October 26th 2012
First of all, can I extend my condolences to John, Mark and Carolyn Partridge following the sad loss of Lesly. Rowing wives are long suffering and Lesly was certainly no exception, supporting John throughout their marriage and helping him in his support of this club and his love of rowing. she will be sadly missed.
I will begin my brief report to let you know that our progress has continued in spite of awful weather from time to time during the last couple of months. Guy and Tom notched up the notable achievement of completing Septembers Boston Marathon in a cracking time of four hours four minutes, despite patchy efforts to keep up from the support crew of myself and Andy Newton. Racing as IM3 proved a little too tough for them to win, losing to a strong Walton double , but annoyingly they would have won their age group event of J17 in a time which was narrowly outside the record. Following this event our entries at Chester long distance sculls came to nothing as the event was cancelled owing to flooding, but the Nottingham Small Boats Head last week provided an opportunity for us to snatch a couple of wins and an event second place. The wins were in J17 single (Guy) and in masters E 2x , a composite crew of Lewis and Graham Dean from Derby. Our IM2 double of Guy and Tom was narrowly beaten into 2nd place, but having overtaken two crews in the process and steering a nigh on perfect course it was a very impressive performance. There may be opportunity for one or two more events before the year is out, however in the main, focus is now switching to training hard over the winter for all.
This will be my last captains report, and I would like to say how pleased I am with the progress that has been made by all our young athletes on my watch. It has been a privilege to see everyone training and racing with real professionalism, making me very proud. Despite its size, our club once again has a presence in the region and is continuing to develop at quite a pace. We have a huge opportunity to continue to develop junior rowing, and senior rowing also, as as is already noticeable, they don’t stay junior for long.
15th Sept 2012
Warwick Regatta-Remer (J) Vs Remer(S) in J12 1x final with James narrowly beating Sam. Guy was winning heat but then came to a stop in the reeds!
Boston Marathon: Guy and Tom racing in 2x on Sunday 16th Sept
28th July 2012
The Olympics are upon us and with the change in weather we have had it is easy to forget the last few weeks; a disappointing period during which the bad weather has been very disruptive, with many Regattas cancelled. We have been limited to just two events which were themselves touch and go till the last minute. It has been a great pity to see so many things called off this year as young people up and down the country, including of course our own juniors have been waiting a long time for the opportunity to compete and it’s rotten to see the weather be so cruel.
However there is still a month or so to go of the season and a few regattas remaining. The two events we did manage to race at were Marlow Regatta at Dorney Lake and The National Championships. Tom and Guy were representing us at both and although not gaining any trophies, they are raising the profile of our club considerably. At Dorney, with 20mph plus crosswind, the weaker three of the 6 entries scratched and we were up against it! Guy and Tom were way out of their comfort zone, finding it almost impossible to stay attached on the start, but they completed the race, somewhat behind Walton and RGS High Wycombe who has been consistently at the top in J16 doubles this year. Two weeks later surprisingly benign conditions at the Nationals meant the double was able to put up a real fight, narrowly missing out on a final place in a field of 18 entries.
The only other saving grace was that the Olympic Torch procession gave us an opportunity to take part in the festivities, with several of our young rowers taking part. Holidays are now upon us but we will be aiming to enter at least two more events before the end of the season in September.
16th June 2012
It has been a long while since i have provided a written captain’s report, for which I apologise. I have now had a chance to put finger to keyboard and I am pleased to say that our development curve in terms of rowing and sculling continues in an upward direction, despite the shocking weather we have been experiencing.
It is great to see things happening off the water too; we have some freshly painted blades, a nice and tidy boathouse and with all the continuing help looking after juniors things really seem to be on the up. Huge thanks to all concerned.
Training continues in earnest with ever more scullers capable of competition.
As far as racing goes, after the great day we had at Leicester Regatta back in April with our fantastic six entries, we have since had representation in other events. Back in April at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta at Holme Pierrepont, Guy and Tom sculled in a 4x- with two Newark lads, Robbie Goodwin and Max Bradbury, producing a very creditable 8th in a strong national field. Not bad considering they had only one outing together before the race, and that the conditions on the day were so bad, they weren’t able to compete in the B Final; further racing having been cancelled.
Following the JIRR, our boys were at HP again for Notts City Regatta facing Atlantic waves yet again. The result of their efforts in J16 double sculls was a third place behind Windsor boys and last years J15 National champions from Nottingham RC, beating Star Club A and B crews in the process.
Having still not tired of the Water sports Centre’s unpredictable conditions, Tom and Guy were then in Nottingham again on June 3rd for the National Schools Regatta. After qualifying in the processional race from a field of 28 doubles, they finished seemingly disappointingly in 3rd position in their Semi final, behind Walton RC and Hereford’s boys, having been in strong contention for a final place throughout the race.
On reflection, this was a more satisfying result than it first appeared and with confidence bolstered by a couple of wins picked up at Trentham last weekend in both J16 and Novice doubles, we are now looking forward to a thrilling race at Marlow Regatta on Dorney Lake this weekend.
Other members who are keen to race, are now setting their sights on Burton and other summer Regattas by which time with a bit of luck the rain may have stopped!
21st April 2012
6 entries for Indoor Rowing Champs ( Guy, Tom, Nick R, James R, Sam R & Harry)
Guy & Tom took part in trials for Junior Inter regionals and will be rowing in a 4x with 2 fron Newark on 28th April.
Bedford Small Boats Head- Guy & Tom in J162x ( 3rd from 11) and Nov 2- ( 2nd from 3)
Leicester Regatta on 22nd April- large entry for Derwent with 7 boats entered with the majority looking forward to their first race.
10th March 2012
Can I firstly say how sorry I was to hear the sad news about Margaret Marshall. Regattas will not be quite the same and I personally have Margaret to thank for suggesting that I tried rowing back in 1975. She will be greatly missed.
Very little to report as having happened in the period since the AGM, other than that training has continued more or less uninterrupted. This happily means that we approach the regatta season with several potential racing scullers and crews, most of who will soon have their first race, with the first regatta as usual being Leicester on the 22nd April. The Junior Inter Regional Regatta will take place the following week with hopefully Guy and Tom featuring in one form or another, with the trials taking place today at Holme Pierrepont.
Steve Playdon