Tag Archives: King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club

Stratford’s Juniors Conquer The Severn!

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On Sunday, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club junior squads went in force to Stourport Winter Head: the J17/18 squad started the day with singles’ events, which featured Will Beattie and Toby Sartain in the J18 category and Charles Happel in the J17 category. Beattie sculled to his usual high standard, finishing strongly to win the event and was followed down the course by Sartain who crossed the line in second place to round out a 1-2 finish for Stratford. Happel came next and sculled to a similar high standard also to claim second place in his event. Next up was the WJ18 pair of Amalia Richardson and Kate Richardson who, despite being relatively new to the pairs event, rowed proficiently and came home in first place. Finally, the afternoon division saw the two J18 doubles of Will Beattie and Tomi Wilcock and Charles Happel and Toby Sartain take on the 4km course: Beattie and Wilcock set off first sculling typically well on their way to win the event just ahead of Happel and Sartain who also sculled confidently to complete an excellent overall performance for the squad in second place.

For Stratford’s J16 squad, the morning division saw the coxless quad of Aimee Appleton, Scarlett Richardson, Molly Vondrack with Megan Rowan in the stroke seat put on an impressive display of sculling to beat the home Stourport boat by 12.5 seconds and take first place. In the afternoon three doubles of Lucy Sartain and Jess Long, Eloise Cooper and Nancy Davis, Ez Elfwood and Harriet Froom all competed to a very high standard and finished with seven seconds of each other over the 4k course. In the end it was Elfwood and Froom who missed out on a second place by just 1 second to take 3rd with Sartain and Long 0.8sec behind them followed by Cooper and Davis. Finally, Jamie Wilcock competed in the singles event and was in the lead at the halfway stage before a collision caused him to lose time and finish second overall.

For the J14 and J15 squads, the weekend saw the Stratford upon Avon Boat Club athletes from across the age ranges compete on the Severn in the “Blackpool of the Black Country, Stourport-on-Severn”! The 4000m course running with the stream presented a good opportunity for all to display the fruits of their winter training over a longer distance. Conditions on the day were superb with a light breeze and sunshine threatening to make an appearance on occasion.

In Division One, Stratford’s J14s fielded two WJ14 double sculls combinations. The crew of Josephine Cooper and Sophie Franklin powered down the course in style to finish over a minute ahead of Avon County Rowing Club and Evesham Rowing Club. The win however was taken by Maeve Dunn and Bryony Francis by a margin of just three seconds with a superb performance. The J15 squad fielded a coxed four into the event but, without opposition in their age range, took on senior crews. The crew of  Theo Richter, Seth Vondrak, Xavier Sissins-Roffey, Oliver Rowlands and James Albrighton (coxswain) thundered down the course to take the win in emphatic style.

In Division Two, the WJ14 coxed quadruple scull of Sophie Warren, Isla Dunn, Becca Smith, Martha Cooke and Josephine Cooper (coxswain) delivered a stonking row to take the win over quality opposition from Trentham Boat Club and Hereford Cathedral School.  The quadruple scull event was followed by the toughest event of the day by far, the single sculls. Testing themselves, representing Stratford were the J14 girls of Martha Baines, Tessa Parkin and Millie Smith. Dicing with strong competition from around the area, they recorded a creditable eighth, fifth and sixth respectively. Commenting, Steve Wellstead, J14 Coach and Junior Co-ordinator said, “No mean feat over the 4000m course so early in their rowing careers. No doubt, these athletes will return to the Severn in the coming years!”

Representing the J15 squad in the women’s double sculls, the powerhouse duo of Alexandra Francis and Poppy Baines provided a show for the assembled crowd with a textbook row, taking the win by a comfortable margin, In the women’s J15 coxed quadruple sculls event, the crew of Sophie Evans, Meg Nuttall, Alice Jones, Lily Warren and Lucy Yang (coxswain) delivered a solid row chasing Ross Rowing Club all the way to achieve a fourth place.

Joining their Stratford colleagues, King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club also headed to Stourport Head. First up in the morning division was the J18 4+ of T. Wilcock, R. Macdonald, T. Wheeler, T. Beard and I. Hill (cox) they were racing in the open men’s category and put in a great performance to see off crews from Warwick BC and Trentham RC to take the win.

