Boxing Day Eights

Photos from R. Hooper

We had a fantastic turnout for this event thanks to all who attended Crews and Supporters.  The weather was also very kind creating excellent conditions for a thrilling event, the Sun even made an appearance!

The winning crew  fought off opposition from five other crews on the 350m sprint course to win the Brunner Trophy 

Cox Faith Murray

Ellie Preece

Victoria Gardner

Alex Murphy

Rhian Wynne

Finn Lawton

Adam Webster

Mary Hunt

Mel Benson

Northwich Rowing Club Autumn Head

Once again we had a lovely sunny day for our Autumn Head and celebrated with 11 wins for Northwich crews!

The first 4 wins came from our single scullers in Division 1:

J18A.1x - Finn Lawton
J17A.1x - Tom Asteriades
J15A.1x - Matthew Roberts
J14A.1x - Greg Murphy.

The wins continued in Division 2:

MasC.2x - Andy Mallins and Simon Crouchley
MasD/E 4+ - From Bow: Simon Bannister,Steve Wignall,Tom Kilkenny,Neville Hand. Cox: Jonty
Nov4+ - From Bow: Joe Ronald,Ryan Gamble,Liam Adamson,Alex Murphy. Cox: Emma Chaplin
WIM3.4+ - From Bow: Tory,Olivia,Beth,Geogina. Cox: Alice

Our wins in Division 3 were:

J174x - From Bow: Zac Trigg,Tom Asteriades,Finn Lawton,Harry Blake.
J14A.4x+ - From Bow: Thomas Porter,Lawrence Williams,Greg Murphy,George Crouchley.
                                      Cox: Harriet

WNOV4+ - From Bow: Sue Easton,Claire Webster,Claire Holt,Emma Windsor.

This crew is a Novice ladies crew and 2 crew members,Emma Windsor and Claire Webster have recently completed the Clubs Learn to row programme.

It was a great day for the Crouchley family with Father and Son ( Simon and George) both securing wins!

The TIM HOOPER Trophy for the fastest open boat of the day was awarded to Grange School J18A.4x.

The SUE BENYON Trophy for the fastest womens boat of the day was awarded to Grange School WJ18A.4x.

George Musker Awards 2012

Once again the sun shone for the George Musker Awards. The club achieved 58 wins this year - remarkable given the dreadful weather during the summer months and the large number of events that were cancelled.

Northwich Club President Cliff Salt awarded his trophy ' Salt of the Earth' to our retiring club Captain Clare Briegal for her hard work and commitment to the club.

Local M.P. Graham Evans presented the awards to the winners.

The Eddie Phillips Junior Award for the most promising junior of the year went to Harry Blake. Harry has demonstrated dedication and commitment in the short time he has been rowing. He has won races in both his age group and the Novice mens. He been variety of crews including racing with the Grange at the British Championships, in a mixed eight at the Northwich Regatta and with the age group above.

The Dennis Mills Trophy for coxing went to Chloe Weston. Due to an injury Chloe had to stop rowing but picked up a lifejacket and cox box and coxed many crews to victory throughout the year. Chloe has just started at Newcastle University and we are delighted to hear that she is coxing the University first VIII.

The Irvine Award is for the most Improved Rower and this year went to a junior member, Finnian Lawton. Having proved himself in sweep boats with the J16 squad and winning silver at  the English Indoor rowing team event he set about trying to master the single scull. He has already won several single events and we expect a great performance this year.

The Simon Crouchley Coaching Award is a way of saying thank you to our coaching team. This year the award goes to Rachel Hooper. Rachel is a previous winner of the George Musker awards and returned to the club last year to help coach our learn 2 row courses.

The Grange School Trophy for Endeavour goes to Ellie Preece who has been helping develop the learn 2 row attendees into novices ready to race.

Finally the George Musker Award. In an amazing year of sport we have been represented again in Senior and Junior GB squads.  Previous winners Matt Langridge and Ed Grisedale were both in contention for the George Musker this year for their achievements, however the award goes to
Lucy Burgess. 

