St Neots rowers crowned British champions

St Neots Rowing Club can once again boast national champions after taking gold at the British Rowing Masters Championships.The crew of Kevin Sadler, Jim Farrell, Bob Hetherington and Stuart Williams, plus cox Rachel Tackley, beat Belfast Rowing Club in the final of the masters D-F coxed four-category by eight seconds – despite a strong headwind and choppy conditions at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. The start was delayed slightly because crews had difficulty attaching themselves to the stake boats, but St Neots took an early lead and the result was never in doubt.

The crew almost made it a double celebration later in the day, in the final of the coxless fours event, when they were pipped to the post by Grosvenor Rowing Club.

Competing and winning at a national event takes a lot of hard work, and our crew achieved what they deserved after many weeks of preparation – including winning the previous week at the Peterborough regatta.

 

British champions (left to right): Stuart Williams, Bob Hetherington, cox Rachel Tackley, Jim Farrell and Kevin Sadler.

British champions (left to right): Cox Rachel Tackley, Kevin Sadler, Jim Farrell, Bob Hetherington and Stuart Williams.

Day of ‘firsts’ for St Neots rowers in Nottingham

St Neots rowers had lots to celebrate after achieving a series of ‘firsts’ at the Nottingham Masters and Club regatta.Emily McPherson, Olivia Marsh, Natalie Yanusauskas and Emily Anagnostos, plus cox Matt Wigmore, secured the club’s first summer win, overcoming opponents from City of Sheffield Rowing Club in a closely fought women’s band two 4+ final. The crews were neck and neck for much of the one-kilometre course, but the St Neotsladies dug deep in the final stages to pull away and eventually won by a length.

Victory tasted particularly sweet for Emily McPherson, Olivia Marsh and Matt Wigmore, for whom this was their first-ever win in competitive rowing.

Emily McPherson had earlier competed for the first time ever in a single and almost achieved a dream debut after finishing a close second in the women’s band four 1x category.

Ben La Roche was also racing for the first time in a single, finishing third against classy opponents in the menus open junior 18 1x category. Meanwhile, Andrew Lawrence had to call on all his experience to secure a second spot –by just 0.1 seconds – in the men’s open band three 1x.

Ben and Andrew teamed up with Matt Wigmore and Rob Stirling to take third place – again by just 0.1 seconds – in the men’s open 4- category, while Louise Shorten, Jade Hellett, Ellie Sadler and Hannah Towns had to settle for fourth in the women’s band two 4- category.

Last but not least, the Open MasB 2x crew from St Neots overcame Nottingham rowers on their home water to take second place in the final, finishing just behind a high-flying RAF crew.

For St Neots lead coach and vice-chair, Jacqui Round, the Nottingham event marked a successful return to regatta racing for the club and offered plenty of encouragement for the future. “We had a really great day with all our crews competing well,” said Jacqui.

“It’s always pleasing to see crews enjoy success after months of training, and all the results in Nottingham have given our rowers plenty to build on as they head into the rest of this year’s regatta season.”

St Neots winners (left to right) Emily McPherson, Olivia Marsh, cox Matt Wigmore, Natalie Yanusauskas and Emily Anagnostos.

Rest in Peace, Tony Hainsby 1934-2021

Last week one of our oldest and longest-serving club members, Tony Hainsby, passed away after a long life.

As a mark of remembrance, the Elite Sculls events at this year’s regatta was dedicated to his memory, and the current club president read out a eulogy over the public address in his honour at about 1.00 pm, just before one of ‘his’ races came down the river.

Several members of his family attended the regatta especially for this event, and then his funeral was held on Monday 26 July at St Neots Church. Despite supposedly family attendance only due to the virus, the church was packed.

Tony Hainsby (seen here and left to right – Melvin Byatt, Albert Saywell, Tony Hainsby, John Howell and Oscar Chuter (cox) was a major stalwart of the club for most of the second half of the Twentieth century. At times, without his efforts,  and a small number of others, the club may well have folded up. 

A member from the early 1950s to the 1990s, as well as rowing in club crews nearly all that time, he was involved in running the club for a lot of that time, being Captain some 9 times between 1959 and 1983.

