The Women’s 4+ (Victoria Ward, Victoria Brennan, Abigail Smith, Gabrielle Walker and cox Shruti Chaudry) from Stratford earned gold and bronze medals in the Novice and Senior Women’s events respectively. Gold winners in the girls’ J16 4+ and silver in the 4x- were Lara Davis, Ellie Gray, Issy Marsden, Maddy Winsper coxed by Robin Connolly and Maddy Winsper, Lauren Willis, Libby Dwyer and Maddie Griffiths respectively whilst the J15 girls, Emily Browne and Autumn Keil, were gold and bronze medalists in their single sculls event

A great performance by the Women’s Novice 4x- (Theo Mordaunt, Clare Teakle, Sofia Ward and Maddie Griffiths) delivered a silver medal whilst other bronze medal winners were Joseph Hodson (J15 1x) and Gracie Mitchell with Emily Browne in the girls’ J15 2x.
Although not medaling at this event, there were huge performances and commitment from Maiya James, Mya Kenny, Nixie Brunt, Jasmine Mountney and Sophie Neville in the WJ14 4x+, Dan Cox and Max Griffiths in J14 2x and Gracie Mitchell, Katie Philips, Jess Wiesheu, Katie Wellstead and Mimi Hill in WJ15 4x+. Also worthy of note was the J15 2x of Fred Tyler (rowing up a year) to partner Joe Hodson and sixteen year old Lara Davies racing against eighteen year olds in the single sculls

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald p14 and on line at Medals galore for Stratford rowers and Stratford Observer back page and on line at https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/…/stratford-medals-aplenty-…

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club Masters’ squads descended on local club Evesham for one of the last head races of the pre Christmas season on Saturday for Masters of the Avon & Evesham Senior Head.

Held on a cold but otherwise perfect day for rowing, the event was run over two divisions with the morning division of four kilometer length of the River Avon attracting a Masters D/E (average age 55), coxed four of Jen Cary (cox), Simon Skillings, Glyn Hawkins, Tim Lunel, and Wallace Brown. After a steady start the crew, marshalled expertly by Jen Cary, powered away from their local opponents Evesham to win their event in a time of 18 minutes and 34 seconds, beating Evesham by 45 seconds.

Following them closely down the course was the Mixed masters E (average age 55 years) double scull of Kjersti Woolley and Thomas Doherty. Competing against a high quality Derwent crew, they completed the course in a creditable 19 minutes and 47 seconds but had to settle for second place.

In the afternoon division, raced over a shorter two kilometer course, the masters F/G (average age 60 to 65 years) Men’s double scull was an all family affair with the Moore brothers, Joe and Simon, taking on local crews from Evesham and Bewdley. Rowing a tidy race the brothers completed the course in 11 minutes and 3 seconds to finish in second place.

The next Stratford racing crews saw a head to head between single scullers Mike Atkins and Chris Straw in Masters E/G division ( average age 55 to 65). In a competitive field Mike Atkins came a well deserved second in a time of 11minutes and 15 seconds just beating training partner Chris Straw by only three seconds to secure bragging rights!

Hot on their heels and not to be outdone by the men, came Kjersti Woolley having recovered from her morning exploits and now in a single scull to record a very good time of 12 minutes and 11 seconds.

Said Tom Doherty, Masters’ Vice Captain, “It was great to see so many of the Masters’ squad competing across a range of events: with more crews in training we hope to have additional crews competing across the region at events in the New Year.”

Following on their amazing season’s success and having only been rowing for slightly over a year, Stratford’s Explore rowing section was invited to enter a crew into the Women’s Primary 4+ event in Division 2 to provide some friendly competition for a Bewdley crew. Definitely up for the challenge but last of the day to set off, the Stratford crew of Rosie Stone, Clare Booth, Rona Fitzpatrick and Becky Smith nevertheless strode out well over the start line and increased their rating to catch up and overtake the Bewdley crew by the half way mark, maintaining a good lead for the rest of the course and finishing just under two minutes ahead. Said Rosie Stone, the Explore section organiser, “The Stratford Explore crew gave a stylish performance throughout much aided and encouraged by cox Esme Booth who did a sterling job of motivating and keeping the crew together! Thanks as always go to our great coaches who provided enthusiastic support and advice whilst training and on the day.”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald p16 and online http://www.stratford-herald.com/62377-stratfords-rowers-exc… and Stratford Observer p30 and online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/…/stratford-masters-excel-a…

The event, held at Stratford upon Avon Boat Club, saw beginner crews from around the West Midlands competing for the overall honours and the end of the seven event series and it was the home club who came out on top!