Lucy is a relatively new member of the club. She came second in the WJ trials in November and went on to win the WJ trials in February. Lucy was selected for Team GB Munich Junior Regatta where she won a silver medal in the W4x. Back in her single she got silver at National Schools regatta. She represented Gb again at the World Junior Championships in Plovdiv where her quad came 7th overall.

Dee Head Chester 3rd November 2012

Seniors and Juniors from the club were well represented at the Dee Head. The day started and ended with rain but in between there was glorious sunshine. 

The 4km course is a very long course for the younger juniors but all crews coped well.

We had 3 wins on the day:

J17 4x had another great win beating their Queens Park School rivals for the first time.

Crew: Nathan Jump, Tom Asteriades, Finn Lawton, Harry Blake.

Masters D/E/G 4+

Crew: Simon Bannister, Steve Wignall, Tom Kilkenny and Neville Hand.

J15 4 x+ had their first win:

Crew:  Jack Koch, Mike Lundy, Alex Hine, Chris Malley,  Cox: Jack Hudson 

The J17 boys also had a great race coming second out of a field of ten racing as a Nov 4+.

Crew: Zac Trigg, Joe Ronald, Liam Adamson Alex Murphy cox: Craig Milne.

Agecroft Small Boats Head - 20th October 2012

Agecroft is a venue that is very popular every year. The crews race from the centre of Manchester out to Salford Quays a distance of 3250 metres. 

Northwich took a full trailer and were represented in the following classes:

J14, J16 and J17 Singles. 
J14 4X+
J15 4X+ and WJ15 4X+
J17 4X-
J18 4+
WJ17 2X 
WJ17 4X-
WIM3 1X
WIM2 4+
MasE 4+

There were 3 wins:
J17 - Finn Lawton won with Tom Asteriades coming a close second. 

J17 4X- A composite boat comprising of Sir John Deanes: Tom Asteriades, Finn Lawton and Nathan Jump and Northwich: Harry Blake won their race convincingly.

WJ17 2X Ashlene Hudson and Katie Meehan had a great win. 

 

Runcorn Small Boats Head - Saturday 6th October

Northwich Rowing Club sent a full trailer of boats to the Runcorn Head,  which had its largest entry for many years.  Northwich was represented by J14 boys, J15 boys and girls, J16 boys,  J17 boys, Womens Masters, Womens IM1 and Womens IM3.

The Northwich crews won the following medals:

W IM1 2x Lucy Burgess and Poppy Burgess

Womens Masters C/D 4+   Claire Holt, Carolyn Macritchie, Carole Riddell, Elaine Young
                                             Cox: Ellie Briegal.

The junior boys and girls rowed well but unfortunately did not win any medals. Harry Blake J16 (Northwich) took a seat in a Grange School J16A 4x- which won its category and was the second fastest boat of the day.

Boston Marathon 16th September 2012

The Boston Marathon takes place on the third Sunday in September. This year it was Sunday 16th. Crews row 31 miles from Lincoln to Boston along the River Witham. Northwich Rowing Club entered two crews a J17 mixed eight and a J17 single.

J17 Single - Tom Asteriades completed the marathon in 4hrs 33 mins - a fantastic achievement.

J17 Mixed Eight - from bow, Samantha Over, Ashleen Hudson, Nathan Jump, Liam Anderson, Zac Trigg, Katie Meehan, Izzy Philps (Grange School), Alex Murphy, Cox: Craig Milne. The mixed eight completed the marathon in 4 hrs 21mins.

The club are extremely proud of the J17 juniors who took on the challenge of the Boston Marathon and successfully completed it.

Northwich RC President’s Trophy Oct 2012

Northwich Rowing Club President, Mr. Clifford Salt, resident of Weaverham, aged 95 yr is very proud to present “The Salt of the Earth” Trophy to be awarded to a club member for “Honourable Services to the Northwich Rowing Club Fraternity” at the annual George Musker Awards on Sunday 14 October 2012.

The trophy was awarded to Mrs. Clare Briegal, former Club Captain standing down after 4 successful years, who was delighted to be the first recipient of this award.

