Tag Archives: Amanda Bowden

Stratford’s Masters & Seniors Win at Peterborough

Posted on by

It was hugely encouraging to see the women of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club dominating the racing in Peterborough.

In a tremendously strong tail wind, the Masters’ Women fought to hold the quad level off the start and powered their way to catch up the crew ahead, that had been given a time handicapped head start. Finding better water at 250m they came back through the lead crew to win just as the crews went over the line. A win by 0.4 of a second! Charlotte Jones, crew member, said, “The crew overcame challenging conditions to win! Great win and great fun!”

The gusty strong tail wind continued into the afternoon for the Masters’ Women’s double of Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden. They comfortably won the heat and the final race in a time of 1:55minutes.

Heather Hayton, Club Captain and stroke of the quad, highlighting the wins said, “It is spectacular to see women, across all age groups, come together and succeed in their sport. Inspirational! Added to that, the Stratford ladies won the most female events of the day!”

Racing in the first boat of the day for the senior women were Alice Baines and Imogen North in the Women’s Band 2 doubles event. Despite only having one outing prior to the event, they commanded their heat and subsequently their final in a time of 1:46.0. In the afternoon both Alice and Imogen took to the water again joined by Elisabeth Edwards and Katy Thomas for the Women’s Band 2 quads event. This was an exciting start to Katy’s sculling career as her first ever sculling race having taken up the sport whilst at university. This scratch crew, with only one outing under their belts, took themselves by surprise by winning comfortably both their heat and final despite the blustery conditions

Stratford’s Masters men also competed at Peterborough: Sunday afternoon saw Stratford’s men’s masters competing after quite a break. Conditions were good but an occasional wind across the course was causing some problems for steering.

A lack of competition saw the coxless four masters crew (Dave, Simon, Graham and Richard) entered into open category against much younger crews from Auriol, Cantabrigian and Dart Totnes. Undaunted, they decided to give it their best and recorded a personal best in what would have been very credible time for a masters’ E event

After the fours’ event, there was the return to competitive rowing by John Robinson. Facing stiff competition from Peterborough City and Bewl Bridge, John remained within one boat’s length right up to the finish but sadly missing out on a pot

Said Dave Edwards, Masters’ Vice Captain, “An excellent day was had by all and the squad is now looking forward to the start of the head season”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratfords-women-win-at-peterborough and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/08/18&pages=24 and also Stratford Herald page forty three

Stratford Triumphs on the River, Beach and in Munich!

Posted on by

After the excitement of National Junior Championships, the Stratford upon Avon Boat Club junior rowing summer calendar turned to Henley Town & Visitors Regatta for the next races. Held over 800m on the famed Henley Reach, the event always provides great racing and moreover a great relaxed atmosphere. First to go from the J14 squad was the women’s coxed quadruple scull of Sophie Franklin, Becca Smith, Martha Baines, Bryony Francis and Poppy Warren (coxswain). Competing in the J15 category, the crew made easy meat of Wallingford Rowing Club in the first round. However not to be outdone, the hunter became the hunted in the final and a second Wallingford Rowing Club crew, recent National Junior Championship finalists, took the win in the final by just four lengths over the Stratford girls.

The racing continued furiously with the WJ14 single sculls next to boat. Sophie Franklin and Millie Smith represented Stratford with great sculling in a tough headwind, both placed second in their respective semifinals and narrowly missing out on a place in the final. Challenging conditions continued for the WJ14 double sculls event where three Stratford crews competed. Bryony Francis and Martha Cooke powered their way past a quality Wallingford Rowing Club double in the semifinal whilst Martha Baines and Becca Smith booked their place in the final showing Falcon Rowing Club nothing but wake. Meanwhile in the third semifinal, Isla Dunn and Poppy Warren narrowly missed out to a quality Henley Rowing Club double. With the regatta drawing to a close, the final wasn’t quite an all Stratford affair and the Henley Rowing Club crew took full home advantage securing the win with Stratford nipping at their heels until the finish line.

