Tag Archives: Women’s Masters

Stratford Visitors to Henley Town Triumph

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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s J17/18 squad delivered a strong and determined showing at the Henley Town & Visitors’ Regatta, an event with roots stretching back to the late 1850s, with several athletes stepping up impressively across multiple races.

In the Open Mixed Double Sculls, Alexandra Francis and Seth Vondrak made a composed debut as a new pairing. Despite facing a far more experienced Warwick crew preparing for the World Masters, they settled quickly, held their pace through the middle of the course and mounted a determined push towards the line. Stratford were narrowly beaten by a third of a length but it was an encouraging first outing for the duo.

Francis returned to the water shortly afterwards, joining her WJ18 4x teammates for their final against Reading. The race quickly became a test of resolve with Reading taking an early lead but Stratford refusing to let the contest slip away. They pressed hard all the way down the course, showing real grit and earning warm praise from the event commentators even though Reading held on for the win.

Vondrak also stepped up again, this time into Band 1 Open Singles, punching well above his Junior 18 status. For an 18‑year‑old, reaching Band 1 is a notable achievement, reflecting the racing points he has already accumulated and placing him directly against some of the regatta’s fastest single scullers. He rose to the challenge with a composed and determined row, giving everything he had against older and more experienced opponents to finish third in the final, another strong marker of his growing potential.

Concluding Stratford’s day were James Albrighton and Ollie Rowlands in the J18 Open Double Sculls. They made a sharp, confident start in their final against Reading Rowing Club, pushing out strongly from the line: however, that early pace proved difficult to sustain over the full course and Reading were able to move ahead. Albrighton and Rowlands continued to fight all the way to the finish but Reading held their advantage to take the win. It remained a committed and promising row from the Stratford double.

Commenting, Colin Bell, J17/18 Coach said, “Taken together, the performances across the day highlighted the growing strength, determination and competitive spirit within Stratford’s J17/18 squad.”

Stratford’s J16 squad were represented by Ed Appleton and Will Shaw in the single sculling competition and Erin Appleton and Immie De Pennington in the double sculls. First up, the boys were pitted against a sculler from Wallingford. Racing three lanes as a straight Band 1 final, all three had quick starts but Will Shaw maintained a higher rating and carved out a lead which he held to win by two and a half lengths over Wallingford with Ed Appleton just a length back and closing the gap, with his superior technique making up for what he gave away in height. Another fifty metres could have seen a Stratford placed one and two!

Stratford’s J16 girls were drawn centre lane in the three way Band 1 final and were up against City of Oxford and Shiplake School. Appleton and De Pennington, who have been working hard on their starts, set off at forty four strokes a minute and took an early lead. Settling into their rhythm and with very tidy sculling, they stamped their authority on the race, extending the lead to win by four lengths over City of Oxford. Commenting on the J16’s performance, Coach Eric Appleton said, “A fantastic brace of winning medals in what is likely to be the last race for the J16’s this regatta season!”

With a reduced entry due to holidays and no opposition for Stratford’s J14 squad, the girls’ 2x a compact squad of a boys’ 2x crewed by Ethan Siwakowski and Archie Mansfield were in a straight final and a boys’ 1x Christopher Durance in an initial semi-final boated in excellent water & weather conditions.

The boys in the 2x had a great race up the course keeping to the race plan and bringing what they had been working on to their row and achieving a credible third place with all three crews showing some skilled sculling.

The 1x had a great start and kept ahead for the majority of the race until about 100 metres from the finish and then had two unfortunate meetings with some river furniture but picked everything back up to just miss out going through to the final in second place.

Commenting, Dawson Curnock, J14 Coach said, “For all three boys, more experience of side-by-side racing at another prestigious event and representing themselves and the Club admirably: onwards boys!”

Also competing at Henley Town & Visitors’ Regatta were Stratford’s Masters Women: first to to row were Ellie Davies and Gina Fusco competing in Women’s Masters’ E 2x. Unfortunately, the double had a shaky start and failing to get into their usual rhythm plus clashing with a buoy meant the double lost their semifinal so no medal this time.

Plagued by an injury-strewn summer which limited their training capacity, Rebecca England and Lucy Scarlett were finally able to come back together to race in the Women’s Master’s A double sculls. Facing strong opposition from Vesta, the Stratford duo rowed well together in the swell and maintained a good rhythm but unfortunately were beaten to the finish line on this occasion.

