Tag Archives: Stratford upon Avon Boat Club

No Slacking for Stratford in the City of Dreaming Spires!

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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club started the weekend on Saturday travelling the comparatively short way to Oxford to compete in the Oxford City Royal Regatta hosted by City of Oxford Rowing Cub: the regatta has been running consistently on the Isis River in Oxford since 1841 with only occasional breaks due to war.

Stratford’s WJ17/18 athletes Martha Usselmann and Hannah Broome in the Women’s Double Sculls event had a close race off the start against City of Cambridge who then pulled away and beat Stratford to the final. Said Helen Smith, J17/18 Coach, “Martha and Hannah were happy with their race, as they hadn’t previously raced a double together and kept a strong effort against the more experienced crew.”

On Sunday, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s adaptive squad followed up its recent highly successful trip to Maidenhead with another day of great results at the Oxford Sprint Regatta. The crews competed in four events on the day and won them all!

All the singles races took place in the morning: adaptive athlete Lee Cairns competed in two events for wheelchair users. His first final was against his club mate Rob Pedley: Rob’s larger physique and somewhat better technique on this occasion took the honours with Rob winning by three lengths over his plucky rival.

Lee’s second event saw him race Luke Payne from Sudbury in the final. The pair had had an epic encounter at Marlow earlier in the summer with Lee beating Luke by half a length. This latest meeting reflected Lee’s fast development over the last few months with Lee leading from start, finishing with a comfortable win over his opponent from Suffolk.

In the afternoon, the adaptive pairs final was another all Stratford affair between Gillian Middleton and Dan Godefroy with Gillian and her support rower overcoming Dan and his support rower Joe Moore by about a length. Gillian’s ‘never say die’ attitude perhaps proving the critical factor in this well matched struggle!

This left Ian Ward and his mother Paola to try to complete the clean sweep against another mixed crew from Marlow in the final of the adaptive doubles. The race proved close but the Stratford family crew kept their nose in front most of the way and better steering in the latter half of the race gave them a win by a couple of lengths.

Head Adaptive Coach Mark Dewdney commented, “This regatta looks like the end of the season for us: sadly no one wants to race us at the Bank Holiday weekend Gloucester Regatta! That is disappointing but we are going out on a high! Stratford’s adaptive section have been invited to compete in Italy in October so we have plenty to look forward to! As always, a big thank you to the adaptive support crew, helpers and buddy rowers from other clubs: we were also honoured to have our President Paul Stanton and Vice President Colin Upchurch visit and support us during the regatta: their encouragement means a lot!”

For media coverage see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/sprint-regatta-glory-for-adaptive-athletes-9270535 and page fifty one and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratfords-adaptive-squad-continue-fine-season-with-clean-sweep-at-oxford-sprint-regatta and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/08/26&pages=024

Wins for Stratford at Stourport in Blistering Heat!

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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

Stratford’s Juniors Clean Up At Henley!

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The weekend’s Henley Town & Visitors regatta was to host pulsating performances by the young ladies from Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s J15 squad. Racing over 800 metres of the famous Henley Royal Regatta course, the ladies demonstrated their devastating sculling skills, honed on the river Avon, to their opponents from home clubs on the river Thames.

In the morning the quadruple sculling crew of Scarlett Richardson, Megan Rowan, Jessica Long and Harriet Froom coxed supremely by Nancy Davis annihilated a Wallingford crew by more than three lengths to earn each crew member a lovely engraved pewter tankard.

Later in the day, two double sculling crews of Aimee Appleton partnered by Molly Vondrak and Scarlett Richardson with Nancy Davis took on the mighty Henley Rowing Club and Wallingford Rowing Club respectively. Both crews sculled well, demolishing Henley by five lengths and Wallingford by over three lengths to bring both Stratford crews to the final. In what was the best race of the day, both crews sculling out of their skins were neck and neck all the way down the course. As they approached the finish the crowd was on its feet to witness Scarlett and Nancy winning by just one foot!

The regatta on Thames treated Stratford upon Avon Boat Club athletes to very kind weather on Saturday: not too hot with a fair breeze down the course at least to start the day with the breeze strengthened during the afternoon.

Stratford Boat Club WJ16 ladies were entered into an open category meaning they were to scull against adult ladies in a coxless quad. Not daunted, the junior crew of Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Maddie Hall and Kate Richards faced up to a crew from Walton Rowing Club in their first race. Sculling with great energy over the 800m course beating Walton by one and a half lengths in a time of three minutes and thirty five seconds. This was a great race and qualified them to meet a composite crew from Upper Thames Rowing Club and Wycliffe Rowing Club in the final.

