St Neots Rowing Club’s Junior Squad made a strong showing in the Eastern Region Regatta on March 16, writes Adrian Vuylsteke.

The Eastern Region Junior Inter-Regional Regatta qualifying event took place at Peterborough Rowing Lake.

For the first time in over a decade, the club entered multiple junior crews, all competing for the chance to represent the Eastern Region on the national stage later this year. The day began with an impressive performance from the J16 boys’ quad—Sam, Josh, Ethan and Alex—who finished second in their heat. In their first race together as a crew, they narrowly missed out on the A Final and a shot at qualification by just a few seconds.

A flurry of individual races followed, with Millie, Layla, Miriam and Poppy competing in the J16 and J15 single sculls events. Layla and Poppy came agonisingly close to reaching the Finals, missing out by a single place.

However, Millie and Miriam battled their way into the J16 and J15 B Finals, determined to prove their potential. Both rowers stepped up in their finals, delivering standout performances that signalled their intent as rising contenders in the Eastern Region ahead of the summer regatta season.

The highlight of the day came in the J14 double sculls, where St Neots junior Harry, partnered with a Bedford sculler, dominated from start to finish. Their commanding row secured Harry’s qualification for the Eastern Region squad, making him the first St Neots junior to earn a place at the Inter-Regional Regatta since 2014. He will now head to Nottingham in April to compete against the country’s best young rowers, with hopes of bringing home a national title.

These results reaffirm the strength of the St Neots junior squad and its ambition to establish itself as a leading club for developing young rowing talent.