He was massively involved with the rebuilding of the club in 1976/7 after the gale disaster and was instrumental in locating a suitable building for what is now the ‘Chris Leaf’ boathouse.

The regatta has always been a major part of the club, and always a large event. As regatta secretary, in the early days, Tony was involved in doing the draw for the event without the use of computers. This was a difficult all-night job usually for 2 or 3 members, and Tony was one of those without sleep.

In the 1970s and 80’s, he was heavily involved in coaching with great success, particularly with the Junior Ladies squad at the time, producing several members who represented GB internationally.

Rowing was not Tony’s only sport as he was by far the best runner in the club, and was the club team’s anchorman in the annual Boxing Day relay run from Bedford to St. Neots in the 1950s.

He was instrumental in introducing running as a means of cross-training for SNRC, long before it became the norm for rowing. That maybe to the slight discomfort of the more flat-footed oarsmen.

When he dropped out of rowing in the early 1990’s he formed the Riverside Runners’ who were based at the club and he was active in that club for many years. He also remained an SNRC club trustee until his death last week.

The club thanks him for his huge efforts over such a long time and we extend our sympathy to his family, including sons Vince and Martin, both SNRC rowers in their own right in latter years. We celebrate his memory.

St Neots Rowing Club helps with Channel 5’s Gadget Show

St Neots Rowing Club was approached recently by a researcher working on Channel 5’s The Gadget Show to ask whether the club could loan out two single sculls as part of a gadget challenge. The challenge is to pit two-time Olympic Gold medallist rower Alex Gregory MBE to a 500m race on a lake at Wyboston Lakes, against presenter Georgie Barrat. This will form part of their “Vs Olympics Special” in which each of the 4 presenters will use technology to take on an athlete or team whose sport would have been represented at this year’s Olympics.

With a flurry of activity at a week’s notice, and with strict hygiene and distancing protocols, two single sculls were provided for a successful day’s filming in early June. The challenge will be aired at 7pm on Channel 5 on Friday 24 July and should be a good watch. Who will win?

The rowing club decided that it would donate the £300 hire fee to SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers), a voluntary organisation delivery service for our local NHS hospitals. The club chose this charity because one of SERV’s volunteers has generously built an online booking system to enable our members to get back onto the water once the coronavirus lockdown started to lift. Further donations can be made through their website at https://servhertsbeds.squarespace.com to help with fuel costs in support of this invaluable delivery service. 

St Neots novices’ race to victory in the Charles Stanley Cup

On Saturday the 8th of February St Neots Rowing Club were proud to welcome the novice squads from West Norfolk and Isle of Ely for the final leg of the three-leg league of the Charles Stanley Cup.

After just 4 months of training on the respective Learn to Row courses, teams from all three clubs were keen to put into practice their sculling skills.

The final tally resulted in a win for St Neots under the leadership of Nicola Lundqvist, lead coach Jim Farrell and performance rower Huw Jarman. Sponsored by Charles Stanley Wealth Managers the event aims to bring together clubs from across the region to introduce novice rowers to the racing experience and enjoy the chance to compare notes with fellow novices over a post row BBQ.

Learn to Row courses are run annually by volunteers from each club and are aimed at all abilities, fitness levels and ages. Club Captain Tim Neill said that after this year’s success he was keen to make the cup an annual event and encourages anyone interested in finding out more to contact their local club.

If you’re interested in rowing at St Neots, we have three taster sessions coming up on the 29th of February and 7th and 8th March. Sessions run for one hour starting at 1pm at St Neots Rowing Club, Priory Lane, PE19 2PZ. Contact Nicola Lundqvist via the link on our website for more details: www.stneotsrc.co.uk

About our sponsors

Charles Stanley is one of the UK’s leading wealth managers, with £25.3 billion of client funds under management and administration (at 31 December 2019).  Its origins trace back to 1792, making it one of the oldest firms on the London Stock Exchange. It provides holistic wealth management services direct to private clients, charities, trusts and professional institutions.  It also works with financial advisers, legal, accountancy and other professional services firms, supporting them with their client objectives.