In the final, the Stratford crew got off to an excellent start but gradually Upper Thames and Wycliffe pulled away to a two length lead in the mid course which was pulled back to finish to only one and a half lengths ahead at the finish. Commenting Steve Marsden, J16 Coach said, “A valiant effort against a very experienced crew.”

First to race for Stratford’s WJ 17/18 squad was Elisabeth Edwards in the Women’s Single Sculls. Racing against two highly experienced scullers from Upper Thames RC and University College London, Edwards had a rough start but soon recovered and settled into a clean and tidy rhythm down the course. A final sprint in the last 200m narrowed the gap between the other scullers but she ultimately ran out of time to catch them. Said Helen Smith J17/18 Coach, “Despite this, Elisabeth looks forward to her next race in a few weeks’ time, where she hopes to better Saturday’s result.”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page forty three

Success Just Around The Corner for Blatcher!

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Jake Blatcher took on the mantle of representing Stratford upon Avon Boat Club at the weekend’s Bewdley Regatta. As with the recent Llandaff Regatta, the Open Men’s Singles proved to be the biggest event of the day. Unfortunately, Jake had an early exit against a strong sculler from Trent Rowing Club. Jake had some steering issues in the first half of the race but was coming back hard as he approached the finish. The line came perhaps twenty yards too soon with the Trent sculler a little over a canvas ahead.

Mark Dewdney, Head Adaptive Coach and Jake’s coach commented, “There were definite signs that we are overcoming one or two issues and I think he will get a win this summer!”

Jake’s next outing will be at Maidenhead Regatta on 6th August where he will also be helping out with Stratford Boat Club’s adaptive squad who will be at Maidenhead in numbers.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-success-just-around-the-corner-for-blatcher and Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/success-is-on-the-horizon-for-blatcher-9265744 and page sixty one

All Fun At The Fun Regatta!

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Although the wait of two years 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 sixteen 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 joint organiser Simon Price said, “We were heartened by the huge numbers who came to watch, cheer the competitors on and enjoy the spectacle: it may not have been Henley Royal Regatta but we like to think that it was more fun to watch!”

During the lunch break, there was some exhibition racing with juniors against juniors and then the winner of that race again a Masters’ four: in a much disputed start decision, the Masters were given a five second start advantage (despite the juniors having raced just before!) and the Masters won by only one second!

Fancy dress was again a major part of the day, with crews dressed as Vikings – horns and all; teachers fully equipped with motarboards; crews with boaters and moustaches; pirates; crews dressed in colourful tootoos and Hawaiian shirts; circus clowns and animals; the now immediately recognisable blue and yellow of Ukraine and multicoloured wigs. 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 with Afro Circus taking the fancy dress prize!

Chris Belcher joint 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 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!”

Whilst the Club members was running the Fun Regatta, Jake Blatcher was competing at Llandaff Regatta: Jake was the only Stratford upon Avon Boat Club competitor at Cardiff. Despite the beautiful weather, many entered crews had to withdraw due to Covid. However, the Men’s Singles event was the biggest of the day with twelve scullers taking part. It proved also to be the highest standard event and Jake would have had to get through four rounds to win the pot.

Jake’s first opponent was Dawson from Hartpury College (Gloucester). Jake established an early lead on the 1000m course and extended this to two lengths coming under the bridge with about 400m to go. He continued to increase his lead and won the race by three and a half lengths. In the quarter-final, Jake met Jenden from Bristol Ariel. This proved to be a very good race with the Bristol sculler establishing a small lead in the early stages. However, the race was going fast enough to catch up with the race that had been started before them. This forced Jake to slow down to avoid collision and Jenden extended his lead a bit and won the race. Despite the effect of the previous race, the result was allowed to stand. Said Mark Dewdney, Stratford’s Head Adaptive Coach, “Jake is showing signs of improvement as the season progresses: circumstances conspired against him on this occasion and it was a tough draw. A win must be just around the corner!”

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 The National Watersport Centre at Nottingham 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!”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/fancy-dress-and-fun-9263476 and page sixty two and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-host-enjoyable-fun-regatta and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/07/15&pages=024

For more great pictures of the Fun Regatta, see Stuart Baines’ excellent selection https://1drv.ms/u/s!AiW2DAyn9tg9j5VoJYvAKDCwMfMSlA?e=JgnE7D

Awards Galore for Boat Club Members!

