Tag Archives: Stratford Herald

WheelPower Comes To Stratford!

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This week was another first for Stratford upon Avon Boat Club and the adaptive section when the Club hosted the first ever WheelPower event to encourage wheelchair users and others into rowing as a sport. 

WheelPower have been providing opportunities for people with physical impairments to take part in sport for nearly seventy years. Based in Stoke Mandeville, the home of the Paralympic movement, WheelPower is at the heart of wheelchair sport. From first-timers to Paralympic medallists, WheelPower support and promote participation at all levels. They have seen how playing sport can enrich lives, offering tremendous physical and psychological benefits, whatever age or ability.

Moving Forward Together, WheelPower’s new strategy which covers the period 2022-2027, will drive everything WheelPower do and provide more opportunities for more disabled people to move more, play sport and lead active lives.

While sport can develop confidence and improve health, it is also a great way to put a smile on the faces of those taking part. Each year, WheelPower supports over 62,099 disabled people to access and participate in sport and activity across the country.

Adaptive/Para-Rowing is a sport open to all. Rowing can be indoors or on the water, just for fun or to compete in competitions. Rowing is a great way to meet new people, get fit and stay healthy, learn new skills and to have fun. Adaptive Rowing is about removing barriers to participation for anyone who has a physical disability, sensory or learning impairment.

Indoor rowing machines can be adapted so that anyone can use them. Adaptations include fixed seats, hand grips and wheelchair frames for those that cannot transfer immediately to the indoor rower. Indoor rowing is a full body workout making it the perfect workout at the gym or in the home.

On the water, rowing is accessible for people who have the use of their upper body and can transfer into the boat. Boats can be specially adapted to have sliding or fixed seats, with the additional support of floats if required. Rowing on the water offers a sense of freedom and a different perspective, while helping people to get fit and is supported by British Rowing, the sport’s governing body.

Commenting, Mark Dewdney, Stratford Boat Club’s Head Adaptive Coach said, “The WheelPower event was a great success and we were so pleased that the Club’s adaptive section was able to host this first every national event to encourage disabled people into the sport of rowing. A big thanks to WheelPower!”

Paul Stanton, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s President commented further, “We were also honoured to have Stratford upon Avon Deputy Mayor, Councillor Jason Fojtik attend the event. The interest, support and encouragement that Jason and Stratford upon Avon Town Council give to sport in the Stratford and wider area is essential for community cohesion and wellbeing.”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page forty four and Stratford Observer https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-boat-club-hosts-first-ever-wheelpower-event and British Rowing https://www.britishrowing.org/2023/06/wheelpower-comes-to-stratford-upon-avon-bc

Glorious Weekend for Stratford’s Juniors!

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The Bank Holiday Weekend saw the 2023 edition of the UK’s premier rowing event for junior athletes. Held on the Olympic Lake at Eton Dorney, the National Schools’ Regatta attracts the highest quality crews from schools and clubs from across the country.  Day One of the three day regatta saw Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s J14 and J15 crews competing over a 1000m distance. First to go were the WJ14 coxed quadruple scull crew of Maeve Dunn, Becca Smith, Martha Baines, Sophie Franklin and Josephine Cooper (coxswain) who stormed the time trial to record the sixth fastest time of the fifty three crews entered. Later in the day the girls lined up in the A Final to come home sixth after a nip and tuck race with Molesey Boat Club. Next to go was the WJ15 coxed quadruple scull crew of Alice Jones, Alexandra Francis, Poppy Baines, Sophie Evans and Lucy Yang (coxswain) who delivered a solid time trial performance to earn themselves a place in the C Final. The girls delivered another great row to come out fourth in their final. Last down the 1000m course was the OpJ15 coxed quadruple scull crew of Ollie Rowlands, Seth Vondrak, Xavier Sissins-Roffey, Lily Warren and Meg Nuttall (coxswain). The crew scored the twenty eighth fastest time against tough opposition.

