This year’s winners of the Club of the Year are Tees Rowing Club
Based at the River Tees Watersports Centre with over 200 + members, the club has the reputation of being an open and friendly family orientated club.
The club is inclusive and has high performance athletes amongst its Junior, Senior men and women and also with it’s Veteran and Adaptive athletes.
The club which has achieved Clubmark and has been approved as a Community Amateur Sports Club and offers local schools, groups and organisations the opportunity to participate in recreational and corporate rowing experiences.
The club works with its governing body the ARA in promoting the sport and is actively recruiting for Junior , Off Peak , Recreational and High Performance for the ARA World Class Start and Potential Schemes.
Project Oarsome links have been established with Egglescliffe School and the schools of Blakeston , Thornaby Community and Ian Ramsey.
The rowing club has developed an enviable reputation for professionally organising its events as they present a great opportunity to showboat the River Tees Watersports Centre and the club’s expertise and facilities , there are currently four rowing events on the river Tees each year , the Tees Regatta , Tees Long Rowing Distance Sculling Head of the River , Tees Small Boats Head of River and the Adaptive and Primary Regatta. Such events generate spectator interest in the club and highlight the enormous amount of talent that there is within the club.
Dick is an active and valued member of the Adaptive Rowing Group at Tees Rowing Club , developing ideas and realising goals towards an inclusive club.
Dick has a relaxed and enabling style of coaching which allows athletes with disabilities the confidence to get onto the water. His relaxed style of coaching with his positive and encouraging skills helps athletes with disabilities develop their skills in the same manner as any other beginner would.
Dick has supported adaptive athletes from novice juniors competing at their first regatta to National Championship silver medal level. He is a willing volunteer at the club and has been instrumental in ensuring all equipment is serviced and safe for use.
Dicks vast experience and knowledge of boats and rowing mean that the he is able to approach the technical challenges that disabilities may present with the least amount of frustration.
All this Dick achieves in a quiet and unassuming manner and is someone who is pushing away the boundaries of the Sport to include everyone , no matter what barriers might stand in the way.
Rebecca aged just 15 years old has been a member of the Tees Rowing Club for 5 years and is a valued member of the Tees Rowing club Junior Squad. Rebecca not only trains and rows competitively she also coxes Junior crews, assists coaches with the coaching of beginners and helps induct new members to the club.
Rebecca is a valued volunteer with Carlton Kids Club where she makes a big contribution to the enjoyment of young people in the club; this work is logged to Rebecca’s Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Rebecca is regularly called upon by the senior crews at the rowing club to fulfil the responsible role of cox during training sessions and at regattas throughout the region most weekends.
Rebecca’s duties usually start at 7:30 a.m. on weekend mornings whatever the weather and never fails to be cheerful.
Despite her young age Rebecca has acquired a fund of knowledge beyond her years and this is reflected in the confidence the crews have in her.
Rebecca coxes the senior performance crews in a range of boats including the expensive sleek eights that can achieve speeds of 20mph in multi land events, her courage, composure, concentration, confidence, flair and enthusiasm enable her to achieve her goals and that of the crews.
Not only is Rebecca highly valued as her role of a cox she is also a highly valued member of the organising committee of the Tees Regatta where her role includes a variety of duties including the important duties of entry fee collecting to arranging catering for the competitors.
Marlow Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta
(25 June 2008)
Last week-end Tees Rowing Club achieved considerable success competing at Marlow Regatta (the last major regatta before Henley Royal Regatta and a useful indicator of form) and at Henley Women’s Regatta.
Marlow Regatta was held over two days with Tees Rowing Club fielding two crews on each day. On the Saturday the first boat was a composite boat between Tees Rowing Club and Durham University Boat Club. This is to be the boat that has been selected to represent Great Britain at the Under 23 World Championships at Brandenburg to be held between 17th and 20th July 2008. The crew, comprising Henry Chin (DU), Bob Hewitt (Tees), Nick Fearnhead (DU) and Chris Boddy (Tees) competed in the Elite quads event where they had to compete against a strong field including crews from the Royal Dutch Federation and a Henley/Leander composite amongst others. The Tees composite crew were successful to win the Willott Taylor Trophy which was presented to them by Di Ellis, Chair of the ARA.
Also competing was a Tees/ Nottingham University composite Senior 2 eight comprising of Chris Black, Michael Wood, Ben Rowe, Darren Cooper, Chris Thomas (Nottingham Uni), Lee Fisher, Alex Leigh and Alex Mack, coxed by Neil Hindle. On the Saturday this crew narrowly missed progressing to a place in the final despite a strong finish to the race. On the Sunday it was the eight’s turn to shine when they again competed, this time as a Senior 1 crew. On this occasion they faced international opposition in crews from Witwatersrand University, South Africa and the National University of Ireland as well as serious opposition from home crews from such established rowing clubs as Molesey and City of Bristol. Putting on the best performance that their coach had yet seen them give the crew rose to the challenge despite facing very strong winds on the course. In the event the Tees crew came in third behind the two international crews but beat all of the home grown opposition. This crew will next race on 27th June in the qualifying races for Henley Royal Regatta. The crew line up for the Sunday was as Saturday, but for the substitution of Mark Saunders (Nottingham) for Chris Thomas (Nottingham). The elite quad fared slightly less well on the Sunday in that the Royal Dutch Federation crew that they had beaten on the previous day were to step up their game, narrowly beating the Tees/DU composite.
At the same time the Women from Tees Rowing Club were being represented at Henley Women’s Regatta in the Intermediate Coxed Fours event by Angela Warburton, Jen Howse, Jo Pittaway and Vicki Phelan, coxed by Rebekah Warburton. As a result of there being a highly contested 54 crew entry all crews had to race in a qualifying time trial on Friday morning to reduce the entry down to 32 crews. Having been successful in the preliminary round the Tees crew then competed in a hard fought battle with old rivals, Lancaster University, rowing with great control and pace judgement making up a length deficit in the last 500 m. to win by three quarters of a length. This moved the crew into the last 16 racing on Saturday morning against Twickenham A who went on to beat them by two and a half lengths. This was a great performance.
At the same time Kerry Hassell rowed in a Tees /Agecroft composite that were competing in the event for under 18 year old eights. Her crew met opposition from the USA in the semi-final and despite a fine performance the British girls were unlucky to lose.
At the same time fellow Tees members Lucy Ventress and Zoe Lee were competing in crews for Oxford University (Osiris Boat Club). Rowing at number three seat Lucy was part of the Osiris A crew that won the Intermediate event whilst Zoe was in the bow seat of the four that won their event.
Durham Regatta Report
(24 June 2008)
Crews from Tees Rowing Club competed at the annual Durham Regatta held on the 14th and 15th June this year. On the Saturday the main win of the day went to the men’s Senior 2 eight of Chris Black, Ben Rowe, Darren Cooper, Alex Leigh, Lee Fisher, Paul Leggott, Alex Mack and cox Neil Hindle. In the first round they came up against a crew from St Peter’s School, beating them comfortably to go on to meet Leeds University in the semi-final. Again the crew beat them by a comfortable margin. In the final the Tees crew were pitted against a crew from Durham Amateur Rowing Club. Rating 46 off the start the crew settled at around 40/41 strokes a minute, powering their way down the course to win the event by a comfortable 1 length.
At the junior end of the club there was a win for Beth Henderson competing in the Under 15 category. In the final she raced against fellow Tees member and fellow World Class Start athlete, Beth Bryan, and went on to take the event.
Competing in the Under 13 year old category the coxed quad of Harriet Mace, Anna Fairs, Imogen Leigh and Hannah York (coxed by Danielle Coulton) won the event, displaying good technique and poise for such young rowers.
For the women’s squad Sunday was a day of near misses. Fiona Ventress, competing in the Senior 3 single scull event narrowly missed out in the final of the event to a sculler from Ustinov College. She also competed in the Women’s Senior 3 double scull event, being partnered by Lucy Williamson. Although they beat crews from Durham School and Tyne United Rowing Clubs in the earlier rounds the pair were unlucky to lose out in the final to Durham Amateur Rowing Club.
From the novice women, the coxed four of Laura Foers, Alison Clark-Jenkins, Eileen Webb and Emily Corney (stroke), coxed by Danielle Coulton beat University College Boat Club in the first round before losing to Bradford ARC in the second round. On the Sunday Anna Clayton and Emily Corney competing in the S3 doubles event beat Lancaster University before losing in the next round.
Tees Winning at Major Domestic Regatta
(05 June 2008)
Tees Rowing Club entered the Metropolitan, one of the biggest national regattas of the year, on the road to competing at Henley Royal Regatta. With knowledge that good performances can affect qualification for the Henley Royal Regatta (one of the world’s most famous regattas) the athletes had more at stake than the race before them. The results of this regatta provide a good form guide and an early indication of who may be winning at the premier regatta later in the year.
On the Saturday the first Tees boat to race was the elite double scull of Chris Boddy (stroke) and Bob Hewitt. Both of these athletes are current U23 internationals and a good result was expected. Amongst the crews lined up were another regional crew, Durham University with two internationals and a crew from the country’s biggest and most successful club, Leander. The Leander crew contained Ian Lawson, the single sculler from the Athens Olympics. The Tees crew rowed a very mature race, leading during the first two hundred metres, the power and strength of the Leander crew showed as the crews settled in to their race pace, pulling away to gain a 3 second lead over the Tees crew up to the 1250m mark, Tees leading by less than a second from Durham University. Tees rowing a very long 34 strokes a minute were under rating the Durham crew striking 36 as the charge for home began. Tees upped the rating through the last 750 metres, moving comfortably way from Durham and closing on Leander. Coming into the last 250 meters Tees had overlap with Leander but ran out of course and came in a close 2nd, and some 2 boat lengths ahead of Durham.
The second crew out on Saturday were the S2 quadruple scull of Chris Black (stroke), Darren Cooper, Alex Leigh and Alex Mac (bow). They lined up in a 7 boat final, with another northern crew York City. Coming from the success the crew had Nottingham City regatta there was an expectation to win. They didn’t disappoint, starting confidently they were never more than 2 feet from the lead. Again rowing a solid rhythm the crew contained the early pushes from the other crews, on cue with 750m to go the crew made their first move, pushing the rate of striking up and moving to a half length lead with 500m to go, again the crew pushed on and moved away further, from here the result was never in doubt and the crew in lane 7, moved out to a boat lengths lead over York city on the far side in lane 1. The boat crossed the line to take the win, their second big win of the year. The crew now had to prepare for the race on the Sunday where they would step up to race crews of international standard.
Sundays racing saw Chris Boddy move into the single scull to race for the elite Lightweight title. The race for Chris was comfortable with his classy sculling taking him to an early lead which was never troubled. His long accurate sculling allowed him to lead by some 3 to 4 lengths from the rest of the field with 750m to go. With a sizeable lead he was able to relax and cross the line in a very creditable time of 7min 14 secs. Chris now heads to the home of GB rowing in Caversham to start preparation for the U23 world championships in Brandenburg, Germany.
Almost unchanged, the quad from Saturday now raced in the Elite Quad sculls race, lined up against the current British Lightweight Quad and a quad containing the Olympic gold medal brothers, Jonny and Greg Searle and Olympic sculler Pete Wells, the winners of the S1 race from Saturday, London RC and a crew from Tideway Scullers. Not fazed by the illustrious field the crew raced their own race, focusing on rhythm and length. As expected the current international lightweight crew moved into a comfortable lead. However as the race progressed the Tees crew, with one change from Saturday, Ben Rowe replacing Alex Mac in the bow seat, found themselves in a battle for 2nd place in the first 1000m. Unfortunately the crew with the Searles on board moved strongly away during the middle of the race, leaving Tees to fight for 3rd place with Reading and London RC. Moving through into the last 500 Tees and Reading had dropped London RC with Tees moving to within a foot of the lead for the battle for 3rd place. As the final wind for the finish came Reading moved out to half length lead, leaving Tees in 4th as they crossed the line. The crew should be pleased with the result, showing themselves very competitive on the domestic front against clubs with acknowledged strength in depth and equipment availability!!
With Bob Hewitt also joining Chris with preparation for the U23 world championships the clubs leading athletes have no respite. Bob now has the pressure of performing in the lightweight single to gain a place at the last world cup of the year in Poznan, Poland with the British senior team. Should he get the slot, he can then look to represent GB in the single scull at the U23 world championship, as the leading U23 Lightweight male athlete.
