British Beach Sprint Championships 2026
Article by Sophie Bentley

Earlier this year, following erg testing at the club, I was invited to attend the Northern beach sprint Performance Development Academy in South Shields. I had tried beach sprints at a taster session but still needed to give it a proper go and see if I enjoyed it. Following a few PDA sessions I soon realised how much fun this new style of rowing was and wanted to do more. Beach sprints is fast paced and I love to feel the water and use it to my advantage (if I can!). This makes the rough conditions particularly enjoyable!
My first competition was in Studland in August where I finished third in the time trial but was sadly knocked out in the quarter final head-to-heads. My exit from the boat had not gone well so I was keen to try again and this weekend I travelled to Bournemouth for the British Beach Sprint Championships.
Conditions were choppy but as I enjoy this, it made it more exciting to compete. Time trials were held on the Saturday which determined who I was to go head-to-head with on Sunday. I finished second in the time trial so went straight to the quarter finals on Sunday morning. I got off to a good enough start, a little wide around the buoys but enough to secure me a semi-final spot. Each race follows in quite quick succession if you go through so the excitement builds!
Competition was tough and I learned that I need different kind of socks to run in (!) and still need to work on my exits (!) but my preference for rough conditions seemed to work in my favour and I managed to win Gold in the J16 category. I will have another shot at this age category next year so will continue to work towards this.
If anyone is thinking of giving beach sprints a go, I would highly recommend it! As well as river rowing, coastal rowing at Whitby was useful experience of dealing with different conditions. Beach sprints is a really good day on the beach in amongst a brilliant atmosphere – music, finish line dives and buzzers and sun if you’re lucky – with a great bunch of people!


