The afternoon division saw a debut for our J16 4x of W. Dalrymple-Baker, H. Hoare, A. Mathers and M. Cullimore, three of whom only start rowing in September. Said Hannah Crone, KES Coach, “This was their first race and the aim was to row well and enjoy it: the boys put in a fantastic performance to take the win over Evesham Rowing Club.”

Next up was our WJ18 4+ of A. Richardson, T. Dunn, M. Hall, K. Richardson and I. Hill (cox) again racing in the senior category. Despite a last minute substitution due to injury, the girls had a good row and came out on top ahead of Evesham Rowing Club and Trentham Rowing Club. This topped off a great day for King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club coming home with three wins from three crews.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page forty four and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratfords-juniors-conquer-the-severn

For more great pictures of Stourport Winter Head, see Kathy and Stuart Baines’ excellent selection at https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AOAm%5FWXXHbdtI6M&id=8E50DAC120123B06%2190130&cid=8E50DAC120123B06

Stratford & King Edward The Sixth School Boat Clubs Shine Indoors at Worcester

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On a very frosty Sunday morning with the temperature reading -6’C, eight rowers from the Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Wednesday Participation squad set off for King’s School Worcester Indoor Rowing Competition for their first taste of competitive rowing.

There was understandably a lot of nerves and trepidation, however the crew produced amazing results. For a group that was only put together in October and train once a week, they produced five individual personal bests and came away with a fistful of medals.

In the individual races, Annie Silvers took silver and Hannah Shilvock bronze in the Year 9 girls’ event whilst Ellis Bishop came away with silver in the Year 10 boys’ race.

In the relays, the Year 9 girls’ crew of Annie Silvers, Hannah Shilvock, Amelia Welton and Estelle Littleford produced an outstanding result just missing out on gold to take silver, in the process smashing their personal best.

The last race of the day, Ellis Bishop, Emma Francioni, Kate Currow and Ila Lane competed in the Year 11 mixed relay where despite three of them only being in Year 10, they secured a bronze medal.

Said Ralph Johnson, J16 Participation Coach, “The crew were understandably very pleased with their morning’s work and look forward to more events.”

Joining Stratford Boat Club at Worcester was Stratford’s sister club, King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club headed with a squad of twenty one athletes from Years 8-13.

First up were E. Appleton and J. Greenwood in the Year 8 four minute race: two strong rowers from Cheltenham College and the Royal Grammar School tore out in front leaving Ed and James battling it out for Bronze. It was neck and neck the whole way with James eventually coming away with the bronze just three minutes ahead of teammate Ed.

The next race saw Ed and James going again in the Year 8 one minute race with Ed just pipping James to Silver this time and James came away with a second bronze medal. Vondrak then took on the Year 10 500m race: he had a strong race finishing fifth overall in a large field.

I.Vondrak was joined by S. McMahon, O. Rowlands and C. Thompson for the Year 10 relay. The boys put in a strong performance, winning their heat and coming fourth overall.

Next it was time for the Year 11-13’s: T. Beard took on nine other rowers and came out on top with a very impressive row in the Sixth Form Boys 500m race.

The rest of the day was down to the relay teams with the Year 11 team of W. Dalrymple-Baker, M. Cullimore, H. Hoare and O. Rowlands putting in a strong performance to take home the bronze medal.

Next up were the two Sixth Form mixed relay teams, both teams put in a huge row to come away with Gold and Silver in what turned out to be the closest race of the day with T. Beard, M. Hall, K. Richardson and D. Shilvock (6:10.3) just pipping H. Noyes, E. Rose, T. Wilcock and A. Richardson (6:10.4).

With very little rest the girls’ crew of H. Noyes, A. Richardson, K. Richardson and H. Hoare went into the girls’ relay putting in another amazing effort to come away with gold. Followed soon after by the boys’ crew of E. Rose, T. Wilcock, T. Beard and D. Shilvock just missing out on a medal in the boys’ relay with the B crew of J. Nash, J. Kirby, F. Groves and H. Hoare coming in fifth place.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/medals-galore-at-indoor-championship-9295564 and page fifty three and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-rowers-impress-at-worcester-indoor-rowing-competition

Another Busy Weekend for Stratford Juniors and KES

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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 and KES Triumph at Worcester!