 The final day saw of National Schools ‘Regatta saw Stratford Boat Club enter both the first and second WJ16 quad events. These were run as separate events for schools and clubs fortunate enough to have strength in depth to enter two competitive boats in the same category. The first quad crew with Esme Elfwood at stroke, Molly Vondrak, Scarlett Richardson and Aimee Appleton at bow came through the time trial to secure a place in the B final eventually finishing in twelfth position after a close contest all the way to the line against a crew from Yarm School in North Yorkshire. The second quad crew with Jessica Long at stroke, Lucy Sartain, Nancy Davis and Harriet Froom in the bow seat qualified third fastest in their time trial and rose to the occasion in their A final to produce a clean row and maintain third place, securing a bronze medal for Stratford. In doing so they recorded a very impressive time to finish within five seconds of the boat in silver medal position and ensure that Stratford Boat Club returned home with two WJ16 quads in the fastest fifteen boats at this premier national event.

On Saturday, Stratford entered Junior 17 Uchenna Nwachukwu in the Championship single scull event. Finishing thirty fifth out of forty nine in the time trial, Uche went on to the repechage where she won a place in the E final, but unfortunately had to pull out with a shoulder injury.

The Women’s Junior 17 coxed 4 of Amalia Richardson, Maddie Hall, Harriet Noyes, Kate Richardson and cox Imogen Hill entered the Championship event coming fourth out of twenty two in the time trial. They stuck to the race plan in their semi final finishing second to gain a favourable lane for the eight lane A final. Stratford made an excellent start holding third place at the 500 metre marker, by 1500m Shrewsbury School had pulled out one length when Stratford increased the pressure. By 250m to go, Stratford had reduced the deficit to half a length, then they went up another gear increasing the rate to draw level with Shrewsbury. In the last few strokes, the crews swapped the lead with each stroke, but Shrewsbury took the Bronze medal by the tightest of margins.

J17/18 Coach Sam Hill said, “Our target was to reach the A final at the National Schools’ Regatta this year, so to finish within half a second of a medal is a great achievement. We will be back next year!”

The J18 squad was represented on Sunday by Lucy Browne and Freya Watts in the Women’s Championship Double Sculls event. A lively time trial and placing of twenty second saw the duo qualify for the C final in the early afternoon. Despite the sunshine and moderate temperature, a strong northerly crosswind created harsh conditions for the double’s last ever national event as juniors. Nevertheless, Browne and Watts powered through the 2km course, with support from coach Abi Terry cycling alongside, to secure a strong sixth place, losing to the fifth placed crew by only a second.

Abi Terry, J17/18 Coach added “It was a great way for Lucy and Freya to finish their last National Schools Regatta, moving up on where they had placed in the time trial.”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page forty five and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-boat-club-juniors-win-bronze-at-national-schools-regatta and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/06/02&pages=024

Stratford’s Masters Crowned at Nottingham!

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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club Masters rowers enjoyed glorious conditions at Nottingham Masters’ Regatta. It is not often that it can be said it was a light head wind at Nottingham! Amanda Bowden and Suzie Radley, racing in The Tempest, a double scull, grasped the opportunity to go off the start hard, moving quickly into the lead and stayed ahead throughout the race. The women were delighted to receive bespoke Coronation medals and complete the 1km race in a time of 4.07 minutes. Said Amanda Bowden, “The women’s masters double will return to the course for the British Masters’ Championship in June.”

Shortly afterwards Stratford’s Ed Lewry and Nick Sartain took to the water in the open senior men’s doubles. After a slightly slow start, they found some rhythm and pushed through the field before coming home third in a close finish.

Following on from Suzie’s and Amanda’s very successful race was Heather Hayton and Tom Doherty racing in a combined age group mixed doubles event against two Masters’ C crews average age forty three years, two Masters’ D crews average age of fifty years and two Masters’ E crews average aged fifty five years.

A staggered timed start saw the Stratford Masters E crew chase down the other Masters’ E crew and national champions and race favourites Lakeland out to the 250m mark. A concerted push saw Stratford managing to stay with Lakeland at the halfway 500m mark. By this point in the race, the younger crews were beginning to close on the leading crews which lead to a hard third quarter of the race as Stratford worked to stay with Lakeland and hold off the four boats closing behind.

