Author Archive: Chris Best

Stratford Conquer at Worcester and Nottingham

Posted on by

This Saturday, the athletes of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club travelled across the county into Worcestershire to compete at the Worcester Spring Regatta. Stratford was represented by two squads, Senior Men and J13 juniors. Senior sculler Jake Blatcher made short work of a sculler from Birmingham University in the first round. Sadly his run of form was not sustained into the final where a strong row was bettered by a Worcester Rowing Club sculler making full use of the home advantage.

With the regatta being held over 850m on the River Severn, the event presented the youngest Stratford athletes with the opportunity to experience big river racing for the first time. Perfect conditions greeted the J13 squad as they arrived in Worcester to prepare. First to go was Cara Berisford-Murray in the WJ13 single scull. A tricky draw saw Cara put in a big push in the closing 100m of the race but couldn’t quite catch the Exeter sculler. Exeter then continued to take the win in the final against Stratford’s Becca Smith who made her opposition work hard for the win.

The morning excitement continued with a Stratford versus Stratford final in the WJ13.4x+. The crew of Tessa Parkin, Josephine Cooper, Martha Cooke, Martha Baines and Maeve Dunn (coxswain) started well and pushed hard throughout the race but undeterred by their bumpy start the crew of Bryony Francis, Isla Dunn, Sophie Franklin, Poppy Warren and Millie Smith (coxswain) rowed through their fellow Stratford athletes to take the win in style. More coxed quadruple scull racing continued in the afternoon when, due to a lack of competition, the Stratford J13 crew of Martha Baines, Maeve Dunn, Martha Cooke, Josephine Cooper and Poppy Warren (coxswain) competed in the Open J14 category mixing it with schoolboy crews one year their senior. In the first round, a boys’ crew from St Edwards School (Oxford) boated with some trepidation having seen the Stratford girls racing earlier in the day. Their fears were well founded as Stratford thundered down the course leaving the Teddies boys in their wake. Unfortunately, the semi-final saw a quality boys crew from Winchester School overhaul the Stratford girls with fresh legs in their first race of the day.

The final competition of the day for Stratford was the WJ13 double sculls with three crews entered. The scene was set in the semi-finals with the Stratford crew of Millie Smith and Becca Smith motoring home to better a quality pairing from Exeter Rowing Club. On the other side of the draw, it was Stratford versus Stratford again with Bryony Francis and Sophie Franklin lining up against Tessa Parkin and Isla Dunn, each crew vying for a place in the final. The Francis/Franklin combination proved the quicker which set the scene for the third race to be contested between Stratford crews. What a race it was! The people of Worcester were treated to a fine display of junior sculling and sportsmanship in the final. It was a nip and tuck affair for the duration of the race as each sought to nose ahead of the other. As the two crews rounded the bend, coming within sight of the finish it was still too close to call and the crowd rose to their feet to catch sight of the duel crossing the line. The final verdict was a win for Bryony Francis and Sophie Franklin by just a quarter of a boat length – the slimmest of margin and testament to the quality of rowing seen throughout the day!

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club Masters Women and Senior Men took to the water on Sunday for Nottingham Rowing Club’s Masters & Club Regatta at Holme Pierrepoint Nottingham, home of the National Watersport Centre. Rowing in a crew formed literally that morning due to illness, Stratford’s Ed Lewry mounted an impressive display in his double with George Crouchly from Nottingham, coming in first place by three lengths.

As they passed the 250mark, the official race commentary team announced how ‘Stratford‘s double are showing everyone how to scull today‘. Underlining their class, the double also took the fastest double of the day title: an amazing achievement for a sea tech crew! Sadly, due to the rules of composites for the Open category, Lewry was not awarded a medal but showed true winning style and just how two quality rowers can win, even if they have never been in a boat together before!

Stratford‘s relatively new Masters’ Women double of Gina Fusco and Christine Goodwin achieved their three planned goals for today; a racing start off a stake boat for the first time, staying straight and in their lane and finishing the race! Facing tough opposition, their coach Danni Fusco encouraged them home and gave plenty of good feedback and building blocks for their next battle in three weeks’ time, Christine and Gina commented, “The standard was high and it is great to come and compete at a higher level. We have many learning points and will get back on the Avon and are determined to keep improving!”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page sixty two and also Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-clubs-juniors-conquer-at-worcester

For more great pictures of Worcester Spring Regatta, see The Baines’ great selection https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiW2DAyn9tg9j5ExDZVrMsPIma1_6g?e=hKuCOT

Another Busy Weekend for Stratford Juniors and KES

Posted on by

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s J16 squad faced a busy weekend: after a light outing and more boat loading, the J16 squad set off at the crack of dawn for Dorney Lake and The Junior Sculling Regatta. With crews from clubs and schools all over the UK and even the South African Schools Rowing Union, top competition was assured. Charles Happel sculled brilliantly over the 1900 meter time trial to finish seventh out of thirteen scullers in his event, missing out on a place in the A final by just 1.5 seconds, a splendid come back from his misfortune at Evesham. Charlotte Isbell and Grace Beason again in their double acquitted themselves well gaining a lot from the experience of competing at a high level event. Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Maddie Hall and Kate Richardson competing again in their quadruple scull faced twenty one other crews in the time trial finishing seventh, just 0.3 seconds behind Maidenhead.

