Tag Archives: Imogen North

Stratford Excel at Gloucester!

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The Stratford upon Avon Boat Club masters’ men’s squad were out in force on Sunday at Gloucester Rowing Club Spring Head. The morning division may have been overcast but the rowing was a shining example of Stratford Boat Club at its best!

It was excellent to see  Stratford’s E 4- of Gary Clay, Richard Shepherd, Rich Owen and Dan Simpkins take to the water. This was the first time racing in this combination and the first time Rich Owen has raced since 2012 when he and Dan won Masters C at the same race!  A steady row, as planned, rating twenty six strokes per minute down the course and, whilst outshone by an impressive Minerva/Bidford combination, an enjoyable start to the season.

The H 2x of Mike Adkins and Paul Collins also rowed the Long Course. The double became cold waiting for the start, a draw back to head racing. Cold can pose one of the hardest challenges of head racing which is getting going again once the race is finally underway! With the terrific tail wind, they covered the course at a consistent rate of twenty six strokes per minute and were delighted with a no crab verdict!

The lunch break was enjoyable as the three squads – masters, senior women and adaptives – met together. Some were also fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time for some of the delicious lemon drizzle cake baked by Rich Shepard!

In the afternoon division, the sun came out welcoming the men’s C 4x for their first race of the head season. With Nick Sartain setting the pace from the stroke seat, the quad got off to a quick start before settling into a race rate of thirty one strokes per minute. Ed Lewry in the bow seat steered perfect lines down the course. The crew had the Stratford/Evesham composite VIII in their sights and soon reeled them in, followed by another overtake as they went past Avon County VIII. Eric Appleton and Tom Doherty, in the middle of the quad, kept the intensity up all the way to the finish. The crew recorded a time of nineteen minutes dead, easily winning their division, placing them fifth fastest of the afternoon and seventh for the day. Congratulations on their win!

Phil Marshal, Dave Edwards, Simon Skilling and Ian Sayers made up half of the Stratford/Evesham E/F composite VIII. They also found the cold wait a challenge but once the race started that was soon forgotten. They set about finding their rhythm and settled into a comfortable pace, having adjusted to the river conditions. From here, the cox Elisabeth Edwards, was in a good position to ask them to build as they moved on the crews ahead. They confidently rowed past an Avon VIII and held their own against a quad that pushed them from behind for the entire second half of the race. The VIII were determined to get the best time possible and gave everything they had through to the finish line. A gutsy row from this newly formed VIII.

Amanda Bowden, Masters’ Vice Captain commented that she was very impressed with the rowing and Club commitment, adding, “Well done to everybody who raced. Given the short time that the crews had been together and with very little time on the water this season due to the floods, the crews should be pleased with their results. These crews are all packed with potential and looking to make further improvements! We would all like to thank Dave Edwards for towing the boats. There may be one more head race for some crews but after that – bring on the summer regattas!”

In the morning division, Stratford’s women’s double of Imogen North and Beth Edwards took to the water for their first race together. Amongst a strong field of seven crews, they maintained a strong steady pace down the course to finish second.

Stratford Boat Club’s adaptive section sent five crews to Gloucester’s Head race. Unfortunately, there was no effective competition for them. Each athlete performed well. The stand-out performance was from 14 year old Isaac Clarkson who finished the course in 9 minutes 51 seconds, only a minute slower than his two adult club colleagues – Curtis Dickens and Andy Morris. The two doubles of Ian/Paola Ward and Gillian Middleton/Jake Blatcher were in a close, all Stratford contest. All the adaptive event medals for the day came back around the necks of the Stratford rowers.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page forty two and Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-mens-masters-squad-out-in-force-at-gloucesters-spring-head and back sports page https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2024/03/22&pages=32

Stratford’s Masters & Seniors Win at Peterborough

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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

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