By the 750m mark, Lakeland had moved further ahead with a length of clear water and Stratford were level pegging with Warwick and Nottingham Masters’ C crews. Big pushes from all three crews saw an exciting finish for second place with Warwick edging in by three seconds and Stratford and Upton being split by half a second with Sudbury and the RAF well beaten in fifth and sixth.

Later in the day saw Heather Hayton and Tom Doherty take to the water again in their mixed masters quad with Julian and Tabatha Scrivener from Upton Club to take on a Bentham/Maidstone composite crew in a head to head clash. A fast start saw the Stratford/Upton quad quick out of the blocks rating forty five strokes per minute to establish a half length lead by the 250m mark. A high tempo push out to the 500 metre mark enabled the Stratford/Upton crew to establish a length of clear water and in the second half of the race, the crew were able to continue to build on the lead eventually winning by a comfortable margin.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/masters-among-the-medals-at-nottingham-9313131, page fifty five and also Stratford Observer https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-boat-clubs-masters-rowers-crowned-at-nottingham

Busy Coronation Weekend for Stratford & K.E.S. in Munich, Dorney Lake & Shrewsbury

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Busy Coronation Weekend for Stratford & K.E.S. in Munich, Dorney Lake & Shrewsbury. Harriet Noyes won her first GB vest after a gruelling selection process that started in October 2022. After training hard over the winter at their home clubs, the athletes looked forward to Munich as this was the first opportunity to see how their junior crew measured up against international competition.

Rowing in a pair with Isadora Kennedy on Saturday, Harriet won a bronze medal in a very tight final finishing less than a second behind her teammates in the other GB boat.

On Sunday Harriet and her pair’s partner Isadora were entered in the Coxless Four event. They went out hard leading the field by over a length at the halfway marker. Gradually the Swiss crew started to reel them in as the second GB crew held on to third place. Harriet’s crew picked up the rate to 38 stroke per minute in the last 250 meters to take the gold medal by half a length.

Sam Hill, Harriet’s J17/18 Coach at Stratford said, “Munich has proved to be a remarkable international debut for Harriet and we hope she can continue to represent GB U19s through the summer regatta season.”

Commenting further, Dawson Curnock, Stratford Boat Club’s Chairman said, “The whole Club would like to firstly send massive congratulations to Harriet on her outstanding performances in Munich: we are more than proud of her. Furthermore, congratulations also need to go to her coaches at Stratford upon Avon for matching her goals with their expertise to facilitate the opportunity to get to row for GBR along with her crew at the Club as well. Nor must we not also forget her crew members at Munich, thank you for looking after Harriet, pulling together when it matters, greater together! Lastly, thank you to Team GBR for giving Harriet this great chance: she will not let you down!”

Also finishing off the Coronation weekend were two members from Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Mixed Ability/Adaptive squad who attended Shrewsbury Sprint Regatta.

Commenting, Mark Dewdney, Stratford’s Head Adaptive Coach said, “After three event cancellations, it was relief to get two members of the squad competing. Unfortunately, many of the large boat club adaptive squads may have to wait to June to make their regatta season debut.”

Andy Morris’s final in the PR3 (limb) singles’ event was against a sculler from Runcorn: the Runcorn man started slightly better than his Stratford opponent and established a small early lead. However, Andy’s more polished technique and race experience soon began to tell. By halfway, Andy had passed the Runcorn competitor. He consistently built on his lead and won the race by about three lengths.

Jake Blatcher in the Open singles mainstream event raced a Shrewsbury local Pengwern competitor in his final. Unfortunately, a rather untidy first hundred metres put him well behind: a deficit he was not able to claw back on the 600m course. It was a good performance spoilt by the start in the final. Jake is due to compete again at Monmouth in three weeks’ time.

Also over the Coronation weekend on Sunday, Stratford Boat Club’s sister club King Edward VI School Boat Club departed Stratford at 06.00hrs and headed to Dorney Lake to compete in the Ball Cup South Regatta. The original Ball Cup Challenge was founded by K.E.S. in 1934 so this regatta is a big one for the school. It is now held over the last 750m of the 2km Olympic lake.