It is committed to providing clients with the convenience of having all their wealth needs taken care of under one roof.  As well as managing bespoke investment portfolios for individuals, its financial planning team help clients plan for a lifestyle they can look forward to. Its Asset Management division provides a full suite of model portfolios for financial advisers and leading-edge solutions for pension schemes. And for those who are looking to manage their investments online, Charles Stanley Direct offers a low cost, easy-to-use solution.  Find out more at: www.charles-stanley.co.uk

St Neots Rowing Club has smart new signs and a new name for its boathouse

St Neots Rowing Club has smart new signs and a new name for its boathouse, in honour of a much-loved member who passed away in 2018.

The new signs, which display the club name and crest, replace those erected when the current boathouse was built in the 1970s. It was originally named the Jubilee boathouse, to celebrate the Queen’s first 25 years on the throne, but it is now called the Chris Leaf boathouse to commemorate someone who played a massive part in the club’s development over several decades.

Club chairman Trevor Rickwood (pictured right, in dark blue) said: “Our old signs were looking tired and dog-eared, so these new ones really smarten up the site’s appearance for visitors and members.

“Updating the signs also gave us the perfect opportunity to honour someone whom we miss terribly. Chris was a former captain and chairman and worked tirelessly in several other roles at our club; he was also a coach, an umpire and, in his younger days, a top-drawer rower.

“We already have a boat named after Chris, and we wanted to do something that could provide a lasting tribute to him.”

The club’s president, Robin Davies (pictured above, in light blue), knew Chris for more than 40 years and the pair used to row together regularly. “There were times when Chris pretty much ran our club and held it together single-handedly,” said Robin. “He played a huge part in the lives of hundreds of members, past and present, as well as in the wider rowing community.

“He’s greatly missed by us all, so I’m really pleased we now have this permanent memorial to him.”

After many years of neglect, photocopying and various reproductions, the artwork of the club crest had lost quality and detail and needed to be redrawn with modern design software. Club member and local graphic designer, Richard Slade, set about researching club archives, libraries and museums the original logo and what it looked like. Richard then spent many hours redrawing digitally in excellent detail a new crest, reincorporating missed elements of the logo that has been lost over time, such as the priory monk’s facial features and the golden torc he would have worn. We now have a digital logo that is ready for many more generations to use.

St Neots super seven celebrate at their home regatta

St Neots rowers had lots to celebrate at their home regatta this year after chalking up seven incredible wins. They included first-timers, juniors, old-hands and some nail-biting finishes that thrilled crowds braving rainy weather to watch the action on the Ouse.

Left to right: Steve Fox, Clive Emmerson, Mayor of St Neots Gordon Thorpe, cox Alex Johnson, Graham Mailer, and Mick Staddon

The men’s crew of Graham Mailer, Clive Emmerson, Steve Fox, Mick Staddon and cox Alex Johnson had double celebrations after winning twice. They beat a crew from Broxbourne on Saturday’s 1,000m course, in the masters BCD 4+ final, and a Sudbury crew 24 hours later over 500m in the masters DE 4+ final. Their one-foot winning margin on the Sunday provided one of the weekend’s tightest victories, much to the delight of those gathered on the riverbank.

Stuart Williams (left) and Jim Farrell (right) pictured with the Mayor of St Neots.

Saturday was also a big day for club captain Stuart Williams. After 18 years of competing, and several wins in sweep-oar events and at head races, he enjoyed his first-ever win sculling at a regatta; he and Jim Farrell won the Masters E 2x category, beating Oundle by one and a half lengths.

Left to right, Fergus Mitchell-Dwelly, Dom Chapman, Mayor of St Neots and Bryce Taylor.

Four of the club’s leading rowers – Dom Chapman, Huw Jarman, Fergus Mitchell-Dwelly and Bryce Taylor – won the weekend’s first final, beating Bedford by three lengths in the highly competitive band one open 4- category.

Mixed 8+ crew (top from left) Federico Tiezzi, Gaelle Jupe, Gemma Noonan, Rachael McLuckie, Rob Stirling, Rachel Tackley, Russell McIntyre (bottom from left) Cox Tim Neill and Trevor Rickwood.