Cliff has been President of Northwich Rowing Club for the past 15 years and has had a very strong affiliation with the River Weaver and the rowing club.

Growing up in Northwich he was brought up to love and respect the River Weaver and was inspired by his father, who was a “Steam Packet Captain” of some repute. 
It was while he was a “messenger boy” at I.C.I. in 1931, aged 14, he was introduced to Northwich Rowing Club by a member and asked to cox a men’s crew. Lightweight, with a natural aptitude and loud voice, Cliff inspired his crew to victory at Lancaster John O’ Gaunt Rowing Club Regatta, when they won the County Plate Trophy in 1932!

In 1933 to 1938 he gained an I.C.I. apprenticeship then built the first “Continuous Production Polythene Compressor” for RN & RAF “Anti Submarine Detection” for World War 2 destruction. Cliff, subsequently, joined the Royal Navy in 1941 and saw active service during the war in HMS Jamaica & the N Africa landings. He gained an Engineering Commission as Engineer Lieutenant in a River Cross Frigate, HMS Bann.

A chance encounter brought Cliff back to the club 60 years later in 1992 where he resumed his eloquent duties as a coxswain with senior and junior crews. He was delighted, in 1997, to win a tankard at Warrington Regatta in his 80^th year with a Novice women’s crew. In 2002, he became Vale Royal “Sportsman of the Year”.

We, at NRC, believe he was the oldest active coxswain in the UK with his final win in his 90^th year with the Northwich Junior girls Eight at Northwich Regatta in 2006.

Cliff with his vast knowledge and charismatic character has become a legend at the Club. His passion will live on with this glorious cup presented each year.

North of England Sprint Rowing Championships 2012, Hollingworth Lake RC

Northwich RC traveled north in the region to compete in the multilane 500 m North of England Sprint Rowing Championships hosted by Hollingworth Lake RC on Sat 1 September 2012. A small group of members entered, returning with five worthy wins. It proved to be a good day on and off the water. The weather can play a major part with the location situated on the edge of the Pennies, however this year we were blessed with sunshine and little wind to speak of. The event was cancelled last year due to lack of reservoir water, not so this year!

Two young up and coming juniors who started the sport last year demonstrated their determination to win and that their training & dedication to the sport does pay off.

Finn Lawton 17 yrs and Harry Blake 15 yrs entered their own age category and senior races with success for both young athletes.

Finn entered Intermediate 3 single scull winning his three boat semi final to then race in the final against an older sculler from Bradford RC winning by a length. He then raced J17 single scull, he controlled his three boat semi final. His final was a thrilling race when he came from behind with 150 meters to go, powering his way to the finish line crossing it two seconds ahead of Doncaster RC.

Harry in the morning, raced J16 single scull first winning his heat and semi final reaching the final against Doncaster RC. It was a very close race from the start with both scullers neck and neck; Harry tried to push for the finish but was beaten by one second.

He also entered Novice Men single scull, in the afternoon, winning his three boat semi by four lengths going on to win the three boat final by an impressive two lengths against men twenty years and more older than him. He won his medal and was awarded a beautiful two pint “pot” for winning his novice! And he is only 15 years old!

Poppy Burgess joined Hollingworth Lake RC to win Women’s Junior 17 double scull composite winning comfortably in the final.
Final win was Women’s Masters C/D double scull with Clare Briegal and Melanie Benson (C) having a comfortable win against Hollingworth Lake (D) considering they had a 4 second handicap to make up crossing the finish line 4 lengths up.

Crew Wins

IM3 single scull:                Finn Lawton

Mens Novice single scull:  Harry Blake

J17 single scull:                 Finn Lawton

WMC/D double scull:      Clare Briegal, Melanie Benson

WJ 17 double scull:          Poppy Burgess, composite HL RC.

Three times Olympian, Matt Langridge is welcomed back home at NRC!

Club members, parents and friends gathered for an impromptu visit on Thursday 30 August to welcome and congratulate Matt Langridge, GB Men’s Eight Bronze winner!