Stratford’s A and C crews claimed four wins to finish ahead of Bewdley in the overall standings in the series which started back in May.

“All that hard work pulled off! We put on a really good event and everyone who attended seemed to be enjoying themselves – which is what it’s all about after all! Great stuff and a fitting finale to the Explore Regatta 2016 season,” said Rosie Stone of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club.

It wasn’t all plain sailing on the water, however, with one of the Ironbridge Rowing Club boats going a bit off course and into the path of another vessel, but even that mishap wasn’t enough to diminish the smiles on the faces of those taking part throughout the day.

British Rowing’s Explore Rowing Programme started as part of the 2009-2013 Whole Sport Plan since when more than 10,000 people have tried the sport. Explore Rowing clubs are making new links with their local communities with rowers finding fun and more flexible ways to enjoy rowing.

If any clubs are interested in attending or hosting a round of the West Midlands Explore Series next year, email British Rowing’s area manager Jo Atkinson (jo.atkinson@britishrowing.org), contact her on Twitter (@JoAtkinsonBR) or call 07818 576147.

Article courtesy of British Rowing: https://www.britishrowing.org/…/stratford-take-the-glory-in…

The phenomenal Stratford performance of the day was Jessica Wiesheu and Emily Browne who took the bronze medal in the girls’ double sculls finishing thirteen seconds behind the winners and beating crews from many famous girls’ rowing schools including those who row regularly on the River Thames.

See also Stratford Herald p20 and Stratford Observer p37.

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club senior crews took the long road to London last weekend for the Fullers Head of the River Fours held on Saturday. The national event, which attracts the best crews from all over the UK, is raced over the University Boat Race course in reverse, starting at Chiswick and finishing at Putney, a distance of over six kilometers on the river Thames (The Tideway) through London.

The event, which is only open to crews of a certain standard, requires a minimum of four sculling points and six sweep points at IM2 senior level for each crew. This ensures a very high standard of competition across all events. The weather for the race was continual rain which made for a damp but otherwise flat course, a somewhat unusual condition for Tideway racing which is known for its choppy conditions.

Stratford upon Avon’s attempt to field four racing crews at this weekend’s event found efforts struck down by illness which saw their much fancied quad four withdraw before the race. This was followed on the day by their number two coxed four crew having to abandon the race on arrival in London due to another outbreak of crew illness. With two crews withdrawn, the remaining crews focused on their race preparations only to suffer another crew member having to withdraw just before the race due to a family incident. Fortunately a ready substitute was on hand in the person of Ed Lewry who was able to jump into the boat and save the day.
With fifty percent of their entries gone before the race, the remaining Stratford crews took to the water in a great visual spectacle of rowing with some four hundred boats on the Thames in wet but otherwise good rowing conditions. Stratford’s first boat, the remaining coxed four of Alistair Collier, Ben Twiney, Tom Coles and substitute Ed Lewry, racing in IM1 coxed four put in an extremely powerful performance to finish in a time of twenty minutes and forty seconds and an overall finish position of two hundred and two. This strong mid position finish in their event meant that they beat a number of local experienced Tideway clubs in the process. Said Dr Ben Twiney, Senior Men’s Vice Captain, “This was a very pleasing performance from the crew considering the disruption just before the race. Credit must go to Ed Lewry who jumped into the crew at the last minute and put in a superb row.“

Stratford’s remaining crew racing in IM1 coxless fours had, unusually for them, less stressful day getting to the race. Competing in a large field of thirty six crews in their event, the crew of Richard Nelson, Tim Lunel, Charlie Evans, and Tom Doherty, had originally been due to race in the Masters’ event on Sunday but were unable to secure an entry.