The silverware kept coming on the Sunday when the mixed 8+ crew of Rachel Tackley, Gemma Noonan, Rachael McLuckie, Gaelle Jupe, Trevor Rickwood, Rob Stirling, Russell McIntyre, Federico Tiezzi and cox Tim Neill beat Boston by just three feet. Most of them were tasting victory for the first time – and some were competing in their first-ever regatta.

Left to right: Alex Johnson, Owen Sainsbury, cox Emma Johnson, Juliette Moutel-Davesne and Ava Missoni.

Not to be out-done, juniors also won for the first time. Ava Gissoni, Juliette Moutel-Davesne, Alex Johnson, Owen Sainsbury and cox Emma Johnson put in a powerful display to beat Milton Keynes by one and a half lengths in the mixed 4+ final.

Left to right: Dave Cullen, Richard Bray, Kieron Marriner, cox Debra Hellett and Karl Zwetsloot.

Last but not least, the quad crew that rowed 100km in this year’s Ringvaart marathon, in Holland, proved they could also sprint as a sweep-oar crew; Richard Bray, Kieron Marriner, Dave Cullen, Karl Zwetsloot and cox Debra Hellett eased to victory over Peterborough by three lengths in the masters BC 4+ final.

“What a fantastic regatta we put on this year,” said club captain Stuart Williams. “Despite the weather, the St Neots Rowing Club spirit never ceases to amaze me.

“Not all our members get to row at our home event, but those who did this year produced some great performances. I am particularly proud of our novice rowers, some of whom were competing for the first time and won their first pots. Well done!”

Rowers fly the flag for St Neots at 100km marathon in Holland

Two crews from St Neots Rowing Club have completed one of the sport’s toughest challenges – the Ringvaart 100km marathon in Holland.

The men’s quad of Dave Cullen, Kieron Marriner, Karl Zwetsloot and Richard Bray, coxed by Debra Hellett, crossed the line after 12 hrs and 23 mins of rowing, placing them 97th out of 164 crews. Their time was later corrected to 11 hrs 13 mins to account for checkpoints along the way, where competitors could eat, hydrate, stretch and even enjoy a beer during an extended rest at the 88km mark.

Above: Left to right: St Neots pair of Dom Chapman and Fergus Mitchell-Dwelly.

The men’s pair of Dom Chapman and Fergus Mitchell-Dwelly crossed the line in 11 hrs 31 mins – corrected to 10 hrs 51 mins – which earned them 65th place overall in an event dominated by larger boats, including many eights.

Dom and Fergus only decided to enter the event about four weeks earlier, and so had little time to switch from their normal sprint training to long-distance outings. They admitted to rowing too fast in the early stages, rather than pacing themselves, but gritted their teeth to achieve a creditable time for a crew of two.

Above: Left to right: St Neots coxed quad of Karl Zwetsloot, Kieron Marriner, Richard Bray, Dave Cullen and Debra Hellett (cox),

For most of the quad, this was their second attempt at the Ringvaart marathon; only Richard Bray wasn’t part of a crew that trained for the same event in 2016, only to see it cancelled because of heavy storms.

The 100km route even provided a poignant moment for Karl Zwetsloot when it passed through his father’s home town of Hillegom. “We were proud to fly the flag for St Neots, but rowing through my ancestral home added a different dimension for me,” said Karl. “We wanted to finish in the top 100 and we achieved that – even though we had to bale out our boat at one point after it was flooded by the wash from a large passing barge.”

Club captain Stuart Williams said: “I was thrilled to see two St Neots crews complete the 100km Ringvaart this year. After the disappointment of two years ago, when the race was cancelled because of poor weather, our crews finally got to take on one of the most challenging endurance rowing events on the calendar. Well done to all.”

Rowing club answers vicar’s Easter prayers

It’s not often that rowing and religion join together, but that’s exactly what happened when a forward-thinking vicar wanted to draw more people to his Easter services.

Tim Robb, the vicar at St Mary’s Church in Eaton Socon, wanted wooden props to illustrate a story about three trees that grow and are then transformed into items including Christ’s crib, the crucifixion cross and a boat. The crib (borrowed from the Open Door Church in St Neots) and cross were no problem, but finding a wooden boat was a challenge – until Tim contacted St Neots Rowing Club.