K.E.S. took a squad of fourteen athletes entered across six different events. First up were the J18 double sculls: this event consisted of three heats where the fastest six crews across the board qualified for the final. K.E.S.’s A crew of Tomi Wilcock and Ed Rose rowed in the second heat and had a good start, taking an early lead, they paced the race well maintaining a lively rate and crossed the line first. In the third heat the B crew of Tom Beard and Rafa MacDonald had a steady start and settled into a good pace and started to pick up in the last 150m but it wasn’t quite enough and finished in second place. The times were out almost immediately and it was pleasing to see both crews had qualified for the final in first and fourth positions. An hour later, both crews boated for their final, Tomi and Ed in Lane Three and Tom and Rafa in Lane Five. Tom and Rafa had a superb start taking an early lead but unfortunately couldn’t hold the pace as the faster crews settled into their rhythm and steadily went ahead. Tom and Ed had a good start and settled again into a nice lively rhythm really pushing the other crews: their final sprint saw them pulling away to take the win over Itchen Imperial and Radnor College with Tom and Rafa finishing in fourth place.

Up next was the Girls Ball Cup 4+ event. The K.E.S. crew of Imogen Hill, Lucy Browne, Maddie Hall, Kate Richardson and Amalia Richardson (cox) were a scratch crew having only had one outing in this combination. They went off the start cautiously but quickly and soon found themselves in the lead in this straight final of three boats. They soon settled in and had found their rhythm, looking neat they gradually pulled away from the crews from Sydenham High School and Cambridge City to take the win and claim the trophy!

Ten minutes later was the J18 4x of Tomi Wilcock, Tom Wheeler, Tom Beard and Ed Rose. Another straight final with some stiff competition from the likes of Whitgift School and Globe Rowing Club. The boys had a strong start and kept up the pace throughout: they were just squeezing out in front when unfortunately they clipped the buoys and one of the crew caught their blade under the water and this saw them drop almost to last place. With the adrenaline now flowing, they absolutely flew back into contention but unfortunately didn’t have enough course left and came home in bronze medal position finishing just 0.4 seconds behind silver.

In the third division of the day, Tom Wheeler went out to race in the J18 1x sculls: this was a packed event with three heats, the same format as the doubles earlier in the day. Tom’s second race in the single, he started well and sculled professionally throughout, pushing on into the last 150m. He finished fourth in his heat: unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to see him through to the final finishing eighth overall.

Finally it was the turn of the Boys Ball Cup fours with a straight final between K.E.S. A crew of Tomi Wilcock, Tom Beard, Rafa Macdonald, Ed Rose and Imo Hill and K.E.S. B crew of David Shilvock, Tom Woodcock, Milo Cullimore, Joe Warner and Kate Richardson. The A crew had a fantastic row in almost perfect conditions to take a convincing win, beating the winning time from last year’s regatta. For three of the B crew, this was their second ever race with the whole crew having only started rowing in September. They had a good row and it was a fantastic experience for them and they will be back next year to take the win!

Commenting, Hannah Crone, Head of Rowing at King Edward VI School, “Overall, a great day for K.E.S. Boat Club, claiming a total of five medals from seven crews!”

For media coverage, see Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-busy-coronation-weekend-for-stratford-in-munich-dorney-lake-and-shrewsbury, Stratford Herald page fifty five and British Rowing https://www.britishrowing.org/2023/05/gb-junior-rowers-bring-home-a-flurry-of-medals-from-munich-international-junior-regatta-2023

Stratford’s Dewdney Appointed Ambassador

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International Mixed Ability Sports (IMAS) has recently welcomed Mark Dewdney, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Head Adaptive Coach, as a new Ambassador for the organisation utilising Mark’s extraordinary experience in promoting inclusion through rowing,

Mark is an internationally renowned coach in the para-rowing scene, who has implemented many projects to ensure people of all abilities could be involved in rowing activities. Over the past few years, Mark has been trialling, with considerable success, the Mixed Ability model becoming the point of reference for the whole international Mixed Ability movement.