The crew with an average age over fifty and one of the oldest crew entrants in the whole event found themselves up against crews of almost half their age. However not to be outdone by the opposition, the crew put in a hard race for the whole of the event racing neck and neck with a City of Oxford crew for two kilometers to finish in a time of twenty one minutes and thirty six seconds for an overall finish position of two hundred and sixty three out of four hundred and thirty racing crews. Said Tom Doherty, Masters’ Vice Captain, “We were always going to be up against stiff opposition racing much younger and fitter crews but we were determined to put in a good show despite limited practice beforehand and are pleased to have beaten some of our IM1 event opposition and a large number of IM2 crews. Credit is also due to the sterling support team of Shan Stokes ,Becky Stokes and Ben Smith who, despite the disappointment of not competing, gave the racing crews immense support on the day without which we couldn’t have raced.“

Meanwhile, back at Stratford, the Club observed a two minutes’ silence on Remembrance Sunday to honour those who fell in the World Wars and other conflicts. Nineteen names on the Club’s memorial who died in the Battle of the Somme were read out and the Club’s thoughts were led by the Club’s President, Paul Stanton. Wreaths were laid by the Club’s youngest member William Clarke and Peter Wyatt, the oldest member: seventy five years separate their rowing experience!

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald p16 and p14 and Stratford Observer p38 and online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/…/success-and-disappointmen…

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s head racing season campaign continued on Saturday with Henley Long Distance Sculls Head of the River Race. Held over three kilometers on the River Thames, this head race is always a high quality and popular event: this year being no different with a record six hundred strong entry list and high profile competitors such as Olympian James Cracknell OBE joining the fray

Stratford’s entries came from Senior, Masters and Junior sections with strong sculling performances in plentiful supply across the board. Notable highlights were second place for the Women’s Junior 15 double scull of Emily Browne and Katie Wellstead (recording a faster time than most of the Junior 16 crews on the day) and Fred Tyler in the Junior 14 single scull category with a commanding performance to achieve an excellent third place

Elsewhere amongst the Stratford athletes, the Junior 15 single scullers of Joe Hodson, Jess Wiesheu and Khloe Curnock battled hard in a competitive class. The Junior 15 coxed quadruple scull (Molly Gill-Swift, Gracie Mitchell, Autumn Keil, Katie Phillips and Mimi Hill) and Junior 14 coxed quadruple scull (Mya Kenny, Mili Wilcock, Maiya James, Alice Baines and Sophie Neville) pushed hard and there were plucky performances from Lucy Rouse (Novice single scull) and Christine Goodwin (Masters single scull) against tough competition showing promise for future events

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Stratford upon Avon’s Seniors continued their winter head racing season with a trip to local Midlands club Stourport for their small boats head race. The event, raced over two four kilometer divisions in windy but otherwise good conditions, offered some challenging racing throughout the day. First off in the morning division in cold but beautiful conditions for Stratford upon Avon was Kjersti Woolley and Thomas Doherty in Mixed Masters E double sculls. In their first event since competing at the World Masters Club Championships in Copenhagen in September, they rowed down the four kilometer course rating a powerful thirty strokes per minute in a tough encounter with IM2 double scullers from Loughborough, managing to keep them at bay for the whole course to record a time of 15 minutes and 20 seconds which proved fast enough to win their event giving Kjersti Woolley her first victory for Stratford

Not to be outdone, Stratford’s Explore rowing section comprising Nils Purser, Rona Fitzpatrick, Andrea Duxbury and Rosie Stone took on local club Stourport over the full four kilometer course in their first taste of fully competition racing after their wins at the British Rowing’s West Midland Explore Regatta at Stratford last weekend. Getting off to a fast start, the crew strode out to gradually to overhaul Stourport and by the three quarter mark at the Stourport boathouse had established a lead of some five lengths. Despite fatigue creeping in, the crew kept their technique to maintain their lead all the way to the finish in a very good time of 19 minutes

Said a delighted Nils Purser, Stratford’s Explore crew organiser, “This was our first foray into full long distance head racing in our Explore class boats and, despite it being a big challenge, we were exceptionally pleased to be able to maintain our discipline and record a first win at this level. We have now got the racing bug and are looking forward to many more exciting races!”