Stratford’s Junior 15’s had four events to participate in, starting with Theo Richter and Ollie Rowlands in the Junior 15 double sculls. They faced tough competition from Falcon and Henley who took an early lead and kept it until the end. Richter and Rowlands did their best but could not catch up on the short course. Sadly, they did not qualify for the final.

Stratford’s J15 girls had more success in the single sculls event with Sophie Evans, Alexandra Francis, Poppy Baines and Meg Nuttall representing Stratford Boat Club. Evans raced against City of Oxford and Wallingford and, despite being more used to racing in bigger boats, she performed well and finished third. Francis and Baines competed in the second heat against Shiplake with Francis advancing to the final finishing first with Baines finishing second in their heat. Nuttall who usually coxes, tried her hand at sculling in the third heat but lost to the eventual winner of the event. In the final, Francis fought hard against Wallingford but lost by a narrow margin.

The next event was the J15 singles where Seth Vondrak faced Henley in a straight final. The two boys were evenly matched in the first part of the race but Vondrak used his experience from the British Rowing’s recent Junior National Championships to pull ahead in the middle section. He maintained his lead and won by four lengths. Finally In the double sculls event for girls, Lily Warren and Alice Jones competed for the first time as a crew. They faced Wallingford and Shiplake in their heat who were both strong contenders. Wallingford took an early lead and kept it until the end, winning the overall event. Stratford and Shiplake fought for second place but Warren and Jones overtook them at the halfway point and secured their position, finishing second.

Stratford’s J16 squad entered three crews, enjoying an early success in the double sculls when Jamie Wilcock and Will Dalrymple-Baker executed their race plan perfectly in a straight final against a Wallingford crew. The boys went off hard to open an impressive lead by halfway and maintained their composure with a two boat length advantage as they crossed the line. Next to compete was Elliot Baird in the J16 single sculls: Elliot found himself in a very competitive heat with scullers from Wallingford and Henley. A strong start saw Elliot well in touch during the early part of the race before eventually crossing the line a couple of lengths behind the other two crews in a closely fought finish. Finally, the WJ16 coxless quad of Jessica Long, Scarlett Richardson, Megan Rowan and Harriet Froom took to the water rowing up an age category against a composite WJ18 crew from Staines and Mundener from Germany. Despite a good start and clean row from the Stratford athletes, the age difference told with the very accomplished WJ18 opposition taking the win in blustery conditions.

From Stratford’s J17 squad, Charles Happel stepped up to do battle in the Senior single sculls event.  Despite remaining in contact throughout, it was not to be Charles’ day as his opponent from Upper Thames Rowing Club took full benefit of a home crowd and crossed the line first.

The weekend also saw Stratford upon Avon Boat Club masters and adaptive rowers competing against athletes from far and wide with rowers in Germany in the European Club Championships on the south coast of England at the British Offshore Rowing Championships and also at Henley on Thames for the Henley Town & Visitors Regatta.

The British Offshore Rowing Championships took place off Exmouth and attracted its largest entry with rowers from the Czech Republic, France and Germany taking part in racing over two days.

Racing commenced on Friday with Stratford rowers Andrew Morris and Tom Doherty joined by their fellow rowers Ali Martineau and Kath Coleman-Jones from the Coastal Barbarians Club racing in the mixed ability quads sculls over a 4 km course. Up against crews from Fishguard, Llandaff and Mayflower, it was going to be a closely contested race with Mayflower with two of their senior men and Sophie Harris former GB Paralympic squad member.