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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

Stratford out in force at Stourport!

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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club went in force to Stourport Boat Club’s Small Boats Winter Head on Sunday. The J18 Club squad was racing in the afternoon, with Martha Usselmann, Isabella Sandland, Hannah Broome, and Elisabeth Edwards competing in the WJ18 coxless quads. This was the first race for half of the crew and it started off well with Stratford putting a good distance between them and the next crew. Passing the Stourport clubhouse, Stratford overtook an eight and in the last few metres of the race were overtaken by another quad in a dramatic race to the finish. Although finishing fourth, the girls greatly enjoyed the race and hope to be back again soon at the same venue.

For the J16 squad, it was the first event of 2022 which saw a very bright and sunny mid winter’s day for the J16 girls’ crew of Amalia Richardson, Maddie Hall, Harriet Noyes, Kate Richardson and coxed by Imogen Hill. Competing for the first time in a coxed sweep boat, they literally swept away their completion from Trentham Boat Club, winning their event by fifty nine seconds in a fantastic time of 14:08 minutes. Commenting, Steve Marsden, J16 Coach, said, “The girls provided a great demonstration of sweep rowing at pace, guided expertly by the cox to accelerate across the finish line in front of a large group of spectators. Unfortunately, the girls’ coxless quad were unable to compete and this slightly dampened the day.”

Both Stratford Boat Club WJ15 4x+ crews performed extremely well on the 3.8km Stourport course downstream, narrowly missing out on Gold against Trentham Boat Club, who finished in a winning time of 14.07. The WJ15x+ squad did beat crews from Evesham, AB Severn and Stourport. After a long wait in the marshaling area, they sustained their technique for the complete distance, rating at up to 35spm. The girls were very pleased with their performance, surprised not to have won, but that is the nature of the great sport of rowing: sometimes an unexpected entrant comes along and takes the spoils! J15 Coach Hugo Happel said, “The girls did Stratford proud with some very fine technique sustained over 3.8km: they should reflect on their achievement and celebrate until Tuesday at least, when some more character-building land training awaits once more!”

For some of Stratford’s J14 athletes, this was their first ever head race, and at a lengthy 3.8km, it was a baptism of fire! Due to logistical challenges, the J14’s had one crew race up an age category in Open J15 coxed quad facing challenging competition. Despite this, the crew of James Albrighton (cox), Alexandra Francis, Seth Vondrak, Xavier Sissins and Poppy Baines got off to a flying start, holding their own against the older boys’ crews the whole way down the course, not making it easy for their competition right the way to the final stroke. They were shortly followed by the WJ14 coxed quad of Sophie Evans (cox), Alice Jones, Meg Nuttall, Lily Warren and Lucy Yang for which it was their first outing in the combination. It was a gutsy row, going hard off the start and showing off their technical skill even at the tail end of the course when their competition were faltering. In the second division with the cold creeping in, the open J14 coxed quad of Alexandra Francis (cox), James Albrighton, Ollie Rowlands, Theo Richter and Sophie Evans proved they were made of tough stuff, holding off a strong crew for over half the course and powering through to the finish with their heads held high.

Stourport Winter Head marked the first race also for King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club for twenty three months. Not only this but the crew were now with an entirely new squad and it was the first race for the boys in the coxed four (J. Mitchell, T. Wheeler, E. Craig, R. Macdonald, E. Rose), three of whom only started learning to row last September. With some excitement and a bit of nerves, the crew took everything in their stride: they were the third crew off in their category so had two targets ahead of them. Half way down the course, they successfully picked off the first of their opposition putting in a push to power past the crew from Hereford which left them with our friends from Stratford Boat Club to chase down! They didn’t have enough water to catch Stratford but the squad finished in an impressive time winning their category by just over one minute.

Not to be outdone, Stratford’s Masters were also at Stourport competing in a coxed four. Commenting, Dave Edwards, Masters’ Vice Captain said. “In fairness, we beat the other masters in that group by over a minute, so not too bad a row even though we were beaten by a very much younger crew!”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page sixty one and also Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-club-impress-at-stourport-boat-clubs-small-boats-winter-head.

For more great pictures of Stourport Head, see Kathy Baines’ selection https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgY7EiDB2lCOhPwCJoS_zRzcEKRK3g?e=6t7Ryt