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Warwick Boat Club hosted it’s annual regatta on Sat 21st Aug with 117 crews in 35 different events from 12 different clubs all competing on the picturesque 500m course. Starting at the foot of Warwick Castle and concluding in St Nicholas Park and including a seemingly magnetic patch of reeds, which proved to be a challenge for the visiting and home crews alike.
Despite the weather changing from bright sunshine to torrential downpours, the atmosphere of competitors, supporters and hosts remained buoyant throughout the day.
Warwick’s own crews took home two wins; the newly formed double scull of Phil Tonkin and Adam Edgeller; and the mixed IM2 4+ of Paul Gosling, Caroline Gosling, Catherine Harvey, Dan Simpkins, coxed by Joy Green.
There were all ages represented at the regatta featuring Masters events for those of mature years and the women’s new rower singles which was contested by 3 junior scullers, 2 of whom were only 9 years old and had only recently taken up rowing following completion of a short learn to row course at Stowe School. The winner after 3 gruelling rounds was Martha Corby.
The conclusion of the day was the annual race between novice rowing representatives from the club’s tennis and squash sections where the crews have 4 sessions to get to grips with rowing. This year was an unusually close race, with squash just pipping tennis to the line, thus perpetuating the intra-club rivalry and for another year.
In addition to event wins, the Victor Ludorum prize is awarded to the club with the greatest number of wins, this year, despite many wins from both Evesham and Stratford, Trentham took home the trophy.
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On the Sunday following Warwick's home regatta, the men’s IM2 crew of Jon Martin, Tom Grinstead, Sam Hyde and Ben Badcock, coxed by Ali Tonkin competed at Oxford City Regatta. Despite an exhausting previous day of marshalling and other regatta duties the crew were victorious, beating Oxford Academicals by a length and a half in the semi-final, and an experienced Hertford College crew by only 2 feet in a tensely fought final.
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Following strong results from the men's squad at Bewdley regatta, Warwick's women's squad dominated at Stourport's two day Regatta last weekend.
Torrential rain on the Saturday framed the day's racing. The women's IM2 4+ (Karen Cabana, Anna Pember, Claire Roberts, Holly Fowler, coxed by Ali Tonkin) proved their hard training has been worthwhile, beating Stourport in their final by a comfortable 2 lengths. The other win of the day was the men's IM2 8+ (Shaun Lay, Phil Tonkin, Joy Green, Matt Casey, Jon Martin, Rich Pember, Sam Hyde, Tom Grinstead coxed by Ali Tonkin). Before racing, the crew composition changed, with Joy Green & novice Phil Tonkin joining the usual line up. Their opposition in the final were complacent seeing the Warwick crew not being all male. Clearly they've never met Joy before! Warwick stormed to a clear victory over Thames club Quintin, losing Phil his novice status in the process, resulting in the traditional dunking in the river.
The Sunday's racing brought glorious sunshine in complete contrast to the day before. Tom Grinstead raced in his first ever single sculling race & although he didn't win, neither did he crash or fall in, a good result for a first race.
The women's Novice 4+ (Lisa Taverner, Becks Clarke, Beks Dryhurst, Becky Dilley, coxed by Tanya Podinovskaia) won their final comfortably against Hereford. This lost the whole crew their novice status, who celebrated by swimming in the river. The men's Masters B 4+ raced Ross (National Champions in this event) in the final. Through an exciting final, the two crews were never separated by clear water, with Ross winning by ¾ length. This was a far closer result than in their previous encounter, giving the determination that the next race will go Warwick's way.
The final win of the weekend went to Warwick's women's IM3 4+ crew of Ester Kinnersley, Kate Parkinson, Paula Williams, Rachel Hughes, coxed by Joy Green. The crew battled through 3 rounds, with the final against Quintin being the closest race of the whole day. Coming into the home straight the crews were almost level and with cheers of encouragement from the bank, the Warwick crew inched ahead to win by a mere canvas.
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Don't forget to promote the regatta to any companies that could benefit from sponsoring this great event!
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Warwick Boat Club descended on Bewdley’s two day regatta in force, with 17 crews in action over the weekend.
The men’s IM2 8+ of S Lay, T Grinstead, A Delahaye, M Casey, P Gosling, B Badcock, J Martin, R Pember, coxed by A Tonkin beat a strong Exeter crew in the final by a heart stopping 1/3 of a length.
The men’s 4+ of C Yu, A Taylor, B Van Duren, A Edgeller coxed by A Curtis had a shaky start in the semi-final, but rowed to a strong victory in the final. This lost the crew their novice status, which was appropriately celebrated by a crew dunking.
The second novice win of the day was the men’s double of T Grinstead & B Badcock, who joined the novice four’s celebration in the river.