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At its recent AGM, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club took time out to recognize ‘Personalities of the Year’: these are awards voted on by all the coaches of the Club. The pots for the awards were donated by Felix Badcock’s (immediate Past President) wife Jane from the vast collection that Felix had amassed over many years of competitive rowing which gave the awards special provenance and significance
The Junior Felix Award was presented to Martha Usselmann. Her citation read, “Martha has assisted with every session of the Participation Group since the Autumn. She has developed a good relationship with the athletes and provides excellent technical input and coaching on land and on water”
The Senior Felix Award for 2022 was awarded to Paul Beardmore. His citation read, “Paul is a regular, constant and reliable helper with the adaptive, progression and daytime rower squads, getting boats ready for the adaptive rowers and helping the athletes into their boats and crewing on the safety launch. In addition, Paul is always willing to help in other duties such as jet washing and cleaning the launches, jet washing the boating areas and other maintenance tasks”
Commenting, Dawson Curnock, Chairman of Stratford Boat Club said, “Stratford Boat Club is built on the ethos of volunteering and Martha and Paul exemplify this in bucket loads. It is heartening to see more volunteers stepping forward to help with our regatta in a couple of weeks’ time on Saturday 18 June and many helpers have also signed up to become qualified launch drivers to assist our coaches and ensure the safety of our members whilst out on the water”
The week started well also for the Club’s Head Adaptive Coach Mark Dewdney who was presented with Mayor’s Award 2021/2022 by Cllr Kevin Taylor, the outgoing Mayor of Stratford upon Avon. Cllr Taylor commented, “This was one of the last and most pleasurable task that I undertook whilst I was still in office, and this was to present my Mayor’s Award 2021/2022 to someone I believe has got that little extra when it comes to community spirit. Mark is a truly inspirational character with a vision of creating an incredibly inclusive and important section of a great sporting club. He works tirelessly to deliver and although now supported by a very willing number of dedicated volunteers, without his vision drive and enthusiasm this would have never happened. Volunteers such as Mark are critical in the delivery of projects in the area: they are the catalysts in delivering programmes such as this. Well done, Mark: this award is incredibly well deserved!”
Commenting further, Paul Stanton, Stratford Boat Club’s President said, “Mark continues to inspire all around with his tireless efforts with the adaptive squad not only within Stratford but nationally where Stratford’s adaptive squad has become an exemplar for disabled sport”

For media mention, please see Stratford Herald page fifty nine and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/…/rowing-stratford… and back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/06/10&pages=024

Stratford Masters conquer the 50th Anniversary Head of the Dart 2022

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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club masters squad competed in the 50th Anniversary Head of the Dart last weekend which is held on a fifteen kilometre course on the River Dart from Totnes to Dartmouth. The river offers stunning countryside views and is the home of thriller writer Agatha Christie. The tidal river can be remote and challenging with conditions ranging from calm and ideal to a significant swell which can prove difficult to a fine rowing boat.

Competition was strong this year with over one hundred boats entered and the event ran over two days. On Saturday fours and eights were raced from Totnes to Dartmouth: on Sunday, singles, doubles and pairs were run from Dartmouth to Totnes.

This year the Saturday boats rowed on a ebb tide with near ideal conditions: the tricky middle section which has sunk boats before now proved to be fairly benign with only a few waves breaking over the boats.

The Men’s Masters-E Coxed Four crew of David Edwards, Richard Aitchison, Graham Cann and Simon Skillings were coxed by Jen Cary. Jen’s excellent steering and cool nerves while being bounced around led the crew to a solid third place, beating crews from Dart Totnes Club and Plymouth Amateur Rowing Club with a time of 58:05

Graham Cann, crew member, said, “What a fantastic opportunity in great weather and company to represent Stratford Boat Club and to have rowed the River Dart in under an hour. We should thank each other for our commitments and the early starts in all types of weather and circumstances! A special thanks to our cox Jen for guiding us down through the Dart and our wonderful wives for their support, patience and assistance not only on the day but providing us with the opportunity to row!”

Tom Doherty and Heather Hayton also competed and entered a composite Mixed 4x- boat with Upton upon Severn Club and recorded an excellent time of 51:05, leading to a solid win over Tees Rowing Club, Dart Totnes and Der Club Germania.

Sunday saw the event run in the reverse direction with Tom and Heather entering a mixed double. Conditions were less favourable, with stronger winds and a faster tide. Despite these conditions, they recorded a time of 56:29 coming fourth in their class and twentieth overall.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty three and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-club-masters-conquer-the-50th-anniversary-head-of-the-dart and also on back sports page. Also now on back sports page Stratford Observer’s Friday edition: https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2022/04/22&pages=024

Stratford’s Dewdney Summoned By High Sheriff!

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Thursday evening saw Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Head Adaptive Coach Mark Dewdney at Warwick School for a surprise reception and presentation by the outgoing High Sheriff of Warwickshire, The Lady Willoughby de Broke with a certificate “… in recognition of great and valuable services to the community”.

