Tag Archives: Women’s Eights Head of the River Race

Stratford Celebrates International Women’s Day on the Tideway!

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On Saturday 8th March, International Women’s Day, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s masters’ women joined two and a half thousand women racing in the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race in London, for the first time.

They enjoyed a beautiful sunny day on the Thames with fantastically flat water. Starting at the back of the first division, the Stratford Women’s Masters’ D crew, coxed by Jennifer Cary, was comprised of Rebecca England at stroke, followed by Heather Hayton, Ellie Davis, Lin Hanson, Caroline Collins, Corinna Burger, Debbie Thompson and Gina Fusco.

The Stratford crew started well with powerful, efficient strokes and quickly moved up on and overtook their first opposition from Kingston Rowing Club. Settling into a rhythmic thirty one strokes per minute, they then proceeded slowly to make headway on the boat ahead. The seven kilometre race was a battle to gain on the crew ahead and hold off a fast Broxbourne Rowing Club VIII behind.

As the Putney finish approached, Stratford’s cox was put to the test, steering expertly to hold the fastest stream while being sandwiched by boats on either side. The fast Broxbourne crew pushing past on one side, as Stratford, in turn, fought to go past Marlow Rowing Club. Stratford took the rate up to complete their overtake just before the finish line. Completing the course in a time of twenty three minutes and sixteen seconds, placed seventh out of thirteen crews in their division beating several clubs such as Marlow, Kingston, Bewdley, Thames Tradesmen and overseas crews.

Gina Fusco, bow, summed up her race, “It was a truly amazing experience: thank you to everybody for the support on and off the water in making this happen today. It was simply brilliant!”

Masters’ Vice Captain, Amanda Bowden added, “I am delighted to see the women’s development and training programme over the last three years has led to such a competitive performance today on the Tideway. This is the largest women’s rowing race in the world and the crew performed brilliantly! To be placed midway through the Masters D category is amazing! Thank you to our coach, Sam Hill who has been instrumental in preparing the women’s squad for their races this season. The crew had a fantastic day, gaining valuable experience and now look forward to rowing the same Championship course in two weeks’ time in the Vesta International Masters Head of the River Race”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page forty two and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-boat-clubs-masters-crew-compete-in-prestigious-womens-eights-head-of-the-river-race and also back sports page https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2025/03/14&pages=24

STELLA WEEKEND FOR BOAT CLUB’S JUNIOR AND ADAPTIVE ATHLETES!

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The Women’s Eights Head of the River Race is the largest rowing event in the world run for women. Three hundred and twenty crews took to the water on Saturday 5th March to race the 6.8 kilometres from Mortlake to Putney on the ebb tide taking on the most challenging of courses for rowers and coxes.

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club entered Freya Watts, Lucy Brown, Amalia Richardson, Maddie Hall, Uchenna Nwachukwu, Leah Saunders, Harriet Noyes, Kate Richardson and coxswain Imogen Hill in Stratford Boat Club’s distinctive yellow Empacher VIII. Not only was this event the first time they had rowed on the infamous Tideway but it was also their first competition in the eight so there was no shortage of adrenalin in the boat as they rowed up stream to the start!

Run as a time trial, the boats set off in single file and Imogen left a generous gap to the crew in front so that Stratford had clear water for the first part of the race. As they shot through Barnes Bridge, they had gelled really well and settled into a strong rhythm. Well clear of the crew behind, they had a clear run up to Chiswick Eyot closing on the crews in front. As they approached Hammersmith Bridge, Stratford caught Cranford School and after several “polite requests” and robustly holding her line in the fast water, Imogen persuaded their cox to move over!

With 2k to go, the girls dug in for the toughest part of the race, the final run down past Craven Cottage football ground to the Black Buoy. Up went the rate for one final push and they were home in a time 21 minutes 47 seconds placing them 119 overall.

Commenting, Coach Sam Hill said, “Yet again, the squad have risen to the occasion and produced a superb result with the help of Leah Saunders who joined us from Evesham Rowing Club for the event and fitted into the boat so well.”

Earlier that weekend, Stratford Boat Club adaptive member Isaac Clarkson joined nearly 2000 other young people at the Copper Box Arena in London for the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships. Held at The Copper Box Arena in the Olympic Park in London, the atmosphere was fantastic as clubs and schools from around the country battled it out on the ergos (indoor rowing machines). The competition is also simultaneously in a new venue as NJIRC North in Leeds.

This was Isaac’s first live event and he managed to come away with a personal best which put him in the upper half of 267 entrants. He also fought through an equipment snag to finish fifth in the Year Eight SEND category.

Said Mark Dewdney, Stratford Boat Club’s Head Adaptive Coach, “A lot of fun had, some lessons learned and a whole lot of determination to go back even stronger next year! We are very proud of Isaac who is our youngest adaptive member and has made amazing progress not only on the ergos but also sculling each week on the water: an example to us all of true grit and determination!”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page forty four and Stratford Observer back sports page and online at https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-enter-crew-in-womens-eights-head-of-the-river-race and https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2023/03/10&pages=032

Packed Schedule for Stratford’s Rowers!