Also qualifying for the B final just 0.3 sec behind Stratford and starting in the next lane were Tideway Scullers. Stratford made a sensational start leading the field by a quarter of a length after seven strokes. Tideway edged back after 500 meters and took a one length lead by 1400 meters with South Africa closing the gap: Amalia made the call to up the pressure and go for home. South Africa couldn’t answer and with a high rate burst for the last ten strokes, Stratford secured second place by just three quarters of a length to Tideway Scullers. Said Sam Hill, J16 Coach, “The J16’s showed great skill and determination this weekend proving they have what it takes to compete with the best!”

In addition, some of the J17 performance squad travelled to Dorney Lake to compete in small boats also at the National Junior Sculling Regatta. This was their first opportunity this season to compete in small boats and each learned a lot and put in some really good performances. First up were the J17 double scull of Tomi Wilcock and Will Beattie. They were up against some strong opposition from some of the top rowing clubs from around the country. They managed to come in seventh place, less than three seconds from the A Final.

Next to go was Toby Sartain in the J17 single sculls. Toby sculled a good race and finished up in thirteenth place with a solid technical performance. Lastly from the J17 squad was Freya Watts in the WJ17 single sculls. Freya had never raced in a single at a national competition before and this was a good challenge for her. Finishing in a solid ninth place with just thirty five seconds separating her from first place. Commenting, Abi Terry, J17/18 Performance Squad Coach said, “This was a great event to give the squad a real test against some top opposition. Next up is National Schools Regatta at the end of May!”

Also rowing at Dorney Lake in the Ball Cup was Stratford’s sister club, King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club, this time in the Ball Cup, a competition which KES founded. KES won gold in the quad and a silver in the coxed four events.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/j16-squad-show-they-can-compete-with-the-best-9253801 and page fifty three. See also Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-clubs-junior-squad-enjoy-junior-sculling-regatta-challenge and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/05/13&pages=024

Stratford’s Bumper Weekend at Evesham and Marlow!

Posted on by

This weekend saw Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Men’s masters competing in both Saturday’s 1000m event and Sunday’s 500m Sprints at Evesham Rowing Club’s Spring Regatta. On Saturday, the Master’s E 4+ crew , (Edwards, Aitchison, Cann, Skillings, cox Francis) were up against a national championship crew from Pengwern Boat Club, Shropshire.  The race started well with Pengwern showing the benefit of many years racing and getting an early lead over Stratford. Stratford did not let this affect them and held the gap until the halfway point where Stratford started gaining on their opposition. Stratford continued to gain, with cox Francis driving the crew hard in her first competitive event. However, in the final 200m Pengwern once again showed the benefit of race experience and put in an heroic push to secure a win over Stratford. After the event, Pengwern’s crew said, “You certainly gave us a good run for our money, we’ve looking forward to the next time!”

Sunday saw the Masters’ E 4+ crew, (Simkins, Charlesworth, Shepherd, Freeman, cox Ward) in the 500m event against a Masters’ F crew from Warwick. The Stratford crew had a two length handicap and after an epic sprint to the clubhouse, they lost out by just half a length! Bowman Simkins said, “Even though we lost by half a length, it was nice to be competing again!”

Also racing at Evesham Regatta were Stratford’s Mixed Masters’ double sculls of Heather Hayton and Tom Doherty and they led off the Stratford Masters’ participation in the afternoon division racing in the D/E [50 to 55] age category.

A good clean start saw Hayton and Doherty take an early racing lead against local rivals Warwick into the first of two large bends on the course. A push on the straight after the bend saw Stratford slightly increase their lead to about three lengths up to the 500 metre halfway mark. Warwick were not to be outdone however and approaching the second large bend, put in a strong push on the inside favourable side of the river to close back on Stratford reducing the lead to about a length and a half with 300 metres to go. Stratford did not panic and maintained a smooth rhythm and rating of 34 strokes per minute to extend their lead over the last two hundred meters to win by two lengths!

Stratford’s J15 squad raced in four events at the Evesham Regatta on Saturday. In the WJ15 4x+ event, Nancy Davis cox Scarlett Richardson, Megan Rowan, Jessica Long and Harriet Froom to Gold success, beating a fine Evesham crew in the final on their home waters. In J15 singles event, Jamie Wilcock sculled into the semi-final beating one of his nemeses from Evesham. In the WJ15 singles event, Eloise Cooper, Lucy Sartain and Molly Vondrak sculled very well with the latter making the final, losing by a length to a formidable opponent from Bristol. In the WJ15 doubles event, Stratford occupied two of the four semi-final slots, sadly with neither making it to the final. Commenting, Hugo Happel, J15 Coach said, “We were very pleased with the J15 performances, all round good sculling, tremendous work ethic and some well deserved outcomes. Well done to all the athletes!”

