best club rowers and the Riverside Club crew were strongly fancied by many to make progress through the draw.

The race took place on Thursday morning and the Stratford crew who had trained extensively over the course, managed to nail their start giving them a quick half-length lead. However, Riverside had other ideas and over 1500 metres they whittled Stratford’s advantage away until the two crews reached the grandstand enclosures, about 500 metres from the finish, dead level. Stratford weren’t to be denied and in an epic sprint to the line, stroke man Chris Thomas raised the rate again with ten strokes to go to cross the finish line just four feet ahead.

This meant Stratford’s next opponents on Friday were St Andrews, an Edinburgh University alumni crew, containing a number of ex-GB and Canadian internationals. After a sustained battle along the course, the St Andrews crew won by just over a length. St Andrews went on to contest the final as well – losing by only a length to a crew from Norway.

Stratford Senior squad coach Bill Sullivan commented, “Both crews can be very proud of their achievements this week. Stratford were one of only three British crews left in the Britannia cup at the quarter final stage and we gave the eventual finalists a real fright. It gets progressively harder for smaller, provincial clubs to make a mark at this level but this is the third year that Stratford upon Avon Boat Club have made the last eight places at Henley Royal Regatta. Well done to our Wyfold crew who worked so hard and showed huge commitment through all those cold winter mornings. Success has been built with this squad as well as the juniors and veterans squads by terrific volunteers giving up their time to nurture athletes of all abilities and encouraging them to make the most of their talents and I’d like to thank everyone who makes a contribution. Onwards and upwards to 2018″.

Added Dawson Curnock, incoming Chairman and Fun Regatta organiser, “That is going to be a hard act to follow! This coming Sunday 09 July we have our Fun Regatta at Stratford. We have taken crews from Stratford and Warwickshire companies and organisations, given them three hours of training, a boat, an experienced cox and have organised a regatta for them! It may not be Henley but it’s going to be fun: there’ll be thrills and spills, fancy dress and serious rivalry! Our tea rent, barbecue and bar will be open for all, competitors and visitors!”

For media coverage, see the Stratford Herald p18, Stratford Herald online http://www.stratford-herald.com/72997-coach-proud-stratford-boat-clubs-henley-heroics.html and Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/…/stratford-bc-delighted-wi…