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Stratford Cruise Home at West Midlands Junior Championships

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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club J13 squad were enjoying their first away fixture on Sunday at the annual West Midlands Junior Championships in Hereford, demonstrating just how much they have learned in a few weather-afflicted months. The reputation of the boys’ quad had clearly preceded them, their opposition elected to withdraw before the race leaving them free to proceed down the course in an impressive time. The girls’ quad was equally composed, just missing out on gold to a home crew who they chased all the way to the line.

After so many cancelled events the J14 squad were also out in force to demonstrate that the many hours of training had prepared them well. The J14 boys’ quad were in imperious form, sweeping aside the competition to win comfortably and earn the chance to represent the region on the National stage. Not to be outdone, the girls’ quad was equally impressive amongst strong competition, missing out on gold by just 0.7 seconds over the 1.8km course. In the WJ14 single sculls, Abi Dunn raced straight and strong to claim a deserved gold, followed by Meredith Paul (bronze) and Scarlet Wheeler just seconds later.

Competing for the first time as J15s, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club juniors had a very successful event on a beautifully sunny day. In Division 1, Maria Ntoukaki claimed a bronze medal in the WJ15 1x event, beating some strong opposition from Ross and Hereford Cathedral Rowing Clubs. In Division 2, the might of Royal Shrewsbury School Boat Club proved too much for Stratford’s OJ15 4+ boys consisting of Seb Happel, Will Shaw, Ed Appleton, Rory Rowan and Rory Jones (Cox), nevertheless a tidy and composed row in their first ever sweep event. In Division 3 in the WJ15 4+ event, Maria Ntoukaki, Orla Linforth, Erin Appleton, coxed by Ed Appleton and joined by Evesham rower Daisy Wilkes, beat strong opposition from Royal Shrewsbury over the 1800m course to claim gold and will be representing the West Midlands at JIRR in April, as a composite Stratford/Evesham crew. Also in Division 3, Stratford’s OJ15 2x of Seb Happel and Will Shaw saw off a raft of strong scullers and will be representing our region at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta. Commenting, Hugo Happel, J15 Coach said, “Overall, a superb day with our juniors rowing with fine technique and panache.”

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club fielded a record twenty seven crews across the age groups with athletes from J14, J15 and J16 squads competing to represent the West Midlands at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta in April. Stratford’s J16s competed in three events over the 1.8km course on the River Wye. First to race was Martha Baines in the WJ16 single scull: sculling well in the Herefordshire morning sunshine, she recorded a solid sixth place. Next to race was the women’s coxless quad in which Bryony Francis, Tessa Parkin, Maeve Dunn and Isla Dunn scored a creditable Silver Medal narrowly missing out to Hereford Cathedral School for the West Midlands jersey. Double sculls of Poppy Warren and Sophie Franklin plus Tessa Parkin and Josephine Cooper recorded sixth and seventh respectively in their event. Lack of opposition gave the WJ16 coxless four a place in the West Midlands team however the crew of Millie Smith, Becca Smith, Martha Baines and Martha Cooke used the event for race practice ahead of JIRR later in April.

The J17/18 squad turned up in numbers itching to put a long winter of training and no racing behind them and turn the hard work into winning races. They didn’t disappoint!

First up in Division 1 were the men’s and women’s coxless quads. The men’s boat of Vondrak, Wilcock, Rowlands and Albrighton, competing for the first time in this highly competitive boat class, sculled well and narrowly missed out on a bronze medal by just three tenths of a second, showing lots of promise for the season ahead. In the women’s event both Stratford and Royal Grammar School Worcester were fielding two boats each but it was a clean sweep for the Stratford girls of Baines, Francis, Warren and Sartain securing gold and Appleton, Cooper, Davis and Jones the silver medal.