A highly successful days racing at Evesham at the weekend accumulating in Stratford Boat Club being awarded the Victor Ludorum, “the winner of the games” on Saturday. The trophy is presented to the club who have won the most events or accumulated the most points on the day. Following on from the Junior Inter Regional Regatta last weekend, Stratford’s J14’s competed in both the Saturday, 1000m event and Sunday 500m Sprints.

First up on Saturday the crew of the OP J14 coxed quadruple sculls Seth Vondrak, Xavier Sissins-Rofey, James Albrighton, Theo Richter, and Ollie Rowlands (coxswain) faced a crew from the host club Evesham in a straight final: the boys dominated the race from the start resulting in an easy win to Stratford.

Following on from the boys, the WJ14 double of Lily Warren and Poppy Baines faced a crew from Bristol City: despite a close start, the girls lost out to Bristol who went on to win the overall event. In the other side of the draw were the crew of Alice Jones and Sophie Evans who were given a bye to the semi-final. Despite a delay at the start due to equipment issues with their opposition, the Stratford crew kept pace over the first quarter of the course, sadly losing out to a strong crew from AB Severn.

Joining the J13 squad on the Sunday “Sprint “were Ollie Rowlands and Alexandra Francis in their debut single sculls event. Due to the withdrawal of opposition in the semi-final, Rowlands faced a long wait for the finals of the OJ 14 singles event. Facing an old quadruple quad adversary and despite a valid attempt, Rowlands eventually lost out to the Abingdon sculler.

Francis dominated the first and semi-final rounds easily: the same could not be said of the final as Francis faced formidable opposition from AB Severn. An exciting race ensued, both crews neck and neck for most of the course receiving vocal encouragement by the spectators on the boathouse bank. In what was a nail-biting finish, Francis took advantage of the staggered finish line and eventually won by a quarter of a length.

The J18 Club Squad were also present and competing in the afternoon division. Hannah Broome and Isabella Sandland, competing in their first regatta event, rowed a strong race beating their opponents in their first heat easily with a strong start and great teamwork but losing out to the eventual winners of the event in their semi-final event. Racing continued with Elisabeth Edwards next to race in the W1x event. Competing against an experienced sculler from Exeter, Edwards put up a strong fight, keeping level with her opponent throughout but lost out at the finish by just one length.

Martha Usselmann was last to race against the Exeter sculler having had a bye to the final of the W1x category: a barge on the course led to the race being restarted but Usselmann had a strong start and kept level with her opposition. Steering a confident line down the course, Usselmann drew ahead halfway through the race and kept up her lead to the finish securing a win of two lengths for the event.

On Sunday, Day Two of the ever popular Evesham Regatta got underway with the “Sprint Edition”: half the distance of Saturday’s event but by no means any less competitive. The 500m course ran from bridge to club through the heart of Evesham’s Abbey Park to provide the spectators with an excellent view of the racing as the action unfolded.

In their debut regatta, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club was represented by the J13 squad racing in single, double and quadruple sculls.  First up, the double scull of Martha Baines and Martha Cooke sculled smoothly into the final where they met the other Stratford pairing of Tessa Parkin and Maeve Dunn.  The race did not disappoint with the crew of Marathas (plus lucky avocado) the eventual winners!

Next up were six of the young scullers competing in the J13 single sculls event. A daunting prospect for the most seasoned oarswoman, the Stratford girls demonstrated boatmanship beyond their years. Throughout the event, the scullers Martha Baines, Cara Berisford-Murray, Isla Dunn, Poppy Warren, Sophie Franklin and Martha Cooke tore up the Avon dealing with the competition in the process. Isla Dunn emerged from the fray victorious to collect the second win for Stratford Boat Club with a classy scull beating Avon County Rowing Club in the final by two lengths.

In the final event for the J13 squad, the coxed quadruple sculls event was closely fought against local rivals on the water, Evesham Rowing Club. The Stratford crew of Becca Smith, Cara Berisford-Murray, Poppy Warren, Sophie Franklin and Martha Cooke (coxswain) pushed hard in their semi-final with just two lengths separating them from victory. In the other side of the draw, the other Stratford crew of Millie Smith, Isla Dunn, Josephine Cooper, Bryony Francis and Martha Baines (coxswain) fared better to secure their place in the final by a comfortable margin. Sadly, they were unable to convert their semi-final performance into victory and lost out to a quality Evesham outfit by just one length.

Commenting on the day’s racing, Stratford’s Junior Coordinator and J13 coach Steve Wellstead said, “These young athletes showed the strength of their already tight squad with how they supported and helped one another in their first competition. The two event wins were the icing on the cake that was a great day on the water!”

