All Fun At The Fun Regatta!

Although the wait of a year seemed a long time, all the expectations of the Fun Regatta were met and even bettered! The Fun Regatta attracted competitors from local companies, villages and groups of friends and twenty four crews with just three hours’ training produced some quality rowing, ably coxed by skilled members of Stratford Boat Club’s junior squad and watched by crowds and friends from the Club’s grounds, the Bancroft Gardens and the Rec

Fun Regatta organiser Chris Belcher said, “We were heartened by the huge numbers who came to watch, cheer the competitors on and enjoy the spectacle even though the weather wasn’t ideal: it may not have been Henley Royal Regatta but we like to think that it was more fun to watch!”

Fancy dress was again a major part of the day, with crews dressed as Roman legionnaires; colourful Hawaiian shirts; the now immediately recognisable blue and yellow of Ukraine who were made very welcome by the watching crowds; ladies from Wilmcote dressed as swans; colourful hippies; crews with Mohican hairstyles; pink flamingos on their heads; others mascaraing as King Charles 111 (is this a treasonable offence? Off to the Tower with you!); ladies from Stratford’s Warwick Events; ladies looking suspiciously like Super Woman and many other colourful creations! Many crabs were caught and there was a lot of splashing but nobody capsized with the rescue launch staying on her mooring throughout the day! The eventual winners were Meander Club again Never Mind The Rollocks as runners up. Oarsome 4 Some took the fancy dress prize!

Commenting further, Chris Belcher Fun Regatta organiser added, “Through the hard work and all the efforts of Club members, we have been able to raise funds for replacing equipment, repairs and maintenance. As always, we are especially grateful for the tolerance of those who make their living on the river and to our sponsor Crowne Plaza Stratford.”

Dawson Curnock, Boat Club Chairman also commented, “The wait was worth it! A fun day was had by all and Stratford Boat Club was happy to contribute to the vitality and atmosphere of the town and give visitors and residents a cause for celebration!”

Paul Stanton, the Club’s President said, “We were so grateful that Stratford upon Avon’s Mayor Cllr Kate Rolfe and her Consort visited us and presented prizes to the winners: Stratford upon Avon Town Council’s support is essential for the encouragement for sport and recreation in the Warwickshire area and community. Thanks also to Sip ‘n’ Swig, Stratford Boat Club’s regatta bar contractors, for filling the winners’ tankards with beer: that made their day!”

Whilst the Club members were running the Fun Regatta, the Club’s masters’ squad were competing in a fantastic two days of racing at Henley Masters Regatta with another win for the masters women from Stratford upon Avon Boat Club.

Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden joined forces with other clubs to form two composite eights: the racing consisted of heats, a semi and the finals. The fast starts and lengthy powerful rowing strokes were too strong for the opponents, resulting in two winning eights, beating a crew from USA and Marlow Rowing Club, respectively.

Further down the country, Llandaff near Cardiff was the venue for the latest regatta outing for Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s adaptive squad. The experienced team from Stratford helped the local organisers to provide a fun and safe event. Stratford also loaned boats to Runcorn and Fishguard on the day so that all could compete. Honours were pretty much shared between the five adaptive clubs that attended: Stratford came away with most wins.

Andy Morris in the Open PR3 Singles beat his rival from Runcorn by little more than a length. He then teamed up with his young colleague Isaac Clarkson to take the Band 2 Doubles event: this was thirteen year old Isaac’s first pot. To complete his day, Andy then partnered the Runcorn sculler in Band 1 Doubles event against a Stratford/Ross double, winning by three lengths.

Jess Dowdewell continued the close rivalry with Rob Pedley in the PR1 Singles: another epic battle in the final saw Jess overcome Rob for the first time by just under a length. Commenting, Head Adaptive Coach Mark Dewdney said, “The best bit about the day was seeing new faces on the circuit: we have some new friends who all interested in taking adaptive and para rowing forward.”

Stratford’s junior squads were back on the water on Sunday after coxing at the Fun Regatta, putting in more training for the British Rowing’s Junior Championships at Strathclyde this coming weekend. Steve Wellstead, Junior Co-ordinator commented, “The junior squad will be heavily represented with crews from J14, J15, J16 and J17/18 categories all there for their chance for glory against some of the best schools and clubs in the country: we wish them luck! The logistics of getting multiple boats, trailers, coaches, athletes, coaches and supporters to Strathclyde is immense and I’d like to thank all who have given their support, time and effort to make this complex exercise possible!”