A good start saw Stratford/Barbarians gain a half length lead which they held to the buoy turn out to sea. Over the next two kilometres, Mayflower edged back and both crews were racing for the buoy side by side in the choppy sea conditions. At the three kilometre buoy turn, Mayflower started to edge ahead by a length but drifted off course allowing Stratford/Barbarians to close and edge ahead and gain a short lead which they held to the finish. Said Tom Doherty, crew captain, “This was Stratford’s Andrew Morris’s first experience at sea rowing and he put in an incredible performance to win a gold medal. It also shows there are no limits to what adaptive athletes can achieve.”

Stratford were not finished with Tom Doherty back on the water half an hour later for the senior Men’s 6km Double Sculls final with Robin Steward from the Mayflower Club. In a very competitive field of six crews, a good start saw the double edge into second place behind Jersey with Eastbourne neck and neck. A long side by side race ensued with Eastbourne finally pulling away at the three kilometre point. Jersey, who had been leading, began to tire and were pushed into second place as Stratford/Mayflower attempted to close on second and hold off a fast finishing Ardingly crews behind. Jersey rallied enough to hold onto second place with Stratford/Mayflower finishing in third place for the bronze medal.

Meanwhile, Stratford’s Women’s Masters were competing in the Euro Master Regatta in Munich. Stratford’s Masters Women won five gold medals and secured several second and third positions of the thirteen events entered. The races were all extremely tight with often just a second between the top three places.

Particular congratulations to Suzie Radley, who won three of the gold medals in women’s VIII; Amanda Bowden, winning a gold medal in women’s VIII; Heather Hayton, winning gold in a Mixed double and Kjersti Rogneflaten Woolley who represented Stratford across several boat classes at times combining with other clubs. All the events saw hard racing from everybody involved across the four days.

Commenting, Amanda Bowden, Stratford crew member, said, “Lining up on a start to hear the starter announce ‘Great Britain’ alongside the other international competitors was totally thrilling! It was hugely inspiring to race masters’ athletes at this level, competing against other nations and great fun catching up with previous rowing friends and making new ones! Many thanks to all our supporters, with a special mention to Dan Simkins for boat support and David Bowden for the driving to and from Munich!”

For media mentions, see Stratford Herald page forty four and Stratford Observer back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/08/04&pages=24

For more great pictures of Henley Town & Visitors regatta, see Kathy Baines’ selection https://1drv.ms/f/s!AiW2DAyn9tg9j7QT6aOurkcIfval3A?e=NE1B7N

All Fun At The Fun Regatta!

Posted on by

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

Stratford Triumph at Marlow and British Masters’ Rowing Championships!

Posted on by

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s adaptive squad went to Marlow Town regatta for what to most was the first racing of their regatta season. There was a hint of regatta rustiness!

The race of the day was an all Stratford final between Rob Pedley and Jess Dowdeswell in the PR1 singles. This is a fixed seat event for those with a Spinal Cord Injury or some other condition that makes it impossible to use legs. It was nip and tuck all the way with the vastly more experienced Pedley winning by just one foot!

Andy Morris triumphed in a PR3 event, defeating his Oxford rival by a length. There was also a surprise win for Curtis Dickens and Jake Blatcher: Curtis has been rowing for less than two months. However, they trounced a Marlow and Sudbury crew.

The rest of the squad performed well, but all lost their finals by small margins.

Jess Dowdeswell and Curtis Dickens have been referred to the Stratford Boat Club by the GB Paralympic team. The Club’s adaptive coaching team have been asked to develop them to the appropriate level.

The weekend also saw the highlight of the masters’ regatta season with the British Rowing Masters Championships held at the multi lane national course at Holme Pierrepoint in Nottingham. The event, held over two days in glorious sunshine, attracted a record entry of over eight hundred crews to race on the 1000m multi lane course. A very strong tailwind and a choppy course promised challenging but fast racing. Stratford upon Avon Boat Club we were represented by a number of women’s and men’s crews competing over the two days.

Saturday saw the first action for Stratford with Heather Hatton and Tom Doherty competing with their friends Tabatha and Julian Scrivener from the Upton club in mixed masters E (average age 55) quad sculls (two blades [oars] each) against a strong field from Warwick, Monmouth and Ardingly.