The award was nominated by Cllr Kevin Taylor, Mayor of Stratford upon Avon who said, “Great night on Thursday evening attending The High Sheriff of Warwickshire’s Evening reception where she presented awards to various charities from around Warwickshire. Stratford upon Avon charities Lifespace, Safeline and the Street Pastors were all given awards.

All of the Warwickshire Mayors were requested to nominate a volunteer of the year award and it was a great honour to nominate Mark Dewdney, Head Adaptive Coach and main instigator of the adaptive rowing squad at Stratford upon Avon Boat Club.

Mark is a truly inspirational character with a vision of creating an incredibly inclusive and important section of a great sporting club. He works tirelessly to deliver and although now supported by a very willing number of dedicated volunteers, without his vision drive and enthusiasm this would have never happened.”

Kevin continued, “Volunteers such as Mark are critical in the delivery of projects in the area: they are the catalysts in delivering programmes such as this and I know I will be seeking Mark’s advice in how to deliver an adaptive group within Stratford upon Avon Table Tennis Club. Well done, Mark: this award is incredibly well deserved!”

Commenting further, Paul Stanton, President of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club said, “Mark had no idea that this award was coming and it was very special to have the evening and award presented by The High Sheriff Lady Willoughby de Broke. We are immensely proud of Mark and all that he has done for the Club and the local community: the adaptive section and the Club goes from strength to strength and is reliant and built on the volunteering ethic that Mark exemplifies!”

For media inclusion, see Stratford Herald page fifty nine and online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/boat-club-coach-scoops-surprise-volunteer-of-the-year-award-9249269

Stratford’s Adaptives Out In Force at Henley on Thames Phyllis Court

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Sunday saw a very large contingent of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s adaptive (disabled) section descend on Henley-on-Thames to take part in The Phyllis Court Time Trials. This event has become the major highlight of the adaptive calendar: times achieved are used as a major indicator of performance and determine the format of competition for the coming regatta season.

The Stratford Boat Club entered ten crews, more than a third of the total entry. This included Rob Pedley, Lee Cairns and Dan Browne competing in their first ever event. On the day there were thirteen adaptive rowers making their debut: this is a very good indicator for the growth of rowing for the disabled.

In perfect but cold conditions, the Stratford rowers again proved they are a force to be reckoned with. Performances, especially from the new members of the squad, made the Head Adaptive Coach extremely proud and happy, no bad thing for coach/ athlete relationships! Mark Dewdney, Head Adaptive Coach said, “The squad is now so large that we spend a lot of our time at regattas just making sure all the kit is available when it needs to be. This may be tiring and a major undertaking for all the coaches and helpers as well as the athletes but good results will always make the effort worthwhile! The section is heavily reliant on volunteers who give their time freely: this is why the team works so well!”

Given the nature of the event, the awards are only given out for special performances: this year these focussed on the new rowers, Stratford taking two of the six prizes. One prize went to Dan Browne and ‘buddy rower’ and Adaptive Coach Joe Moore as the fastest new double and Rob Pedley took the Coaches’ Award for the most impressive debut of the day.

Also at Phyllis Court to support Stratford Boat Club’s adaptive squad were Kevin Taylor, Mayor of Stratford upon Avon and Stratford Boat Club President, Paul Stanton. Commenting, Paul said, “We were honoured to have Kevin with us and his support for the adaptive squad on the day and during his tenure as Mayor of Stratford upon Avon means a lot to us and exemplifies Kevin’s commitment and dedication to sport, those who are less fortunate and the culture of volunteering: we have all learnt a lot from Kevin over this last year”

Commenting further, Paul said, “Our welcome and attentive company from Phyllis Court was outstanding to both me and the Mayor of Stratford upon Avon, a glorious morning spent in the company of kind and considerate people. We marvelled at their organisation, lots of marquees, genuine smiling faces and ever welcome to assist on any request. Speaking on behalf of the competitors from our adaptive squad, our thanks for their hospitality and assistance. Phyllis Court Rowing Club are a very friendly bunch of caring people!”

Kevin Taylor, Mayor of Stratford upon Avon, summed up the day by saying, “Thank you so much for a thoroughly enjoyable day: we are immensely proud of everyone assisting and participating within the group and we look forward to coming along again soon!”

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/adaptive-squad-makes-waves-at-time-trials-9248001 and page fifty one and also Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratfords-adaptives-out-in-force-at-henley-on-thames

Stratford and KES Triumph at Worcester!