Further afield in Lucerne, Stratford Boat Club’s alumnae of Camilla Hadland and Esme Booth were both performing at the Rowing World Cup III this weekend. Camilla was doing an excellent job in the commentary box and Esme rowing in the GB Women’s Eight collecting an excellent gold medal!

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald middle pages, British Rowing online https://www.britishrowing.org/2023/07/all-good-fun-at-stratfords-fun-regatta and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-boat-club-hosts-successful-fun-regatta

Three Schools, One Crew, One Club!

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club sent a crew to the world renowned Henley Royal Regatta Qualifiers recently. The crew of Will Beattie, Tomi Wilcock, Charles Happel and Toby Sartain who are from Stratford School, King Edward VI School and Kineton High School competed in the Junior Quads event, The Fawley Challenge Cup. This was the first time in a number of years that Stratford Boat Club has entered a crew to race at Henley Royal Regatta and one of the first times ever that a crew has been entered into The Fawley Challenge Cup.

The Fawley Challenge Cup is one of the biggest events of the regatta with seventy crews entered, only twenty four go into the regatta draw. Sixteen of the crews had already been pre-selected based on performances throughout the season and this meant the remaining fifty four crews needed to go through the qualifying heats to take the final eight slots.

The Stratford crew put in a strong effort with their best row of the season and a brilliant course steered by Toby Sartain. Unfortunately, the lightweight crew were not fast enough to qualify in the strong headwind conditions.

J17 Coach Abi Terry said, “It was great to see this talented group of lads competing on the course alongside the best crews in the world. During warm up, they were followed by the GB men’s eight and the GB women’s four, something that doesn’t happen at any other event! I am so proud of this group and all that they have achieved!”

Commenting further, Paul Stanton, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s President said, “Racing at Henley Royal Regatta is the dream of every rower and the fact that these J17 rowers have achieved this at a comparatively young age speaks volumes for their determination and hours of effort put into their training over the last five years. Moreover, it is a testament to the massive effort that their dedicated coaches have put into their development: Stratford Boat Club is forever indebted to our coaches and all volunteers who selflessly give their time and expertise week after week!”

Although it’s definitely not Henley, Stratford Boat Club’s Fun Regatta is this coming Saturday 08 July with racing from 09.00 through 16.30hrs and presentations by Stratford upon Avon’s Mayor Cllr Kate Rolfe at 17.00hrs for the wining crews and fancy dress! Bar, tea tent and catering wagon in the Boat Club’s grounds all day: all are welcome!

For media coverage see Stratford Herald page forty five and online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/quad-squad-relish-henley-experience-9320309 and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-boat-club-represented-in-prestigious-henley-royal-regatta-qualifiers

Stratford’s Juniors Clean Up At Henley!

The weekend’s Henley Town & Visitors regatta was to host pulsating performances by the young ladies from Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s J15 squad. Racing over 800 metres of the famous Henley Royal Regatta course, the ladies demonstrated their devastating sculling skills, honed on the river Avon, to their opponents from home clubs on the river Thames.

In the morning the quadruple sculling crew of Scarlett Richardson, Megan Rowan, Jessica Long and Harriet Froom coxed supremely by Nancy Davis annihilated a Wallingford crew by more than three lengths to earn each crew member a lovely engraved pewter tankard.

Later in the day, two double sculling crews of Aimee Appleton partnered by Molly Vondrak and Scarlett Richardson with Nancy Davis took on the mighty Henley Rowing Club and Wallingford Rowing Club respectively. Both crews sculled well, demolishing Henley by five lengths and Wallingford by over three lengths to bring both Stratford crews to the final. In what was the best race of the day, both crews sculling out of their skins were neck and neck all the way down the course. As they approached the finish the crowd was on its feet to witness Scarlett and Nancy winning by just one foot!

The regatta on Thames treated Stratford upon Avon Boat Club athletes to very kind weather on Saturday: not too hot with a fair breeze down the course at least to start the day with the breeze strengthened during the afternoon.