We were delighted to shake his hand or give him a big hug, anxious to see “The Medal” which didn’t disappoint. He generously allowed all of us to handle it and it really is heavy! It may not be the colour of medal Matt and his fellow crew members worked so hard to win but WOW it is very special indeed – a London 2012 Olympic medal!

We were very proud to photograph him outside the boat house with his Beijing 2008 Silver medal and London 2012 Bronze medal one for each hand!

Matt proudly shows off  London 2012 Bronze and  Beijing 2008
Silver medals with Paul Rafferty, close friend and former coach 

Novel way to carry them!

 The question on everyone’s lips was “What next, Matt, will it be Rio in 2016” which would be his fourth Olympic Games? We will wait with bated breath. But let us continue to savor his achievements and the wonder of the London 2012 Olympic Games!

NRC Ladies attend Whitby Regatta 22 August 2012

It is always good to try something new! 

Four of us from NRC Women’s Squad had a “Grand Day Out” at Whitby Regatta on Sunday 22 August. A former work colleague of Claire Miller (NRC Women’s Novice Squad) asked her if any fellow rowers would like to come up and have a go at their regatta racing in a skiff rowing boat. We jumped at the chance.

Claire Holt, Emma Windsor, Claire Miller and me, Carolyn MacRitchie were given a very warm welcome by the members of Whitby Fisherman’s Amateur Rowing Club who celebrate their 75^th anniversary in 2012. When introduced to the members they explained we, in rowing boats are “slidey seaters” while they, in skiffs, are “fixed seaters”.

We were entertained and enthralled by the Regatta racing which looked even more exhausting than our own. Imagine two and a half miles “body lean”!!

All of us were very keen to take up the invitation of a trip out to sea once the races had finished. So, on a beautiful summer evening, with little wind and flat water NRC ladies

ventured forth. We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and came off the water buzzing. We would like to think we didn’t disgrace ourselves and we may be invited back next year!

2012 JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. Plovdiv, Bulgaria 15-19 August

The Northwest was well represented at the Junior World Championship this August in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with 4 out of the 6 girl scullers from the region, 3 of the 4 having Northwich connections. Lucy Burgess, Northwich Rowing Club was in the Quad Sculls along with Jess Leyden, Hollingworth Lake RC, Katie Bartlett and Jo Unsworth from Nottingham RC and Henley RC  respectively. Emily Ford from the Grange School in Northwich and Annie Rogers, Runcorn RC who attends St. Nicholas High School in Northwich were in the Double Sculls. The Quad was first up on Wednesday, the first day of the Championships, needing to come in the top two to automatically qualify for the Semi-final; they were beaten into third place by the Australians by less than a second. On Thursday again needing to come in the top two, the Double were beaten into third place by France and the USA. In Friday’s repercharges both crews needed to come in the top three to progress to the Semis. This they duly did, the Quad winning their race and the Double coming second to the reigning World Champions Lithuania. Needing to come in the top three to progress to the A final neither crew could quite pull it off, the Quad finishing 4th and the Double 5th sending both to the B final. The Quad crew was particularly disappointed, with three girls retuning from last year’s Quad which finished 7th , they were tipped as potential medallists but once again had to be content with winning the B final again finishing 7th. The Double finished third in the B final which was a great achievement for two girls who had no prior experience at this level. They however being the competitive athletes they are were disappointed not to have come higher than 9th in the world! Plovdiv is Bulgaria’s second city after the capital, Sofia and although it may not be as well known as Lucerne or Munich the rowing facilities are excellent with a purpose built lake in the middle of an extensive sports park. The weather was fantastic giving the British supporters some well earned sunshine after our dreadful summer at home and the Plovdivians friendly and hospitable making it an altogether enjoyable trip. Paul Rafferty, Coach

Rowed to Success

Following the success of our British rowers at Eton Dorney throughout the 2012 Olympics, (including a hard-fought Bronze medal for Northwich rower Matt Langridge) Northwich Rowing Club has been inundated with interest from potential new members, keen to try the sport for the first time.
 
Over 30 keen new oarsmen and women attended our first ever 'Join-In' event on Sunday 19th, organised after unprecedented interest through our website.
 