Tees Regatta Report
(21 May 2008)
Although the day did not enjoy the glorious sun of last week end all at Tees Regatta on Saturday were grateful that the predicted high winds did not materialise. The day proved to be highly successful with crews travelling the length of the country to compete as relatively new club members joined forces with club stalwarts to ensure that the day was run efficiently. It was particularly good to see Chris Kenyon had travelled up from Devon to ensure that a run of many years competing at Tees Regatta went unbroken – many also enjoyed his dry wit on the P. A. System. All were glad when he won the obligatory pot later in the day competing in the Vet E/F coxed fours event; the crew being John Green, Paul Reevell, Chris Kenyon, Tony Stocking (stroke), coxed by John Heron who beat the younger York City crew in a nail-biting sprint to the line – not bad for a crew with two men pushing 70 years of age!
Other veteran crews to achieve success were the Vet C/D coxed four of Tony Atherton, Dick Wilkinson, Richard Harandon, Steven Leigh (stroke), coxed by Janet Wilkinson who won the event. Not to be outdone by the men the Women’s Veteran D coxless quad of Deborah Ashurst, Liz Leigh, Sue Watson and Kate Dickinson (stroke) enjoyed one of their best races of the season comfortably beating their opposition from Durham ARC. In the Veteran D double sculls event the Tees partnership of Tony Stocking and Paul Stiller also won the event. In the final of the Veteran Novice coxed four event the Tees crew of Greg Beswick, Ken Watson, Sean Keneally and Graham York (stroke), coxed by Mel Roe were gloriously successful to the delight of their coach, Graham Hollins.
Competing above their usual Veteran novice status at S4 level John Edwards, Andy Stephens, Ian Scott, Brian Ventress, Brian Conway, Ken Watson, Greg Beswick and Graham York (coxed by Mel Roe) put up an unexpected and tremendous performance to finish second in the S4 eights event. The Vet C coxless quad of Peter Hancock, David Warburton, John Winton and Ian Burns (stroke) competed against Hexham but were unlucky to lose out.
Three new club members enjoyed their first taste of success at the club when they joined forces with Danielle Coulton to compete in a S4 coxless quad racing against a crew from Hexham RC. In another close final Danielle with Helen Duncan, Emily Corney and Anita Lall (stroke) won the day. Competing in the Women’s novice single scull event Lucy Williamson (who will tell anyone who will listen that she is a rower and not a sculler!) won the day. The Women’s S3 single event (by invitation) was won by Fiona Ventress.
From the younger men wins were also recorded with a win by the S3 eight of Paul Leggott, Mikey Wood, Ben Rowe, Alex Leigh, Darren Cooper, Ben Fisher, Chris Black Alex Mack (stroke), coxed by Neil Hindle. The S4 coxless four of Ben Rowe, Alex Leigh, Chris Black and Alex Mack and the S3 coxless quad of Andrew Walker, Rob Cree, Dan Graham and Keiran Clark were also victorious in their respective events. The S1 coxless pairs event was won by Alex Leigh and Chris Black.
As usual the Junior end of the club showed what talent and promise there is waiting in the wings on Teesside. Proving undefeated this season in the Women’s under 14 age group the coxed quad of Anna Fairs, Beth Henderson, Imogen Leigh, Hannah York (stroke), coxed by Rachel York won their event. Imogen Leigh and Hannah York also were victorious in the Women’s under 13 double event, winning comfortably against their opponents from Durham ARC. Edward Mace and Hannah York won in the under 18 mixed double sculls event and William Mace joined forces with scullers from Chester – le – Street to take an event in a coxless quad.
NSFB Update
(19 May 2008)
Download NFSB update here
Durham City Regatta Report
(14 May 2008)
Tees rowers enjoyed two days of sweltering sunshine at the annual Durham City Regatta with crews successfully matching the glorious weather with wins on the water.
First win of the day on Saturday went to the Women’s Senior 3 eight of Zoe Rayson, Sarah Harker, Fiona Ventress, Lucy Williamson, Jo Pittaway, Angela Warburton, Jen Howse, Vicki Phelan (stroke) coxed by Rebekah Warburton who came from behind at the start to power their way down the course to beat their opponents, Hatfield College.
They were soon joined in the trophy stakes by the Women’s Vet D quad of Deborah Ashurst, Liz Leigh, Sue Watson and Kate Dickinson who, after an interesting start from their opponents, Durham City which saw Durham lurch kamikaze-like towards the Tees crew, maintained a high rating until they had pulled clear – thereafter remaining comfortably in the lead.
Fresh to the water was the very novice Women’s eight of Anita Lall, Eileen Webb, Theresa McDonald, Alison Clark – Jenkins, Marie Clark, Emily Corney, Helen Duncan and Helen Watkinson (stroke) who were coxed by Danielle Coulton. This crew enjoyed a win in their first round race against Hatfield College before being beaten in the next heat by a strong Tyne RC crew. The crew then settled down with fellow Tees members to celebrate Theresa’s birthday in appropriate style with plenty of cake! Anita, Helen and Helen then joined up with Lynette Ventress to compete as a novice coxed quad.
The Women’s novice double event showed the extent to which sculling is being promoted at Tees RC with three Tees crews in the final four. In the final itself Vicki Phelan and Jo Pittaway won through against club colleagues Sue Watson and Liz Leigh. In the Senior 4 event the double of Fiona Ventress and Lucy Williamson were narrowly beaten in the final by a Durham City crew.
For the men, Rob Cree and Dan Graham were successful in the double scull winning first the novice event beating crews from Durham ARC and then Bradford Grammar School in the final. They then went on to compete at the senior 4 level, beating Talkin Tarn in the straight final.
Also racing on the Saturday were the Men’s novice quad of Peter Hancock, John Winton, Hilton Armstrong and Ian Burns (stroke). Competing as a coxless quad they came up against a crew from Hexham RC, who led the way throughout the race despite the Tees crew gaining some ground on them in the middle section. The crew later raced again as a coxed boat being coxed by Danielle Coulton. In this race they had an improved start against a useful crew from Queen Elizabeth High School and held them for the first half of the race until the school crew pulled away to win by about a length and a half. As this considerably reduced the distance by which this crew had beaten them at the earlier Chester le Street Regatta the crew were positive about the outcome.
On Sunday glory went to the elite mixed coxed quad of Phil Dawson, Thirzah Francis, Richard Harrison and Danielle Coulton (coxed by Andrew Walker) who won the event beating crews from Talkin Tarn in both the semi and then in the final.
Members of the junior section of the club were also competing on the Sunday. Successes were scored by Anna Fairs in the Women’s under 13 single scull event and by James Coulton and Sam Hunter who won in the men’s novice double event.
Notts City & Chester le Street Regatta Reports
(02 May 2008)
Members of Tees Rowing Club tested the waters in the first Regattas of the Season at the weekend. Whilst some crews headed south to compete at the Nottingham City Regatta, others stayed in the region to give support to the second annual Regatta held by Chester Le Street Amateur Rowing Club.
At Nottingham the senior 2 quad of Chris Black, Darren Cooper, Lee Fisher and Ben Rowe rowed out their final in the worst of conditions and were up against A Nottingham crew who had come 15th in the Fours’ Head in the autumn. At the halfway point Tees trailed by one length but as the water flattened Tees increased their strike rate to pull through the Nottingham crew, eventually winning by a 3 length margin.
The senior 3 men’s eight of Paul Leggott (bow), Mikey Wood, Ben Rowe, Lee Fisher, Alex Leigh, Chris Boddy, Chris Black and Bob Hewitt (stroke) performed impressively to qualify as the fastest crew entering the final, which they then went on to win by a comfortable 6 second margin. Kerry Hasall, competing in her first event since September made it to the final of the women’s novice single sculls event. After a slow start she rowed through the field to take the lead in the last 100m, before disaster struck 2m short of the finish when she caught a crab and capsized.
The women’s senior 3 eight of Zoe Rayson (bow), Sarah Harker, Fiona Ventress, Jo Pittaway, Angela Warburton, Lucy Williamson, Jen Howse and Vicki Phelan (stroke), coxed by Neil Hindle competed above their station at senior 2 level and came third in their event, performing well in very difficult conditions . Other races were cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
The following day two of the Tees World Class Start athletes raced in a novice women’s eight with other WCS athletes from Nottingham. Bethany Bryan and Jo Wratten (both of Egglescliffe School), who had never rowed sweep oar before, showed their potential as the boat won by a margin of 150 metres.
Whilst at Chester le Street the club were fortunate to enjoy kinder weather conditions and a good days racing. Some of the best racing of the day was performed by the Junior section of the club who look set to have a promising season building on their successes of last year. In her first ever race Harriet Mace won the women’s under 12 event. The women’s under 13 event was won by Imogen Leigh and Edward Mace and Rachel York teamed up to win in the novice double event (competing at senior level). The successes were rounded off by a win in the women’s under 14 coxed quad event by a crew comprising Imogen Leigh, Hannah York, Anna Fairs and Nicole Winship (stroke), coxed by Rachel York.
The newly formed women’s veteran D quad of Deborah Ashurst (bow), Liz Leigh, Sue Watson and Kate Dickinson (stroke) enjoyed a good start and went on to beat rivals Durham in their race by a comfortable margin. Some success was also enjoyed by the mixed quad of Thirzah Francis (bow), Phil Dawson, James Coulton and Danielle Coulton, coxed by Hannah York, who fought through two rounds to get to the final where they were beaten by a crew from Tyne Rowing Club. Phill and James then joined forces with Richard Harrison and Nick Pinnington (cox Rebecca Vaslet) to compete in the men’s senior 4 event where again they fought through to the final only to be beaten by a crew from St. Aidans college.
The veteran novice quad of Peter Hancock (bow), John Winton, Ian Burns , Hilton Armstrong (stroke) and cox Richard Harandon competed twice both in the novice quad competition and the veteran novice event. As veterans they were unlucky to be beaten by a Tyne crew who enjoyed a better start but were nearly overhauled by the Tees crew in the middle of the race. In the novice event they beat their fellow Tees crew of Roger Brisley (bow), Chris Wade, Ben Parnham, Richard Olver (stroke) and cox Thirzah Francis to then meet a younger crew from Queen Elizabeth College in the final. Here the younger crew prevailed. Thanks go to the host club for the loan of a boat for the novice event!
Of the women, Helen Duncan teamed up with Helen Watkinson to compete in the women’s novice doubles event, being joined in battle by Wendy Capes and Anita Lall in the opposite half of the draw. All four then joined forces to compete as a women’s senior 4 crew being coxed for the event by Danielle Coulton. They were unlucky to meet a strong crew from St. Leonards school and lost out to them.
A number of newer club members were also to take to the water. Marie Clark (bow), Alison Clark Jenkins, Eileen Webb, Emily Parnham (stroke) and cox Richard Harandon competed in the women’s novice coxed quad event, whilst Alison Billau (bow), Theresa McDonald, Petra Tomlinson-Cox, Emily Corney (stroke) and cox Wendy Capes competed in the women’s novice fours event. Alison Billau and Emily Corney also joined forces with Chris Wade and Ben Parnham to compete in a novice mixed quad.
Finally the redoubtable Ian Howse took to the water to compete in mixed doubles with Alison Clark – Jenkins (vet B/C) and Emily Corney (novice).
New Standards Set for Tees Rowers
(29 March 2008)
Tees Rowing Club had three crews entered in the Men’s Head of the River Race this year, all of senior 3 status. Raced on the same 6.8km (4¼ mile) course as this weekend’s Boat Race, this is a key event in the British rowing calendar filling its 420 entry capacity every year with competitors from across the British Isles and Europe.
This year conditions on the day were good with all crews able to race safely without danger of being swamped as happened in the 2007 event. Because this race was abandoned, although some crews managed to complete the course before the call was made, the finish positions from 2006 were used. In such events, the start order is calculated on the clubs previous performance, aimed to minimise the chances of overtaking on grounds of safety. Also this system means that the fastest crews are less likely to be impeded by a group of slower moving boats, enabling them to achieve their best possible performance.
This system caught out the top Tees crew of Paul Leggott, Mike Wood, Ben Roe, Lee Fisher, Alex Leigh, Chris Boddy, Chris Black and Bob Hewitt coxed by club captain Neil Hindle, as they had to start at number 240, behind a group of novice crews, despite Bob Hewitt and Chris Boddy currently taking part in Olympic Trials. The crew was of Senior 3 status due to only a few people in the boat, and relatively inexperienced at this event, but did not allow this to phase them. They hit a blistering pace off the start to take two crews in the first 500m of the race under Barnes Bridge. Overtaking six crews in total, which will have lost them some time, they finished 86th overall which is the highest ever placing for the club. They were also 16th in their category just 22 seconds behind Senior 3 pennant winners Newcastle University. Also, of the 76 “provincial” club crews racing, Tees I were 10th fastest overall and the 3rd fastest at senior 3 status, beating local club rivals such as York, Tyne and Durham.