Stratford Boat Club WJ16 ladies were entered into an open category meaning they were to scull against adult ladies in a coxless quad. Not daunted, the junior crew of Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Maddie Hall and Kate Richards faced up to a crew from Walton Rowing Club in their first race. Sculling with great energy over the 800m course beating Walton by one and a half lengths in a time of three minutes and thirty five seconds. This was a great race and qualified them to meet a composite crew from Upper Thames Rowing Club and Wycliffe Rowing Club in the final.

In the final, the Stratford crew got off to an excellent start but gradually Upper Thames and Wycliffe pulled away to a two length lead in the mid course which was pulled back to finish to only one and a half lengths ahead at the finish. Commenting Steve Marsden, J16 Coach said, “A valiant effort against a very experienced crew.”

First to race for Stratford’s WJ 17/18 squad was Elisabeth Edwards in the Women’s Single Sculls. Racing against two highly experienced scullers from Upper Thames RC and University College London, Edwards had a rough start but soon recovered and settled into a clean and tidy rhythm down the course. A final sprint in the last 200m narrowed the gap between the other scullers but she ultimately ran out of time to catch them. Said Helen Smith J17/18 Coach, “Despite this, Elisabeth looks forward to her next race in a few weeks’ time, where she hopes to better Saturday’s result.”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page forty three

All Fun At The Fun Regatta!

Although the wait of two years seemed a long time, all the expectations of the Fun Regatta were met and even bettered! The Fun Regatta attracted competitors from local companies, villages and groups of friends and sixteen crews with just three hours’ training produced some quality rowing, ably coxed by skilled members of Stratford Boat Club’s junior squad and watched by crowds and friends from the Club’s grounds, the Bancroft Gardens and the Rec

Fun Regatta joint organiser Simon Price said, “We were heartened by the huge numbers who came to watch, cheer the competitors on and enjoy the spectacle: it may not have been Henley Royal Regatta but we like to think that it was more fun to watch!”

During the lunch break, there was some exhibition racing with juniors against juniors and then the winner of that race again a Masters’ four: in a much disputed start decision, the Masters were given a five second start advantage (despite the juniors having raced just before!) and the Masters won by only one second!

Fancy dress was again a major part of the day, with crews dressed as Vikings – horns and all; teachers fully equipped with motarboards; crews with boaters and moustaches; pirates; crews dressed in colourful tootoos and Hawaiian shirts; circus clowns and animals; the now immediately recognisable blue and yellow of Ukraine and multicoloured wigs. Many crabs were caught and there was a lot of splashing but nobody capsized with the rescue launch staying on her mooring throughout the day! The eventual winners were Meander Club with Afro Circus taking the fancy dress prize!

Chris Belcher joint organiser added, “Through the hard work and all the efforts of Club members, we have been able to raise funds for replacing equipment, repairs and maintenance. As always, we are especially grateful for the tolerance of those who make their living on the river and to our sponsor Crowne Plaza Stratford.”

Dawson Curnock, Boat Club Chairman commented, “The wait was worth it! A fun day was had by all and Stratford Boat Club was happy to contribute to the vitality and atmosphere of the town and give visitors and residents a cause for celebration!”

Whilst the Club members was running the Fun Regatta, Jake Blatcher was competing at Llandaff Regatta: Jake was the only Stratford upon Avon Boat Club competitor at Cardiff. Despite the beautiful weather, many entered crews had to withdraw due to Covid. However, the Men’s Singles event was the biggest of the day with twelve scullers taking part. It proved also to be the highest standard event and Jake would have had to get through four rounds to win the pot.

Jake’s first opponent was Dawson from Hartpury College (Gloucester). Jake established an early lead on the 1000m course and extended this to two lengths coming under the bridge with about 400m to go. He continued to increase his lead and won the race by three and a half lengths. In the quarter-final, Jake met Jenden from Bristol Ariel. This proved to be a very good race with the Bristol sculler establishing a small lead in the early stages. However, the race was going fast enough to catch up with the race that had been started before them. This forced Jake to slow down to avoid collision and Jenden extended his lead a bit and won the race. Despite the effect of the previous race, the result was allowed to stand. Said Mark Dewdney, Stratford’s Head Adaptive Coach, “Jake is showing signs of improvement as the season progresses: circumstances conspired against him on this occasion and it was a tough draw. A win must be just around the corner!”