Division 2 first saw the men’s pair of Sissins-Roffey and Vondrak up against Kings Worcester in a one on one match but the Stratford boys were too strong for them and took the gold easily. Next, the double scull combination of Albrighton and Rowlands fought hard in a tight bunch of four crews competing for the bronze but in the end narrowly missed out on a medal by just two seconds. The women’s double scull pairing of Vondrak and Richardson were up in a field of eight boats including the GB U19 represented Royal Grammar School Worcester crew. The Stratford girls showed how competitive they are by securing the silver just eight seconds behind RGS and were a clear twenty seconds ahead of the third placed boat.

In Division 3 Stratford fielded three single scullers across the men’s and women’s event. Wilcock and Sissins-Roffey competed in a popular event with eleven boats and secured ninth and fourth respectively.  In the women’s race Francis also secured a 4th place in a field containing the Royal Grammar School Worcester girls from the doubles event. The final race of the day for the J17/18 squad brought the women together to compete in the eights race against Kings School Worcester. The scratch crew showed great form to row a tidy and strong race and took the gold medal by five seconds, rounding off a successful day in the sun for the squad.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-boat-club-scullers-excel-at-west-midlands-junior-championships and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2025/03/07&pages=24

For pictures of the West Midland Junior Championships, please see Stuart Baines’ great selection https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AHkTu3llJrwcWSA&id=3DD8F6A70C0CB625%21268907&cid=3DD8F6A70C0CB625

Stratford Start The Season Well at Wallingford and Runcorn

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Starting their full head season for the first time, three J14 squads made their debut at Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, rowing the short course. Thanks to some brilliant intersquad camaraderie, three J15 athletes stepped up as coxswains, enabling all twelve J14 athletes to compete on the day. Martha Baines coxed the girls’ quad (Linforth, Ntoukaki, Sime, Appleton) and came fourth against well drilled crews from Headington School, beating one of the Headington quads on the way from Oxford Brookes to Oxford University boat houses. Maeve Dunn coxed the boys’ quad of Rowan/Shaw/Appleton/Jones and Sophie Franklin coxed Happel/Richter/ Greenwood/Rutter, with the latter taking the win for Stratford in a time of eight minutes and twenty eight seconds. J14 Coach Hugo Happel said: “A really good day for J14’s, showing good technique on this fabulous stretch of water. Great experience gained combined with plenty of laughs. Well done to all athletes!”

The J15 squad’s new rowing season also began last weekend with the opening event at Wallingford. A bumper entry saw Stratford’s juniors travel to Wallingford for the 2023 edition of Wallingford Long Distance Sculls. First out for the J15 squad was the women’s coxed quadruple scull of Sophie Franklin, Maeve Dunn, Martha Baines, Millie Smith and Martha Cooke (coxswain).  The crew stormed over the 4000m course to come within touching distance of Henley Rowing Club’s two crews finishing third by just 2.1 seconds over the nineteen minute race. Next to go, in the 1800m short course event, were the J15 double scull crews of Bryony Francis/Poppy Warren and Tessa Parkin/Josephine Cooper. The two crews duelled over the full course to achieve second and third ranking for the Club with the Francis/Warren combination taking the second place spot after battling their way through the traffic. Last to go for the J15 squad were the single scullers, Martha Cooke and Isla Dunn. Always a gladiatorial competition, Dunn and Cooke fought it out on the Thames to record creditable fourth and sixth places.

One of the most anticipated events in the rowing calendar for Stratford junior squads is the Wallingford Long Distance Sculls, a challenging and prestigious race that draws many competitors from various clubs and schools in the region. The event takes place annually in Wallingford, a historic town in Oxfordshire and the head race has a rich tradition that goes back to 1974. The original course was a gruelling 6,000 metres upstream from Moulsford Boathouse to Wallingford Marina but it has since been shortened to 4,000 metres starting from Cholsey Ferry.

The race consists of two long divisions and one shorter one with different categories of boats and rowers. The Wallingford Long Distance Sculls is a test of endurance, skill and teamwork and showcases some of the best talent in the sport.