Tees II had to start right down at number 367, again due to the finish position of the equivalent crew in 2006. This year’s line-up did well to finish at 283rd although the result did not really do the crew justice; by the time they were able to start, start there was very little left of the outgoing tide that had benefited crews with higher start positions. Kieran Clark, James Farley, Will Baker, Piers Dixon, Richard Leigh, Darren Cooper, Rob Cree, Andrew Walker and cox Thirzah Francis had some interesting navigating to do around slower crews without losing what remained of the fastest water, but still managed to move up an impressive 84 places.
Also racing was the Tees III crew, containing at least two rowers also entered in the Veteran’s race the following day, as well as club junior captain James Coulton. Despite having an age range of around 40 years, the crew of Phill Dawson, Nick Pinnington, James Coulton, Dick Wilkinson, Tony Atherton, Richard Harrison, Phil Bashford, Paul Reevell and stalwart cox John Heron finished 325th and 84th in their category, ensuring a total of three good start positions for the club in 2009.
Unfortunately, this year it was the turn of the veteran crews to be disappointed. Conditions in the morning prior to the boats being allowed on the water were determined too dangerous to race so the 26th Vesta International Veterans’ Head of the River Race was cancelled on grounds of safety. Three Tees veteran crews, two with high chances of winning their categories, returned home disappointed
Tees Women on the Thames
(11 March 2008)
A Tees Rowing Club eight raced in the annual Women’s Eights Head of the River Race in London last weekend, which attracts entries from clubs, universities and schools across the British Isles plus this year more than twenty crews from overseas. This year the event attracted 251 entries, of which 234 raced.
The course, 4 ½ miles from Chiswick Bridge to Putney, is the same as used for the world famous University Boat Race, traditionally raced in the opposite direction. Conditions on the day were bright and sunny, however strong winds in the days prior to the event had caused concern as to whether it would be safe to run the event in light of many crews being swamped at the men’s equivalent event last year. Fortunately the wind held to a westerly course, so was not against the fast outgoing tidal stream and the water was calmer than expected.
Racing at Senior 2 level this year, the crew of Angela Warburton, Sarah Harker, Fiona Ventress, Jo Pittaway, Sarah Stocking, Lucy Williamson, Wendy Capes and Vicky Phelan coxed by Neil Hindle were the 74th fastest crew, just twenty seconds behind the winner of the “Provincial Clubs” pennant for non-Thames based club crews from outside of the M25. Jo Pittaway and Sarah Stocking are also current members of the University of Teesside Rowing Club, however had to race under their Tees RC membership for the crew to start in the higher position gained by Tees’ performance in the event last year. For 17 year-old Lucy Williamson it was her first taste of rowing on the Thames having recently moved back from California.
In the early part of the race, Tees overtook Bristol University going through Barnes Bridge, creating some difficult steering for cox Neil as Putney Town RC had simultaneously closed on them, making it three-abreast with all three crews wanting to hold the fastest part of the stream. Assertive calls made by both Neil and Angela, who was closest to Bristol’s cox at the time, ensured Bristol gave way allowing the faster Tees crew to pass unimpeded as per race rules. Tees were pleased to have beaten the York City crew that had bested them by just three seconds at the Head of the Tent a few weeks previously, as well as Edinburgh University.
Club members past and present also racing were Jen Howse in Durham University A, who finished 3rd overall winning the Senior 2 pennant, Lucy Ventress in the Osiris B crew, and Jo Lywood now with Tideway club Furnivall. The event was won overall by Osiris A, the Oxford University Women’s top crew, stroked by Zoe Lee who rows with Tees during summer vacations.
February Summary
(05 March 2008)
Tees Rowing Club has made a good start to 2008 with strong entries in local head races plus a few further afield during February.
The first event of the year for the club was the Durham Small Boats Head on Saturday 2nd February, this year attracting just short of 300 entries. Tees Novice, Veteran Novice and Junior squads were out in force with entries in each of the four divisions with some people taking the opportunity to race the short yet challenging 1800m course twice.
Despite being short for a Head of the River race, the course is notoriously difficult to steer, with the added complication this year of a strong stream to steer into. As a result of this Elvet Bridge, which is not only situated on a sharp bend but also has very narrow arches caught many crews out losing vital seconds in the race.
The fastest Tees crew of the day was the novice coxed quad of Phil Dawson with club juniors Sam Hunter, Edward Mace and James Coulton coxed by James’s elder sister Danielle who steered a good course through the bridge in the winning time of 7:36, beating 8 crews in the category and coming 23rd overall.
A strong showing from the veteran novice squad competed in various events with the crew of Greg Beswick, Ken Watson, Sean Keneally and David Brindle coxed by Sarah Harker winning the veteran novice coxed four category, and Peter Hancock, Hilton Armstrong, John Winton and Ian Burns successfully navigating the course to win the men’s novice coxless quads event.
Harriet Mace, Imogen Leigh, Anna Fairs coxed by Hannah’s father Graham lost out in the women’s J13 coxed quads event by just 3 seconds, however the slightly altered line up of Imogen Leigh, Anna Fairs, Nicole Winship, Hannah York with Rachel York coxing has since been selected as a women’s J14 coxed quad to represent the Northeast in the Junior Interregional Finals. William Mace also was selected in the J16 pairs event following a good race at Durham he will race as a composite crew with Luke Sharp from Chester-le-Street Rowing Club.
Two weeks later, the club attended two events, Tyne on the Saturday, and Trent on Sunday, with the Veteran D men’s eight really testing their fitness by competing in both.
Two men’s eights competed in the earlier division, with the Veteran Novice eight of John Edwards, Steve Barker, Sean Kenneally, Dave Brindle, Brian Conway, Ken Watson, Ken Watson, Greg Beswick, Ian Burns coxed by Mel Roe having to race against more experienced rowers from Tees RC, Tyne RC and Durham ARC. Both Tees crews were Veteran D i.e. the average age of both crews was at least 50.
Although the more “senior” of the two Tees eights, Gary Bettinson, Dick Wilkinson, John Green, Dilwyn Jones, Tony Atherton, Steve Leigh, Richard Harandon and Paul Reevell with regular cox John Heron, recorded the fastest veteran eights time, the pennant went to Durham ARC following time adjustments due to their higher age category. Both of the Tees eights beat many younger competitors from the Durham colleges and universities across the Northeast plus visitors from Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh University.
The following day saw Tees boats heading down to Nottingham to race on the Trent against crews from across the country including Cambridge University, Leander. Despite already having rowed 6km the previous day, the Veteran D eight, with a slightly changed crew line up, raced another 6km and came second in their category, beaten by a talented Nottingham crew who had the advantage of rowing on their own water.
The senior men’s and women’s squads also put out strong boats with the added excitement of racing in a brand new eight collected that weekend.
Women’s crews performed well with the Senior 2 eight coping well with the new boat, finishing just seconds behind regular rivals York City proving that the new crew line up was on track for the forthcoming race in London. The women’s Senior 4 coxed four, a recently formed and so far untested crew, rose to the occasion in the shorter second division. Cox Sarah Douglass coped with a busy course and pushed the crew of Sally Barker, Helen Watkinson, Helen Pickering and Danielle Coulton to come 3rd in their category, and were the fastest club crew.
The Senior 3 eight of Paul Leggott, Mikey Wood, Piers Dixon, Darren Cooper, Alex Leigh, Chris Boddy, Chris Black and Bob Hewitt with a guest cox from Nottingham Rowing Club came 3rd in their category, but were the fastest Club crew, and only two seconds behind 2nd placed Manchester University.
Shortly after this race came the announcement that Chris Boddy and Bob Hewitt have been selected for Olympic trials later this year in the lightweight category, a fantastic reward for both athletes and their coach for their hard work and commitment.
NSFB Update
(02 February 2008)
Download NFSB update here
RIVER RESTRICTION
(09 January 2008)
The River Master HEREBY GIVES NOTICE that:
Alfred McAlpine will be removing the disused railway bridge over the River Tees adjacent to Surtees Road Bridge.
Therefore the river will be closed around this area on the following dates
29th February between 1000Hrs and 1400Hrs
2330 Hrs on 01st March 2008 to 0730 Hrs on 02nd March 2008
Vessels affected by this closure may make use of the waiting facilities at the Tees Barrage, which can be contacted on VHF Channel 37 or by telephone on 01642 633273.
Alan Slater River Master
Winning performances for Veterans and Juniors
(11 December 2007)
The Rutherford Head of the River Race, held on the Tyne from Scotswood to Newburn, saw four Tees crews race in cold, blustery conditions against tide and stream. The event is popular with club and college crews, this year attracting 177 entries in fours, quads, eights and a junior girls octuple – a coxed boat of eight scullers. Competitors travelled some way for this event with many entries from north of the border, however the four from Tiraspol RC, Moldova perhaps won in the distance travelled stakes.
First to race was the women’s eight of Deborah Ashurst, Sarah Harker Helen Pickering, Fiona Ventress, Lucy Williamson, Angela Warburton, Wendy Capes and Vicky Phelan coxed by Neil Hindle. After a considerable wait on the start for all competitors to arrive, the crew raced without incident to come 5th in their category out of 7 crews, and were just 13 seconds from 3rd place.
Three crews raced in the second division, with Neil Hindle volunteering himself for another cold few hours to steer the Veteran Novice eight, racing as senior veterans in the C-Category (average age 43-50). The crew of John Edwards, Kevin Brophy, Greg Beswick, Steve Barker, Brian Conway, Ken Watson, Sean Kenneally and Ian Burns were pushed hard along the course, their aim being to improve their performance against the vastly more experienced Veteran D crew; Richard Wilkinson, Dilwyn Jones, Richard Harandon, Steve Leigh, Paul Stiller, Tony Stocking, Bob Bainbridge, Paul Reevell and cox John Heron were drawn to set off just two places behind them.
Just as in the 2006 event, the coxes of both crews had to use all of their experience to negotiate around some very slow men’s Novice eights almost immediately after the start, and one crew narrowly missed a 3-boat tangle which left one of their opposition stranded on mud.
The Veteran C and novice crew were placed 28th overall out of 85 crews to race in the division of men’s eights and women’s fours, and 2nd in their veteran C category. They would have also been placed just a fraction of a second behind Edinburgh University who were 2nd in the novice category had they chosen to enter as senior rather than veteran men. The Veteran D crew fought off regular rivals Durham ARC to come 13th in the division, winning their category and going home as the fastest veteran crew of the day.
The last Tees crew to proceed down the course was the Women’s Senior 2 coxed quad of Sarah Harker, Fiona Ventress, Vicky Phelan and Angela Warburton all racing again following a tough morning in the eight. Despite this being only the second long distance sculling race for Vicky, who is still a novice sculler, the crew were placed 4th in their event out of 7 crews, 37th overall in the division.
Another prestigious local event run this week was the northern indoor rowing championships, hosted by Durham University Boat Club at their training facility in Durham. The Tees entries were all juniors on the World Class Start & Potential Scheme, and all performed well against more experienced opposition. Racing over 5000m, 15yr old David Watts, on the WCS Australia scheme but here visiting family for his summer holidays, won the Junior Men’s event (18 and under) in a time of 16:48.6 beating many well established young local oarsmen.
The girls were particularly impressive, with 17yr old Kerry Hassal winning Silver in the Junior Women’s event in an astonishing time of 19:53.5, putting her in the top 13 for her age category in the country. Racing over the shorter distance of 1000m, 14yr old Bethany Henderson took Gold in the J14 girls event and Bethany Bryan took Bronze in the J15 event. All three girls had their first taste of rowing just a few months previously yet held their own against more experienced young athletes.
Then Bethany and Bethany were joined by Jo Wratton, also on the WSC&P scheme, and 13yr-old club regular Imogen Leigh for the team event, racing against and beating some older university students to complete 3km in the fastest time, coming 5th overall.
Further from home, a fine performance was put in by Kristina Stiller at the Sculler’s head in London, where she came away as the fastest female sculler. Tina learned to row at Tees and is now at Nottingham University and training with the GB Squad.
Fours Head Report
(16 November 2007)
Tees Rowing Club dramatically raised the bar for non-Thames based club crews last weekend, with four men’s coxless quadruple sculls competing in the Fuller’s Fours Head, an major event on the rowing calendar which attracts over 450 crews of coxed and coxless fours, and coxless quad sculls, racing as a time trial over the same stretch of water as the annual University Boat Race.
The club’s performance last year was good; this year, the club attained its highest ever position in this event, 14th overall place for “Tees I” - the young quad of Alex Leigh, George Caines, Bob Hewitt and Chris Boddy, racing in the Senior 1 category, which is one level below Elite. All of the crews placed higher were from Thames-based clubs and universities, making this performance by a club from the northeast all the more notable. As well as a high overall finishing position, the quad came 2nd place in their category to Imperial College, only losing out on a pennant by 22 seconds, and successfully held off a Tideway crew that lost narrowly at Henley Royal Regatta in the summer to a senior GB crew, and contained the current ergometer rowing world champion.