A great day was had by all the attendees, volunteers, and coaches alike, and everyone is now looking forward to the upcoming Learn to Row course starting in September.
 
Many thanks to everyone at the club who helped out on the day,and a big welcome to all our new rowers!

Phil Hewitt (Vice Captain)

London 2012 Olympic Regatta

The first week of the London 2012 Olympics is over as is the Rowing Regatta at Eton Dorney Lake. What a wonderful Regatta it has proved to be; many beaming smiles coupled with disappointed tears for Team GB winning nine medals 4 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze.

Northwich Rowing Club members including family and friends waited with great anticipation and excitement for the Men’s Eight Final on Wednesday morning 1 August. Many club members were in the grandstands with others watching via any media source they could find. Our interest focused on one individual in the Eight, Matt Langridge sitting in the seven seat, needless to say all of us rooting for the crew to win Gold. Everyone including the crew knew it would be a hard, demanding race as the favourite crew Germany, undefeated over three years, was never going to make it easy for them.

Team GB was determined to go for Gold; they were on a mission, confident and believing in themselves. The race was epic! It was a fabulous start. They held their position in second place with Germany in their sights. It was imperative they stayed with them in the first 500 m which they did. The crew looked strong, gaining on Germany with every stroke. They pushed hard with the gap closing at 1000m. The crowded grandstands jubilant cheers surely lifted them as they pushed past Germany to lead the race. Team GB was flying putting Germany under pressure! The German Eight lifted the rating to 40 strokes a minute and went into another gear, opening out their lead. In the last few meters Team GB slipped into third winning Bronze as Canada edged past them on the finish line to win Silver.

Team GB did everything right. They admitted they had done all they possibly could. The medal may not be the colour they wanted but in our eyes they are all heroes and deserve our respect for their immense effort, considering they came to this boat as eight individuals being successfully moulded together over a short period of time to produce the Olympic Eight. Perhaps they can be comforted in the knowledge the nation was behind them 100%.

These Olympic Games will “Inspire a Generation” of that there is no doubt. Matthew is and will always be an inspiration to us here at Northwich Rowing Club where he was introduced as 12 year old to the sport he loves. His goal then was to race in the Olympics. He has achieved  is and so much more in his rowing career, racing at Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 winning Silver in the Men’s Eight and now London 2012.

We are all so very proud of him!

Team GB London 2012 Men's Eight

Team GB's Rowing quest for Olympic medals has started successfully with Sir Steve Redgrave stating optimistically that there is a strong possibility of all 13 crews having a podium position by the end of the week.

Team GB Men's coxed Eight had a steady race on the opening day of competition on Saturday 28 July with USA & Germany winning their respective heats going straight to the final. Team GB finished roughly 2 seconds behind a strong German crew in the second heat going to the Repechage on Monday 30 July.

The Rep gave the crew a chance to test their skills with a second race. This time the boat had a flying start leading comfortably by the 1000 m mark. They dominated the race winning in 5:26.85. They join Netherlands, USA, Germany, Canada & Australia in the final on Wed 1 Aug at 10:30.
The anticipation is building and the butterflies going crazy with every hour that approaches. Nothing is being taken for granted but the Men's Eight demonstrated their worth this morning in front of 30,000 spectators creating a spectacular atmosphere for athletes and spectators alike.
Matt Langridge, Honorary NRC member, in the seven seat, is reported to be in a relaxed mood and looking forward to the biggest, most important race of his life. He is genuinely moved by the overwhelming support he has received from everyone; family, friends and members of NRC where he learnt to row as a young teenager. A large entourage of club members will be attending the Final while others will be there in spirit, watching via the media, at home or work with bated breath and fingers crossed.

This Final is set to be an exciting, tough race..........
GOOD LUCK!

Warrington Regatta 28July 2012

There was another rowing event taking place further north of the Olympic Rowing lake at Eaton Dorney. Namely Warrington Regatta!

Northwich RC entered 11 crews at Warrington Regatta on the River Mersey on Sat 28 July all very keen to race having been deprived of competition over several months with many Regattas being cancelled by the adverse summer weather.