A good start from Stratford/Upton saw them edge ahead of Ardingly to lead Monmouth and Warwick by about a length at the halfway 500m mark. A big push from Warwick saw them close to about half a length at the 750m mark with Monmouth still in the race only a length behind. With all to play for, Warwick continued their push drawing level at the 800m mark.

A furious race to the finish continued with Warwick using their size and strength to just push through to win by three seconds with Stratford /Upton settling for the silver medal in second place ahead of a strong Monmouth crew a length behind in third place.

Next up at midday in the heat of the sun was Stratford’s Ed Lewry and Nic Sartain in the Men’s Masters’ B (average age 35) double scull event. The race was a heat with three of the five crews progressing to the final later in the day. A fast start from Ed and Nic saw them pushing hard for a final place.

With only four seconds separating the four crews at halfway, a tight finish was on the cards. With Nottingham and Poplar edging ahead, the final place was between Stratford and Falcon clubs. A very close finish saw Stratford pipped by the slenderest of margins of less than half a second.

Next up for Stratford was Heather Hayton and Tom Doherty in their Mixed Masters E double scull category. Racing former internationals from Castle Semple and also multiple championship winners from Lakeland, the race was always going to be for the minor places. As predicted Castle Semple and Lakeland moved away from the rest of the field in the by now quite choppy conditions leaving a three way battle for the minor placing between Bewel Bridge, Stratford and Bentham. A big push by Stratford in the final 250m was not enough to overhaul Bewel Bridge however and Stratford had to settle for fifth place.

The final Stratford competitor saw Tim Lunel racing in the Single Masters’ E sculls event. In what was one of the strongest entries of the whole championship with three heats, it was always going to be a stiff challenge to qualify for the final. With the choppy conditions still persisting, Tim put in a solid performance but sadly it was not enough to make the final.

Sunday saw Stratford back in action with Tom Doherty racing in the Men’s Coxless fours sweep (one oar) race with Greenbank Falmouth. Despite never having rowed together before, the crew were looking to qualify from their heat for the final. Against a quality field including ex-Irish internationals from Commercial Rowing Club and Upper Thames, Nottingham and Avon County, it was going to be a big ask.

A very fast start rating forty one strokes per minute and a fast race tempo of thirty eight strokes a minute for the whole course, enabled the Stratford/Greenbank composite to edge ahead by a length over a much fancied Nottingham crew to hold third place behind Commercial and Upper Thames and qualify for the final. A further tough race in the final saw the Stratford/Greenbank, Tyne and Minerva Bath crews battle for the minor places with only two seconds separating the three crews at the finish.

And finally for Stratford, Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden won a gold medal at the British Masters’ Rowing Championships! The double rowed with a powerful, consistent rhythm, pulling away from the competition over the length of the course. The conditions were very favourable, although swelteringly hot! The masters’ women were delighted to demonstrate improved cohesion and boat speed, both positive steps in preparing for the European Masters’ Championships at the end of July.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page forty four and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-masters-win-gold-and-silver-at-british-rowing-championships

Stratford’s Masters Crowned at Nottingham!

Posted on by

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

Onwards to 2023!

Posted on by

It was a bright, sunny morning, and Stratford upon Avon Boat Club were out in force with twelve athletes competing in freshly assembled crews for the annual Boxing Day Regatta. First up was Team A: Martha Usselmann, Matt Meynell, Heather Hayton, Elisabeth Edwards and cox Cameron Dalrymple-Baker vs Team B: Jack Arrowsmith, Will Dalrymple-Baker, Jackie Josbury, Amanda Bowden and cox Katie Phillips. All crews raced twice, switching their lane after the first race. A quick start saw Team A draw ahead but Team B held their own, keeping level with Team A until the final few lengths of the race where Team A pulled away to take the first win of the day. Both teams had a quick turn around and were soon back up at the start, ready to go again. Another quick start from Team A saw them claim victory once more, with Team B battling with them to the end.