Three of the athletes in the quad are all training full time at Tees Rowing Club, under the Amateur Rowing Association’s World Class Start scheme developed to locate, support and nurture future Olympic talent in the sport; Bob and Chris have been with the scheme at Tees for just over a year and have represented Great Britain at the Youth Olympics in Australia and the World Under 23 Championships. They are now competing for places in the GB senior squad.
Also racing in the Senior 1 category were regular entrants David Cooper, Hugh Pelham (an Oxford Blue), Paul Buckworth and Johnny Cooper. This crew are currently National Veteran Champions in their age category and the one below, and raced with an average age of 43. Despite this age disadvantage, they managed 101st place overall, 8th in their category and “weren’t beaten by too many women”.
Another aim of the World Class start scheme is to integrate its athletes and coaches with the host clubs, this has certainly been achieved with men’s rowing at Tees RC, attracting a number of existing and new club members to train alongside those on the scheme. It has already raised aspirations and standards of men’s rowing within the club as could be seen by the performance of the “Tees III” quad.
Entering the next category down, Senior 2, the quad in fact was of novice status, although appropriately experienced for the event. The crew of Michael Wood, Darren Cooper (also on the WCS scheme), Piers Dixon and Chris Black came 47th overall, and 10th out of the 47 crews in their category and less than 3 seconds behind local rivals York City. Darren is relatively new to the sport having had to abandon a potentially international rugby career due to injury, making his performance all the more remarkable.
The fourth Tees crew also competed in the senior 2 category, gaining relative newcomer to the sport Lee Fisher valuable experience; he and more experienced crew members Rob Cree, Paul Leggott and Andrew Walker returned a respectable 34th in their category, 181st overall.
As can be seen from these results, Tees can now compete on equal terms with clubs and universities possessing far larger resources in funding, equipment and numbers to select from. The performance of the club crews on the Tideway and at recent more local events will have been noted by many in the rowing world and is a positive step forward for the club as it is increasingly on terms with clubs known for producing international oarsmen and women.
Some ex-international oarsmen, now veterans, raced the following day over the same stretch of water in the Veteran Fours Head, which attracted 125 entries this year. The Veteran “D” (average age withheld) crew of Steve Leigh, Paul Stiller, David Cooper and Tony Stocking, a Bronze Medallist in the 1975 World Championships, came 19th overall and 3rd in their event, just 14 seconds the behind winners, a Thames/Upper Thames composite crew stroked by a 1977 World Gold Medallist and Henley winner, and seconds behind Crabtree RC, which is an old boys club for Cambridge Blues. Perhaps wanting to show their younger club colleagues up, the crew achieved this despite David having raced the previous day in the Fullers Fours Head while Tony had also competed at a northeast event.
The behind-the-scenes hard work of volunteers within the club is also paying off and has attracted recognition. Current President John Green was recently awarded by the Northern Rowing Council for having the most individual impact on a club in the region; he has been instrumental in integrating the World Class Start & Potential scheme within the club, as well as leading successful applications for vital grant funding to commence replacement of an ageing fleet. This will enable the existing facilities to be used to their full potential by granting recreational, adaptive and performance rowers access to suitable equipment.
Following recent performances, with the anticipation of attaining higher in the near future by men’s and women’s crews, Tees RC would be interested in any sponsorship proposals. Interested parties should contact John directly via the club website.
North Shore Footbridge Update
(14 November 2007)
Update on North Shore Footbridge available via link:
Extraordinary General Meeting - 30 October 2007
(23 October 2007)
An Extraordinary General Meeting will be held on Tuesday October 30th at 8 pm in the River Tees Watersports Centre, The Slipway, North Shore, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 2NL.
For more details see EGM Page
North Shore Footbridge Update
(13 October 2007)
Update on North Shore Footbridge available via link:
Warrington Regatta
(12 September 2007)
It was an early start for Tees juniors at Warrington Regatta with the j14 women’s double of Rebecca Vaslet and Clare Williamson putting up a strong performance, although losing out by a small margin in the end. The next competitors of the day were Danielle Coulton and Julie Atkinson in the open women’s junior doubles. They cruised through the first round winning comfortably, although sadly in the final after a competitive race they lost out on the medals by a length. Both girls then competed in the open women’s junior singles but sadly neither of them made it through the first round although in both cases it was a very close race. Brothers Edward and William Mace raced in the j16 open doubles. They worked well together but were unlucky to lose out to the eventual winners in this event by about a length. Both Edward Mace and James Coulton competed in the j16 singles. James won his first race by a fair margin though lost out in a well fought out semi. Edward had a good race against his opposition but lost the race by about a length. His brother William Mace also competed in a single in the j15 singles. Like his brother he had an extremely good race but was unfortunate to lose by a small amount in the end. Rebecca Vaslet raced in the j14 singles putting on a good performance but was unfortunate to lose the race by a few lengths. Rachel York competed in her first single having a good race but losing out to Warrington also by several lengths. The first medals of the day went to the j15 women’s double when Rachel York teamed up with Clare Williamson. It was an extremely well fought race as in the end they won by little more than half a second. The j12 quad of Hannah York, Imogen Leigh, Anna Fairs and Harriet Mace continued this success, beating Warrington A in the semi and then Warrington B in the final both quite comfortably. Harriet Mace had never raced before and this was an excellent start for her. Hannah York and Anna Fairs then joined up to take the medals for the j12 double against Warrington with a good strong performance. Imogen Leigh had an excellent race in the j13 singles, racing a year above her age group but still winning the first round by more than a length. She then put on a good performance in the next round but was unfortunate to lose out to the eventual winner.
The senior Tees crews continued the juniors’ success with the novice four of Graham York, Darren Cooper, Ian Scott and Jonathon Heyhurst coxed by Hannah York winning comfortably, this being their second success at recent regattas. Graham York and Ian Scott competed in the novice doubles, having a nice race although they didn’t get through the first round. The coxless Quad of Julie Atkinson, James Coulton, Phil Dawson and Danielle Coulton also won, with an extremely good race and winning in the end by several lengths.
Tees Primary and Adaptive Regatta
(14 August 2007)
Since its acceptance into the FISA world championship programme and its inclusion into the 2008 Beijing Paralympics event, GB Rowing has developed an enviable reputation for its performances in Adaptive events on the world stage.
As we all know however, participation goes much deeper than just International Performance. The development of adaptive rowing structures for all who wish to participate in our sport is still in its infancy. Scattered around the country there are pockets of people who have been working hard behind the scenes for some years now to develop good practice in this area. Slowly but surely a strong community of practice for the development of adaptive rowing participation is developing, providing an opportunity to learn from each other. Athletes and coaches from WARA, SARA and the ARA are beginning to work together towards providing competitive opportunities for adaptive athletes of all standards around the country. The ARA has been able to secure funding for a National Adaptive Development Officer.
On the weekend of the 13th and 14th October, the inaugural British Adaptive Coaching Conference will provide the first opportunity for anyone, whether a club organiser, coach, athlete, carer or specialist to come together to discuss many aspects of adaptive rowing. The competition structure will be on the agenda.
Further details can be found at:
http://www.ara-rowing.org/render.aspx?siteID=1&navIDs=1,394,1325,1327
Tees Rowing Club is one of the clubs who are active in developing opportunities for Adaptive rowers of all abilities to participate recreationally and competitively. Since 2005 adaptive events have been offered as part of the May Tees Regatta programme. On 11th August the club held its inaugural Tees Primary and Adaptive Regatta.
Tees Rowing Club is based on the River Tees, located in the Borough of Stockton-on Tees, which is approximately mid-way between York and Newcastle. Competitors were drawn from as far North as Loch Lomond in Scotland, as far South as Oxford and as far west at Talkin Tarn in Cumbria.
The day provided the opportunity for the experienced to work alongside those new to the sport, to provide a first taste of competition. It also provided those adaptive athletes who had been struggling to find competition at a participative level to be fully involved in an open regatta. Running alongside the water programme, members of Tees Rowing Club also ran an ergo event open to all, and once the formal racing programme had been concluded, a team scratch regatta was held with a range of events, the most memorable of this being the virus singles relay where peoples true competitive spirit came to the fore.
Thanks to grant funding received from the English Federation of Disability Sport and the Tees Valley Disability Access Grant Fund, the club was able to send out invitations to all the local disability groups and a number of people took up the land challenge and joined us on the day for their first taste of rowing. This event also provided Tees Rowing Club members who had attended an adaptive specific Dry Instructors Course in 2006 generously sponsored by The Rowing Foundation, to put their new skills to the test. It is hoped that a number of those who came down will come back to the club in the future.
On a gloriously sunny day, the numerous parents and supporters who had accompanied their loved ones were treated to a feast of competition, good humour and wonderful food. The four lane buoyed course looked magnificent and the water glistened like polished glass. Highlights of the day included:-
The Tees J13 girls double of Hannah York and Imogen Leigh stealing victory from the Talkin Tarn’s Martin Wilson and Alex Widdowson in the last few metres of the race to win by 1 foot; the boys had their revenge in the quad where they were to beat the Tees girls by a canvas. Close battles between the Talkin Tarn and Tees juniors were a regular occurrence through the day.
A dead heat in a Tees RC invitation adaptive doubles event, contested between Rebecca Farren and Dick Wilkinson in an Arms only double (using an Alden boat) and Robert Emright and Piers Dixon competing in a legs, trunk and arms double (using a virus double). They were joined by a late random entry in a combination new to the sport; a world premiere perhaps; a coxless pair using a virus double, with just one sculling blade each. The pair came third by some distance. Rebecca is a long standing member of the Tees Junior section, whilst Robert is a graduate of a taster programme that Tees were able to run thanks to the generous sponsorship of those mentioned previously. One of the great pleasures of the day was seeing Robert running around showing off his tankard to everyone.
Graeme Stewart (Loch Lomond) recently competed at the National Championships of Great Britain in the arms only singles event. He had made the journey to Tees to compete in the May Regatta, only to be disappointed when his event and many others had to be cancelled due to severe weather. On this occasion however he was victorious in two events taking on able bodied athletes rowing arms only. The verdict in both events went “easily” to the Scottish visitor. Credit goes to Graeme who treated us all to a fine display of sculling.
Three Oxford Adaptive Athletes and their coach travelled North to compete in a virus singles event. In a hotly contested race, positions changed over the 400 metre course. In the end Selina Collingwood won the race over Rory Stenton and Rachael Lunney. The team also took titles in the ergo event and participated in the mixed quads in the scratch regatta.
The finals of the Invitation Corporate rowing event featured representatives from two local companies who had taken up the sport only four weeks earlier. In both the eights and four events, all competing demonstrated a remarkable mastery of the essentials of the rowing technique. In the end victory went to the Stiller Group over WR Financial Management Ltd.
Alex Hill, a visiting WJ15 of Talkin Tarn RC had one of the busiest days with 7 races, collecting 5 wins!!
This event also provided the club with the opportunity to develop its next generation of regatta volunteers. Wendy Capes and Sarah Harker led the organisation of the event and are to be congratulated for setting such a relaxed atmosphere.
Any suggestions on how we can develop further opportunities for adaptive athletes to become involved in our support are welcomed. Please e-mail them to Kate O’Sullivan at kate_osullivan@ntlworld.com
Henley Veteran Regatta
(27 July 2007)
A third trip to that famous stretch of the Thames at Henley this year for Tees Rowing Club saw four crews enter Henley Veteran Regatta. This event has been held a week after the Royal Regatta since 1994, raced over 1000m upstream from Temple Island to host club Upper Thames Rowing club and is for athletes of more than 30 years old. Despite the more relaxed atmosphere the standard is still high, attracting many overseas crews to the two days of racing. All four Tees crews reached the final of their respective event, and unfortunately for David Cooper he was in all of these, which led to seven races down the course on the second day of the event.
The Veteran “C” coxless quad, average age 43 or over, beat Upper Thames RC convincingly in the first round on day one, had a closer encounter with Royal Chester winning by half a length in the semi-final, and finally lost out to some suspected ex-Scottish national squad members rowing for Castle Semple in the final. The crew of Paul Buckworth, Johnnie Cooper, Hugh Pelham and David Cooper also raced in the lower age “B” category for crews with an average age 37 and under as they had done at the National Veteran Championships a month earlier, winning gold in both. There were fewer entries in this event, meaning that the Tees quad met a Spanish crew in a close straight final, but lost out by a mere half length.
