This weekend saw 25 intrepid members of the consistently developing Tees Rowing Club senior squads travel to Nottingham to test themselves against the best the Midlands has to offer. Fears the event would be cancelled due to another textbook British winter were soon dispelled, as the first athletes arrived to find a fast flowing stream and even stronger tailwind.
These speedy conditions meant that the first Tees crew to race, the men’s eight, powered down the six kilometre course in 15:57.7, overtaking Warwick University ‘A’ and Barcelona, while putting massive distance in between themselves and other clubs in the same category. The crew, comprising Phil Gray, James ‘Weasel Back’ Farley, Danny Graham, Bobby Cree, Will Mace, Kieran Clark, Lee Fisher, Chris Black and Cox Larissa Matley finished as the fifth fastest crew of the day, satisfyingly beating local rivals Tyne and York City. They did, however, finish seven seconds behind Cambridge University’s 1st and 3rd Trinity College in the Senior 3 category, who started much further down in the division.
After a three hour break to rest and refuel, the men’s eight split into two Senior 2 boats; a coxless quad and a coxless four. The four of James Farley, Bobby Cree, Kieran Clark and Will Mace finished second in the category beating Nottingham RC and Barcelona and losing out to Henley finalists Agecroft RC. This was a strong performance for the crew, who had never rowed the four together before the race and one that provides a good platform to build on in the run up to Henley Royal Regatta in June.
In a rare occurrence for Tees Rowing Club, two women’s Senior 3 eights raced, which showcases the rapid expansion the women’s squad are currently enjoying. With five girls members of GB Rowing’s World Class Start programme, their dedication and the results of their intense training regimes are starting to filter down to the rest of the squad. The first eight, comprising Angela Warburton, Beth Henderson, Anna Clayton, Jo Wratten, Jo Pittaway, Beth Bryan, Nikki Bartlett and Katherine Copeland, coxed by Larissa Matley finished third in their category behind winners Cambridge University and York City. This is a fantastic result when you take into account the fact that four of the crew are still juniors. The second eight of Emily Corney, Thirzah Francis, Alison Clark-Jenkins, Lucy Williamson, Deborah Ashurst, Fiona Ventress, Wendy Capes and Sarah Sharker, coxed by Hannah York finished fifteenth in the category in a time of 19:11.5, notably beating university crews from Loughborough and Nottingham.
The outstanding performance of the day came from the men’s quad of Phil Gray, Dan Graham, Lee Fisher and Darren Cooper, who stormed home in a time of 16:31.5 to win their category and finish as the third fastest crew in the division.