See also Stratford Herald online http://bit.ly/2foAuBq and p17 and Stratford Obsever online http://bit.ly/2f0aDPw and p30

See also David Phillip’s great pictures of Henley Long Distance Sculls Head of the River Race https://www.flickr.com/…/sets/721576747293…/with/30165774314 and https://www.flickr.com/…/135872444@N…/sets/72157674729386951

Said Nils Purser, Stratford Boat Club’s Explore Rowing squad organiser, “Stratford was honoured to be chosen to run the final Explore Rowing regatta: we were even more delighted to have won the day. Credit goes not only to Stratford’s Explore Rowing crews but especially to the coaches who taught us to row and have helped us with the improvement we have made since our initial Learn to Row courses

Stratford’s Explore Rowing crews were not the only crews to be on the water this last Sunday: the Club’s Senior Squad represented Stratford at Gloucester Rowing Club’s Long Distance Autumn Head of the River Race and Junior and Master’s Squads took part in the Club’s upstream time trials on the Avon

To see Stratfor Herald online coverage http://www.stratford-herald.com/60830-stratford-boat-club-c… and hard copy p19. For Stratford Observer, see p31

Saturday saw Stratford upon Avon Boat Club and their sister club, King Edward VI Boat Club, compete at nearby Evesham Junior Head. Racing over 1900 metres, the racing was truly pulsating.
The KES boys won a great victory in the J18 coxed fours; KES girls’ performance was tremendous finishing just in front of the Stratford WJ16 4+.

Lara Davies, sculling in the WJ16 event for Stratford Boat Club, was outstanding and secure first place in the event of fifteen competitors: Lara then secured a second victory sculling in a double with Lauren Willis.

The WJ15 double of Molly Gill-Swift and Gracie Mitchell finished a creditable fourth whilst Katie Philips and Emily Browne rowing up an age group would in time have dominated the event.

Many of the athletes raced in two events and after racing already, the girls’ J15 quad scull lost by five seconds to Headington. Said Steve Wellstead, Junior Co-ordinator, “Headington is a high quality girls’ rowing school from Oxford: we’re coming up on them fast! Headington, look out for the future!”

Many of the fourteen and fifteen year olds also rowed in single sculls: a great performance by all but topped by Joe Hodson outstanding win in the boys’ event.

But the day was to be given over to the thirteen year olds, a mixture of two boys (Fred Tyler and Max Griffiths) and two girls (Nixie Brunt and Maiya James) coxed by Sophie Neville who won the boys’ event, a truly tremendous achievement. Two crews of girls in double sculls also gave an impressive performance.

Stratford upon Avon rowers also took part in the first national rowing event of the new rowing year, The Pairs Head of the River Race held annually on the River Thames in the middle of London .

The event raced over 4.8 kilometers attracted a full field of over 430 crews competing in a range of two person crews raced over a slightly shortened Varsity Boat Race course.

One of the first crews competing over the course was Stratford’s IM2 double scullers Ed Lewry and Ben Gittus Smith who started fifth in the large field. In difficult conditions with high winds and choppy water they recorded an impressive finishing time of 15 minutes 33 seconds to finish third in their event.

Stratford upon Avon’s Mixed Masters C double scullers of Fiona Carmichael and Thomas Doherty were next off in the middle of the field. The pair who hadn’t raced for several months together were faced with a stiff task against a high quality field but still recorded a creditable time of 17 minutes and 21 seconds.

Stratford’s final crew entry in Masters D pairs of Richard Nelson and Simon Beard had to contend with a last minute boat substitution due to equipment damage, but still managed a fast time of 16 minutes and 58 seconds in a highly contested division.

Said Tom Doherty, Masters’ Vice Captain, “This is the first time for some years we have had so many crews in a diverse range of classes in such a prestigious event and we hope to build on this performance for next year.”

Stratford can now also look forward to hosting the final Explore regatta of the season which will take place on Sunday 30 October.

See also Stratford Herald p20

For more great pictures of Evesham Head, see David Phillip’s stream https://www.flickr.com/…/135872444@N…/sets/72157671741014063