Image gallery: Winter league III
Following the success of the first to stages of Cambridge Winter League, St Neots Rowing Club once again attended the event with a mixture of junior and senior crews of experienced and novice level.
Cracking on at the Cambridge Winter League
Sunday February 15th saw the members of St Neots Rowing Club packing up a well loaded trailer plus several roof racks full of boats and trundling across the A428 to contest the second round of the Cambridge Winter League rowing event.
Thankfully for the competitors and hardy spectators the conditions for this second round were rather warmer and significantly less windy than they were in January on the 2.6km course on the River Cam which runs from the start just under the A14 near Milton to finish close to the Green Dragon footbridge in Chesterton.
Two rounds in to the Cambridge Winter League and St Neots Rowing Club which accounts for 29 of the 204 crews taking part is certainly making a good showing. The Men’s IM2 8 are sitting in fourth in their class while St Neots junior Shaun Parren is well in the mix in the tightly contested men’s J16 single scull category as well as in the double scull with his team mate Jordan Beale.
In the women’s singles, St Neots competitors included Molly Harper who leads her category, Kate Lyster, Louise Shorten and Zoe Adamson who was the fastest rower on the day. Asked about the event Zoe said, “Sunday at Cambridge winter league was another great day for rowing. I enjoyed the weather conditions and it was a well organised event that ran tremendously smoothly.”
This time round, the St Neots men’s IM2 eight was made up of Josh Dexter, Steve Fox, Mick Staddon, Graham Mailer, Clive Emerson, Dave Bygraves, Simon Hoer and Richard Slade, coxed by Dom Chapman. Talking about how they got on, Richard Slade said, “We had a great start as we were close to the front and the conditions were really good, very little wind and hardly any wash. We set off well with a lot of power and worked hard to catch the boat in front. Dom’s excellent steering, taking the corners as tight as possible, helped keep our lead on the St Ives boat behind. We were hampered slightly by some messy catches but on the whole the race went well with a time of 11.26 which puts us in 14th place overall.”
Buoyed by their performance in January which saw them complete the course in 16mins 45secs, senior novices Karl Zwetsloot and Trevor Rickwood set out to up their game further for their second competitive outing together. Commenting on how it went, Trevor said, “It went really well. Our goal was to knock a minute off our Jan time but we ended up finishing almost three minutes quicker.”
St Neots ladies masters eight raced with a scratch crew as one of our ladies was injured. The crew consisted of Sarah D, Dionne, Carole, Corrine, Tash W, Rachel, Ali Y and Ali B. Very ably coxed by Tash Holdaway (Jnr) who despite never coxed an eight on the Cam before, drew compliments on the tightness and accuracy of her turns from club Captain Ali Young.
Talking about how they got on in the eight, Rachel Tackley said, “The boat was well balanced for a scratch crew and the row to the start was blissful, with the sun shining and the water still very calm. Not so the race! We were fairly low down in the division, having been alarmingly slow in the January league, so by the time we got started 40 boats had gone hurtling up the river making the water extremely bouncy. However, Tash (cox) did an amazing job of getting us round the bends and cracked the whip once we were past the plough and on to the straight. We powered down and went for home, which I swear has moved further away than ever! We had just enough in the tank to take the rate up for the finish and joy of joys Gordon was there to take gorgeously flattering photos of our race faces! All in all a good race, decent time but room for improvement in March.”
Commenting on how the team got on, St Neots coach Helen Knowles said, “The conditions were almost ideal and the juniors were able to show what they could do. There were some very significant improvements from the last race in January for individuals and I was particularly pleased with the improvement shown by Shaun, Jordan and Molly. However they all will have gained confidence from maintaining good rhythm which we will be working on as we start preparations for the summer regatta season.”
Juniors team up with Santa Claus to raise money for a new launch
The club is one step closer to funding a new low-wash safety launch thanks to the efforts of our juniors and St Neots Round Table. In December juniors from the Club volunteered their time on the Santa float that toured around St Neots accepting donations and they raised an amazing £573.78.
Last night Club juniors Fergus, Adrian and Jordan were presented with a cheque from St Neots Round Table for the amount. With fund now past the £1,500 mark we’re well on the way to a new launch – all thanks to the efforts of the junior squad, and Santa Claus of course.
St Neots Rowing Club present their continental visit 1961
This video taken of club members visiting France was donated to the Club by the family of ex-treasurer Norman Moore. It’s an amazing look into the past with some real hero’s of the club.
St Neots Rowing Club events from 1957-1958
This video shows Club members competing at Worcester, Evesham, Boxing Day married vs singles, club races and St Neots Regatta. The film was donated to the Club by the family of ex-treasurer Norman Moore.
Rowing on the Great Ouse
This year is the rowing clubs 150th anniversary and to mark this key milestone we’ll be posting interesting articles and videos celebrating the club’s rich history. To begin with we have an article Written by local-historian Peter Ibbett.