The four also teamed up to form an eight with Tony Stocking, Paul Stiller, Steve Leigh and Steve Vaslet, who had just raced at Henley Royal Regatta in the Thames Cup a week ago. With club Captain Neil Hindle coxing, using his Henley experience to the crews advantage, it was one of the strongest Veteran “C” eights ever fielded by Tees Rowing Club, and they had high expectations. In the first round, the crew beat a composite crew of Upper Thames RC and Henley RC on their home ground by just under two lengths, then went on to beat Akzo Nobel ARV from the Netherlands by a similar margin. In the final, which was clocked as the fastest race of the day, Tees met Bulldog RC - the reunited Yale University crew that won the Ladies’ Plate at Henley Royal Regatta 25 years ago, reformed especially for this event to mark the anniversary. The American crew had been training hard specifically for this event, and contained a double Olympic medallist. The Tees crew’s blistering rate of 49 stokes per minute set by Tony Stocking off the start couldn’t quite get them ahead off the start, however a strong second half and relentless pushing and motivation by cox Neil saw Tees claw back ground to just lose out by a boat “canvas” which is around three feet.
David Cooper and Tony Stocking also raced as a veteran D double scull, a fourth event for David which saw him have a punishing time on the second day of racing. The double made it to the final, beating Mortlake Anglian and Stratford on the way, but David getting cramp during the final saw them lose out to Ardingly there, a crew they had wanted to beat after being pipped for the Gold at the National Veteran Championships earlier in the year. Despite the lack of trophies, for all four crews to reach their respective finals was a fantastic achievement for all involved, especially as many were competing in more than one event.
Henley Qualification for Tees Men
(19 July 2007)
Last week, Tees Rowing Club qualified in the Thames Cup at Henley Royal Regatta for the first time since 1986. One of 20 hopeful crews, the Senior Men’s Squad first Eight had to travel to Henley and race a time trial 5 days before the regatta began, to secure one of just seven places remaining of the 32 in this club eights event. Pre-qualification is awarded to crews performing well at certain preceding events, with the Tees men just missing out on this at Marlow Regatta the previous weekend.
The aim of the crew selected for the eight this year was to secure qualification, which they missed out on last year. Coxed by Lucy Allen, who already had valuable experience of racing the 2.1 km course due to racing at Henley Women’s Regatta for her University, the crew of Chris Black, Andrew Walker, Steve Vaslet, Graham Hollins, Rob Cree, Phil Grey, Paul Leggott and stroke Alex Mack were quoted as being “jubilant” with the result, which was announced shortly after their trial.
Training continued on the Thames over the following days for the main event the following Wednesday. The crew attended the draw held in Henley Town Hall over the weekend, where they were drawn against Reading in the first round. Although the crew felt confident they could put up a good show, unfortunately the weather conditions had not improved since the downpours of Women’s Henley 2 weeks previously and the river was still running high and fast leaving organisers with little expectation of record times being rowed this year. As published in the regatta programme, the Tees eight gave away a stone per man to the Reading crew, leaving them at a considerable disadvantage in the upstream and strong head-wind conditions.
Reading beat Tees in a hard-fought race, pulling away from them in the last few hundred meters. Despite not progressing further in the event, the men were pleased with their performance as they have achieved their aim for this year and plan to build upon this success.
Notice To Mariners 8 - Promenade Construction
(19 July 2007)
(No 8 of Year 2007)
19th of July, 2007
River Tees ‘Upstream River’
Tees Barrage, Blue House Point, Stockton
PROMANADE CONSTRUCTION
The River Master HEREBY GIVES NOTICE that:
Highways Construction will commence construction on the promanade around St Marks Basin, Teesdale, Thornaby from the Millenium Footbridge to George Stephenson House on Monday 30th July 2007. Works will take approximatley 12 weeks to complete vessels are requested to keep clear of the south bank during the construction period.
Alan Slater
River Master
Notice To Mariners 7 - RIVER RESTRICTION - 17 Aug
(19 July 2007)
(No 7 of Year 2007)
19th of July, 2007
River Tees ‘Upstream River’
Tees Barrage, Blue House Point, Stockton
RIVER RESTRICTION
NORTHUMBERLAND and DURHAM COUNTIES ASA OPEN WATER SWIMMING EVENT
The River Master HEREBY GIVES NOTICE that:
The open water swimming event will take place on the River Tees between the Princess of Wales Bridge and Victoria Bridge adjacent to the Castlegate Watersports Centre on Saturday 17th August 2007.
Safety boats will be strategically placed to warn any other river craft using the course of their presence.
Vessels approaching the area are requested to slow down and take instructions from the safety boats.
Vessels affected by this closure may make use of the waiting facilities at the Tees Barrage, which can be contacted on VHF Channel 37 or by telephone on 01642 633273.
Alan Slater
River Master
Notice To Mariners 6 - BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
(19 July 2007)
(No 6 of Year 2007)
19th of July, 2007
River Tees ‘Upstream River’
Tees Barrage, Blue House Point, Stockton
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
The River Master HEREBY GIVES NOTICE that:
To enable bridge construction works to take place a TEMPORARY JETTY will be installed in the River Tees Upstream of the Tees Barrage.
From the 16th August 2007, there will be a RESTRICTED AREA around the temporary jetty on the south side of the river between University Campus and Progress House marked with yellow buoys, (as indicated on the map below).
Highly successful “on tour” weekend.
(27 June 2007)
Tees Rowing club attended three separate events this weekend; Henley Women’s Regatta, which was the culmination of months of training for the club’s women’s squad, Marlow Regatta, held on Dorney Lake Eton as a last chance for the men’s senior eight to pre-qualify for next week’s Henley Royal Regatta, and Lancaster Regatta which is annually supported by the club.
Henley Women’s Regatta was somewhat different to the previous few years, with inches of mud and regular downpours to contend with rather than blazing sunshine and soaring temperatures. Using a boat hired from Nottingham University, the women’s eight of Angela Warburton, Sarah Harker, Kate Dickinson, Fiona Ventress, Jen Howse, Becky Warburton, Wendy Capes and cox Neil Hindle once again passed through the initial qualification time trial, which saw the entry reduced from 42 to 32 crews in the 1500m race.
Ironically, having travelled so far, Tees were drawn in the first round against Lancaster University, whom they had met in regattas twice already this season, with the score standing at one-all. Due to this, there were more nerves felt than if it were an unknown rival, but a good start and excellent tactical judgement from cox Neil, saw the students beaten by a length. Day two of the event had Tees drawn against Exeter Rowing Club in the second round. This time it was the opposition which proved the stronger crew, with Tees having a slower start and being unable to make up the lost ground to regain equal terms. Despite pushing back hard in the last 500m, they lost by under a length.
Helen Blevins and Ester Dingley were also representing Tees at Henley, in the Senior Women’s double sculls event. The girls beat Sons of the Thames easily in the first round before being knocked out by Newcastle University in the second.
The Tees senior men’s squad attended Marlow regatta, entering the Senior 3 eights as a Tees RC/Yarm School composite, and an Elite composite quad. Racing on the 2000m 8-laned Dorney Lake near Eton, the men faced 35 entrants in their eights event. In their heat the crew of Chris Black, Andrew Walker, Piers Dixon, Graham Hollins, Rob Cree, Phil Gray, Paul Leggott, Alex Mack and cox Lucy Allen came second to University of London, and progressed to the semi final where they finished joint second with Bournemouth University behind Liverpool University. In the final, Tees stayed with the field until the last stage of the race, where they couldn’t quite keep with the opposition in the last push to the finish. Coming within ten seconds of the winners, and being the only club crew to make it to this stage, they should have little trouble with the qualification this Friday for Henley Royal Regatta.
The elite coxless quad had Tees RC’s GB Under 23 lightweights Chris Boddy and Bob Hewitt, who are on the World Class Start scheme, racing as a composite with Durham University. They won their heat easily, came third in the semi-final, only 5 seconds off the winner, and finished 5th in the final.
Lancaster Regatta was the third event attended by the club this weekend. As with Henley and Marlow, torrential downpours affected racing, however the Tees crews had an excellent days rowing at the picturesque River Lune location.
The men’s novice double of stroke Elliot Kenneally and Dick Wilkinson rowed a good course but were held off by their opposition, Trafford RC, losing by a length. Next up was the Mixed Double of Janet and Dick Wilkinson, the first winners of the day for Tees, with a convincing victory over a double from Lancaster John O'Gaunt, while Novice Mixed Double Helen Watkinson and Darren Cooper narrowly missed out on a follow-up win to their recent victory at Hexham Regatta, beaten by a Liverpool Victoria RC double.
Tees Novice Men’s Coxed four collected their first pot as a crew by winning their class. Cox Janet Wilkinson steered the crew of Ian Scott, Darren Cooper, Sean Kenneally and Graham York (stroke) to victory, first beating Welbeck MOD College B crew then Welbeck’s A crew. In both races the crew smoothly increased their lead over the 800m course and held off any final pushes from the opposition.
All in all it was a successful weekend for the club at all levels of the sport.
National Veteran Championships Report
(20 June 2007)
Tees Rowing Club Veterans brought home 3 gold and 2 silver medals from the National Veteran Championships this year, their most impressive haul to date. The event is held annually at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham, and raced over 1000m on the 2000m 6-lane buoyed man-made lake.
In rowing, veteran racing is classified by the average age of a crew, with a lower age limit placed on each category starting with Veteran A at 31, then B at 36, C at 43, and D at 50, with no upper age limit. The National Veteran Championships had some Veteran H (70) and Veteran I (75) events, showing that rowing is truly a sport for all ages.
The unbeatable crew of the day was the well established quad of Johnny Cooper, David Cooper, Hugh Pelham and Paul Buckworth. This year the crew was able to enter as Veteran C for the first time, racing in a 6-boat straight final and winning gold. The also entered the younger Veteran B category, again taking gold against 3 other crews. David then paired up with Tony Stocking to race as a Veteran D double, progressing smoothly through the first round to take silver in the final.
Finally, after months of honing their skills against much young Durham University College crews in local regattas, the Veteran Novice crews were able to compete on equal terms. First up were the coxed fours, with the “A” crew of Greg Beswick, Ken Watson, Sean Keneally, stroke Hilton Armstrong and cox Mel Roe battling against Abingdon, losing out by a mere three feet on the line to take silver. The “B” crew of Steve Barker, Peter Hancock, Brian Ventress and Dave Brindle, coxed by Janet Wilkinson came close behind in 4th place.
The gold medal of the day came when the two fours combined for the Veteran Novice eight. The line-up of Steve Barker, Brian Ventress, Greg Beswick, Ian Burns, Sean Kenneally, Ken Watson, Hilton Armstrong and stroke David Brindle with their cox Mel Roe didn’t let a difficult time at the start unnerve them, rowing consistently well throughout the race and beating the closest opposition by almost two boat lengths in the straight final.
The more experienced Veteran D eight had a tough field to compete against. The crew of Dick Wilkinson, Paul Reevell, Richard Harandon, Steve Leigh, Paul Stiller, Tony Stocking, Peter Macfall, Gary Bettinson and cox J Heron, came second in their heat, and fourth in the final in a close race against Crabtree, a club drawn from former Cambridge Blue-boat oarsmen. In this distinguished company, Tees finished a mere four seconds behind the gold medal position in a very close race, with composite Thames-based crews taking silver and bronze.
Other crews to race were the Veteran C ladies quad of Janet Wilkinson, Ester Tacaks, Christine Miekle and Gill Stiller, who came their closest so far to strong local rivals Durham ARC, however still not quite able to get ahead. Ester also raced with Ruth Wilkinson in the women’s senior 3 doubles event of Loughborough Regatta which runs simultaneously to the Veteran event, sculling well to come 3rd place in a strong field of 6.
Durham Regatta Report
(14 June 2007)
Tees Rowing Club attended Durham Regatta in force last weekend, racing against clubs from across the country and overseas. Durham Regatta is referred to by some as the “Henley of the North” and attracts many non-rower spectators and various amusements to complement the rowing action, from the regular classic car rally to a mobile climbing wall.
Saturday saw the busiest day for Tees, with another win for the Women’s J13 coxed quad of Anna Fairs, Nicola Winship, Imogen Leigh Hannah York, this time with Hannah’s older sister Rachel coxing. The girls, some of whom are only 11 years old, are proving themselves unbeatable in the region due to their superior technique.
The men’s senior 3 eight of Chris Boddy, Andrew Walker, Steve Vaslet, Phil Gray, Rob Creww, Alex Mack, Chris Black and Graham Hollins, with cox Lucy Allen performed well in a strong field, beating crews from St Hild & Bede College Durham and Blue Star on their way to the Semi final, where they lost out by three feet to eventual winners, the Durham University Freshmen.
In the men’s Veteran eights competition, The Tees crew managed to overcome a 4 second time penalty, awarded due to their younger status, resulting in a dead heat with Durham ARC and a re-row. The crew of Dick Wilkinson, Paul Reevell, Richard Harandon, Steve Leigh, Paul Stiller, Tony Stocking, Peter Macfall and Gary Bettinson coxed by Janet Wilkinson were unable to pull back that distance again, losing by just 3 feet. The crew also entered the men’s Elite event, rowing spectacularly against a younger Tyne RC crew, only losing by around one boat length. Despite not resulting in victory, the three races were seen as excellent preparation for this weekend’s National Veteran Championships, where the crew will benefit from a boat on loan from Nottingham University.