Stratford’s junior squads were back on the water on Sunday after coxing at the Fun Regatta, putting in more training for the British Rowing’s Junior Championships at The National Watersport Centre at Nottingham this coming weekend. Steve Wellstead, Junior Co-ordinator commented, “The junior squad will be heavily represented with crews from J14, J15, J16 and J17/18 categories all there for their chance for glory against some of the best schools and clubs in the country: we wish them luck!”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/fancy-dress-and-fun-9263476 and page sixty two and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-host-enjoyable-fun-regatta and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/07/15&pages=024

For more great pictures of the Fun Regatta, see Stuart Baines’ excellent selection https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiW2DAyn9tg9j5VoJYvAKDCwMfMSlA?e=JgnE7D

Busy Weekend for Stratford’s Rowers!

On a perfect but cold and windy weekend, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s squads went to various locations to test their skills.

The Senior Men’s elite squad spent the weekend at Nottingham training on the multi-lane course honing their technique in preparation for Henley Royal Regatta in July.

Said Bill Sullivan, Senior Men’s Elite Coach, “It was windy and cold in Nottingham but the boys got in some good training putting them in a good position for the preparation for some hard racing at Henley.”

Heading to the other end of the country on Saturday were two senior crews from Stratford upon Avon Boat Club who travelled to Totnes in Devon to compete in the annual Head of the Dart River Race. This year the processional time trial was planned to run from Totnes to Dartmouth over a distance of fifteen kilometres.

Due to weather and river conditions on the day, organisers deemed the conditions at the lower reaches of the river toward Dartmouth too dangerous to run the event over the planned full course. The decision was made to run the race over a shortened five kilometre course, which involved crews rowing down to the revised start and then rowing back up to finish adjacent to the Dart Totnes Amateur Rowing Club.

The re-scheduled shortened race still attracted over one hundred crews from all over the United Kingdom taking part in a very varied range of coastal and river boats (including pilot gigs, canoes and fine boats). Stratford crews rowed in fine boats, more suited to calm inland river conditions.

After launching boats from the Dart Totnes Amateur Rowing Club clubhouse in Totnes, crews rowed down to what became a very congested marshalling area. Once underway, the race itself required a high level of skill in negotiating the tight and winding course, navigation buoys, mud flats, river traffic as well as other competing crews. Due to the delay in the start time, rowing against an outgoing tide and south-easterly winds made conditions severe with a high risk of the boats taking on water.

Top Stratford Boat Club performers on the day were the Women’s Masters crew (coxed quad) of Rosie Stone, Andrea Duxbury, Clare Nash, Rona Fitzpatrick and Alfie Nash (cox), winning their category in an adjusted race time of 00:26:21.

The Stratford Men’s Masters crew (coxed four) of Simon Skillings, Graham Cann, Dave Edwards, Richard Anderson and Jessica Cann (cox) finishing in an adjusted race time of 00:26:43.

Said Alfie Nash, Women’s Masters crew coach, “Although the event was a logistical challenge with the transportation of boats to and from the start and finish locations, it proved to be a very interesting and enjoyable challenge to all crews taking part. Those crews stopping over in Dartmouth and Totnes were able to fully appreciate the hospitality of the host club as well as fellow competitors!”

Meanwhile, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club J13 squad entered three crews in Abingdon Rowing Club’s Spring Head of the River Race on Sunday held on the River Thames over 1850m

The first to boat in Division One at 8.00hrs from an icy pontoon was Imogen Hill and Maddie Hall in their double scull. Undaunted by their first experience of a major event raced over two kilometres, they sculled superbly to finish third in a time that would have beaten two WJ14 crews.

Next to race in Division Two was the WJ13 4x+ of Emily Stobart, Grace Beason, Uchenna Nwachukwu, Ruby Brooker-Collins and cox Kate Richardson: they soon showed they have what it takes to mix it with the big clubs by finishing second splitting the two Henley crews.

In Division Four, the Open J13 4x+ of Ciara Wilson, Louie Beason, Amalia Richardson and Millie Hodgson coxed by Imogen Hill mixed it with boys crews to come third in an identical time to the girls’ quad of 10minutes and 38 seconds. Said Sam Hill, J13 coach, “The results were really encouraging and the whole squad displayed good technique all the way to the finish.”