The Junior 16 Women’s coxless quad consisting of Tessa Parkin, Sophie Evans, Alice Jones and Poppy Baines were the first down the course. They faced tough competition from local rivals such as Wallingford, Henley and Headington but they rowed with determination and skill. They finished in fifth place which is a commendable result considering that Tessa Parkin, a junior 15 athlete, stepped in at the last minute due to illness: Tessa went on to compete in her own event after a short break.

Another impressive result came from the double sculls pair of Theo Richter and James Albrighton who finished fifth overall. They competed against strong crews from St Pauls School, Leander, Wallingford and Lea and showed great speed and technique.

Finally, Alexandra Francis represented the J16’s in the single sculls event, which had thirty four entries. She had to endure a long wait on the water due to some issues on the course but she did not let that affect her performance: she rowed with power and stamina and finished sixth overall.

The first J17 crew to take to the water were Lucy Sartain, Jess Long, Scarlett Richardson and Aimee Appleton in their coxless quad. They sculled with great skill and were faster than the crew in front over the second half of the race finishing fourth which was an excellent result at such a high profile event.

Charles Happel entered the Open Junior 18 single scull event pitting his skills against forty four other scullers from some of the top rowing clubs in the country. Setting off hard on the first half of the course he was in nineteenth place at the halfway point. Charles put in a very strong final kilometre to finish in a highly creditable sixteenth place.

Molly Vondrak, Ez Elfwood, Eloise Cooper and Nancy Davis all entered the Junior 17 single sculls event finishing seventh, twenty sixth, twenty seventh and thirtieth respectively. Molly’s performance was particularly impressive.

Uche Nwachukwa entered in the Women’s single scull event, a tall order for a junior athlete, finishing twenty fourth out of thirty competitors. She then sculled in a double with Maddie Hall in the afternoon division coming tenth out of sixteen competitors. Also racing in the same event Jess Long and Lucy Sartain came thirteenth, Harriet Froom and Megan Rowan came eleventh and Scarlett Richardson and Aimee Appleton finished strongly in eight place.

Given the favourable conditions, Suzie Radley and Amanda Bowden representing Stratford’s Masters’ Women were excited to be racing again in the first head race of the season. Following a convincing start rate set by stroke, Suzie, accompanied by fantastic steering through the bends overtaking several crews in the process, the race was going very well! The boat speed placing the crew second behind a younger age category. However, sadly there then followed a steering error costing the crew thirty seconds which knocked the double out of the competition on this occasion. Commenting, Suzie Radley said, “This race was to be a warm up for the Pairs’ Head of the River in London next weekend. The race has provided much needed feedback, with some key points to work on to improve the competitive edge. This has certainly sparked a fire for next weekend!”

Also sculling at Wallingford were Paul Collins and Mike Adkins who were the only entry in Masters’ H double category and they had a good row. Steered by Paul, they managed to restrict their bank contact on the way to the start! For a first event together, they were well satisfied with the result managing to hold off a good Guildford double.

Also sculling on Saturday, this time at the Runcorn Autumn Head, was Stratford’s adaptive squad. The Runcorn Head of the River attracts clubs from the North West and Midlands to compete on the river Weaver. Andy Morris represented Stratford’s Adaptive Squad in a division which included Runcorn’s Sean Bailey who had recorded a personal best of 18:20 for the course.

This was Andy’s first race without floats and in a boat borrowed from Runcorn. The conditions were fine for the race over a 3650m course which was a series of bends with 200m straights in between. Commenting, Andy said, “I was pleased with my row and the course tested my steering skills. This was my first head in a single without floats and it went well”. Andy’s winning time was eighteen minutes and thirteen seconds.

For media coverage, see Stratford Observer online  https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-boat-club-make-strong-start-to-new-season-at-wallingford-and-runcorn and back sports page https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/10/06&pages=32: see also Stratford Herald page forty five

For great pictures of Wallingford, see Kathy Baines’ excellent selection https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21AKg7Ldg9UzZfSuU&id=8E50DAC120123B06%21101272&cid=8E50DAC120123B06