The women’s Masters B double of M Kok & M Delahaye also put in a commanding performance winning their event comfortably.
A Speechly was much in demand in 3 finals late in the day, winning his Mas C 1x, but missing out in the Mixed 4+ along with S Burns, C Harvey, H Moussard, coxed by T Podinovskaia. The men’s Sen 2x event resulted in a Warwick-Warwick final of A Speechly & S Burns up against club rivals P Gosling & A Delahaye The latter coming home with the prize pots.
The remaining three Warwick crews in action on Saturday were the women’s IM2 4+ of K Cabena, A Pember, C Roberts, H Fowler, coxed by A Tonkin; the women’s 1x of K Parkinson, racing two categories above her own status; and the second mixed 4+ of R Pember, J Martin, E Kinnersley & K Parkinson, coxed by A Curtis.
Sunday saw the final victory of the weekend by the men’s IM2 4+ of M Davies, M Casey, J Martin, R Pember, coxed by Joy Green. This win promoted the successful crew to the IM1 category. Also in action on the Sunday were the men’s IM3 8+, the men’s IM2 8+, J Hunter in a Mas F 1x and K Parkinson in a closely fought race missing out by a mere ½ length.
All in, the club went home with a mighty 6 wins.
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Four crews from Warwick Boat Club entered the Henley Veteran Regatta on 9-10th July, the second of the two big veteran regattas of the year.
On the Friday (heats), the two Warwick men's veteran B class doubles raced. The combination of Andy Speechly & Steve Burns lost out to a strong crew from Lea. The double of Andre Delahaye & Paul Gosling won through against Milton Keynes, but couldn't overcome the crew from Auriol Kensington in the following round.
On the Saturday (semis & finals), two women's crews were in action. In rocky conditions, the veteran A double of Kate Dickin and Ailsa Curtis lost out to a strong Nottingham / Gloucester composite crew by 2 lengths. The newly formed veteran A quad of Kate Dickin, Kate Parkinson, Joy Green & Ailsa Curtis fought an exciting battle in the final against Barnes Bridge Ladies, finally losing out in the last 200m.
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Warwick boat club visited the two day Ironbridge regatta in the blistering heat of Shropshire. 12 crews travelled in all, giving Warwick a strong presence at the regatta.
Saturday's crews of the women's IM3 4+, men's IM3 4+ and women's IM2 2x were successful in the early rounds, although none converted to event wins over the longer 1km course.
Sunday's racing was over the shorter 500m course & saw 9 Warwick crews in action.
The women's IM3 4+ and men's Masters B 4+ were unlucky to lose out in their first rounds, but the morning's racing took a turn for the better with the men's IM3 4+ of Shaun Lay, Ben Badcock, Cam Hyde & Tom Grinsted, coxed by Ali Tonkin raced home to secure a long sought after victory. A good race for the IM1 men's 2x of Andy Speechly & Steve Burns resulted in a second win before lunch.
Sunday afternoon's racing saw the women's IM2 2x lose in the final and the Novice men's 4+ miss out in the first round by a mere canvas. The two entrants in singles had mixed success; Harvey racing at the higher IM3 category on the back of her win at Straford lost out in the semi final, Martin's novice event saw an impressive progression to the final, though not quite converting to silverware.
The Masters B men's 2x event contained two Warwick crews, both of whom progressed to set up a Warwick – Warwick final. Clearly club spirit lost out to crew spirit & a fine race was seen, with many tactful cheers of "come on Warwick" from club spirited supporters. The earlier successful crew of Speechly & Burns eventually lost out to the recently crowned National Masters champions of Gosling & Delahaye. The race over, club spirit once again prevailed as all crews retired to celebrate the club's success.
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Double Gold for Warwick
Warwick boat club entered National Masters Championships on Sun 13th June and came away clutching gold. The 1km event was held at the six lane lake at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham. With eight Warwick crews entered across the different disciplines, the club's presence was felt from the first race (Joy Green in her 1x) to almost the last race (Paul Gosling & Andre Delahaye's double scull).
The day's racing started well with Joy Green's Masters A1X qualifying for the final. In the final she came up against high quality opposition and finished out of the medals. She also jumped into the coxing seat of the men's Masters B 4+, who qualified for their final. The latter set up the event final featuring both Warwick men's 4+ crews, needless to say competitive spirits were running high. The Warwick A crew of Andre Delahaye, Paul Gosling, Richard Owen & Paul Taylor, coxed by Caroline Gosling came 3rd in the final, beating the Warwick B crew of Jon Martin, Matt Davies, Matt Casey & Rich Pember, and cox Green by clear water.