Both crews were pulled in and Team A swapped out with Team C: Katie Phillips, Ruby Howells, Cameron Dalrymple-Baker, Dave Edwards, and cox Elisabeth Edwards. Team B stayed on, swapping their cox for Martha Usselmann. Crews paddled up to the start and moved off with a strong start but the slightly fresher Team C gradually pulled away from Team B to take the lead, crossing the line just ahead of Team B. Both crews turned and headed back up on opposite sides. Once again both crews had a strong start, with Team C pulling away initially but Team B keeping the pressure on them. Team C crossed the line first but their aggressive racing line caused Team B to move close to the bank to avoid contact which led to the race being considered a draw.

Finally Team A swapped in with Team B, with both crews changing their coxes to Amanda Bowden (A) and Will Dalrymple-Baker (C). Both crews headed up to the start line for the final two races of the morning. Once more, quick starts from both crews were seen and they kept level with each other for the first half of the race. A burst of pressure from Team A as the crews passed the theatre saw them move away from Team C in the final stages of the race and take victory. Both crews took a leisurely paddle back up to the start in an attempt to catch their breath and lined up once more. Both crews were quick off the mark and kept level, with Team C starting to move ahead as the crews reached the halfway mark, however a well timed call from Team A’s cox saw the boat gain speed and move away from Team C just as the crews crossed the finish line.

With four wins across the morning, Team A were declared the victors and were each awarded a Stratford Boat Club tankard. Tankards were also awarded to all who coxed, as well as one being awarded to the brilliant finish marshal, who helped signal the end of each race.

Commenting, Paul Stanton, the Club’s President said, “Many thanks go to Trevor Tiller, Zöe Edwards, Helen Smith and Ian Wilcock for marshalling and to Dave Edwards for organising the event.”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald pages forty and thirty eight.

For more great pictures of the Boxing Day Scratch Regatta, see David Phillips’ excellent selection https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiBE8NqoVVypgg6L22bLS2AnUG6E?e=3kjYqr

MASTERS SCORE TWO OUT OF TWO!

Posted on by

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club were represented by both a mixed double and women’s double at Stourport Small Boats Head and both Masters’ crews won!

Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden enjoyed the fast stream taking 14 minutes 34 seconds to complete the 4K course. Suzie steered a good line, grateful for the cloud cover during the race and not having to stare into the sun. There
were no crews within reach so the double focused on pushing off the crews behind.

Kjersti Rogneflaten Woolley and Gary Clay enjoyed racing in a Masters’ mixed double for the first time since last June. In the slightly flooded swirly water, they were overtaken by a Men’s junior coxed quad that started just behind them. Kjersti and Gary then managed to overtake two Masters’ women’s doubles. This set them up for clear water and a good sprint for the finish which was just enough for a narrow win!

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page sixty eight and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-double-delight-for-stratford-masters and also back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/11/18&pages=032

Masters Triumph Again at Gloucester

Posted on by

It was a win for the Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Masters Women 2x of Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden at Gloucester Head 5k in a time of 22.45mins. They were pleased to see the sun come out after a heavy downpour and enjoyed beautiful race conditions with a tail wind.

The race plan went well and overtaking the boat ahead at the half way point gave the ladies a boost and a crew to push off. Cheering from the support provided a further encouragement to up the efforts over the last 500m. Said Amanda Bowden, “Many thanks to Dan for towing the trailer and supporting us!”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty seven

Wins for Stratford at Stourport in Blistering Heat!

Posted on by

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club made their way to Stourport on Severn for the Stourport Boat Club annual regatta. Stratford’s Masters were the first to boat on the Saturday and in blistering temperatures, the 4x had a solid row, making improvements since the previous regatta. Later in the day, the 2x of Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden were happy with their first race, winning a straight final.