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It has been a very busy week for Stratford upon Avon Boat Club Junior Squad with multiple away heads and trials. Firstly, Stratford’s J17/18 Performance Squad competed at The Scullery event on a very, very wet Wednesday. The Junior Sculling Head was held on the Olympic course at Dorney Lake

The day started early at the Lake for the J17/18 squad and the boys’ coxless quad of Will Beattie, Tomi Wilcock, Charles Happel and Toby Sartain were the first to boat. Despite discovering some steering problems off the start, they rowed a strong race to finish tenth in the Open J17 category, beating several competitive crews.

In the Women’s J18 event, Freya Watts, Ruby Howells, Amelie Sartain and Lucy Browne raced their coxless quad to finish a respectable thirty first with the majority of the crew racing up an age group.

Also at the Junior Sculling Head at Eton Dorney were Stratford’s WJ15 Squad: this great national event provided a great showcase for Stratford’s WJ15 quads. Stratford Boat Club takes this opportunity to thank the athletes’ schools for signing off on the permission to race during school time. Both WJ15 coxed quads did a tremendous job over the 2x 1.8km course. Sadly, Stratford did not win the event and they missed out on qualifying for Inter Regionals by 1.7seconds. Nevertheless, the WJ15 squad did the Club and their schools proud: sixty five crews raced in the event, with Stratford’s WJ15’s finishing in sixteenth and thirty ninth position, beating some big names such as Bedford Girls’ School, Wallingford, Sir William Borlase’s Grammar A, Thames Scullers A, Nottingham & Union, Godolphin & Latymer as well as both Kings School Worcester crews.

Hot on the heels of the WJ15’s was the Stratford’s WJ14’s boating in torrential rain. However, this did not deter the crew of Alexandra Francis, Poppy Baines, Sophie Evans, Alice Jones, coxed by Meg Nuttall. Commenting, Colin Bell, J14 Coach, said, “A very creditable eighth place out of thirty six crews amongst some of the high achieving clubs in the country is no mean feat!”

Taking to the water in the penultimate race of the day in low visibility were the OJ14 boys’ crew of Seth Vondrak, Xavier Sissins-Rofey, Theo Richter, Oliver Rowlands coxed by Lucy Yang. Achieving a position of eighteen out of forty three was commendable considering Sissins-Rofey, Richter and Yang are new to the sport having started sculling in October of last year.

The J16 squad also faced a hard competition at the weekend with two competitions. On Saturday, Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Grace Beason and Kate Richardson and cox Imogen Hill entered the WJ16 coxed four event at Kingston Head of the River Race over 5.2k of the fast flowing river Thames starting at Hampton Court Bridge. A strong headwind for much of the course created rough conditions testing the girls’ skill and the cox’s judgment in steering the fastest course. The Stratford crew showed great determination and stamina to beat their main competition Surbiton High School by fifty one seconds to score their third victory on the trot. Said Sam Hill, J16 Coach, “As a measure their achievement, it is worth noting that they also beat six university crews and Surbiton’s Championship women’s crew!”

Sunday brought another early start for the squad to race at the West Midlands selection event at Evesham which had been postponed from Stourport the previous weekend. Switching boats to a coxless quadruple scull, Amalia Richardson, Harriet Noyes, Maddie Hall and Kate Richardson beat Stourport by one minute and eight seconds. Charles Happel put in a brilliant performance in his single scull to beat King’s School Worcester by seven seconds to win a place alongside the girls’ quad in the squad to represent the West Midlands at the Junior Inter Regional Regatta in April.

On the upstream 1.4km Evesham course, from the ferry to the rowing club, two out three Stratford J15 crews qualified to represent the West Midlands t the Inter Regionals in April: Scarlett Richardson and Molly Vondrak in the WJ15 2x event, winning by forty two seconds against their nearest competition from Worcester Rowing Club as well as Will Dalrymple-Baker in the J15 1x event.

Musing on a very busy week for Stratford Boat Club, Paul Stanton, Stratford Boat Club President said, “What a credit the Junior Squad is to Stratford! Adding to the Juniors’ successes, the Club is also immensely proud of two recent Stratford Boat Club and King Edward The Sixth alumna – Katie Wellstead who was stroke in the Oxford University Women’s Light Weight crew on Sunday and Esme Booth who continued her winning streak, rowing in last weekend’s Women’s Eights Head of the River Race.” Rowing at number four in the winning Leander Club’s “A” boat, the crew completed the 4.25 mile course on the River Thames in nineteen minutes and fifteen seconds, thirty four seconds ahead of the second placed Oxford Brookes “A” boat! This follows on from Esme’s victories in the November GB Trials in Boston as part of a Leander Women’s pair (W2-) and in the Fours Head of the Tideway Race (Women’s Championship event) as part of the Leander Women’s Four (W4-). Esme returned to Caversham this week, training as a member of the GB Women’s Squad.

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page fifty seven and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-busy-week-for-stratford-upon-avon-boat-clubs-junior-squad