Tag Archives: Charlotte Franklin

Stratford’s Juniors Make Good Start to New Rowing Season

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The new rowing season began last weekend with the opening event for Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s junior squad. A bumper entry saw Stratford’s juniors travel to Wallingford for the 2025 edition of Wallingford Long Distance Sculls. Due to the cancellation of last year’s race, the J15s took on the 4000m long course for the first time. The J15 coxed quadruple scull of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s junior squad (coxswain) came home in fourth place whilst the WJ15 coxed quadruple scull of Abi Dunn, Meredith Paul, Lillian Parsons, Scarlett Wheeler and Raya Hothi (coxswain) complete the course in seventh place. Over the shorter 1800m course, the WJ15 double scull of Martina Bruce and Raya Hothi delivered a solid third place. Meanwhile in the J15 single scull event, Stratford’s Reuben Stanford spiced up the competition with a win over Henley Rowing Club and Thames Scullers.

All J16s competing the long course in Division Three at Wallingford. Erin Appleton and Orla Linforth sculled a savvy 4.25km and came fourth in their WJ16 2x event, in a time of 20:14.8 (Henley won the event). Maria Ntoukaki had a terrific WJ16 1x race over the long distance, came 10th in her event, out of 30, in 20:20.1 (Headington won the event). Finally, Seb Happel (stroke), Will Shaw, Euan Richter and Ed Appleton (bow) had a brilliant race against top shelf competition from Henley, Lea, Wallingford and St Paul’s, finishing fifth in 16:16.3. Commenting, Hugo Happel J16 Coach said, “An excellent result for their very first coxless OJ16 4x event even though Henley finally won the event.”

Stratford J17/J18 squad had the pleasure of racing twice in both morning and afternoon events. In the WJ18 coxless quadruple sculls, Stratford fielded two crews with Martha Baines, Alexandra Francis, Tessa Parkin and Poppy Baines in fourth place and Martha Cooke, Millie Smith, Sophie Evans and Isla Dunn in sixth place amongst a twelve crew strong field. The OpJ18 double scull of Xavier Sissins-Roffey and Seth Vondrak overcame stiff competition to record a second place finish, dueling with Lea Rowing Club for the duration of the race. Maeve Dunn in the WJ17 single scull came home twenty seventh in the event, a position which belied her speed after being caught in river traffic. For their second row, the squad split into different crews with Alexandra Francis coming home fourth of twenty eight entrants in the WJ18 single scull. Also in single sculls, the boys rowed up to the senior event with Xavier Sissins-Roffey in tenth and Seth Vondrak in thirteenth. Stratford fielded two crews in the WJ18 double sculls with Alexandra Francis and Isla Dunn in eleventh places overall, creditable placings against such rowing powerhouses such as Headington School and Surbiton High School. The final crew on the water was the coxless quadruple scull of Poppy Baines, Maeve Dunn, Martha Baines and Tessa Parkin who also rowed up to senior level which meant taking on three crews of aspiring Team GB athletes from Leander Club. The Stratford crews spent most of the race in the slower stream as the Leander crews came through the field and after being forced into the bank by an errant Upper Thames crew restarted their race to finish seventh place.

Steve Wellstead, J17/18 Coach and Junior Co-ordinator commented, “All in all an excellent first head race of the season at a top class event!”

The J14s shone on their inaugural outing of the new season. With both a boys’ and girls’ quad racing in quick succession over Division 2’s shorter 2km course, the youngest members of Stratford Boat Club displayed real grit and no little finesse in Club colours for their first time.

Leading the charge was Archie Mansfield driving the WJ14 quad of Charlotte Franklin, Eva Cruise, Islay Milles, Mary Heenan to a commendable fourth place amongst a field of nine: just six seconds split those four top finishers, a sign of a really promising crew to watch. Not to be outdone, the OJ14 quad of Archie Eaton, Christopher Durance, Arthur Burt and Ethan Siwakowski with Eli Ford as cox were the undisputed fastest crew in their event and recorded the fastest time of all quads in the age group that day coming away with well deserved medals to show for their efforts.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page forty four and online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/bumper-entry-of-juniors-to-start-new-rowing-season-9435893 and also Stratford Observer back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2025/10/03&pages=24 and also online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-boat-club-juniors-make-strong-start-to-new-season