The men’s senior 4 coxed four of Phill Dawson, Nick Pinnington, Richard Harrison and Adam Winship, with cox Rachel York continue to perform well in regattas, again reaching the final of their event. However an injury in the first round forced a substitution in the crew, and they couldn’t quite pull off a victory in the semi-final against St Aidan’s college, losing by ¾ of a boat length.
The Veteran Novice coxed 4, raced in open novice category. The crew of Greg Beswick, Peter Hancock, john Winton and Ken Watson, with cox Mel Roe dominated their opposition, Ustinov College, winning the opening round by one and a half lengths. In the semi final the Tees crew then came up against another younger college crew but produced a fine row, just losing out in the last strokes of the race.
Sundays racing saw the women’s senior 3 eight dispatch Durham University, Lancaster University and Leeds University to win their event. The final was a close race, with both crews level off the start, with Leeds not prepared to give anything away, however the Tees crew held their form, edging away from their opposition throughout the race eventually winning by half a boat length. The crew of Angela Warburton, Sarah Harker, Kate Dickinson, Fiona Ventress, Wendy Capes, Jen Howse, Becky Warburton, Vicky Phelan and cox Neil Hindle made coach Dave Warburton’s day, however their performance has raised his expectations of them for Henley Women’s Regatta next week. There, the crew will be using a lighter, stronger boat on loan from Nottingham & Union Boat Club.
Ruth Wilkinson performed well in the Women’s senior 3 single sculls event, losing in the final by just half a boat length.
With a slightly different crew line-up, the men’s senior 4 coxed four raced again, however Sunday’s events structure forced them to race in the Senior 3 category. The crew of Phill Dawson, Nick Pinnington, Richard Harrison and stroke Scot Gooding, with cox Mark Bowers still managed to reach the 2nd round in a large field, losing to the eventual winners, Collingwood College.
Hexham & Monmouth Regattas Report
(07 June 2007)
Tees Rowing club sent a large entry up to Hexham Regatta this weekend, which is rowed over 700m on a beautiful stretch of the river Tyne. The course is limited to this distance due to shallows at one end and a sharp drop over a weir shortly after the finish line.
The juniors had the most successful day, which is testament to the continued voluntary coaching by Steve Leigh and his team. His focus on gaining a good technical grounding in rowing is evident in all the junior crews representing Tees, and the results are further testament to his commitment.
Hannah York and Imogen Leigh once again displayed their fantastic technique, a credit to Imogen’s coach father Steve, winning their event in a straight final. They then teamed up with Nicola Winship, Anna Fairs and cox Danielle Coulton in the women’s J13 coxed quads, beating Nithsdale in another straight final. Hannah’s older sister Rachel was not to be outdone, winning the mixed J16 double sculls with Edward Mace, as well as competing against Caroline Lywood and 3 other competitors in the women’s J15 single sculls. Edward’s brother Will meanwhile raced with James Coulton in the men’s J16 doubles, winning comfortably.
The junior squad performance of the day was Adam Winship in the Men’s single sculls. Racing against older novice opponents from the likes of Durham University, Adam progressed through 2 rounds to eventually win the final, lose his novice status, and gain a very well earned pot. That was not the end of his day however; he then went on to stroke the Men’s Senior 4 coxed four, with crew Phill Dawson, Nick Pinnington, Richard Harrison and their novice cox, Rachel York. After comfortably winning the first 2 rounds, they lost in the final by less than a metre.
The Veteran Novice coxed 4 of Hilton Armstrong, Sean Kenneally, Dave Brindle and Greg Beswick coxed by Mel Roe managed to overcome a slow start and row through their opposition, eventually winning by half a boat length, whereas the Veteran coxless quad crew of Dave Brindle, Steve Barker, Ian Burns and Brian Ventress set a good pace throughout, however steering issues prevented victory.
The veteran novice 8 had to row against much younger opposition. The crew of Ian Burns Sean Kenneally Hilton Armstrong, Brian Conway, Dave Brindle, Greg Beswick, Brian Ventress, and Steve Barker with Mel Roe coxing put in their best performance to date, losing by half a length. This growing confidence bodes well for next weekend’s Durham Regatta, final preparation for the National Veteran Championships the following weekend.
Other wins for Tees RC included Novice scullers Helen Watkinson and Darren Cooper in the mixed novice doubles event, and Dick and Janet Wilkinson in the mixed veteran double sculls.
Due to preparing for different events, the senior men’s and women’s squads chose to miss out on the racing, and use the weekend for training. However, last weekend saw the Tees Senior men’s squad take advantage of the bank holiday and attend both Monmouth and Hereford Regattas to test themselves against new opposition.
Monmouth was the most successful event for Tees; the men’s senior 2 coxless four of Paul Leggott, Graham Hollins, Chris Black and Bob Hewitt beat their opposition easily in the final, and Chris Boddy and Bob Hewitt won both the senior 2 doubles sculls and their respective single sculling events comfortably.
Tees Regatta Report
(31 May 2007)
Tees Regatta was held on 19th May in bright but very windy conditions. Competitors travelled from across the northern region and further, clubs entered from outside the region included Star Club (from Bedford) The University of Bath, Lancaster John O’Gaunt, Lancaster University, Warrington and York. This strong entry resulted in what should have been a hectic and action packed day for organisers and 326 entered crews alike. Unfortunately for many of the younger athletes it was decided that the course was unsafe, so the decision was taken early on to remove all events from the programme for those aged fourteen and under.
Once it became evident that the wind was increasing rather than dropping as forecast, creating large waves on the course and a strong headwind to race against, the event safety advisor Steve Vaslet, in consultation with club representatives and the organising committee, made the difficult decision to cancel all the races in smaller boats.
Despite this, the fours, quad sculls and eights were still able to race for all of those aged fifteen and over, so a successful event still went ahead with some excellent displays of skill, strength and competency from coxswains in particular, gamely battling up the 850m 4-laned course through waves and strong gusts.
It was hardest of all for the few small boats that raced early, before the wind became too severe, as they were less able to gain momentum. The J16 men’s single sculls semi-finals were among the first few races to go off, and the general feeling among the boys who had progressed to the final was relief to find it was cancelled.
In the women’s senior 4 double sculls events, one category above novice level, 5 crews took to the water for the semi finals and final, with the Tees crew of Rebecca Chislett and Danielle Coulton, both eighteen years old, easily proving they could master the conditions. Rebecca had only raced a handful of times previously.
Other Tees RC wins of the day included the Women’s Senior 3 coxless quad, with Angela Warburton, Jen Howse, Sarah Harker and Rebekah Warburton. The ladies beat Durham ARC, a Lancaster/York composite and Hollingworth Lake in a straight final, handling the challenging conditions adeptly to take 1st place comfortably.
The men’s senior 2 eight beat Lancaster University in a 2-boat straight final, and the men’s veteran novice 4+ beat Chester-le-Street, again in a straight final coping admirably with the waves and sudden gusts.
Overall, it was a successful event especially considering the number of events which did not run, and it was felt the correct decisions were taken throughout the day. It is hoped that the next Tees RC event in August, the Primary & Adaptive Regatta, aimed at the grassroots of rowing, will be more fortunate with the weather.
Tees Regatta press release
(16 May 2007)
Tees Regatta has once again attracted well over 300 entries, re-affirming its status as amongst the 6 biggest single day rowing events in the country. The event will be raced over 850 meters on a 4 lane buoyed course from the Tees Barrage upstream to the River Tees Watersports Centre, with the regatta venue providing a grandstand view of the finish line.
Rowing clubs from all parts of the Northern region will compete against competitors from across the country, including those from Bath, Bedford, Bradford, Bideford, Lancaster, York and Warrington. Local clubs entered include Tees Rowing Club, Teesside University and Yarm School.
As in previous years, the trend of a strong junior entry continues, as many of the school and club junior rowing squads in the region find the 4-lane fully buoyed course excellent preparation and experience for the forthcoming National Schools Regatta.
Entries once again represent the full spectrum of age and ability in the sport; the oldest competitor is believed to be aged 74, whereas the youngest is 11 years old, and racing in a single scull. This boat class requires as much skill as strength, many much older rowers with years more experience have yet to attempt it.
Novice rowers and scullers will be taking up oars in anger for their first race, gaining valuable experience in the process. There will also be some fast, exciting racing to be seen from both senior men’s and women’s eights racing; some crews are using Tees to test their preparations for events later in the season such as Henley.
Tees Regatta would not have grown from 38 entries in 1995, the first regatta to be held following the opening of the Tees Barrage, to the 300 plus entries it has received for the last few consecutive years without the continued commitment of the 200 members the club now boasts, many who will give their time voluntarily to produce one of the most vibrant events on the regatta calendar… and not forgetting by far the best cake stall!
The Mayor will be attending, and members of the public are welcome to come along and watch also, although parking is restricted at the venue. It is recommended that spectators park either at the Tees Barrage, or across the Princess of Wales Bridge in Teesdale. Racing can be viewed all along the course, and access to the River Tees Watersports Centre is possible on foot from either direction; it is also within walking distance of Stockton High Street.
Durham City Regatta Report
(16 May 2007)
Tees Rowing Club had an extremely successful visit to Durham City Regatta, held on the 12th and 13th May, winning events at all levels and all age groups.
On the Saturday the Senior Womens’ squad competed successfully in a number of sculling events. Wins of the day were recorded by Angela Warburton who won the Womens’ Senior 3 single scull event and Jen Howse who won the Women’s Senior 4 single scull event. Both showed huge poise and strength as they raced, especially Jen who was competing in her second event in a single scull. Angela Warburton then joined forces with Deborah Ashurst to compete as a veteran double. Because of time penalties awarded due being in a younger age category than their opponents, they were forced to start behind their opposition from Durham but rowed strongly to nearly catch them at the finish.
As for the men – James Andrews joined forces with Phil Bashford from Teesside University to compete in the Senior 3 pairs event. Rowing extremely smoothly they saw off crews from Hild Bede College, Northumbria University and Sunderland RC to win the event.
At Senior 4 level Phill Dawson, Nick Pinnington, Richard Harrison Adam Winship (stroke) and Mel Roe (cox) took on and beat Van Mildert College before losing to a strong composite crew from a number of Durham colleges in the semi final.
The ever–improving Men’s Veteran Novice Squad rose well to the occasion fielding both an eight and a combination of fours. The eight of Greg Beswick, Hilton Armstrong, Brian Conway, Dave Brindle, Sean Kenneally, Ken Watson, John Winton, Ian Burns (stroke) and Mel Roe (cox) took on and beat a youthful St Aidan’s College crew (their first College scalp!) before losing out to St John’s College in the semi final. The crew then split up into combinations of fours competing at Veteran and Novice levels where they put up spirited performances against more College crews.
On the Sunday the Junior Squad was out competing; Imogen Leigh beat fellow Tees member Hannah York in the Women’s under 12 years single scull event before they both teamed up to compete a year above their age group in the under 13 double sculls event where they beat their opposition from Durham ARC. James Coulton and Edward Mace won in the under 16 double sculls. Danielle Coulton showed her true potential in winning the Women’s Senior 3 single sculling event. She also teamed up with Phill Dawson to compete in the mixed doubles event beating a crew from Chester-le- Street but then losing to a strong double from City of Sunderland.
Rachel York and Clare Williamson were unlucky to lose to a Yarm School double in the Women’s under 15 event and William Mace and Edward Mace both put on a strong showing competing in single scull events.
Both Rachel and Hannah York also showed great promise as future coxes when they each took charge of adult crews. Rachel coxed a Senior 4 four of James Coulton, Nick Pinnington, Phill Dawson and Richard Harrison (stroke) to win in this event beating crews from Durham ARC and St Cuthbert’s College on the way. Younger sister, Hannah successfully coxed the mixed quad scull of Mel Roe, Phill Dawson, Nick Pinnington and Danielle Coulton (stroke) who won this event beating crews from City of Sunderland RC and Hexham RC on the way. The family’s prowess as coxes was completed when their father, Graham, took charge of a novice coxed four.
Further successes were had by the senior rowers led by Johnnie and David Cooper who competed in the Veteran C doubles event beating a Hexham crew who had earlier beaten fellow Tees members Gary Bettinson and Peter Macfall. Matters did not end there for Gary and Peter, who joined forces with Paul Stiller and Steven Leigh to compete in the Veteran C coxed fours event taking the trophy by beating a crew from Durham ARC. Gary Bettinson also teamed up with Ester Takacs to race in the Mixed Doubles event, beating St Mary’s College in the heats but then losing out to the eventual winners, Ustinov College.