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Last Saturday saw a number of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club and their sister King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club crews brave the blustery trip to local Midlands club Worcester for one of the longest head races of the year. The event, run over two divisions, saw crews competing over a six kilometre course in challenging river and weather conditions.

The morning division saw King Edward The Sixth School boys crew out with their J17 4x (T. Wilcock, R. Macdonald, T. Beard, E. Rose) on the water. It was the first time this crew had raced and against such a decent field, there was no knowing how they would fare. The conditions were not good, a tough head wind off the start and very choppy into the final five hundred metres. The boys held a good pace throughout and coped with the conditions well. Finishing second behind a strong Llandaff crew and ahead of local school crews was a very promising result.

Division Two saw KES’ Nov 4+ (T. Wheeler, E. Craig, T. Wilcock, E. Rose, J. Mitchell) out again after their victory two weeks ago, with one change in their crew. They were up against different opposition this time. Said Hannah Crone, King Edward The Sixth Rowing Coach, “With the challenging conditions having worsened since the morning, the focus was on keeping it clean and steady. Again they coped well with the conditions and came away with their second win of the season.”

Following on behind the King Edward The Sixth School boys was Stratford’s first crew in the event. Racing in a men’s quadruple sculls event (four scullers) was a mixed male and female crew from Upton and Stratford clubs. The crew, which just missed out on a win at the prestigious fours event in London by two tenths of a second, was keen to bounce back from disappointment with a solid performance.

Chasing down a fast men’s Minerva crew, the Upton/Stratford crew found themselves in a tussle with a good Warwick men’s crew. The whole race became a consolidated effort to hold off the Warwick men’s crew and prevent them getting any closer. The very blustery headwind combined with a strong stream leading to choppy conditions increased the pressure on the more lightweight Upton/Stratford crew.

Digging deep, the Upton/Stratford crew worked extremely hard to give little away over the six kilometre course and crossed the line with only a few seconds lost to the Warwick crew over the twenty one minute race. Commenting, Tom Doherty, crew captain, said, “Finishing fourth of six in a men’s event and only ten seconds separating the top four crews including Upton/Stratford was a very good achievement of which the crew can be pleased!”

Also taking part in Worcester Rowing Club Main Head on Saturday were Stratford Boat Club’s Daytime/Off-Peak Rowers’ squad. Not only do crews have to race over a distance of six kilometres but the crews also have to row upstream four kilometres to the start, complete the six kilometre downstream race and then row back upstream for an additional two kilometres to return to the boating area!

Conditions were extremely challenging for all crews. High river flow together with an opposing wind which caused rough water conditions in all exposed areas of the river. The last two kilometres of the race, downstream of the clubhouse, were particularly challenging with an additional high swell. During the afternoon division, rain added to the already difficult conditions whilst the crews awaited the start of the race in the marshaling area, exposed to the elements.

The women’s crew of Daytime/Off-Peak rowers – Ruth Poulten (bow), Paola Ward, Clare Booth and Rona Fitzpatrick (stroke) – competed in their first race as a crew in the Women’s Masters Coxless Quad (W4x-) category. Having mastered the high river flow for the first part of the course, the crew passed the clubhouse spectator area at the four kilometre race distance. The crew were rowing very smoothly and efficiently, making good of the atrocious conditions, unaware of the challenging conditions that lay ahead of them for the remaining two kilometres! The crew completed the race and their time resulted in a first ever race win for the crew!  Commenting on what was a fantastic result for the crew, Alfie Nash, squad coach said, “The crew are very deserving of their win in what were very challenging conditions. The crew maintained good position on the river and demonstrated a high level of resilience and skill.”

Also competing for Stratford Boat Club on this very cold day with blustery strong winds was Stratford’s WJ16 squad yet again proving their skill and power to beat the conditions and competition over the six kilometre downstream course on the river Severn.

The coxed four of Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Grace Beason, Kate Richardson coxed and steered expertly by Imogen Hill beat the novice crew from Birmingham by almost eight minutes recording a time of 22:38 minutes! Conditions for the final one kilometre could only be described as horrendous with strong winds creating waves cascading over the wave breaker on the four but Stratford battled on through to the finish.

The crew celebrated adding to their collection of “pots” by receiving a very attractive china tankard as reward for rowing four kilometres up to the start, freezing for over an hour waiting for the start then racing six kilometres at pace before rounding off with a two kilometre row back to the club to unload.

Commenting, Steve Marsden, J16 Coach, said, “Such are the joys of winter head racing! It was a particularly pleasing result as Grace had stepped in at very short notice in place of Maddie Hall who was unfortunately ill.”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/rowers-succeed-at-worcester-9240226 and page fifty two and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-upon-avon-boat-club-triumph-at-worcester