The weekend was the inaugural race at Edgbaston Reservoir for the Women’s Masters E IV of Jane Cryer, Charlotte Jones, Abby Symons and Caroline Collins.

Fabulous conditions at Birmingham Regatta helped a strong start and setting a consistent race pace of thirty four strokes per minute. The crew delivered a strong row and closed a six second headstart from the opposition, Bewdley, and lost just by a canvas. A solid start to their racing season and looking forward to building on.

The Women’s Masters E double of Ellie Davis and Gina Fusco were looking forward  to the Birmingham Regatta offering them an opportunity to practice a staked race start and side by side racing on a laned course. Their opposition an experienced  Women’s Masters D crew from Milton Keynes had a five second handicap applied . The Stratford double had a good start and got into a strong rhythm but were unable to hold off their seasoned opposition and lost by a canvas. The Stratford crew were pleased with their performance with a few good learning points to take into their future races. No medals for the duo but they did enjoy another post race ice cream!

Meanwhile Stratford upon Avon Boat Club Masters women, Kjersti Rogneflaten Woolley spent the weekend in Scotland, representing Stratford Boat Club at the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta which took place at Strathclyde Park, the Scottish National Rowing Arena.

On Saturday, Kjersti raced in a Women’s Masters G2x composite crew with Eva from Loch Lomond Rowing Club. In very windy conditions, the duo struggled in the high tail wind but only just missed a bronze medal.

On Sunday, in better weather conditions, Kjersti competed in Women’s Masters G4x composite crew of Eva from Loch Lomond and Karen and Clare from Castle Semple Rowing Club. The crew had a great race winning gold. Kjersti said “I was so grateful for rowing with these wonderful women and having a great time in Scotland.”

Closer to home, the Junior Inter Regional Regatta once again showcased remarkable talent across one hundred and twenty nine clubs and sixteen regions. Stratford’s J15 squad were pleased to have three crews representing the West Midlands and the conditions on the day were perfect for rowers and spectators alike.

First to head out for the 1000m time trials, Connor Birrell in the Open J15 single scull event qualifying for the D final placing twentieth out of thirty two rowers on the morning in a tightly timed field with seconds separating top and bottom places. Next up was the WJ15 4+ composed of Martina Bruce, Meredith Paul, Bethany Hammond, Raya Hothi and Lillian Parsons(coxswain) and, once seats were in place, rowed well to qualify for the C final. And last, but not least, Abi Dunn representing in the Women’s J15 single scull event, delivered a composed and consistent performance, persevering through a chesty cold to come ahead of other crews.

In the afternoon, Connor Birrell set out and drove hard along the full 1.5 km course to finish ahead of Thames London to take fourth place in the D final. Stratford’s girls crew took an early start against the East Midlands and charged through to around the 1km mark with the race remaining a close-run event with Stratford battling to hold a lead with strong encouragement from their cox, eventually losing ground in the closing stages to cross the line in second place. A fantastic start to their sweep experience! Abi Dunn wrapped it all up by delivering a fifth out of six in the E final near the close of the day. J15 Coach Dave Parkin said of his J15 squad, “There was some really strong competition out there today and the crews performed well against the competition, showing they are applying their training, maintaining their composure under race pressure and are set up for good results going forward!”

The J14s were represented in both the girls’ and boys’ double sculls. Archie Eaton and Ethan Siwakowski were followed down the 1km time trial course by Amelia Cruickshank and Islay Milles. Both crews recorded solid times that saw them progress to finals that afternoon. First up were the boys who were unable to improve on their placing coming in just behind the East Midlands crew. The girls relished the opportunity to race side by side amongst six boats and held off the challenge of strong Regional boats but were similarly held to their seeded position.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page forty seven and online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/stratford-boat-club-crews-deliver-strong-results-across-birm-9463724