For more pictures of Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, see Stuart Baines’ great selection https://onedrive.live.com/?redeem=aHR0cHM6Ly8xZHJ2Lm1zL2YvYy8zZGQ4ZjZhNzBjMGNiNjI1L0VuRmc4TmFUOUVSRnNyUGYtSVNZOEdjQk9LZnZrclZ3NlB3QzdoUzRad2dFRXc%5FZT1KdWJ0WkM&id=3DD8F6A70C0CB625%21sd6f06071f4934544b2b3dff88498f067&cid=3DD8F6A70C0CB625

Junior National Championships & Masters at Bewdley

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The weekend saw the culmination of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s racing season with the Junior National Championships held at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. Stratford’s J16 squad fielded three crews against the finest in the land.  First to go were the girls’ double sculls where the time trial stage of the competition saw Tessa Parkin and Sophie Franklin just pip Martha Baines and Martha Cooke by 0.2 seconds to achieve twenty first and twenty third place. The two lined up in adjacent lanes in the D Final whereupon a match of the ages played out. With the Marthas holding a one length lead over the rest of the field for the first 1000m, the race then took shape. The Parkin/Franklin chose their moment and in the last 250m generated a charge to move them from fifth to third and edging their Stratford crew mates into fourth by the same 0.2 second margin. Next to race was the J16 coxless quadruple scull of Becca Smith, Martha Baines, Maeve Dunn and Isla Dunn. In a highly competitive field, the crew delivered a solid time trial to achieve fourteenth position and a slot in the C Final. With rested legs, the girls line up in the centre lane for their final and dominated the first 1750m. The rest of the field had other ideas however and quality crews from Glasgow Academy, Queens Park Chester and Hexham Rowing Club charged through to push the SuABC girls into fourth place by just two seconds.

For the J14s, an exceptional effort by Abi Dunn in her single scull saw her place third in the C final, a fantastic achievement on the national stage. In the equivalent boys’ event, Tristan Hammick wasn’t able to improve upon his placing from the time trials but left the race with nothing left in reserve and some valuable lessons taken from competing at such a level. The double scull of Nathan Lebordais and Reuben Stanford narrowly missed out on the chance to race through the semi-finals but impressed with their power through the C final. The girls’ double of Martina Bruce-Bonilla and Bethany Hammond showed equal measures of grit and composure to secure a place in the D final and held their own against the opposition crews from the start. Finally, the quad of Charlotte Mansfield (cox), Raya Hothi, Charlotte Franklin, Lilly Parsons and Scarlet Wheeler recorded a commendable time to progress to the final stages where they were denied their chance to shine by racing being cancelled due to thunderstorms.

J14 Coach Jon Francis was delighted with their achievements and said, “For many, this was their first experience of multi-lane racing at a large national event. That all the crews progressed through the time trials to a final is something about which they can be immensely proud.”

Monday 21 July saw a change in weather at Holme Pierrepoint, with calm waters and sunny conditions at the start. The serenity in the weather was not echoed by the sheer competitiveness of the junior athlete presence, with all major schools fielding large numbers of competitors (including Windsor Boys) and many new clubs entering.

In the time trials, it was brutal:

WJ15 2x, Orla and Erin 52nd out of 60 – eliminated.

OJ15 2x, Seb and Ed 47th out 53 – eliminated.

OJ15 1x, Will 41st out of 67 – eliminated.

WJ15 1x, Maria 32nd out 58 – into F Final. Maria then had the misfortune of a turn in weather, lightning appearing in the afternoon, with the course being evacuated and numerous Minor Finals being cancelled.

J15 Coach Hugo Happel commented, “Our J15s rowed with fine technique but it wasn’t enough on the day. I think the 900m format suited other athletes much better, so next year rowing the 2k distance will suit our athletes much better. Well done to all athletes, they did really well!”

Meanwhile, on Saturday Stratford upon Avon Masters Men and Women were out in force at the Bewdley Regatta competing in ten different rowing events. Lucy Scarlett and Rebecca England opened the racing for Stratford in the women’s senior 2x. In drizzly conditions, they faced a young Birmingham crew in their semi-final. Both doubles had a good start and were evenly matched, however the Stratford pair maintained their power and moved away over the second half of the race to win by nearly two lengths. Scarlett and England were then up against a strong Minerva Bath crew in the final. The Stratford double rowed hard, maintaining a good length but unfortunately were beaten on this occasion. They will aim to build on their semi-final success in their next races together.

OpH/I 2x of Mike Adkins and Paul Collins sculled an excellent race, in touching distance of their opposition the whole way down the course but on this occasion, Nottingham Rowing Club took the win.

WE4x of Ellie Davis (stroke) Gina Fusco Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden (bow) got into a lovely rhythm, gaining on the opposition to take the lead but were unfortunately disqualified due to clashing blades.