Last event of the day for Women’s Masters but the first race in the new VIII was a phenomenal success for our Women’s Masters on the iconic Henley course in beautiful conditions. Rowing in Women’s VIII Senior Band and vying for The Sagamore Challenge Cup, the crew of Ellie Davis (stroke), Gina Fusco, Rebecca England, Ruth Poulten, Charlotte Jones, Abby Symons, Caroline Collins, Claudine Pearson (bow) and Jen Cary (cox) had a relaxed and powerful start at rate thirty six strokes per minute before settling and focusing on technique.

Jen steered a confident line down the 800m enabling the crew to apply their power and set the pace against a determined composite Guildford/Walton opposition and a Milton Keynes boat who struggled to keep up. Ellie stroked a superb race which helped the crew to a comfortable two length victory and in a boat which made a decisive difference. Coach Sam Hill said, “I’m so proud of the crew and absolutely delighted that all their hard work on and off the water has paid off. This memorable win is extremely well deserved and testament to their dedication.”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page forty four and online https://www.stratford-herald.com/sport/stratford-juniors-impress-at-henley-regatta-9477387 also Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-boat-club-junior-and-masters-scullers-triumph-at-henley-town-and-visitors-regatta and back sports page https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/editions/view/?/Stratford/2026/08/07&pages=32#page/32

Stratford Triumph at Gloucester

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Under crisp autumn skies, Gloucester Rowing Club hosted the 2025 Autumn Head on the Sharpness Canal, drawing a strong field of junior, senior and masters’ crews from across the region. The challenging 5 km course tested rowers’ endurance and provided an excellent opportunity to rack up the training mileage amongst the racing.

Racing for the first time at Gloucester (long course), the WJ16 2x of Orla Linforth and Erin Appleton sculled a well throughout the 5k course but their opposition proved too strong, finishing and they finished sixth. Also in the morning, the OJ16 4x- of Ed Appleton, Will Shaw, Euan Richter and Rory Rowan set off well but had to take evasive action halfway down the course to prevent a drifting single sculler making contact with their boat and so ended in second place behind Hereford Rowing Club by seven seconds.

In the afternoon, Maria Ntoukaki sculled very well in the WJ16 1x event and came second in her Band Three event by only three seconds over the twenty four minutes of the race but her time of 24:10 was significantly faster than six scullers from William Borlase school and Millfield. In Band 3, Hereford Rowing Club took the win.

Commenting, Hugo Happel, J16 Coach commented, “All athletes sculled well indeed on a long course and the many lessons learnt will be taken to our next events.”

Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s J17/J18 squad competed strongly across the sculling events. The WJ18 coxless quadruple scull of Tessa Parkin, Maeve Dunn, Millie Smith and Martha Cooke delivered an impressive performance, placing them second against a high quality crew from Hartpury College despite recording a time that would have won the senior event. The Open J18 double scull of Xavier Sissins-Roffey and Seth Vondrak also claimed second place, once again pushing Hartpury hard to the line.

In the afternoon session, Stratford fielded two WJ18 double sculls with Tessa Parkin and Millie Smith finishing fourth and Maeve Dunn and Martha Cooke close behind in fifth place. Meanwhile, in the Open J18 single sculls, Xavier Sissins-Roffey and Seth Vondrak showed strong individual form, securing third and fourth place respectively.

Stratford Women’s Senior 2x of Rebecca England at stroke and Lucy Scarlett at bow built up to a good rhythm in their race. Despite unpredictable gusts, the Stratford crew persevered well and maintained power in their longest race together to date. They finished third out of six in a competitive field and were pleased with their performance.

The Women’s Masters were back at Gloucester for the long autumn head after the successful training day the previous week. The crew of Will Shaw (cox), Ellie Davis (stroke), Abby Symons, Fiona Schultz, Gina Fusco, Helen Helliwell, Caroline Collins, Jane Cryer, Charlotte Jones (bow) started their race at a crisp thirty one strokes per minute the first 1000m which gave opportunities to settle into a strong rhythm: this was followed by a solid twenty nine strokes for the remaining 4000 metres of the race. The crew worked well together under the positive coxing by Will Shaw and with an expert racing line helping. Will only shared that this was his first race coxing an eight after crossing the finishing line!

Stroke Ellie Davies said, “It was a good long row and great to see the progress the women’s masters’ squad is making through the winter racing season. Will was a fabulous cox and his calls were excellent. Our thanks to all our supporters and coach Sam Hill who help make racing away possible and also for the training support and encouragement.”