The Great Ouse drunkenly meanders on its way from its source near Brackley in Northamptonshire to its discharge into the Wash at Kings Lynn but from time to time it allows itself a sober straight line which has enabled a group of rowing clubs to develop along its banks. St. Neots has one of the best club houses and annual regattas in the country. Rowing is believed to have originated in the town around 1865 with the first open regatta on the river in 1874. One problem facing the club was the unpredictable nature of the weather. Summer thunderstorms were a problem with regattas of 1878 to 1882 staged from partially flooded meadows. A St. Neots Chronicle article of 1880 expressed the opinion that ‘a day’s rain equals a flood’ and supported a deputation to the government demanding some relief.
In 1974 the new Riverside Park had provided improved access, drainage and landing stages as well as a much wider finishing stretch. Another freak of the weather on 2nd January 1976 produced a severe south-westly gale which totally demolished the old brick and tiled boathouse destroying all 15 boats and leaving the club with only 3 sculling boats housed in another building. With Insurance payments, rowing community, Town Council and local support the club rebuilt providing the Great Ouse with one of its jewels:- the beautifully maintained club house facing the willow lined Regatta Meadow.
Members of the rowing community enjoy the round of annual regattas cheerfully completing for club honour, personal enjoyment and the occasional medal. Howard Bonham (of the High Street Butchers family) won a Senior Fours medal at St. Ives in 1926 which illustrated the famous bridge with its then multi-story chapel in its centre. His blind brother Reg was a Novice Fours winner at Boston in 1927 illustrating that disability is no barrier to sporting success.
The St. Neots Museum has an excellent display featuring the Rowing Club. If you have any photographs or information to add to their collection please let them know or contact Peter Ibbett.
Freezing but fun at Cambridge Winter League 2015
St Neots Rowing Club took two packed trailers and a sizeable contingent of rowers, including seniors, elite juniors and even some first time racers to the Cambridge Winter League rowing event on Sunday January 11th.
The conditions were cold and windy for competitors who took on the 2.6km course which winds it’s way along the River Cam from the start just under the A14 near Milton to finish close to the Green Dragon footbridge in Chesterton.
In the women’s singles, Kate Lyster took part in the women’s J16 category posting a time of 14 minutes and 17 seconds, securing first place by a margin of 26 seconds over her nearest rival and putting her just one second off the winning men’s time for J16 singles. Up an age category, Louise Shorten completed the course in 14 minutes and 23 seconds, the fastest time of the day for the women’s J18 single scull category.
For the first time in competition, and with an eye on the Thames tideway later in the head season, Coach Helen Knowles put together a women’s J18 eight for the Cambridge winter league. The crew was made up of Zoe Adamson, Louise Shorten, Kate Lyster, Tash Holdaway, Olivia Hooper, Jade Hellett, Maddie Henderson and Molly Harper coxed by club captain Ali Young. Despite limited practice time, the St Neots crew took first place, comfortably beating the other crews from City of Cambridge and Champion of the Thames.
In the IM3 coxed 4, St Neots’ men were feeling a bit rusty not having raced together since their win at last summer’s St Neots regatta. Talking about how Dom, Rich, Tim, Max, Dave got on, Dave Bygraves said, “After a rocky warm up, the race went pretty well and we managed to hold off an 8 as we entered last 500m. Our time was 12.51”
Senior novices Karl Zwetsloot and Trevor Rickwood (pictured in the daft hat) used the event as their first competitive outing in a double. Gaining valuable race experience was their main aim and that they achieved, despite an un-planned altercation with the riverbank mid-race. The two managed a time of 16mins 45secs which they say is unlikely to put them in contention for medals, but gives them a target to beat at the February and March winter league meetings.
For the men’s 8 IM2, the St Neots team was Dom as cox, Stewart, Clive, Alistair, Rich, Dave, Tim, Mick and Josh. Commenting on the race, Dave Bygraves said, “We had a good warm up on the way to start, and when we turned and got ready to go we saw clear water ahead. Dom pushed us all hard through race with a push to finish staring over 500 meters out giving us a good a result and a time of 11.26.”
St Neots women’s IM2 coxed four completed the course in 13 minutes and 2 seconds.
Photography by Gordon Lyster
A hat full of good results at Walton Small Boats Head 2014
Clear blue skies and near freezing conditions were the order of the day as the junior team from St Neots Rowing club scored some strong results at the Walton Small Boats Head 2014 which was hosted by Walton on Thames Rowing Club on Saturday December 13th.
The 3 kilometre time trial format event which attracted over 600 entries in singles, doubles and pairs was contested by 6 members of the St Neots Rowing Club junior squad.
In the double sculls Molly Harper and Kate Lyster teamed up for the WJ162x and Adrian Vuylsteke and Louise Shorten took on the IM2 mixed double with Vuylsteke also competing with Nick Shorten in the mens double category.
For the single sculls, St Neots fielded Jordan Beale in the J15, Kate Lyster in the WJ16 and Louise Shorten took on the WIM3.
Given the size of the field, somewhat choppy conditions at times and the strong river currents, the day saw a large number of capsizes which were speedily dealt with by the organiser’s well drilled team of rescue boats. Despite some close calls, thankfully all of the St Neots contingent managed to stay upright.