Low CRI Op 2x of Jack Ingleby and Tom Stokes had a great start and were side-by-side up until around half way, but the more experienced Bewdley crew took the win

The afternoon rowing began with  WB 4+, coxed by Jen Carey with Rebecca England (stroke), Jeanette Caldecott, Lucy Scarlett, and Fiona Schulz (bow) In their semi final, they faced half of the morning division’s winning 8+ from Bristol Ariel. Stratford had a good start and quickly pulled away from their opposition. They maintained a good rhythm, rowing long and powerfully, extending their lead to win by four lengths. Facing the other half of Bristol’s 8+ in the final, Stratford again started well, improving technically from their previous row. They remained calm and held a solid rate of 33 strokes a minute moving away from their opponents, crossing the finish line two lengths ahead. The whole crew were delighted with their win and now look forward to their next race together at Stourport.

Next up were the MasD2x Amanda Bowden and Suzie Radley who rowed well with a long, strong rhythm, winning easily over Warwick.

In their first double race together Ellie Davis and Gina Fusco competed in WMasE  2X. After a wobbly start the double moved into a good strong a rhythm but was not quite enough to catch the Loughborough crew.

Patrick Taylor and Dan Simkins raced in the D/E coxless pairs event. Since they were the younger crew, they had to give the Pengwern crew a seven second head start. While waiting, they lost alignment in the wind and were 45 degrees off course when they were able to start. Despite this, they had a solid row and finished just 1.5 lengths behind.

Due to the lack of Masters opposition, the Mixed Masters EVIII (average age 55-60) rowed in a final against City of Bristol Open Mixed VIII. Stratford had a strong start, rating 37 strokes per minute and held the opposition. As they lengthened out, they took the lead and stern pair, Amanda Bowden and Suzie Radley held the rate and rhythm at 35 strokes per minute with a boat speed of 1.25minutes per 500m. Middle four, Dan Simkins, Patrick Taylor, Tim Male, Tom Doherty, gave a powerful push mid race, whilst the bow pair of Jeannette Caldicott and Abby Symons supported the strength and technical proficiency of the crew. Stratford remained at this blistering rate for the duration of the race. The exceptionally strong boat speed enabled the crew to pull further ahead and stay ahead for the win. Bow, Abby Symons, said, “Following the strong start, we were determined to beat them! This was a hard-fought race and a very satisfying win over a significantly younger and competent crew.”

Competing in their first regatta, Novice Women coxed quad of Sally Bliss (stroke) Emily Burton, Urania O’Reilly, Sarah Walker (bow) got off to a good start against Stourport and led by half a length. They held Stourport off until the last 25 strokes when Stourport moved ahead to win by one length. Sally Bliss said, “It was a win for our crew as we gave Stourport a good race in our first ever regatta. It was a fantastic event and everyone was so supportive. We cannot thank everyone from Stratford Boat Club enough who has got us to this point. All in all, a fantastic and fun day of racing with strong performances across the Stratford crews!”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page thirty seven

For more pictures of the Junior National Championships, see Stuart Baines’ great selection https://onedrive.live.com/?redeem=aHR0cHM6Ly8xZHJ2Lm1zL2YvYy8zZGQ4ZjZhNzBjMGNiNjI1L0VzSjdOM0VmME5CQWp4X3AzMzQ0WTR3QlF0N3U2UDRHcWtDTHlBbk0wV2hPMkE%5FZT1FRjQ5VGY&id=3DD8F6A70C0CB625%21s71377bc2d01f40d08f1fe9df7e38638c&cid=3DD8F6A70C0CB625

Stratford’s Juniors and Masters Score at Evesham and Dorney Lake

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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s younger squads enjoyed their trip downstream to Evesham’s Sprint Regatta on Saturday and acquitted themselves admirably in the season’s first side-by-side racing. The J13 girls’ quad of Mary Heenan, Islay Milles, Isobel Jackson, Charlotte Franklin and Lilly Parsons (cox) overwhelmed their early opponents but narrowly missed out to the home side in the final. The J13s then displayed great character by racing the unfamiliar stretch of the Avon in small boats with all maximising their opportunity to explore almost every inch of the river and in one case, large parts of the riverbank too! The J13 boys’ quad of Archie Mansfield, Christopher Durance, Ethan Siwakowski, Arthur Burt and Archie Eaton (cox) rounded off the event in a hotly contested pursuit of the Evesham winners.