The well established composite Warwick / Poole Masters D4- of R Wilson, P Jacobs, John Charlesworth & Chris Skuse cruised through their heat to race in a tough final, coming through to take silver. John & Chris also raced in the Masters D coxless pairs event. After a thrilling semi-final, they qualified for the final, but were unable to medal.
Still in their first season of competition together, the women's Masters A quad of Kate Dickin, Kate Parkinson, Helene Moussard & Ailsa Curtis came third in their final. Dickin & Curtis' established Masters A double scull also raced in a closely fought final, coming through to win gold, defending their title of 2009 (photo).
The last Warwick race of the day, in the driving rain, was the also well established Masters B double scull of Andre Delahaye & Paul Gosling. The pair came through to a clear win, bringing home the second set of gold medals of the day.
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The men's IM3 4+ crew of S. Lay, B. Badcock, S. Hyde and T. Grinstead made the long trip to Durham last weekend for the annual Durham Regatta. Often known as the 'Henley of the North' Durham is the biggest regatta in the north of England and provided strong competition for the boys.
Following comfortable wins against Cambois RC and St. Aidan's College BC on Saturday they came up against a very strong St. John's College crew in the semi-final and were unlucky to lose out by 1/2 length in one of the fastest 4+ races of the day. St. John's went on to win the event, beating Dutch crew Nereus RC.
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Warwick Boat Club had a successful trip to Shrewsbury Regatta this weekend and recorded a number of wins. The women's IM3 2x (Moussard, Parkinson) and IM3 4x (Moussard, Parkinson, Dickin and Curtis) recorded wins on the Saturday, and the IM1 2x (A. Speechley, S. Burns) and IM3 4+ (J. Martin, M. Davies, M. Casey, R. Pember cox J. Green). This was a first qualifying win for Matt Davies of the IM3 4+ and he recieved a dunking in the River Severn to celebrate (pictured).
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Warwick Boat Club had varied success at Evesham regatta, one of the first summer regatta of the season, following a disappointingly flooded out winter season.
The two Warwick men’s IM3 coxed fours both progressed through two rounds to set up a Warwick – Warwick semi final, the crew of youth & enthusiasm losing out to age & experience in a closely fought race. Sadly the Warwick crew then lost out to Staines in a close final.
After a nail bitingly close race, the women’s IM3 double scull just missed out to the eventual winners of the event.
The women’s novice double scull bravely embarked on their first event. They won their first race easily, but missing out in the semi finals.
The Masters A women’s double scull led by K Dickin, in their first race representing Warwick, gained a comfortable victory over Evesham, despite a mid-race boat-stopping encounter with a buoy, much to the amusement of the Warwick supporters.
Although the Saturday of Evesham regatta was blessed with gloriously sunny weather, the overnight thunderstorm resulted in the second day being cancelled. A devastating turn of events for the Warwick crews who were well primed for good results on the Sunday. Next regatta: Shrewsbury, 15th May.
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After much anticipation, the 2009 4s head was cancelled due to high winds and bad weather. Holding out until just 1.5 hours before race time, Warwick crews were seen to be 'tearful' and 'disappointed' the whole thing was called off.
One keen Oarsome Bear was overheard saying "I felt a bit emotional - I could feel myself welling up". "I understand it could be a safety issue but it's just so frustrating!
The Vets head went ahead the following day with a tropical breeze and balmy sunshine. |
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Warwick Boat Club staged a successful annual regatta on Saturday, with crews from across the Midlands and beyond competing the River Avon.
Soaked in warm August sunshine, Myton fields was buzzing with crowds pouring in from the local area to watch the action.
The Victor Lodurum (the prize for the most wins) this year went to Stratford, with 9 wins, closely followed by Evesham. There was good success for the home club, Warwick but they are illegible for this award, it being their home regatta.
We've had some great feedback from many attendees. Thanks to all that competed and attended the event!
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After the previous weeks excitement of Henley Royal Regatta, last week saw the turn of the more mature members of the rowing community to take on the historic course at the Henley Veterans Regatta. Though lacking the Pimms and Champagne atmosphere of the Royal Regatta, Henley Veterans Regatta represents the climax of the UK veteran rowing calendar and attracts crews from as far afield as the USA and Australia. A small squad of rowers from Warwick Boat Club made the trip down to Henley and were rewarded with an all Warwick final in the men’s double sculls event for 36-42 year old competitors, after both the clubs crews made it successfully through Friday’s rounds. A strong headwind for Saturday’s final created difficult conditions for both crews, more used to the shelter of the Avon in Warwick, but both made a clean, strong start, with the double of Paul Gosling and Andre Delahaye gaining the early advantage over their club mates Steve Burns and Andy Speechly. Despite a valiant attempt to close the gap by Burns and Speechly, Gosling and Delahaye gradually extended their lead over the second half of the course to win the race and gain a rare win for Warwick at national level competition.