The J16 squad faced a busy bank holiday weekend competing in two regattas. The first at Evesham on Saturday was held on a tight 1,000 meter course with a tricky bend after the start. Charles Happel boated first in his single scull taking a confident win to progress to the final where he met Worcester Rowing Club. Charles made a flying start only to clip a submerged log with his oar ending his race in spectacular fashion. Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Maddie Hall and Kate Richardson had no competition in the WJ16 category so they entered their quad in the women’s event. They took a convincing win in the semi final against Exeter to meet Stourport in the final. Despite a top class performance from the Stratford girls the Stourport women had the power to take the win. To round off the afternoon for the J16s Charlotte Isbell and Grace Beason, racing for the first time together in their double scull, met Royal Grammar School Worcester in the final. They sculled very well, but were beaten by a more experienced crew.

Stratford’s sister club King Edward Sixth School Boat Club also competed at Evesham Rowing Club’s Spring Regatta and made outstanding effort with their Performance Squad beating a muscular Clifton College in the final. Great preparation for next week’s Ball Cup!

Also competing on Saturday but further south at Marlow Rowing Club’s Spring Regatta were Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s ever expanding adaptive squad. With a win for Stratford sculler Lee Cairns, competing in his first competitive event, Lee won the fixed seat singles event. Fixed seat racing is a pararowing competition for individuals who due to a medical condition are not able to use legs to propel the boat. Lee’s final was the closest and most exciting race of the adaptive day. The lead changed hands more than once: in the closing stages, by maintaining good technique, Lee finally got the better of his opponent, Luke Payne from Sudbury, winning by a length.

The day was an unusual one for the Stratford adaptive squad: usually the squad comes away from an event with multiple wins. However, this time, the squad lost five out of six finals. Head Adaptive Coach Mark Dewdney commented, “That’s sport: today we rowed well but our opponents rowed better! Congratulations to them!”

Some of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s alumnae including Katie Wellstead (Oxford University), Talei Dunn (Durham University), Molly Gill-Swift (Exeter University ) and Hermione Hill (Durham University) were competing at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Regatta 2022 at Nottingham over the weekend as well.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty one and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-club-enjoy-bumper-weekend-at-evesham-and-marlow and on back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/05/06&pages=024

For more great pictures of Evesham regatta, see Kathy and Stuart Baines’ selections at https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgY7EiDB2lCOhY5uHPyivDC7tTkc7Q?e=F0KGmw and https://1drv.ms/f/s!AiW2DAyn9tg9j45NUoENU9m4AbAATw

Stratford Masters conquer the 50th Anniversary Head of the Dart 2022

Posted on by

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club masters squad competed in the 50th Anniversary Head of the Dart last weekend which is held on a fifteen kilometre course on the River Dart from Totnes to Dartmouth. The river offers stunning countryside views and is the home of thriller writer Agatha Christie. The tidal river can be remote and challenging with conditions ranging from calm and ideal to a significant swell which can prove difficult to a fine rowing boat.

Competition was strong this year with over one hundred boats entered and the event ran over two days. On Saturday fours and eights were raced from Totnes to Dartmouth: on Sunday, singles, doubles and pairs were run from Dartmouth to Totnes.

This year the Saturday boats rowed on a ebb tide with near ideal conditions: the tricky middle section which has sunk boats before now proved to be fairly benign with only a few waves breaking over the boats.

The Men’s Masters-E Coxed Four crew of David Edwards, Richard Aitchison, Graham Cann and Simon Skillings were coxed by Jen Cary. Jen’s excellent steering and cool nerves while being bounced around led the crew to a solid third place, beating crews from Dart Totnes Club and Plymouth Amateur Rowing Club with a time of 58:05

Graham Cann, crew member, said, “What a fantastic opportunity in great weather and company to represent Stratford Boat Club and to have rowed the River Dart in under an hour. We should thank each other for our commitments and the early starts in all types of weather and circumstances! A special thanks to our cox Jen for guiding us down through the Dart and our wonderful wives for their support, patience and assistance not only on the day but providing us with the opportunity to row!”

Tom Doherty and Heather Hayton also competed and entered a composite Mixed 4x- boat with Upton upon Severn Club and recorded an excellent time of 51:05, leading to a solid win over Tees Rowing Club, Dart Totnes and Der Club Germania.

Sunday saw the event run in the reverse direction with Tom and Heather entering a mixed double. Conditions were less favourable, with stronger winds and a faster tide. Despite these conditions, they recorded a time of 56:29 coming fourth in their class and twentieth overall.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty three and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-club-masters-conquer-the-50th-anniversary-head-of-the-dart and also on back sports page. Also now on back sports page Stratford Observer’s Friday edition: https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/04/22&pages=024

Stratford’s Juniors Finish Head Season On High Note!

Posted on by

To round off the winter head racing season, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s juniors headed east for Bedford and Great Ouse. Not one of the Club’s regular events, it was the first time the junior athletes had rowed the 2k course that winds through the town under seven bridges to the finish in a very scenic park.

The J16 squad entered Charles Happel in a single scull, who put in his best performance of the season so far. In a field of twelve, Charles finished third, just one second behind Leicester Rowing Club.