Adrian Vuylsteke and Louise Shorten pulled of an impressive win in the mixed double category, the first time the pair have rowed together competitively. Nick Shorten and Adrian Vuylsteke took second place in the men’s IM2 double scull category with a time of 10 minutes and 1 second. Kate Lyster and Molly Harper came third in the WJ162x, pipped by just 2 seconds by the pairing from Wallingford Rowing Club. Kate Lyster also managed a third place in her WJ16 single. Louise Shorten placed 5th in her WIM3 and the newest member of St Neots Rowin Club competitive stream Jordan Beale placed a creditable 8th in J15 single scull.
A busy few weeks of competition for St Neots Rowing Club juniors
Head of the river fours
A team from St Neots Rowing Club consisting of Kate Lyster, Ellie, Olivia Taylor and Molly Harper coxed by Louise Shorten took on the challenge of the high profile ‘Head of the river fours’ event on November 6th 2014.
The Head of the river fours event takes the form of a processional time trial rowing race held on the Tideway (Thames) in London over a 6.8 km Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.
Boating from Putney and rowing up to the start past the familiar landmarks of the varsity ‘Boat race’, the St Neots team who train on the river Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire had to adjust to the much rougher conditions and stronger flow of the Thames Tideway.
In their womens junior category, line honours went to Sir W Borlase GS BC, closely followed by the team from Henley Rowing Club. The St Neots Rowing Club team, who hadn’t previously rowed competitively together as a four, put in a solid performance to finish 11th in a time of 23 minutes and 50 seconds, beating the four from local rivals City of Cambridge.
Henley Sculls Head
St Neots Rowing club took a packed trailer of 10 boats to the popular Henley Sculls Head event on November 15th 2014.
The St Neots juniors taking part included Adrian Vuylsteke, Fergus Mitchell-Dwelly and Josh Davies who each competed in the J18A 1x single scull event. Zoe Adamson, Molly Harper and Kate Lyster took part in the WJ16 1X single scull category and Louise Shorten contested the WJ18A 1X single scull.
Fergus Mitchell-Dwelly and Josh Davies also doubled up to row in the J18A 2X double scull while Zoe Adamson, Molly Harper and Kate Lyster and Louise Shorten teamed up as a quad to row in the WJ18A 4X- coxless quad category.
The St Neots girl’s crew in their WJ18A 4X- coxless quad posted a time of 13.09, exactly the same as Marlow RC which put them equal fourth behind third placed Bedford Girls School and the crews from Henley and Weybridge Rowing clubs who drew for first place with a time of 12 minutes and 29 seconds.
In the J18A 1x single scull event, St Neots Rowing Club top performer was Josh Davies who finished 8th in his category with a time of 13 minutes and 34 seconds, a mere 17 seconds behind the winner of this most hotly contested category. Fergus Mitchell-Dwelly was close behind with a time of 13.47 and an under the weather Adrian Vuylsteke dug deep to complete the course in 14.23.
For the WJ16 1X single scull category, despite having to take some swift evasive action 200 yards from the finish to avoid a fast approaching boys quad, Kate Lyster headed the St Neots trio with a time of 15.21,closely followed by Zoe Adamson who came in ahead of Molly Harper who was using the Henley event as an opportunity to shake down a new boat. In the WJ18A 1X single scull, Louise Shorten rowed a steady race to post a time of 15.34.
Star Club head of the river
On Sunday November 16th a group of St Neots junior rowers took part in the Star Club head of the river event held on the great Ouse in Bedford.
Hannah Towns took part in the womens junior (under 15) single scull, putting in a solid performance to finish third.
Rested from her exertions at the Fours head in London, Olivia Hooper took part in the women’s novice single scull category, scoring a top ten finish in this heavily contested category.
Talking about their exploits, St Neots Rowing Club Captain Ali Young said, “It’s been a really busy few weeks for our junior rowers who have been tested against some of the best club competitors in the country on some challenging stretches of water. As always they all gave 100% effort and doubtless the experience gained will pay dividends when regatta season comes around.”
Great result for St Neots Rowing Club’s Juniors at the 2014 British Rowing Senior Championships.
St Neots Rowing Club sent two representatives to the 2014 British Rowing Senior Championships, which took place in blustery conditions on October 19th and 20th at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham.
The British Rowing Senior Championships is open to all clubs affiliated to any Great Britain Rowing Body and to any individual member of an affiliated club who is eligible to be part of the Great Britain Rowing Team.
Hot off their win at the Pairs Head event in London last weekend, the dynamic duo of seventeen year olds, Josh Davies and Fergus Mitchell took part in the under 19 year old category for men’s double scull which saw them racing against some of the top crews in the country, including members of the Great Britain National Squad.
A representative of St Neots Rowing Club who was on hand spectating at the event said, “In extremely difficult head wind conditions, and racing up a year Josh and Fergus put in a solid performance to achieve a respectable 3rd place. The racing format meant that all doubles from across the country no matter their age were put into the same draw. This also meant that they were unable to race both crews who finished above them despite beating them on time in their respective finals.”