National Schools Regatta Victories

Posted on June 14, 2007 | Filed under Rowing

Evesham Rowing Club is celebrating its most successful medal haul ever at the country’s top junior event – the National Schools Regatta, held over the bank holiday weekend.

The club came away with two gold medals and one bronze from the event which attracts the top rowing schools and clubs from all over the country. It is the first time in a decade that Evesham has won gold medals at this regatta.

The J16 coxed four of Ben Farrar, Jon Farrar, James Crumpton and Josh Pendry (cox Jack Lazenby) had one of the toughest fights on their hands to claim their gold. Their race on Sunday, the final day of the three day event, was marked by torrential rain and winds. With race organisers keeping a close eye on racing conditions throughout the day, crews were advised to try and win every heat. If racing were to be cancelled medals would be awarded on the basis of the results from the heats.

The first heat was a timed race designed to eliminate slower crews. The Evesham crew were pitted against some top crews including St George’s College, who won the Schools head of the river earlier this year, and last year’s winners Westminster School. The boys went out to win the heat thinking that they were rowing for a medal and were one of the fastest qualifiers for the semi-final.

Once again, the crew went out to race as if it were the final as the event organisers had hinted that the event might be cancelled. Evesham cruised through to finish well ahead of crews from Westminster, Latymer Upper and Shiplake – schools with a strong rowing tradition. With the first three from each semi winning a place in the final, Evesham was once again pitted against Westminster and Latymer, with St George’s, The Oratory and RGS Worcester also in the mix.

By this time all crews were drenched. The conditions required intense concentration to ensure that oars did not smash onto the waves, causing the boat to slow down. The Evesham crew got off to a blistering start in the final but so did the crew from St George’s who clung on to them right the way down the course, hotly pursued by Westminster. The three crews battled it out virtually neck and neck all the way down the 2,000 metre course. Just before the line the Evesham crew put on a final spurt of power and crossed just half a second ahead – equivalent to two metres – to claim their gold medal and the Arundel Cup.

It was another J16 boys’ crew who claimed the other gold medal of the championships. Earlier this year the J16 coxless quad of Oli Staite, Will Tew, Danny Middleton and Rory Sullivan, had won the National Scullers Head at Dorney Lake, Eton, earlier this year and were hotly tipped for success here, they didn’t disappoint.

The race, held on the Saturday of the regatta, were excellent – dry, cool and with only a slight breeze. The crew qualified easily for the semi-final of the Kingston Cup, where they were up against strong crews from Marlow, Maidenhead and Sir William Borlase’s School. The Evesham boys had a good row and finished three seconds ahead putting them into the final against, amongst others, their rivals from Windsor Boys School. Two years ago the Evesham crew had lost the National Championships gold medal on the finish line to a crew from Windsor.

True to form the Windsor Boys crew got off to a very fast start and were ahead of the pack at the 500 metre mark. By the halfway point the Evesham boys had found their form and inched ahead and that’s where they stayed for the rest of the race, gradually widening the gap before putting on a push in the final 200 metres that put them three seconds ahead of the silver medallists from Sir William Borlase, and Windsor Boys in third place.

The crew was back in action the following day rowing up at J18 level in the championship coxless quad. The boys scraped into the final after a hotly contested semi. They battled out the final, finishing in fifth place.

It was a girls crew who picked up the bronze medal in the WJ14 double sculls. Aimee Rutherford and Yasmin Tredell, rowing over a 1,000 metre course at this age group, gave a good performance in their semi and came second. In the final it was anyone’s race until the last 500 metres when strong crews from Lady Eleanor Holles and Maidenhead came through to win gold and silver. The Evesham girls put in a gutsy finish to come through in front of a crew from Hollingworth Lake and picked up third place, less than a second ahead.

Another girls crew gave the crowd one of the most exciting races of the weekend. The WJ15 coxed quad of Colleen Penrose, Chloe Bryan, Helen Stirrup and Lucy Palmer (cox Lawrence Sullivan) reached the final of their event. As the race got under way it was clear that all six crews were very evenly matched as their raced down the course with less than a second between first and sixth. At the half way stage it was anyone’s race with only a boat length between the crews. It was only in the last 500 metres that the stronger crews surged slightly ahead. The Evesham crew came in fifth but are aiming to improve that rating with some extra training before National Championships in July.

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