In the Womens’ Senior 3 quad sculls event the Tees crew of Angela Warburton. Sarah Douglass, Sarah Stocking and Sarah Harker (stroke) beat the quad from Talkin Tarn RC to gain a place in the final where in a tightly fought race they came from behind to beat their opposition from Durham ARC. In a similarly tight race the Women’s Senior 4 eight competed against Hatfield College BC in the final of this event but they were unlucky to lose by around two feet. The crew consisted of Deborah Ashurst, Helen O’Connor Pickering, Rebecca Chislet, Joanne Pittaway, Kate Dickinson, Fiona Ventress, Jen Howse and Rebekah Warburton (stroke) Neil Hindle (cox).
Competing in the Veteran C quad sculls event the Tees crew of Janet Wilkinson, Ester Takacs, Christine Meikle and Gill Stiller (stroke) faced opposition from Durham ARC. After a false start when they were impeded by the Durham crew the race was restarted with the Tees women coming a close second.
Once again good rows were had by the Veteran Novice Men’s squad who raced St Cuthbert’s College. Despite a bad start the Tees crew powered its way past the younger crew. A similar combination of fours as the day before produced similar results. This group of rowers is clearly physically strong but only need some refining in their technique at the start of the race.
Finally, the club was happy to help out others as shown when Sarah Harker agreed to sub into a Womens Senior 4 boat from Talkin Tarn RC when one of their crew was taken ill. They went on to win the event!
Vesta Veterans Head Report
(06 April 2007)
Tees Rowing Club had one of its most successful visits to Vesta International Veterans Head of the River Race this year on Sunday 1st April, marking the event’s silver anniversary, with all three crews returning fantastic performances over the 4km course.
The pennant winners, a first for the club in any event from any of the major Tideway events, were the mixed Veteran “D” crew (the category for an average crew age of 51-55); Janet Wilkinson, Liz Leigh, John Green, Dick Wilkinson, Kevin Brophy, Christine Meikle, Gill Stiller and Paul Reevell, were coxed by Katy Wilkinson, daughter of crew members Janet and Dick. To win a pennant, there have to be 4 entries in the category to start; theirs was a convincing win, finishing 23 seconds faster than their nearest opposition, and finding themselves placed 80th overall in the 180 crews that raced.
Also returning performances reflecting their hard work and commitment over the last few months were the two veteran men’s crews; The Veteran D crew came 3rd place out of 38 crews racing in their category, and a mere 16 seconds behind the class winners, and making them the fastest non-composite British crew in Vet D, and one of the club’s best ever results for veteran men in this event. They were 20th overall in the event beating many younger crews. The crew of Richard Harandon, Gary Bettinson, Peter Mackfall, Dilwyn Jones, Paul Stiller, Steven Leigh, David Cooper and Tony Stocking were coxed by John Heron.
The remaining crew to compete were the Veteran Novice men’s eight. Part of a larger squad, they have trained hard over the last few months under their coach Tim Mallon, coming ever closer to the slightly older but more experienced Tees Vet D crew in every race. This time, the crew of John Edwards, Hilton Armstrong, Greg Beswick, Ian Burns, Sean Keneally, Ken Watson, John Winton and stroke Dave Brindle, coxed by Mel Roe, were only 13 seconds behind them. The overall result for the crew was 4th of the 12 in their category, and 48th in the event.
Unfortunately, the Men’s Head of the River Race, which attracted 420 entries this year, held the previous day to the veteran event, had to be abandoned. All the crews had taken to the water for the event, but once the tide turned against the wind, conditions became dangerously choppy, resulting in many boats filling up with water. Of the 50 crews who did cross the start line, only 29 completed the course, some almost fully submerged as they crossed the line. Neither of the two Tees men’s eights started the race, despite being among the best prepared crews that Tees Rowing Club has ever fielded in this event. Nevertheless, all the training has been valuable for the forthcoming regatta season
Tees RC Annual Dinner Notice
(23 March 2007)
TEES RC ANNUAL DINNER
21st April 2007 at RTWC
Tickets £23.00, on sale from this weekend. See Wendy Capes or Jen Howse.
Ticket includes pre dinner drinks and entertainment, formal 3 course meal and disco, the theme of the night is to be announced later.
Menu choice options will be published shortly.
Please can all squads/groups get together and come up with a thoughtful raffle prize, we had some fantastic things last year.
Also, keep emailing your Golden Crab Awards nominations to Neil Hindle, neil@hindle.me.uk. These are annually awarded to the most deserving numpties and muppets.
Women's HORR and Yorkshire Head reports
(22 March 2007)
Tees Rowing Club attended 2 events on 17th March, the most prestigious being the annual Women’s Eights Head of the River Race on the Thames in London, arguably the premier women’s rowing event of the year attracting entries from across the British Isles and increasingly from overseas. This year the event was held in glorious spring conditions, with 6 event records falling due to an unusually fast-flowing ebb tide. The course, raced over 4 ¼ miles from Chiswick Bridge to Putney, is better known for the University Boat Race, traditionally raced in the opposite direction.
The event attracted 286 entries this year, of which 277 raced and was won overall by a GB squad crew, with Olympic medallists Kathy Grainger and Cath Bishop in the stern pair. Thames RC’s “A” crew, who came second, also had international oarswomen in their boat.
The Tees women therefore had the best to test themselves against, and the crew of Deborah Ashurst, Sarah Harker, Angela Warburton, Fiona Ventress, Jen Howse, Rebekah Warburton, Wendy Capes, Vicky Phelan, superbly coxed by Neil Hindle, more than rose to the occasion achieving the impressive result of 72nd overall in a time of 20:39.8, coming 18th of the 68 crews in the “Senior 3” division, and proving themselves the 8th fastest of 47 Senior 3 club crews entered. During the race they overtook at least 6 crews, all in the last 2km of the race, giving cox Neil a real challenge to steer the crew past without impeding their progress; they were overtaken by none.
Northern Senior 3 crews beaten included Durham University “B”, for the first time this season, as well as Tyne RC and Durham RC. The crew were also delighted to have beaten Edinburgh University and York RC, both of whom have had the better of Tees in recent races. The other crew representing Teesside at this event was a composite of Teesside University and George Stephenson College (Durham University Queen’s campus), some of the girls are also members of Tees RC. They came in at 231, with one crew member bravely rowing the last 2km of the race following a brief shoulder dislocation. Another Tees member racing was Lucy Ventress, sister of Fiona, for Wadham College Oxford.
The remainder of Tees Rowing Club’s competitors this weekend, at the Yorkshire Head on the Ouse in York, weren’t to be overshadowed by the women’s performance. The first crew to race in the field of 159 entries was the S1 coxless quad of Johnny Cooper, David Cooper, Paul Buckworth and Hugh Pelham, competing alone in their category, came 12th overall and completed the course in 17:25.7.
Also racing in the morning were 2 veteran eights, the Veteran D crew once again proving themselves unbeatable to all local opposition. The crew of Kevin Brophy, Paul Reevell, John Green, Dick Wilkinson, Tor Taverner, Steve Leigh, Paul Stiller and Gary Bettinson, coxed by John Heron, completed the course in 17:53.2. The veteran novice crew was 45 seconds behind, beating their only rivals Bradford in a time of 18:38.3 and overtaking 3 crews on their way down the winding Ouse course. The crew of Greg Beswick, Hilton Armstrong, John Edwards, Ian Burns, Sean Keneally, Ken Watson, John Winton and Dave Brindle, coxed by Danielle Coulton, is improving every time they race, and felt they had put in a superb performance, perfect preparation for both veteran crews for the 25th Vesta International Veterans Head of the River Race in London on 1st April.
The women’s senior 3 coxless quad of Ruth Wilkinson, Janet Wilkinson, Ester Takacs and Danielle Coulton came 2nd of 3 crews, 56th overall in a time of 19:55.7 and the men’s novice double of Phill Dawson and Nick Pinnington came 2nd of 4 crews in a time of 20:02.9 and 60th overall. James Coulton had a busy day of racing, first in a composite J18 coxless quad with Chester-le-street, then in a J16 double scull with his partner, both selected to represent the Northern region in the upcoming junior interregionals.
The two men’s Senior 3 eights were the fastest Tees crews of the day. The “A” crew contained athletes training under the World Class Start & Potential scheme, a strategy aiming to find and nurture international level talent for the future. As was demonstrated by both crew’s performances, the scheme has been successfully integrated with club rowing and has raised the aspirations of all its members.
The closest verdict of the day saw Tees A lose the senior 3 pennant to Durham University B by 0.1 seconds and come 4th overall, a result that despite not being a win demonstrated a fantastic performance by the crew of Paul Leggott, Graham Hollins, Rob Cree, Alex Leigh, Chris Black, Alex Mack, Chris Boddy and Bob Hewitt, coxed by Lucy Allen in a time of 16:13.6. No less impressive were Tees B; Andrew Walker, Tom Reevell, Scott Gooding, Paul Lofts, Dave Scarr, Phil Gray, Steve Vaslet and Andy Pickering, coxed by Zoe Rayson, came 4th in senior 3, and 7th overall in a time of 17:05.6, only 11 seconds behind the York RC crew in their category showing that there is now real depth in senior men’s rowing on Teesside. Both crews and their coaches have high expectations for a solid Tees performance in the Men’s Head of the River Race on 31st March.
Should the club’s performance in both events in London in a fortnight’s time match that of its women’s eight there this weekend, Tees Rowing Club will see its national reputation dramatically rise in the rowing world. Credit must go to the unpaid volunteer coaches of all the crews for putting in so much hard work and giving many hours of their free time over the last months, and in some cases, years.
Notice To Mariners 04/07
(17 March 2007)
Details of river closures are detailed in the attached "Notice to Mariners"
Tyne Head Report
(03 March 2007)
The annual Tyne Head took place on Sat 3 March at Newburn, upsteam from Newcastle City. Placed 2 weeks before the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race in London, and just 4 weeks before the equivalent men’s event, it was an ideal opportunity for the regions crew to test their progress against the local opposition. Tees Rowing Club entered a total of 4 crews in each of the 2 divisions. Conditions on the day were heavy due to a strong head wind along much of the exposed course; however crews in the first division had the flood tide to help them along. Gaining tidal rowing experience is important for crews planning to enter the London head races, not only so that they can make the most of their techniques in tidal water but also so rowers and coxes know what to expect and can cope safely with the more challenging environment. Division one was raced in the morning upstream with the flood tide.
The fastest Tees crew was the Men’s Senior 3 eight; 12 Senior 3 Men’s eights raced; the Tees crew returning an impressive 2nd place in a time of 16:49, beaten only by Durham University. The crew of Tom Reevell, Andy Pickering, Steve Vaslet, Graham Hollins, Rob Cree, Alex Mack, Chris Black and Andrew Walker was coxed by Lucy Allen.
The Veteran “D” Men’s eight won their event comfortably in a time of 17:11, placed 10th out of 47 boats in the division. The crew consisted of Richard Harandon, Paul Reevell, David Cooper, Dilwyn Jones, Paul Stiller, Steve Leigh, Peter Mackfall and Tony Stocking, coxed by John Heron. In veteran racing, age categories are based on average age, which in this crew’s case is 50, giving them their classification of Veteran “D”.
Yet another fantastic performance was returned by the Veteran Novice Men’s eight, again racing in the same class as the Veteran D crew, and coming ever closer to their more seasoned rivals. The crew of Greg Beswick, Hilton Armstrong, Sean Keneally, Ian Burns, Brian Conway, Ken Watson, John Winton and Dave Brindle coxed by Mel Roe returned a time of 18:58, most impressive considering the challenging conditions and their relative lack of experience. Also racing this division was the composite coxless quad of Ruth Wilkinson and Danielle Coulton of Tees Rowing Club with Sarah Stocking and Helen Parsons of Teesside University, this crew completing in a time of 20:23.
The Second division was again raced upstream into a head wind, this time also against the ebbing tide and over a slightly shorter course of 4km due to the deteriorating conditions towards the finish line. Four Tees crews raced, the fastest being the Women’s Senior 3 8+ coming 3rd of 11 crews in their event and 19th overall of the 51 crews racing, in a time of 19:45. Deborah Ashurst, Sarah Harker, Angela Warbuton, Fiona Ventress, Jen Howse, Becky Warburton, Wendy Capes and stroke Vicky Phelan, coxed by recently instated Club Captain Neil Hindle will be racing in London in 2 weeks time.
Three men’s fours also raced, all returning pleasing performances. The Senior 2 four of Paul Leggott, Alex Mack, Rob Cree and Chris Black coxed by Lucy Allen, all racing a second time after their eights race in division one, came 2nd out of the 3 crews entered in their category in a time of 18:29 coming 9th overall. Entered at Senior 3 level, the men’s four of Phil Dawson, Nick Pinnington, Scott Gooding and Adam Winship, coxed by Danielle Coulton, came joint 4th of 6 crews in a time of 19:35 and placed 17th overall. Another men’s combination of Ian Scott, Peter Hancock, Steve Barker and Brian Ventress, coxed by Mel Roe, came second of only three novice men’s eights to brave the conditions in a time of 23:25.