J16 Coach Sam Hill said, “I am very pleased for the athletes. To achieve such a good result at Bedford is very encouraging for the regatta season that starts in two weeks at Nottingham.”

The Stratford WJ15 girls also put on a great performance at the 2022 Bedford Spring head. The squad of Eloise Cooper, Molly Vondrak, Lucy Sartain, Esmerelda Elfwood and Aimee Appleton (cox), sculled the 2000m course in a fantastic time of eight minutes and sixteen seconds. Commenting, Hugo Happel, J15 Coach said: “They missed out on Gold by only four seconds to the girls from Falcon RC (Oxford). However, they beat five other crews, three of them based on the Thames: Wallingford, Eton Excelsior and Staines plus Leicester and Bedford!”

Also at Bedford were the J17/18 Performance squad represented by Freya Watts, Martha Usselmann, Amelie Sartain and Harriet Holmes who competed first in the Women’s coxless quad event. Commenting, Abi Terry, the J17/18 Performance Squad Coach said, “With Harriet steering an excellent line down the tricky course, the girls finished a respectable third in the most competitive band and fourth overall in a field of stiff competition.”

Later on, the WJ squad split into two doubles, Martha and Amelie competing in the Women’s event, and Freya and Harriet in the Women’s J17 category. The two scratch crews finished third and sixth respectively in their events, against some prestigious crews.

Also competing at Bedford Head was the double of Nick Sartain and Ed Lewry: they were the first Stratford crew to hit the water competing in the Open Double Sculls event. They posted the fastest time of the Club for the day across the 2km distance to finish at the top of their band and seventh overall.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty nine and online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/rowers-sign-off-the-winter-season-on-a-high-note-9249786 and also Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-club-juniors-finish-winter-head-season-in-style and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/04/15&pages=032

Stratford’s Dewdney Summoned By High Sheriff!

Posted on by

Thursday evening saw Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Head Adaptive Coach Mark Dewdney at Warwick School for a surprise reception and presentation by the outgoing High Sheriff of Warwickshire, The Lady Willoughby de Broke with a certificate “… in recognition of great and valuable services to the community”.

The award was nominated by Cllr Kevin Taylor, Mayor of Stratford upon Avon who said, “Great night on Thursday evening attending The High Sheriff of Warwickshire’s Evening reception where she presented awards to various charities from around Warwickshire. Stratford upon Avon charities Lifespace, Safeline and the Street Pastors were all given awards.

All of the Warwickshire Mayors were requested to nominate a volunteer of the year award and it was a great honour to nominate Mark Dewdney, Head Adaptive Coach and main instigator of the adaptive rowing squad at Stratford upon Avon Boat Club.

Mark is a truly inspirational character with a vision of creating an incredibly inclusive and important section of a great sporting club. He works tirelessly to deliver and although now supported by a very willing number of dedicated volunteers, without his vision drive and enthusiasm this would have never happened.”

Kevin continued, “Volunteers such as Mark are critical in the delivery of projects in the area: they are the catalysts in delivering programmes such as this and I know I will be seeking Mark’s advice in how to deliver an adaptive group within Stratford upon Avon Table Tennis Club. Well done, Mark: this award is incredibly well deserved!”

Commenting further, Paul Stanton, President of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club said, “Mark had no idea that this award was coming and it was very special to have the evening and award presented by The High Sheriff Lady Willoughby de Broke. We are immensely proud of Mark and all that he has done for the Club and the local community: the adaptive section and the Club goes from strength to strength and is reliant and built on the volunteering ethic that Mark exemplifies!”

For media inclusion, see Stratford Herald page fifty nine and online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/boat-club-coach-scoops-surprise-volunteer-of-the-year-award-9249269

Stratford’s Adaptives Out In Force at Henley on Thames Phyllis Court

Posted on by

Sunday saw a very large contingent of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s adaptive (disabled) section descend on Henley-on-Thames to take part in The Phyllis Court Time Trials. This event has become the major highlight of the adaptive calendar: times achieved are used as a major indicator of performance and determine the format of competition for the coming regatta season.

The Stratford Boat Club entered ten crews, more than a third of the total entry. This included Rob Pedley, Lee Cairns and Dan Browne competing in their first ever event. On the day there were thirteen adaptive rowers making their debut: this is a very good indicator for the growth of rowing for the disabled.

In perfect but cold conditions, the Stratford rowers again proved they are a force to be reckoned with. Performances, especially from the new members of the squad, made the Head Adaptive Coach extremely proud and happy, no bad thing for coach/ athlete relationships! Mark Dewdney, Head Adaptive Coach said, “The squad is now so large that we spend a lot of our time at regattas just making sure all the kit is available when it needs to be. This may be tiring and a major undertaking for all the coaches and helpers as well as the athletes but good results will always make the effort worthwhile! The section is heavily reliant on volunteers who give their time freely: this is why the team works so well!”