Stratford’s adaptive squad competing in an international mixed ability crew in Turin in 2022

Mark has coached para/adaptive rowing for sixteen years, the last seven at Stratford upon Avon Boat Club. Starting at Stratford with just one pararower, the squad is now twenty strong, catering for all types of disability. Stratford is regarded as a leading light in grassroots adaptive rowing in the UK. Mark and his team have won a number of awards for their proactive approach to inclusion and were named the UK Parasport Club of the Year in 2020. Mark and his colleagues are merging the adaptive section with the Club’s recreational group in line with the IMAS model.

In 2018, Mark helped establish the Club Adaptive Group (CAG) of UK rowing clubs as the voice for the UK Adaptive Rowing Community: Mark has been group’s proactive Chairman ever since. The CAG now has nearly forty clubs and other organisations affiliated to it. The CAG works directly with British Rowing to formulate policies to increase participation and foster best practice.

Commenting, Mark said, “The Mixed Ability approach has opened my eyes to a better way of delivering and promoting the benefits of sport to all. It’s about making everyone part of the rowing community in its fullest sense. Social and sporting integration. We should all be in the same boat having fun. I am honoured to become an IMAS Ambassador and will do my best to promote its inclusive approach.”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page fifty five and Stratford Observer https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-boat-clubs-head-adaptive-coach-dewdney-becomes-imas-ambassador and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/05/05&pages=032

Stratford’s Juniors Rack Up Points For West Midlands

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The Stratford upon Avon Boat Club regatta season started in style with five crews selected to represent West Midlands at the Junior Inter Regional Regatta. The opening national level regatta of the season as the twelve UK regional teams competed for the much coveted Victor Ludorum prize.  First down the 1500m course was the WJ14 coxed quadruple scull of Bryony Francis, Maeve Dunn, Becca Smith, Tessa Parkin and Poppy Warren (coxswain). They dominated their heat, leading from the front for the full race crossing the line twelve seconds ahead of a tidy North Western crew. This earned them a place in the A Final where once again the crew went out hard, dicing for third place at the halfway marker and eventually being placed sixth and collecting valuable points for the West Midlands squad

Theo Richter, Ollie Rowlands, Seth Vondrak, James Albrighton and cox Meg Nuttall were selected to represent the West Midlands in the junior 15 coxed quad event. Despite an early morning chill, the sun broke through the overcast skies resulting in calm conditions at the National Water sports Centre in Nottingham. In typical fashion for the venue the competitors soon found themselves facing strong headwinds, challenging the most experienced coxes

The boys were drawn in the second heat facing opposition from Yorkshire, North West, East Midlands, Northern, West and Wales Wiltshire, Avon, Gloucester and Somerset. Despite a strong start, the boys race did not progress as planned which resulted in them finishing in fifth place in their heat progressing to the B final. Undeterred, the boys and Meg revised their race plan executed their race as to the plan, pressurising strong opposition from Yorkshire and closed the gap to within 2.5 seconds, placing them second in the B final and eight overall

Stratford Boat Club’s WJ16 squad competed for the region in both the double scull and coxless quadruple scull categories. Lucy Sartain and Eloise Cooper rowed a well paced race to finish fourth in their double scull heat, also securing fourth position in the B final. The coxless quad crew of Esme Elfwood, Molly Vondrak, Scarlett Richardson and Aimee Appleton rowed a strong heat finishing in second place to a dominant Thames Upriver boat and making the A final, ultimately claiming fifth place overall for the region

Isaac Clarkson from Stratford’s adaptive squad, competing in his first race, represented the region with distinction in the adaptive single sculls. Aged only thirteen, Isaac performed well against his three opponents who were all several years his senior. Commenting, Mark Dewdney, Head Adaptive Coach said, “Isaac showed once again that Stratford is the leading adaptive/para squad in the West Midlands”

In the final analysis, the West Midlands squad was placed fourth overall of the twelve regions, a superb result from all the athletes from the region. Commenting on the result, West Midlands Team Manager (and Stratford J17/18 Performance squad coach) Abi Terry said, “Well done to everyone in the squad! A big improvement on placing from last year and a real testament to the hard work from all the coaches!”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page fifty two and Stratford Observer back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/04/28&pages=032

For more great pictures of JIRR, see Dave Parkin’s excellent selection https://1drv.ms/f/s!AtAyGCrPvAupqho6bP6AymvayZMM?e=s72mPb

A First for Stratford’s Adaptives: A First for British Rowing

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Last weekend was the final and second two day weekend coaches’ course for para and able bodied athletes: a first for British Rowing and also a first for Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s adaptive section!