The club was pleased to return 4 wins, encouragingly with all crews reaching the finals.

Women’s Intermediate 3 “Invitation” coxed Eight, Open Intermediate 3 coxed Four, Junior 15 Single scull and Junior 13 Double sculls. (see crew names below)

The weather provided perfect conditions in the morning turning volatile in the afternoon; brilliant sunshine one minute followed by monsoon downpours the next.

Sunshine encouraged the early competitors namely Harry Blake in the J15 Single scull starting racing at 9:30 in the largest entry of 16 scullers. Harry had a total of four races over the 700 m course within an hour to win overall. He won his first three races comfortably, meeting Runcorn RC in the final. Harry had a fast start, pulling away over the first 20 strokes, settling into his rhythm and dominating the race. The Runcorn sculler pushed for the finish but Harry went over the line ¾ of a length up.

The junior girls entered the Women’s IM3 Invitation coxed Eight racing against older competitors in this category. The crew had a hard fought race against Athlunkard BC, visitors from Ireland, winning by a canvas. Victory was sweet for the girls when they raced Agecroft RC in a thrilling final, winning by one and a half lengths.

The Mens Intermediate 3 coxed Four were pushed all the way to victory in their heats meeting Mersey RC in the opening race. Mersey RC lead the race having a better start with the Northwich crew gaining on them as they approached the finish pushing hard for the last five strokes to win by a canvas. They were determined to stamp their authority in the next heat, which they did by having a flying start against Warrington RC maintaining their lead, winning by a length and a half. Their confidence now boosted it was all or nothing with a winning pot in their sights. They were not daunted by the opposition, Agecoft RC in the final race, having a quick start and pulling away. They maintained their lead to the halfway marker when Northwich lifted the rating to cross the finish by a length. Paul Parish, the coxswain, in his first Regatta season being a graduate of the NRC Learn to Row initiative, was thrilled to steer and encourage his crew to victory!  

 The winning combination of Greg Murphy and Lawrence Williams continues with their success in J13 Double sculls. The boys raced confidently during the afternoon meeting Runcorn RC in the final. It was a hard fought race with Northwich powering over the finish line with such enthusiasm they crashed into the bank! No damage to crew or boat, thankfully.

Women’s Intermediate 3 Invitation coxed Eight

Sam Over, Libby Welman, Poppy Burgess, Daisy Dell, Olivia Oakes, Kate Meehan,

Becky Jones, Alex Walton (stroke), cox Craig Milne

Open Intermediate 3 coxed Four

Sam Coverley, Phil Hewett, David Zimmer, Liam Bromley (stroke),cox Paul Parish

J15 single scull

Harry Blake

J13 double scull

Greg Murphy, Lawrence Williams

Winners Open IM3 coxed Four

(l-r) Liam Bromley, David Zimmer, Paul Parish (cox), Phil Hewett, Sam Coverley

Good Luck Team GB 2012!

The eyes of the world will be watching in awe, at the spectacle of the Opening Ceremony launching the London 2012 Olympic Games on Friday 27 July 2012.

There is great excitement mixed with anticipation here at Northwich RC as we focus our attention to the start of the Rowing events with the Heats at Dorney Lake, Eaton on Saturday. In particular the Men’s coxed Eight with our hopes and best wishes going to Matt Langridge in the seven seat. This crew is an unknown quantity having been dogged by injury for several months, depriving the final crew formation, a race. Despite that, the crew has been successful this summer in the 2012 World Cup Regattas winning two Silver medals. However, their sights are set on winning an Olympic Gold on Wednesday 1 Aug.

This will be Matt’s third Olympic Games having won Silver at Beijing 2008 Olympics in the Men’s Eight.

Matt has explained “Working hard to win rowing races is what we are trained to do so that is what we have to keep in mind. If we allow ourselves to think that London is something special, something extra, then there is a risk of being distracted. We train to be ready to put together a perfect race, it’s so important not to forget that because of the occasion. I’ve learned from my experiences at the past two Olympic Games that it’s important to see it for what it is; it is a great spectacle but what we need to do remains the same. We can only worry about being faster than the other five crews alongside us on the water on any given day. It is as simple as that. That said I think we are ahead in terms of our development as a crew compared to Beijing.”