The next events on the Tees race calendar are the Women’s Eights Head of the River Race in London and the Yorkshire Head in York, both in 2 weeks time.
Trent Head Report
(22 February 2007)
Tees Rowing Club entered 4 crews in the Head of the Trent this year. Open only to fours and eights and raced over 6km, the course passes underneath Trent Bridge and continues past the Brian Clough Memorial Stadium, home to Nottingham Forest Football Club. Trent attracts crews from across the country including the Cambridge University Women who travel up every year for this event. Conditions were dry but overcast, with a very strong stream running creating challenging conditions similar to rowing on tidal water.
The fast improving men’s veteran novice 8 entered as novice in the shorter second division of this event. The crew, who train as part of a squad, all put in a fantastic performance which bodes well for the upcoming Vesta Veterans Head of the River in London in March. The crew of Greg Beswick, Brian Ventress, Hilton Armstrong, Peter Hancock, Ian Burns, Ken Watson, John Winton, Dave Brindle, and cox Melanie Roe are coached by Tim Mallon. Out of the 18 men’s Novice 8’s entered, they came 8th place and 13th overall in their division with a time of 10.21 beating much younger crews proving that hard training and commitment does get results.
Three crews raced in the 3rd division:
Tees Senior Women’s Squad entered Women’s Senior 3 8’s and despite having some last minute changes in the crew line up due to illness, they produced a creditable performance coming 9th out of 17in their category and catching up with Bristol Ariel right on the line in the time of 18.34. The crew consisted of Deborah Ashurst, Sarah Harker, Helen Pickering, Fiona Ventress, Jenny Howse, Angela Warburton, Wendy Capes, Vicky Phelan and cox Neil Hindle. The Women’s Squad is currently training for the Women’s Eights Head of the River in March and is coached by David Warburton.
The result of the day was the performance put in by the veteran D/E men’s 8 who won their event beating 8 competitors in a time of 17.01. Their performance was helped by a tussle with two other eights, who they caught up towards the end, finishing three abreast. Pictured are the crew with their pots, Kevin Brophy, Paul Reevel, John Green, Gary Bettinson, Paul Stiller, Steve Leigh, Peter Mackfall, Tony Stocking and cox John Heron.
ARA Medal of Merit
(22 February 2007)
Kate O’Sullivan, long standing member of Tees Rowing Club, received the Medal of Merit from the Amateur Rowing Association last Friday. This award is given in recognition for “exceptional service to the sport of rowing.”
Kate has long been known for the sheer volume of work she does for Tees Rowing Club as well as the ARA on top of a full time job; within the club her roles involve Regatta Secretary of Tees Regatta, overseeing the senior men’s squad and Chairing the Adaptive Group.
Since its introduction 3 years ago, Kate is the 4th person to be awarded with this medal; actually announced in September 2005, it has taken 18 months to agree to a presentation date and venue. Ever modest, Kate had suggested that the medal just be put in the post, but finally she was formally presented her award last Friday at a special reception held at the River Tees Watersports Centre.
Chairman of the Northern Rowing Council, Andrew Bryant introduced Di Ellis, Chairman of the ARA, to the friends, fans and fellow rowers gathered there; Di then went on to say some words about her long acquaintance with Kate in the sport, then in her own words explained just why she thought Kate deserved this recognition.
Those attending Kate’s reception were invited to contribute with their own comments; during the evening, people pinned one-line comments about Kate on a display board. Messages ranged from “Kate always brings my grub” a reference to her dedication to the crews she coaches, to “Kate can turn a sentence into a story.” Ironically Kate had lost her voice so the acceptance speech was a lot shorter than anticipated by some!
Kate continues her voluntary work in rowing, and is currently Chair of the National Coaching Committee as well as working as an ARA Executive Officer.
Kate O’Sullivan receives ARA Medal of Merit
(08 February 2007)
There will be a reception on Friday 16th February at the River Tees Watersports Centre at which Kate o'Sullivan of Tees Rowing Club will receive the award of the ARA Medal of Merit from Di Ellis, Chairman of the ARA.
The Medal of Merit is for those who make an exceptional contribution to the sport of rowing through the clubs and the regions.
Kate has worked tirelessly over the years to promote the sport of rowing at Tees Rowing Club and to further the development of rowing in the Northern Region.
Kate has served Tees well in a range of official positions over the years but Kate is perhaps best known for her work as Secretary of Tees Regatta. Tees Regatta is always superbly organised by Kate and her team and it is an event that offers much for all those who wish to compete at whatever level and for the families and spectators who come along for the 'day out'.
More recently, Kate has taken up an important role as Chairman of the National Coaching Committee and is also ARA Executive Officer championing Adaptive Rowing in the Northern Region.
This is only a small part of Kate's contribution to Rowing. Kate plays a much bigger part in the life of Tees Rowing Club.
Please come along to the reception, all very welcome: - this is the second and most important visitor from the ARA we have had in a fortnight.
Timings on Friday 16th February are:
Meet at River Tees Watersports Centre, Dugdale Street, Stockton – on - Tees
7pm for 7.30pm for light refreshments/nibbles/bar
8pm - Award Presentation Ceremony
8.30 – Bar
Durham SBH Report
(08 February 2007)
Tees Rowing Club sent crews to the Durham Small Boats Head of the River last weekend, the first event in the region for 2006, in a range of categories from Junior 12 age group to Veterans.
The competition was split into 4 divisions to take into account the huge entry of crews from Rowing Clubs throughout the Northern Region and from Scotland. Many competitors competed in more than one division that was raced over a coarse stretching upstream on the River Wear from Prebends Bridge in Durham City over a course of 1800 metres.
Kind weather presented oarsmen and oarswomen of all ages with the ideal opportunity to demonstrate that long hard nights in the gym over the winter had prepared them well for this challenging event. The ‘Head’ course which favours local crews from the Durham Colleges and Clubs provided crews with a range of obstacles which had to be negotiated without loss of momentum - notably the narrow arches of Elvet Bridge and the bends and bays of this popular racing venue.
Performance of the day was that of the Senior 3 Mixed Coxless Quad of James Andrews(Steersman), Phil Dawson, Danielle Coulton, Ruth Wilkinson(Stroke) when they finished 14th out of the total entry of 300 entries in the fast time of 06:53.9. This was the fastest mixed quad of the day, and the second fastest quad of any category.
Phil Dawson then teamed up with James Coulton in the Novice Double Sculls and put up a great performance to record a time of 07:35.1.
The Novice Veteran Coxed four of Greg Beswick, Peter Hancock, Sean Kenneally, Hilton Armstrong with Sarah Harker coxing were 106/300 in a time of 07:54.7.
Tees Veteran Novices, John Edwards, Graham York, Ian Burns, John Winton with cox David Francis in the coxed fours event recorded a time of 08:25.6 and were 150/300.
Tees representatives in the Novice Coxed Quad event of Brian Ventress, Ian Scott, Steve Barker, Dave Brindle were timed in at 08:30.6 in position 163/300.
Ruth Wilkinson continues to impress in the Single Sculls event and was the fastest Women’s S3 sculler in a time of 08:33.8, winning her event comfortably.
The mixed coxed Quad Sculls of James Coulton, Claire Williamson, Edward Mace, Rachael Yorke (Stroke) and Steven Leigh (Cox) recorded a time of 08:57.5 when finishing in position 206/300.
James Coulton had a busy day when he recorded a time of 09:12.2 in his second event of the day in the J16 Single Sculls 233/300. Sister Danielle Coulton was not far behind her brother in the Women’s J18 single Sculls in a time of 09:28.4 251/300.
The women’s Novice Coxed Quad of Bridgette Tyldesley, Helen Parsons, Fiona Wrigglesworth, Helen Watkinson with Janet Wilkinson (cox) returned a time of 09:33.8 and were positioned 259/300.
Finally, Imogen Leigh and Hannah Yorke recorded the time of 10:28.4 in the Women’s J12 event. This crew was the youngest in the event and demonstrated considerable skill in negotiating the tricky course that included three bridges and many bends, winning their first trophy to round off a successful day.
Tees crews are next competing on the Trent on Sunday February 18th.
ARA Adaptive Coach of the Year
(03 January 2007)
Dick Wilkinson of Tees RC has been chosen as the ARA Adaptive Coach of the Year: he has been invited to receive his award in person at the National Coaching Conference on the weekend of Jan 27/28, 2007.
Rutherford Head Report
(11 December 2006)
Rutherford Head of the River Race, a prestigious long distance rowing event held on the River Tyne over a 5000-metre course, was the venue for top class distance racing by crews in the bigger 8 – oared boats; and 4 – oared boats of both the coxed and coxless variety. This event, which attracted top crews from Scotland, as well as from across the Northern region, was the last major event for 2006 and provided a valuable marker for crews and their preparedness for events such as the Head of the River, and for sprint racing including the National Championships, in the Spring and Summer of 2006.
170 crews contested the Rutherford Head that was raced in two divisions. Conditions were more or less ideal for racing in the morning and afternoon. Crews racing in the afternoon had to contend with a strong tide that resulted in slower times than those recorded for crews in the morning’s races.
Division 1
Tees RC’s Senior 2 Coxless Quad gave a good account of themselves coming in at third place behind George Watson’s College and Durham University in a time of 15:33.7, Andrew Walker, Graham Hollins, Rob Cree and Paul Leggott continue to improve, and their finishing position of 9th out of 80 crews was an indication of their ability to push the best crews in the region to fast times.
Following hard on their heels, placed 19/80 was the Tees Senior 2 Coxed Four of, Steve Vaslet, Tom Reevell Chris Black, and James Andrews, with James Coulton coxing in a time of 16:32.3. 29/80 was the Tees Coxed Four of Scott Gooding, Adam Winship, Dave Scarr, Paul Lofts with Zoe Rayson coxing in a time of 16:49.8.
Phil Dawson, Nick Pinnington, Chris Todd, Richard Harrison with Danielle Coulton in the coxes seat, recorded the time of 17:13.4 and a finishing spot of 33/80.
Tees Women Senior 3 Eight of Deborah Ashurst, Sarah Harker, Helen O’Connor Pickering, Jenny Howse, Rebekah Warburton, Fiona Ventress, Wendy Capes, Angela Warburton with Neil Hindle (cox) enjoyed a good solid row despite several crew members suffering from slight colds and finished the 5k race in spirited fashion with a tremendous tussle against Hild/Bede of Durham who they finally overtook just before the finishing line. The Tees women were third behind Edinburgh and Newcastle Universities in a time of 17:21.4.
A fine performance in Division 2 by the Men’s Senior 3 Eight of Tom Reevell, Andrew Walker, Paul Lofts, Graham Hollins, Rob Cree, Paul Leggott, James Andrews, Chris Black, with Zoe Rayson (cox) returned a time of 17:22.0 to take 8/80 position – a pleasing result for a crew assembled and racing together for the first time.
Andrew Stephenson, Brian Ventress, Hilton Armstrong, Ian Burns, Sean Kenneally, Ken Watson, John Winton, Steve Castleton with Sarah Harker as cox, came third in their event, the Veteran C/D Handicapped Eights in a time of 20: 31.0 The Veteran Handicapped event was won outright by the Tees Veteran D Eight of Kevin Brophy, Dick Wilkinson, Richard Harandon, Steven Leigh, Paul Stiller, Tony Stocking, Peter Macfall, with Paul Reevell(str) and the experienced John Heron in the coxes seat in a time of 17:50.9, position 15/80.
Finally the Women’s Senior 2 Coxless Quad of Janet Wilkinson, Charlotte Brown, Ruth Wilkinson, Danielle Coulton found the going tough against the tough student crews in the region but came in a creditable fourth place in a time of 22:37.2.
Most Tees crews now take a break from racing but are continuing winter training and will resume competition in the New Year.
Adaptive Rowng Newsletter
(09 December 2006)
Here are a few items which might be of interest to TRC members about Adaptive Rowing in the club.
Dick Wilkinson has just been voted by the Northern Rowing Council "Adaptive Coach of the Year". Well done to Wendy Capes for nominating him and a very worthy winner in Dick. Dick will now go forward to the National Competition which will be judged on December 9th.
Tony Flinn, won a silver medal in the 1000m arms only sculling at the National Championships in Glasgow in July this year. Congratulations to Tony, who many of you will see training on a regular basis on the Tees, coached by Dick Wilkinson. Tony lists some of his other sporting interests to include sailing and swimming.
Another arms only athlete, Rob Goodfellow, trains regularly on the River Tees from the Water Sports Centre and is frequently assisted during his outings by other members of the club.
The aim of this Group is to m