Stratford Boat Club’s adaptive section has recently been held up as an exemplar for para rowing in the United Kingdom: this has only been possible with the support of local Stratford and Warwickshire companies and regional and national organisations. The course is run by British Rowing’s Dr Perse Wynn, L3 Senior Club and L2 Strength and Conditioning Coach and Marcus Walker, Level 2 and L3 Course Coach: the extensive four day course covered topics such as risk management; warming up and cooling down exercises; understanding the assessment process, coaching behaviours, the code of conduct, responsibility, safety requirements; cold water immersion and hypothermia; developing athleticism and the practical application of boat adjustments

On the course were Sofia Ward, Jake Blatcher, Gillian Middleton and Kelly Donald, all members of Stratford Boat Club’s adaptive squad and Imogen North who is trainee coach with Stratford juniors’ J15 squad

Also on the course was Rachel Morris from Guildford Rowing Club: Rachel has enjoyed a successful career as a hand-cyclist, winning time trial gold at Beijing 2008 and a bronze medal in the road race at London 2012. Seeking a new challenge, Rachel transferred to rowing in 2013 and won an outstanding gold medal in the PR1 (arms and shoulders only) women’s single scull boat at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Shoulder surgery following the Rio Games sadly curtailed Morris’s rowing career and she left the squad in 2017 and now rows and coaches at Guildford in Surrey.

Commenting, Mark Dewdney, Stratford Boat Club’s Head Adaptive Coach said, “To have the British Rowing (BR) coaches’ course at Stratford is a major benefit and shows BR’s commitment to Stratford’s adaptive squad and para rowing in the UK. The emphasis of the course is to teach the participants how to be a coach first and then how to adapt their new skills to para rowing”

Commenting further, Paul Stanton, Stratford Boat Club’s President said, “Mark’s commitment to the Stratford’s adaptive squad and para rowing in general is an example of dedication producing results. We are also most grateful to Crowne Plaza Stratford for providing Rachel’s accommodation which has enabled her to join the course”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty three; Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratfords-adaptives-and-british-rowing-achieve-first-with-para-coaching-course and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/04/21&pages=032 and British Rowing https://www.britishrowing.org/2023/04/adaptive-rowers-go-on-coaching-course

Stratford Boat Club Member Receives Bravery Award

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Paul Beardmore presented with Royal Humane Society bravery award by Paul Stanton Stratford Boat Club President

Thursday was a proud day for Stratford upon Avon Boat Club when one of the Club’s members, Paul Beardmore, was presented with his bravery award from The Royal Humane Society for his heroic actions in saving one of the Club’s adaptive athletes from her submerged car in the river back in November 2022 which was reported extensively by the media at the time, see https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/car-recovered-from-river-avon-in-stratford-after-drivers-wa-9283213, https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/police-on-scene-after-car-ends-up-in-river-avon-in-stratford-9283167, https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/i-was-lucky-says-driver-who-crashed-into-river-avon-in-st-9283499,  https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/news/driver-whose-car-plunged-into-the-river-avon-in-stratford-survives-to-tell-her-story and https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/news/driver-whose-car-plunged-into-the-river-avon-in-stratford-survives-to-tell-her-story

Paul Beardmore on safety duty on the River Avon with adaptive athlete Rob Pedley MBE

The award was presented to Paul Beardmore by Paul Stanton, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s President acting on behalf of HRH Princess Alexandra, the Honourable Lady Ogilvy who is President of the Royal Humane Society

Mark Dewdney, Stratford Boat Club’s Head Adaptive Coach, congratulates Paul Beardmore on his bravery award