The club, which has been in the town for more than 150 years, quickly delivered one of its old wooden boats to the church, much to the delight of Tim and his congregation. Tim said:

“Easter is about the unexpected life-changing good news that Jesus has risen. Having a boat in the church helped remind the congregation that from the calling of his first disciples to his teaching, to his miraculous catches of fish, to stilling the storm, to rising from the dead, Jesus’ ministry was so unexpected!”

For St Neots Rowing Club chairman Trevor Rickwood it was a great opportunity to do something for the community.

“We get lots of support from the town during our events and so this was a chance for us to give something back. I’ve known Tim for many years – and his original approach to delivering church services – so we were more than happy to step in and lend a hand.

“The boat itself was built by our current club president, Robin Davies, in the 1980s. It doesn’t get used much these days, so it was actually really nice to get it out, spruce it up and allow people to admire such a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.”

In memory of Eileen and Chris

St Neots Rowing Club said goodbye to two of its longest-serving and most valued members in 2018: Eileen Davies and Chris Leaf.

Eileen Davies

29 August 1946 to 17 February 2018

Eileen was instrumental in developing and promoting women’s rowing for 40 years, here at St Neots – where she was our first ever female vice captain – and at clubs in Leicester, Peterborough and Northampton – where she was the first female captain.

Her rowing career included three senior medals at the UK national championships – in the days when the national squad also competed – plus third place in the women’s eights head and countless other trophies, including setting a record for the 31-mile Boston marathon which stood for more than 20 years. All this at a time when women’s rowing was not well catered for.

Success continued when Eileen moved into coaching. She guided the first ever St Neots junior women’s four to several victories and the national championships final in 1975.

After retiring from top-line crews in 1979, Eileen became part of a masters crew that won frequently for more than a decade. In the late 1980s she coached St Neots junior crews to victories at national championships, some of whom went on to be picked for the home internationals.

In the 1990s Eileen built up the Peterborough women’s squad to be a highly successful club-level group, winning numerous events in all classes of boat and culminating in two quarter-finalist crews in the same event at Henley Women’s Regatta.

Eileen was a lifetime supporter of women’s rowing, helping out at the women’s general coaching weekends in Nottingham for some 20 years, and she was always happy to give others the benefit of her experience and wisdom.

The women’s coxed fours category (band one) on day one of the 2018 St Neots regatta was dedicated to Eileen and was won by a crew from Northampton Rowing Club – a fitting result given that Eileen was a former member and captain at Northampton.

 

Chris Leaf

7 January 1952 to 6 June 2018

Chris began rowing while at school in Whitby, competing in heavy clinker-style gigs for the Friendship Rowing Club against local rivals the Fisher Lads Club. It was a challenge Chris relished, and it sparked his life-long passion for the sport.

He continued rowing while studying bio-chemistry at Leeds University and when he later moved to Glasgow. His sharp mind was put to use in medical research when work brought him to St Neots, while his no-nonsense wit and observation skills helped him to develop as a rower and a coach, helping generations of members to take their first steps in rowing.

Chris held many vital roles at St Neots over the years, including chairman, captain and head of our social committee. He was quick to roll up his sleeves to help re-build and extend the club’s facilities; he also oversaw difficult periods and can be credited with playing a major part in getting the club back on track on at least two occasions.

Chris was a quiet man who kept himself to himself, yet he had many good friends throughout the rowing community who would occasionally meet up to row and socialise. On one such occasion, in 1990, he competed in the Rutherford Head on the Tyne in a composite eight represented by eight different clubs.

Coaching always remained close to his heart, and he continued to devote many hours to helping crews of all levels, but in particular beginners and juniors. His pinnacle was arguably helping juniors to the Coupe de la Jeunesse.

Umpiring was also important to Chris and, in his latter years, he officiated regularly at events all over the UK.

The open coxed fours category (band two) on day one of the 2018 St Neots regatta was dedicated to Chris and was won by a crew from Lea Rowing Club.