Stratford’s adaptive squad, fresh back from their tour of Turin, were the only adaptive event at the Gloucester Head and so it was an all Stratford doubles’ affair between Ian and Paola Ward and Ethan Roberts and Neville Hand. This being Ethan’s first head, the race resulted in a narrow win for the more established Ward’s crew by a narrow fourteen seconds.

For media coverage, please see Stratford Herald page forty four and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-stratford-boat-club-scullers-impress-at-gloucester-autumn-head

Good and Less Good Fortunes at Worcester for Stratford’s Masters and KES!

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On Saturday 11 February, Stratford upon Avon Boat Club’s Women’s Masters crew of Ruth Poulten, Paola Ward, Clare Booth and Rona Fitzpatrick in a coxless quad took part in the Worcester Head of The River, a 6km race on the River Severn. The crew were unable to find their form in this year’s Worcester Head, despite near perfect conditions. The crew had been hoping to repeat their win from last year but it was not to be.

Being brought to a halt in the final third of the race by erratic steering from a coxed quad added to the crew’s disappointment and frustration. Even so, it was a good 12km with great team spirit as always and the shouts of support from those on the riverside were fantastic and very much appreciated. Nonetheless, the crew had a very solid race over the long course and continued to record a very admirable time of 26 minutes and 37 seconds. Crew member Paola Ward commented, “Onwards and upwards to the next race!”

Saturday also saw the continuing training progress towards the national eights race in London in March for Stratford Boat Club’s combined men’s masters eight with Bridgnorth Rowing Club. The crew, which has been training since before Christmas, was looking to follow on from a solid performance and win at Stourport Head two weeks earlier with an improved performance at Worcester Head. The event held on the River Severn, one of the longest races in the country at over 6km, promised a great day’s racing with a large turnout of eights men’s and women’s crews. With perfect rowing conditions and little wind, the stage was set for some fast times.

The Stratford/Bridgnorth crew were up against crews from Bristol Ariel, Bewdley, Evesham, Pengwern (Shrewsbury), Avon Country and Monmouth in several masters’ age categories making for some good competition. The race was a chance for the crew to try out Bridgnorth’s brand new racing Stampfli eight and the boat did not disappoint as the crew set off at a lively race pace of 32 strokes per minute.

Race conditions and a clear river meant there were no issues with having to overtake slower crews and this enabled the crew to settle into a nice cadence at 32 strokes per minute for the whole of the race, which saw them close on the preceding crew which was Pengwern. Given the large gaps between crews at the start for safety reasons, it was unlikely that any crews would be fully caught on the course so it was important to focus on the crews own performance. Closing past Worcester’s impressive clubhouse saw an uplift in crew effort as supporters’ cheers became audible. The race was by no means over however with a further two kilometres still to race.

A further push took the crew through the narrow road bridge arches in the centre of Worcester and part the magnificent riverside cathedral to set up a final effort down the finishing straight. The effort was not in vain however as the crew recorded a very satisfactory win in a time of 20 mins and 52 seconds. Said stroke Paul Wallis, “This was our first outing in the new boat and the race was all about getting used to the feel and run of the boat rather than focusing on just racing so to come away with a win was very satisfying.” The crew’s training continues with eyes now turned to Runcorn Head on 25th February and a further step up in quality opposition from north of England clubs.

Also racing at Worcester was Stratford’s sister club, King Edward The Sixth School Boat Club who had a very successful day taking the win in the J18 4x section over experienced first crews from Kings School Worcester and Royal Grammar School Worcester in convincing fashion over the 6km course. The quad, consisting of Tomi Wilcock, Tom Beard, Tom Wheeler and Ed Rose, had a steady start to the race and were able to find their rhythm and put in a strong first half to the race. After a well managed first half, the cheers from the bank at the 3km mark lifted the crew and they began to extend their lead over the competition. A strong push to the finish saw them overtake an university eight and close the gap on the Kings School Worcester crew who started off ahead on the course. Commenting, Hannah Crone, KES’s rowing coach said, “An exceptional time of 20 minutes and 22 seconds saw KES placed eight in the division and also placed as the second fastest quad of the day!”

For media coverage, see Stratford Herald page forty three and Stratford Observer online https://www.stratfordobserver.co.uk/sport/rowing-mixed-results-for-stratford-crews-at-worcester