Huw Jarman won the band two open men’s singles category on Saturday’s 1,000m course, overpowering his Sheffield opponent by just over two lengths. Then he teamed up with Matt Farley, from Bedford Rowing Club, for Sunday’s 500m sprint format; solid rowing handed them a convincing win against Derby in the band one open men’s doubles final.

Andrew Lawrence also won on the Sunday, producing an impressive performance to finish well ahead of his St Ives opponent in the band one open men’s singles final.

Although Huw and Andrew were the home club’s only winners, there were plenty more great performances and near misses for other St Neots rowers.

Emily McPherson showed how much she has progressed in the sport by reaching two finals. Her first was on the Saturday, in the women’s eight with Louise Shorten, Jade Hellett, Valentina Futoryanova, Hannah Towns, Emily Anagnostos, Natalie Yanusauskas, Dominie Clarke and cox Mia Hartwell. The ladies perhaps ran out of steam following their success less than 24 hours earlier at the Cambridge Town Bumps, losing by just half a length in their final against Sudbury.

Emily’s second final, on the Sunday, capped a fine performance in the women’s singles category, losing out in the end to a Peterborough sculler by three lengths.

Hannah Towns also progressed to two finals: first with Emily in the eight and then with Ellie Sadler in Sunday’s band one women’s doubles, which was won by a strong Leeds University crew.

Also just missing out on silverware was the St Neots MasB double, who couldn’t quite repeat their great performances earlier in the day to win Saturday’s open event against much younger competition.

Many other St Neots rowers showed excellent form across the weekend, including some extremely promising juniors, but were sadly thwarted by more experienced and better opponents.

More than 1,000 rowers from 48 clubs across the UK were competing at the event, which offered categories for everyone from school age to retirees. It was St Neots Rowing Club’s first full-scale regatta since 2019 – last year’s version was one of the first to take place after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, but it didn’t offer the usual range of refreshments and entertainment. Warm weather ensured this year’s event attracted plenty of spectators and allowed competitors to celebrate at Saturday’s evening disco.

“What a fantastic weekend – I’ve seen nothing but smiling faces everywhere and some great racing,” said club captain, Ryan Keating. “This event is a real highlight of the rowing calendar, and it was great to see so many local residents enjoying the weather and atmosphere.

“A huge thank you to all our sponsors and the volunteers who organised and ran the event.”

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.

 

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!”