Commenting, Paul Stanton said, “Stratford Boat Club is immensely proud of Paul Beardmore and his selfless act of bravery and quick action which undoubtedly saved the life of a fellow member of the adaptive squad. Paul Beardmore is a self-effacing modest person but the Club could not let the presentation pass without honouring Paul. It was especially pleasing that not only fellow members of the adaptive squad were present but also many members of Stratford’s junior squad and coaches who had just concluded their four day Easter Junior Sculling Camp”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page three and online https://www.stratford-herald.com/news/bravery-award-for-reluctant-hero-who-rescued-driver-from-riv-9308339; Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/news/stratford-rower-receives-bravery-award-for-rescuing-a-disabled-driver-from-the-river-avon-44204 and page five https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/04/14&pages=032 and British Rowing online https://www.britishrowing.org/2023/04/stratford-upon-avon-bc-member-receives-bravery-award

2022 President’s Sculls Trophies Awarded!

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… and finally! Stratford upon Avon Boat Club finally awarded The President’s Sculls 2022 trophies for the best sculler in the men’s and adaptive category this last month, The race off for the award for the best sculler in the Club’s junior squad is still to be completed

The original trophy was initially presented by Ian Cartwright, the then Captain, to Derek Eardley in 2004 during his tenure as President of Stratford Boat Club to mark his many years of service to the Club and was to be raced for annually in coxed fours

Over the years, the competition faded from the annual calendar and was reinstated comparatively recently as an annual sculling competition in four categories – women, men, juniors and adaptive

Paul Stanton, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club President commented, “We hope that the President’s Sculls award will inspire all members to continue with sculling at a high level and further contribute to all sections of the Club mixing and communicating with each other”

The award for the men’s trophy went to Jake Blatcher who dominated the men’s races and was awarded by Dr Persephone Wynn, Programme Manager for the Level 3 Senior Club Coaching Award and Level 2 Strength & Conditioning programme at British Rowing. The awards for the adaptive squad went to Gillian Middleton and Rona Fitzpatrick for the best pair; Rob Pedley for the most improved sculler in a single and to Isaac Courtland for the most promising sculler in a single

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page forty three and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-boat-club-awards-presidents-sculls-trophies

Stratford’s Juniors Show Promise at Junior Sculling Head

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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s junior crews were back on the water this week following Schools’ Head for the second of the pinnacle events of the Head racing season – the Junior Sculling Head at Dorney Lake.

On the Olympic course at Dorney Lake the J14, J15 and J16 squads took on competition from around the UK to compete at this high profile event.  The J14 squad fielded a women’s coxless quadruple scull with Bryony Francis, Maeve Dunn, Becca Smith, Sophie Franklin and Martha Cooke (coxswain) representing Stratford Boat Club. The crew stormed up the course on the first 1800m leg and held their own in the 1800m second leg to finish eighth out of forty five crews entered. Commenting, Steve Wellstead, J14 Coach and Junior Co-ordinator said, “This places the WJ14 squad amongst the top crews in the country and makes for an exciting summer regatta season ahead!”

Representing the Junior 15’s girls were Alexandra Francis, Lily Warren, Sophie Evans, Poppy Baines, Meg Nuttall (cox) competing in the WJ15 coxed quad event. This is a popular event and this year was no different: a total of seventy two crews from the UK competed in difficult conditions. The Stratford girls were drawn in the outside lane racing into a crosswind of 23mph bearing the full brunt of the strong gusts and thus the first of the two runs challenged cox and crew. Despite a strong performance the girls finished twenty fifth. Said Colin Bell, J15 Coach, “On this occasion, the results did not reflect the effort!”

A field of fifty one crews took to the water in the WJ16 coxless quad event. Seeded sixteenth, the Stratford Boat Club crew of Ez Elfwood (stroke), ‘V’ Vondrak, Scarlett Richardson and Aimee Appleton (bow) settled into a strong and steady rhythm early on with Appleton dealing well with the cross winds to steer a straight line. Rowing through two other boats and with a faster second leg, the girls pulled up three places to finish thirteenth overall in a very competitive class.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty three and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-junior-scullers-show-promise-on-dorney-lake and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/03/31&pages=032

For more great pictures of the Junior Sculling Head, see Stuart Baines’ excellent selection https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AAgtRX2jqm73JFY&id=3DD8F6A70C0CB625%21250426&cid=3DD8F6A70C0CB625