The J14s were in imperious form, sweeping aside their opponents in respective blue riband (coxed quads) events. Tristan Hammick, Nathan Lebordais, Connor Birrell, Reuben Stanford and Herbie Shickle (cox) eased to victory over successive Monmouth crews whilst the girls’ boat of Scarlet Wheeler, Lilly Parsons, Meredith Paul, Abi Dunn and Martina Bruce-Bonilla (cox) expertly managed their races to win them all by ‘just enough’ to nullify the boys’ bragging rights! Later small boat outings gave all athletes valuable experience and some points for development.

J13/14 coach Jon Francis commented, “I was delighted with the display from both squads and was particularly impressed with the calm demeanour of the J13s in their first ever regatta!

Stratford’s J15 squad started this season’s side by side racing at Evesham also on Saturday, over 1000m upstream course. In the morning Euan Richter and Will Shaw saw off their Cheltenham College Boat Club opposition in the OJ15 2x SF by five lengths and were successful too in the final against Worcester Royal Grammar, winning by one and a quarter lengths and claiming their navy blue pots. Also racing in the morning, Orla Linforth and Erin Appleton sculled in the WJ15 2x SF with really lovely technique but lost against the strong Evesham duo.

In the afternoon division, the OJ15 4x+ crew of Seb Happel, Euan Richter, Will Shaw, Ed Appleton and Rory Jones won their first race against Ross Rowing Club, won their semifinal against Magdalen College (easily) but lost in the final against Cheltenham College.

Also in division two, Rory Rowan sculled well in the OJ15 1x event but lost out to a stronger sculler from Worcester. In the WJ15 1x event, Naomi Sime showed lovely technique but lost to a powerful sculler from Ross Rowing Club and Maria Ntoukaki won her semifinal against a good sculler from Warwick Boat Club. In the final, Maria lost out to the Ross sculler by a small margin with both showing great sportsmanship after the staggered finish line.

Commenting, J15 coach Hugo Happel said, “The J15 squad again showed lovely technique, attitude and desire both on and off the water with some good learning to carry forward into the next regatta events. Well done to the athletes!”

Stratford’s Masters squad s had five crews racing at Evesham Regatta. The conditions were good and the racing started with the OpMI2x of Paul Collins and Mike Adkins. It was great to see this double competing again.

The OpC/D4+ also raced in the morning division in glorious sunshine. Victory can come in many forms: Jack Ingleby, Mark Kelly, David Vazquez and Phil Marshall came together as a crew for only the third time, using a borrowed bow loader boat, with a borrowed cox and a swap of crew position. They managed to row as a crew quite effectively along the 1,000 metre course. The foursome had some fun as well! Further outings are already planned, seating positions are selected and the future holds great hope!

The tail wind picked up over the course of the afternoon division, Stratford Women’s Masters DVIII crew had a handicapped race with the Evesham opposition being given a head start of eight seconds. Winning the semi-final against home crew of Evesham EVIII, saw Stratford rapidly closing on Evesham’s advantage of a head start. The crew held a strong rate of thirty strokes per minute over the one kilometre course until the final push and the crew were thrilled to take the win in a close finish.

After a quick turnaround, the final was a race between Stratford and the Ross DVIII who took the win for the day.

Crew Captain Katie Burman said, “I’m very proud of this terrific crew of tremendous ladies who have trained hard, showed great team spirit, resulting in a really strong performance!”

Commenting further, Amanda Bowden, Stratford’s Masters’ Vice Captain said, “Special thanks to Phil Marshall from Stratford Boat Club for his assistance with boat checks, to Evesham Rowing Club for the loan of a boat, to our very capable race cox Jess Salmon from Evesham Rowing Club and to all the Stratford supporters who came to cheer us on!”

The other Masters’ crews had mixed results: the senior men’s 4x faced tough opposition from a performance Evesham crew. The WE4x had a straight final, racing hard they just missed out on a win.

Meanwhile on Sunday, the J18 girls of Alexandra Francis, Scarlett Richardson, V Vondrak and Lucy Sartain took on Wallingford Regatta held at Dorney Lake’s two kilometres Olympic course in the WJ18 coxless quads category. They put out a strong performance executing their race plan perfectly with a time of 7:13 minutes in the heats gaining them second place and therefore a place in the final. In the final, the wind picked up making conditions more challenging but the girls still pushed on finishing strong in sixth position against Tideway Scullers, Marlow, Shrewsbury and more competitive schools and clubs.

For media coverage see Stratford Herald page thirty six and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-success-for-stratford-boat-clubs-scullers-at-evesham-sprint-regattam and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2025/05/09&pages=24