Given the nature of the event, the awards are only given out for special performances: this year these focussed on the new rowers, Stratford taking two of the six prizes. One prize went to Dan Browne and ‘buddy rower’ and Adaptive Coach Joe Moore as the fastest new double and Rob Pedley took the Coaches’ Award for the most impressive debut of the day.

Also at Phyllis Court to support Stratford Boat Club’s adaptive squad were Kevin Taylor, Mayor of Stratford upon Avon and Stratford Boat Club President, Paul Stanton. Commenting, Paul said, “We were honoured to have Kevin with us and his support for the adaptive squad on the day and during his tenure as Mayor of Stratford upon Avon means a lot to us and exemplifies Kevin’s commitment and dedication to sport, those who are less fortunate and the culture of volunteering: we have all learnt a lot from Kevin over this last year”

Commenting further, Paul said, “Our welcome and attentive company from Phyllis Court was outstanding to both me and the Mayor of Stratford upon Avon, a glorious morning spent in the company of kind and considerate people. We marvelled at their organisation, lots of marquees, genuine smiling faces and ever welcome to assist on any request. Speaking on behalf of the competitors from our adaptive squad, our thanks for their hospitality and assistance. Phyllis Court Rowing Club are a very friendly bunch of caring people!”

Kevin Taylor, Mayor of Stratford upon Avon, summed up the day by saying, “Thank you so much for a thoroughly enjoyable day: we are immensely proud of everyone assisting and participating within the group and we look forward to coming along again soon!”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/adaptive-squad-makes-waves-at-time-trials-9248001 and page fifty one and also Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratfords-adaptives-out-in-force-at-henley-on-thames

Packed Schedule for Stratford’s Rowers!

Posted on by

It has been a very busy week for Stratford upon Avon Boat Club Junior Squad with multiple away heads and trials. Firstly, Stratford’s J17/18 Performance Squad competed at The Scullery event on a very, very wet Wednesday. The Junior Sculling Head was held on the Olympic course at Dorney Lake

The day started early at the Lake for the J17/18 squad and the boys’ coxless quad of Will Beattie, Tomi Wilcock, Charles Happel and Toby Sartain were the first to boat. Despite discovering some steering problems off the start, they rowed a strong race to finish tenth in the Open J17 category, beating several competitive crews.

In the Women’s J18 event, Freya Watts, Ruby Howells, Amelie Sartain and Lucy Browne raced their coxless quad to finish a respectable thirty first with the majority of the crew racing up an age group.

Also at the Junior Sculling Head at Eton Dorney were Stratford’s WJ15 Squad: this great national event provided a great showcase for Stratford’s WJ15 quads. Stratford Boat Club takes this opportunity to thank the athletes’ schools for signing off on the permission to race during school time. Both WJ15 coxed quads did a tremendous job over the 2x 1.8km course. Sadly, Stratford did not win the event and they missed out on qualifying for Inter Regionals by 1.7seconds. Nevertheless, the WJ15 squad did the Club and their schools proud: sixty five crews raced in the event, with Stratford’s WJ15’s finishing in sixteenth and thirty ninth position, beating some big names such as Bedford Girls’ School, Wallingford, Sir William Borlase’s Grammar A, Thames Scullers A, Nottingham & Union, Godolphin & Latymer as well as both Kings School Worcester crews.

Hot on the heels of the WJ15’s was the Stratford’s WJ14’s boating in torrential rain. However, this did not deter the crew of Alexandra Francis, Poppy Baines, Sophie Evans, Alice Jones, coxed by Meg Nuttall. Commenting, Colin Bell, J14 Coach, said, “A very creditable eighth place out of thirty six crews amongst some of the high achieving clubs in the country is no mean feat!”

Taking to the water in the penultimate race of the day in low visibility were the OJ14 boys’ crew of Seth Vondrak, Xavier Sissins-Rofey, Theo Richter, Oliver Rowlands coxed by Lucy Yang. Achieving a position of eighteen out of forty three was commendable considering Sissins-Rofey, Richter and Yang are new to the sport having started sculling in October of last year.

The J16 squad also faced a hard competition at the weekend with two competitions. On Saturday, Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Grace Beason and Kate Richardson and cox Imogen Hill entered the WJ16 coxed four event at Kingston Head of the River Race over 5.2k of the fast flowing river Thames starting at Hampton Court Bridge. A strong headwind for much of the course created rough conditions testing the girls’ skill and the cox’s judgment in steering the fastest course. The Stratford crew showed great determination and stamina to beat their main competition Surbiton High School by fifty one seconds to score their third victory on the trot. Said Sam Hill, J16 Coach, “As a measure their achievement, it is worth noting that they also beat six university crews and Surbiton’s Championship women’s crew!”

Sunday brought another early start for the squad to race at the West Midlands selection event at Evesham which had been postponed from Stourport the previous weekend. Switching boats to a coxless quadruple scull, Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Maddie Hall and Kate Richardson beat Stourport by one minute and eight seconds. Charles Happel put in a brilliant performance in his single scull to beat King’s School Worcester by seven seconds to win a place alongside the girls’ quad in the squad to represent the West Midlands at the Junior Inter Regional Regatta in April.