Sunday saw the annual Sprint Regatta held over 650m on the River Severn. Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s J13 squad were in action with racing throughout the day. First to take to the water was the mighty double scull combination of Millie Smith and Becca Smith who gave the crowd something to get excited about with a three quarters of a length win over Trent Boat Club.

Celebrations were short lived however as the Smith duo pushed a quality outfit from AB Severn down the course in the final to lose out by three lengths. Next to go was the WJ13 coxed quadruple scull of Bryony Francis, Isla Dunn, Martha Cooke, Sophie Franklin and Josephine Cooper (coxswain). The girls rowed up to J14 level to race against Stourport Boat Club on their home water and sculled superbly to take the win with a dominant display of junior sculling.

With the waters of the Severn rapidly evaporating in the 35°C heat, the Stratford girls raced on into the afternoon with the WJ13 single sculls event next on the schedule. Stratford’s Millie Smith sculled with determination shortly after the double scull event to keep her opposition from Evesham on her toes in the single scull. Stratford J13 sculler Isla Dunn exerted revenge for Millie’s defeat with a solid win over the Evesham sculler to take her place in the final with AB Severn (who knocked out Stratford’s Sophie Franklin after a plucky row from the young sculler).

Once again it was a Stratford/AB Severn showdown and despite Isla’s best endeavours, the AB Severn sculler crossed the line with Stratford’s bows nipping at their stern. Last to go was the second WJ13 coxed quadruple scull race of the day with Becca Smith, Cara Berisford-Murray, Josephine Cooper, Martha Cooke and Bryony Francis (coxswain) who raced a straight final against Trent Boat Club. Another solid row from the Stratford girls brought the crowd to their feet with a round of applause as they passed the club grounds holding a one length lead to take the second win of the day.

The J17/J18 squad showed fantastic commitment over the whole weekend, racing in every division possible over the two days. Saturday morning began with a semi-final victory in the Open J18 single sculls event for Tomas Wilcock against a Derwent RC rower. The final of this event was one of the closest races of the day, with Wilcock beating a second Derwent Rowing Club boat by only three feet to claim the medal.

Following this, Freya Watts gave a strong effort in the WJ18 single sculls event, losing out on a spot in the final by one and a half lengths against Burton Leander Rowing Club. The first division ended with a great win in the WJ18 double sculls, where Ruby Howells and Lucy Browne executed a fine race plan to dominate the second half of the 1100m course and to claim victory over the home Stourport Boat Club by two lengths.

The afternoon led to new territory for Wilcock and Browne, who raced together for the first time in the exciting Mixed Double Sculls event. Unfortunately, the juniors were unable to perform against the Hereford senior rowers they were alongside and the semi-final was conceded. Howells and Watts also raced up in the Women’s’ Double Sculls, giving spectators a tightly fought battle between Stratford and Warwick, which resulted in a close win for Stratford by just a third of a length. Claiming three events in just one day, the Stratford juniors ended the afternoon with anticipation of the next day’s rowing.

Sunday saw the return of the Mixed Double sculls for Wilcock and Browne, who gave an impressive sprint over 600m, but resulted in a loss against Hereford RC once again. Watts also returned to the WJ18 single sculls, but similarly lost out to Hereford RC by just one length. In the afternoon’s division, Wilcock won the semi-final of the J18 single sculls event by another incredible margin of half a length, but could not replicate his win from the previous day as, in the final, a Hereford sculler powered to the finish and claimed the event.

Finally, to round off a great weekend of racing, Browne and Watts teamed up for the WJ18 double sculls event. Both the semi final and final witnessed impressive efforts from two more Stourport Boat Club pairings but Stratford were once more victorious in this event to end the weekend with another medal.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/double-win-for-stratford-boat-clubs-juniors-at-stourport-9269317 and page forty three and Stratford Observer https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-impress-in-blistering-heat-at-stourport and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/08/19&pages=024