Guildford’s Rowers Keep on Performing
Whether it be on the water at Guildford, or racing at the various regattas around the south of England and beyond, members of Guildford Rowing Club are competing at all range of levels with success.
Over the last four weeks, the club has been represented at Shrewsbury Regatta, Poplar Regatta, Maidenhead Junior Regatta and Twickenham Regatta. This weekend it was the Senior Squads racing at Metropolitan Regatta held at Dorney.
The results from Shrewsbury proved another strong step up for the club with the continued success for some of the senior crews and a taste of regattas for some of those who have joined the club over the last year or two. Special mention should go to Annie Lukes, who has in the space of just over a year gone from starting from scratch to getting through to the final of Novice single sculls in her first regatta. Others like Ami and Cathy, in their double scull, used the event as a taster and learning experience for future successes.
Whilst the Seniors were enjoying the sun in Shrewsbury, Helene Raynsford was wearing her Guildford lycra with pride. She was racing as part of a special adaptive event with Poplar Regatta at the London Rowing Centre in the Docks. Racing over 1000m, Helene not only managed to break her own World Record time but beat the time of the Frenchman, M. Laureau, who was competing against T Agar in the M A 1x. Helene’s winning time was 5:28.00. Beat that if you can!
Good luck to Helene as she continues her journey to Beijing in August.
The Juniors had a series of good results and wins at the recent Maidenhead Regatta, proving that time on the water is not time wasted. Thank you to all the parents and helpers that provide the stable and supportive network that is allowing our young athletes to develop.
The Seniors tried their best at Twickenham with the Novice Men making it through to the final losing out to a strong Hertford University crew. Paul even made it out in his single, even if it was only to result in him winning the race to the first pint of beer from the Refreshments tent. The Senior 2 Women lost out to Imperial College in a straight final. Cathy and Ami had fun in their double and learnt a bit more about steering. The Senior 4 Women’s crew also competed but unfortunately weren’t able to bring back the pots. On the other hand, Laura B and Ursula built upon their non-qualifying win from Shrewsbury to bring home pots and points in their double scull. Watch out Kate and Jackie, the competition for top women’s double is back on!
The Seniors were out again this last weekend with both the Senior Men and Women competing at Metropolitan on Saturday and the Women out again on Sunday. The Senior 1 Men’s crew “Beauty” didn’t make it through to the final of their event after a 7:07.96 in the semi-final of their event. The Senior 3 men, “Beast”, had the bit between their teeth to keep the pressure on “Beauty”, performed well in the semi-final recording a 7:07.97 to qualify straight through to the final. Unfortunately having waited for over 6 hours they weren’t able to find the same amount of speed in the final. Can Beauty keep ahead of Beast? Watch this space!
The Senior Women had a solid row on the Saturday in their semi-final losing out on a place in the final by the narrowest of margins to old rivals University of Birmingham. (In the last three years, James has lost to this club three times!)
The crew came back on Sunday with renewed vigour to settle some old scores in a competition of 28 crews all racing at WS2. following a not so good start, they took the lead of their quarter final to make sure they got through to the semi-finals. In the process, they managed to settle the score with Birmingham. In the semi-finals, they proved again that GRC and its yellow boats are able to race hard over 2000m. They came in third ensuring their place in the final. In the final, they came in third after another solid row.
With Henley now only a few weeks away, the final preparations are being made within both senior squads. For those with less points, and pots, the training continues with the hope of tasting pewter before the end of the summer. Good luck to all our athletes as they push themselves to the limit in search of making dreams reality.
For those of you looking for something a little more relaxing, the Summer Party is on 5th July at the Rowing Club. Live music, Hog Roast, Hogsback TEA, Pimm’s and watching the Boat Festival. Who could ask for a better way to spend a Saturday in early July. Tickets available through Annie Lukes and Glen Corbit. Telephone numbers are on the posters at the club or in the Member’s Area of the website. They have not been displayed here for obvious reasons.