On the upstream 1.4km Evesham course, from the ferry to the rowing club, two out three Stratford J15 crews qualified to represent the West Midlands t the Inter Regionals in April: Scarlett Richardson and Molly Vondrak in the WJ15 2x event, winning by forty two seconds against their nearest competition from Worcester Rowing Club as well as Will Dalrymple-Baker in the J15 1x event.

Musing on a very busy week for Stratford Boat Club, Paul Stanton, Stratford Boat Club President said, “What a credit the Junior Squad is to Stratford! Adding to the Juniors’ successes, the Club is also immensely proud of two recent Stratford Boat Club and King Edward The Sixth alumna – Katie Wellstead who was stroke in the Oxford University Women’s Light Weight crew on Sunday and Esme Booth who continued her winning streak, rowing in last weekend’s Women’s Eights Head of the River Race.” Rowing at number four in the winning Leander Club’s “A” boat, the crew completed the 4.25 mile course on the River Thames in nineteen minutes and fifteen seconds, thirty four seconds ahead of the second placed Oxford Brookes “A” boat! This follows on from Esme’s victories in the November GB Trials in Boston as part of a Leander Women’s pair (W2-) and in the Fours Head of the Tideway Race (Women’s Championship event) as part of the Leander Women’s Four (W4-). Esme returned to Caversham this week, training as a member of the GB Women’s Squad.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty seven and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-busy-week-for-stratford-upon-avon-boat-clubs-junior-squad

Stratford’s Adaptives and Masters Make A Splash at Gloucester!

Posted on by

Starting the morning at Gloucester Rowing Club’s Spring Head, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Adaptive Squad its first outing at the season. On a 1750 metre course, the Stratford Boat Club swept the adaptive board winning both the singles and doubles/pairs events.

Andy Morris competing in his first event for the Club covered the course in a few seconds under ten minutes. Bennett from Stourport was second about twenty seconds behind. Holliday from Gloucester came in third.

The doubles/pairs events were a 1-2-3 for Stratford Boat Club’s Adaptive Squad. All the Club’s crews finished in between ten and eleven minutes. After time adjustments to compensate for varying levels of disability, the winners were Gillian Middleton with her support rower Rona Fitzpatrick. Ian Ward and his mother Paola finished second. Hattie Throssell and rowing partner Joe Moore were third. Jake Blatcher also had a good row in his single but suffered from cramp during the last kilometre of his 5000 metre race which sadly ruined his chances of success.

The Adaptive Squad now forms part of a new initiative at Stratford Boat Club – The Stratford Mixed Ability Rowing Team. This aims to integrate the adaptive squad with able-bodied people learning to row and the Club’s day time recreational groups. The Club is introducing this change slowly so that the best result is achieved for all concerned. The Adaptive Squad’s next event is a time trial at Henley-on-Thames on 3rd April.

Saturday morning at Gloucester Rowing Club’s Spring Head also saw a composite Stratford/Gloucester crew comprising Gary Clay and Kjersti Rogneflaten (representing Gloucester but also a Stratford member), racing as Masters F Mixed Double Scull event: they were up against stiff opposition from Upton and two Warwick crews from the start. With a strong head wind, the double settled into a strong rhythm and managed to overtake four women double scull crews who had set of ahead of them. The double then negotiated the tricky course and finished strongly to win by four seconds from Upton (the Scriveners, who joined forces with Stratford in the afternoon division).

Another Stratford upon Avon Boat Club Masters’ squad continued their competition in the 5km afternoon division of Gloucester Rowing Club Spring Head with Heather Hayton and Tom Doherty rowing with their Upton friends Tabatha and Julian Scrivenor in the mixed Masters’ fours event.

With a field of five crews of varying age groups from average age of under 30 up to 60, the race was always going to be keenly contested. The Stratford/Upton crew with an average age 55 to 60, lead off closely followed by Bristol Ariel average age 35 to 40.

The Ariel crew put immediate pressure on the Stratford/Upton crew who refused to give in and dug deep to keep Ariel behind them down the course. With tricky head wind conditions, Ariel were only able to close slowly with Stratford/Upton managing to keep them behind until the three kilometre mark, well over half way down the course.

At the approach to a narrow bridge, a well known feature of the course, Ariel managed to sneak past and establish a lead of less than a length going into the last 1.7km.

The Stratford/Upton crew continued to dig deep and hang on to Ariel knowing that a close finish would guarantee them a win on the races age group handicap system. Although Ariel pulled out to about a twenty second lead at the finish, it was not enough as Stratford/Upton were able to come home in second place with a significantly close overall time to take the race win.

Sadly, Stratford’s Junior Squad and King Edward The Sixth Boat Club had to make the best of the water on the Avon at Stratford as their West Midlands Rowing Championships at Stourport were cancelled as the River Severn was not viable for rowing.