Matilda Watts and Geoffrey Flambert also both put in strong performances in the J17 1x events finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

The J14 squad was also in Abingdon. In Division One, the squad was represented by the J14 2x of Tomi Wilcock and Will Beattie. Rowing in the higher band, they put down a very strong performance to take the Band One win by seven seconds, despite coming up against very good opposition.

The WJ14 4x+ of Freya Watts, Fleur Griffiths, Bella Chappelhow, Harriet Holmes and cox Toby Sartain were also placed in Band One and despite putting in a good time were just pipped by a crew from Wallingford and were beaten by just four seconds to take second place.

Division Two saw the first of the Stratford J15’s take to the water. The WJ15 singles of Sophie Elstone and Harriet Hodgson both raced well with Elstone battling at the top of the field to take a brilliant win, a second over her closest rival from City of Oxford. Hodgson also put in a good performance finishing eighth.

Will Clarke raced in the J15 single against some strong opposition and managed a sixth place finish. The J15 double of Conar Aitchison and Emma Harrison raced against some all boys crews to finish eighth.

In Division Three, more of the J14’s took to the water with the J14 4x+ of Tomi Wilcock, Will Beattie, Ruby Howells, Bella Chappelhow and cox Toby Sartain in action. Again they faced some strong opposition from Wallingford and were unfortunately unable to overhaul the all-boys crew to finish second by just four seconds.

Next up were the WJ14 double sculls with two Stratford boats in action. The first was Fleur Griffiths and Harriet Holmes, again facing a crew from Wallingford. This time the girls were able to overhaul the opposition and take the event win. The other Stratford crew of Freya Watts and Anne Mynors also put in a very good performance to finish in a highly credible fourth place.

Division Four saw the final Stratford crews of the day racing again with more J15’s on the water. The WJ15 4x+ of Emma Harrison, Abbey Meggeson, Harriet Hodgson, Julia Zanpronio Gurden and cox Sienna Rawlings raced strongly to finish in sixth place. Also racing in this division was the J15 double of Will Clarke and Sophie Elstone who again raced against a lot of all-boys crews to finish in sixth place beating several crews in the process.

The final J15 crew was Conar Aitchison in the single who, despite being rather nervous about competing in the single, had a good race to finish in fifth place over a minute ahead of the sculler behind him.

This week also sees the J17/18 squad on a training camp in Henley and next week is the turn for the existing J13/J14/J15 squads to train at Stratford.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/busy-weekend-for-stratfords-rowers and Stratford Herald page 15.

Christmas Excess Blown Away!

Courtesy of DP Photos

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s annual Scratch Regatta took place early on Boxing Day morning and over fifty members managed to leave their beds after the overindulgence of the Christmas festivities. The crews were supported by friends and relatives who came down to the river to watch the spectacle and cheer

Twenty six competitors, including four former junior members and visiting rowers took part. A nice mix of mature and younger members

Courtesy of DP Photos

from all sections of the Club came with their families. Some of the athletes have been rowing for less than a year.

Six crews raced in a knockout competition. The final was won by a masters and juniors mixed crew of Simon Beard, Nixie Brunt, Khloe Curnock, Richard Shepherd and coxed by Katie Wellstead. Club tankards were awarded to the winning crew. The conditions were mild with little wind or current and the crews were supported by club volunteers

Commented coach Helen Smith, joint organiser. “All races were over a short sprint course from the Ferry to the Club grounds on the Town stretch of the River Avon”

The racing provided great interest to early morning sightseers and visitors watching from the Recreation Ground, The Royal Shakespeare Theatre Terrace, Bancroft Gardens and The Tramway Bridge. Said Dawson Curnock, Chairman for Stratford Boat Club, “The scratch regatta caught the imagination of all who came down to the river and gave us added impetus to move further ahead for fundraising in 2019 to achieve the funds to refurbish and replace our fleet and equipment”  

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club will be back on the river this week and after the New Year training hard for the 2019 head season, the Senior squad’s entry at Henley Royal Regatta and their own regatta in June

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald online http://www.stratford-herald.com/94254-stratford-boat-clubs-boxing-day-scratch-regatta-hailed-success.html and page fifteen

For more great Boxing Day Scratch Regatta pictures, see David Phillip’s selection https://www.dpphotos.co.uk/Boxing-Day-Regatta-2018/ and Stuart Baines’ pictures https://1drv.ms/f/s!AiW2DAyn9tg9jOluK1P6Ae2IgUtZMA