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So, Ironbridge regatta was at the weekend. The event passed with mild success with a few wins and several final defeats. The excitement came, however, for the select few who were involved in the trailer pulling. A regatta at the bottom of a steep hill is never going to be child's play for a Land Rover that has not only lived through the industrial revolution but also seen its very existence threatened by the invention of flight.
After one or two false starts (or more appropriately false stops), the Wilde's Land Rover 110 finally died a spectacular death in the innocuous countryside of the Shropshire/Staffordshire/West Midlands hinterland at approximately 10pm.
The heroic few who coaxed this lumbering beast back to Warwick (well done Joy/Jon/Ben/Ali/Paul/Andre/Caroline for stopping and generously giving up all their remaining drinking water for it to be simply blown out of the exhaust pipe in a succession of beautifully formed cumulonimbus...) finally arrived back at 2am. Admirable dedication indeed.
PHOTOS OF THE EVENT CAN BE FOUND HERE
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WBC member Will Homer is part of a 4-man crew attempting to row around the British Isles this summer in order to break a world record for the fastest time and raise money for Orchid, a male cancer charity. The current record stands at 26 days, 23 hours; they aim to be back within 25 days.
The project which cost £30,000 to cover costs of the boat, training, insurance, equipment, food and clothing has been heavily sponsored British Gas, along with Field Overell Solicitors and personal contributions.
The crew will embark on this massive task on 1 July starting from under Tower Bridge in London. The route is fairly simple; anti-clockwise (unless there are serious weather shifts!).
The record attempt has attracted major publicity and there will be a feature on Blue Peter in early June.
In terms of training, Will has an erg in his house and rows everyday, just recently stepping it up to doing 3 hours a day! This is combined with back-strengthening exercises and core work with some swimming thrown in!
As they go round the UK they will have a tracker both for Guinness World Records and for everyone to see where they are. You can visit their website during the row and there will be a map of the UK with their position plotted along with photos, videos and a blog about life on an ocean rowing boat and our progress.
Please on their website www.GBrow.com and donate to Orchid, or at the very least 'leave them a comment'.
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Dust off your party shoes, it's time for one of the highlights of WBC's social calendar - the Holly Hop!
The section's annual Christmas party will take place at the clubhouse on Saturday 13th December. This year's fancy dress theme is BOND IN VEGAS – Cocktails, Canapes and Casino.
Tickets are still available, but going fast, so contact: Corri McDowell, Ruth Fountain, Naomi Yarwood, Marleen Kok, Rachel Keys or Joy Green or email: wbcsoco@yahoo.co.uk
And on Sunday, what better way to get rid of your hangover than a little early morning paddle?
Get yourself to the boat sheds at 9.30 on Sunday 14th December for the annual scratch regatta. Three of your finest British pounds gets you a racing seat, tea/coffee and a bacon roll (veggie option available). Wives, husbands, partners, friends and family all welcome. Turn up and get drawn into a crew to race for prizes.
Before the racing starts, we'll also be naming the new boats, so please be on time!
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Check out November's issue of the ARA's monthly magazine "Rowing & Regatta" for a two-page splash on your very own boat club.
Thanks to everyone who helped with the article.
The good news is that they have asked us to contribute more in the future, so if anyone has any great ideas for features please contact Lucy Rose on lucy.rose@summersault.co.uk
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Twelve Veteran squad members from Warwick Boat Club are planning to row 133 miles down the River Thames this summer, in memory of a colleague and squad member - John Powell - who died from cancer last year. John was 57.
John was well known in West Midlands rowing circles, having been a member both of Stratford-upon-Avon Boat Club and Warwick Boat Club, as well as a regional regatta umpire. Whilst he was never an elite oarsman, he was always enthusiastic, ever willing to help, and - most of all - possessed a great sense of humour.
The four-day memorial epic takes the rowers from Lechlade in Gloucestershire – the official start of the navigable Thames – to Putney in London, passing 44 locks en route.
Reflecting John’s sense of the ludicrous, the squad plan to complete the journey in two boats – an old and a new: one a modern coxed quad sculling boat, the other a traditional Thames skiff. The squad will rotate between the boats and the support cars.
Funds are being raised for both Myton Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support in recognition of the valued care they provided to John. Funds donated on this page will go solely to Myton Hospice.
We all appreciate what John would have given to have participated in this row. What are you prepared to give?
Visit
www.justgiving.com/johnpowell_mytonhospice
www.justgiving.com/johnpowell_macmillan
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