For media coverage, see  page fifty two and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-clubs-adaptive-squad-clean-up-at-gloucester-rowing-clubs-spring-head

For more great pictures of Gloucester Rowing Club’s Spring Head, see Matt Jones Photography’s selection at https://mattjonesphotography.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/Gloucester-Spring-Head-2022/C0000DPSByeOde9o

Stratford and KES Triumph at Worcester!

Posted on by

Last Saturday saw a number of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club and their sister King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club crews brave the blustery trip to local Midlands club Worcester for one of the longest head races of the year. The event, run over two divisions, saw crews competing over a six kilometre course in challenging river and weather conditions.

The morning division saw King Edward The Sixth School boys crew out with their J17 4x (T. Wilcock, R. Macdonald, T. Beard, E. Rose) on the water. It was the first time this crew had raced and against such a decent field, there was no knowing how they would fare. The conditions were not good, a tough head wind off the start and very choppy into the final five hundred metres. The boys held a good pace throughout and coped with the conditions well. Finishing second behind a strong Llandaff crew and ahead of local school crews was a very promising result.

Division Two saw KES’ Nov 4+ (T. Wheeler, E. Craig, T. Wilcock, E. Rose, J. Mitchell) out again after their victory two weeks ago, with one change in their crew. They were up against different opposition this time. Said Hannah Crone, King Edward The Sixth Rowing Coach, “With the challenging conditions having worsened since the morning, the focus was on keeping it clean and steady. Again they coped well with the conditions and came away with their second win of the season.”

Following on behind the King Edward The Sixth School boys was Stratford’s first crew in the event. Racing in a men’s quadruple sculls event (four scullers) was a mixed male and female crew from Upton and Stratford clubs. The crew, which just missed out on a win at the prestigious fours event in London by two tenths of a second, was keen to bounce back from disappointment with a solid performance.

Chasing down a fast men’s Minerva crew, the Upton/Stratford crew found themselves in a tussle with a good Warwick men’s crew. The whole race became a consolidated effort to hold off the Warwick men’s crew and prevent them getting any closer. The very blustery headwind combined with a strong stream leading to choppy conditions increased the pressure on the more lightweight Upton/Stratford crew.

Digging deep, the Upton/Stratford crew worked extremely hard to give little away over the six kilometre course and crossed the line with only a few seconds lost to the Warwick crew over the twenty one minute race. Commenting, Tom Doherty, crew captain, said, “Finishing fourth of six in a men’s event and only ten seconds separating the top four crews including Upton/Stratford was a very good achievement of which the crew can be pleased!”

Also taking part in Worcester Rowing Club Main Head on Saturday were Stratford Boat Club’s Daytime/Off-Peak Rowers’ squad. Not only do crews have to race over a distance of six kilometres but the crews also have to row upstream four kilometres to the start, complete the six kilometre downstream race and then row back upstream for an additional two kilometres to return to the boating area!

Conditions were extremely challenging for all crews. High river flow together with an opposing wind which caused rough water conditions in all exposed areas of the river. The last two kilometres of the race, downstream of the clubhouse, were particularly challenging with an additional high swell. During the afternoon division, rain added to the already difficult conditions whilst the crews awaited the start of the race in the marshaling area, exposed to the elements.

The women’s crew of Daytime/Off-Peak rowers – Ruth Poulten (bow), Paola Ward, Clare Booth and Rona Fitzpatrick (stroke) – competed in their first race as a crew in the Women’s Masters Coxless Quad (W4x-) category. Having mastered the high river flow for the first part of the course, the crew passed the clubhouse spectator area at the four kilometre race distance. The crew were rowing very smoothly and efficiently, making good of the atrocious conditions, unaware of the challenging conditions that lay ahead of them for the remaining two kilometres! The crew completed the race and their time resulted in a first ever race win for the crew!  Commenting on what was a fantastic result for the crew, Alfie Nash, squad coach said, “The crew are very deserving of their win in what were very challenging conditions. The crew maintained good position on the river and demonstrated a high level of resilience and skill.”

Also competing for Stratford Boat Club on this very cold day with blustery strong winds was Stratford’s WJ16 squad yet again proving their skill and power to beat the conditions and competition over the six kilometre downstream course on the river Severn.

The coxed four of Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Grace Beason, Kate Richardson coxed and steered expertly by Imogen Hill beat the novice crew from Birmingham by almost eight minutes recording a time of 22:38 minutes! Conditions for the final one kilometre could only be described as horrendous with strong winds creating waves cascading over the wave breaker on the four but Stratford battled on through to the finish.

The crew celebrated adding to their collection of “pots” by receiving a very attractive china tankard as reward for rowing four kilometres up to the start, freezing for over an hour waiting for the start then racing six kilometres at pace before rounding off with a two kilometre row back to the club to unload.

Commenting, Steve Marsden, J16 Coach, said, “Such are the joys of winter head racing! It was a particularly pleasing result as Grace had stepped in at very short notice in place of Maddie Hall who was unfortunately ill.”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/rowers-succeed-at-worcester-9240226 and page fifty two and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-club-triumph-at-worcester