Good Luck Team GB we are with you, all the way!

British Rowing Championships 2012, NWSC, Nottingham. 13-15 July 2012,

A group of Northwich RC’s top junior scullers represented the club at the British Rowing Championships 2012, at the National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham over the weekend resulting in 2 medals; a Silver and a Bronze from 3 entries.

Success for two; Ed Grisedale, returning with a Silver medal in Open Junior Single scull and Harry Blake a Bronze medal, having jumped into a composite boat with Grange School RC in the Open Junior 15 coxed quad sculls.

Disappointment for one; Fynn Lawton in the Open Junior 16 single scull.

Friday was a very wet miserable day for the competitors. Ed Grisedale raced in the time trial finishing in the top 12.

This set him up for the Semi Final on Sunday morning which he won completing the 2000 m course in 7:58, seven seconds ahead of Evesham RC. With the weather improving and a few hours recovery time he was back on the water for the Final (A). Ed has been training long and hard and he was hungry for a Gold medal however he was beaten by Tideway Sculler RC who had won at the National Schools Regatta in June. Ed was disappointed but Jed Barlow, coach, explained it was a good race for most of the course but the winner proved too strong and pulled out to a couple of lengths clear water at the finish.

However, on the strength of this performance, Ed has been invited to represent England in the Home Countries match at Cardiff, Saturday 21 July.  He will be in the double scull with his Henley partner, Joe Guppy, and they will both be in the quad with others yet to be announced.

Harry Blake was delighted to win a Bronze medal in Junior 15 coxed quad sculls when he was invited to join the Grange School boat.

Fynn Lawton entered the Open Junior 16 single scull. Despite missing the “start” instruction in his heat he powered his way to finish first in 7:44 ending up with the fastest overall time in his heats. Unfortunately, a recurring injury took hold of him during his semi final heat. Having raced well for 400m, severe cramp forced him to stop. He was bitterly disappointed but we are all very proud of his achievement, racing at National level, having only started in the sport a year ago! What will 2013 bring?!

Runcorn RC Junior Regatta, 30 June 2012

Regatta racing has been scarce this summer. Runcorn RC Junior Regatta was one of the few Regattas in this Region to run with many Regattas up and down the country sadly having to cancel due the awful weather conditions. So the club was delighted to enter a large number of younger juniors in this increasingly popular event which was held on Sat 30 June at Runcorn Rowing Club on the River Weaver. The racing was conducted in a Round Robin format over a straight 300m course guaranteeing each crews 2 or more races. The organizers were pleased with over 200 entries giving racing opportunities to 12 – 15 yr girls and boys in singles, doubles and quad sculls.

The weather continued to dominate the day with wet, windy conditions for many of the crews however some were blessed with a rare glimpse of sunshine.

Northwich RC romped home with 9 wins overall coming third in the Victor Ludorum with Trentham RC winning decisively as the most successful club.

The proud junior girls and boys returned with 5 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals.

Winning Crews:

GOLD

J15 single scull

Harry Blake

J13 coxed quad scull

Sam Platt, George Crouchley, Greg Murphy, Lawrence Williams Cox Jack Hudson

J13 double scull

Greg Murphy, Lawrence Williams

WJ14 coxed quad scull

Sophie Bury, Libby Chaplin, Emma Roberts, Victoria Gardner Cox Joe Coppock

WJ14 double scull (A)

Sophie Bury, Libby Chaplin

SILVER

J13 single scull (A)

Greg Murphy

BRONZE

J15 double scull (B)

Harry Blake, Jack Dolton

J14 coxed quad scull (A)

Matthew Roberts, Lewis Mode, Chris Malley, Mike Lundy Cox Jack Hudson

J14 coxed quad scull (B)  

Josh Almond, Jack Kolch, Lawrence Williams, George Crouchley, Cox Sam Platt


Some photos of the winning crews:

J13 double scull GOLD

J14 coxed quad BRONZE

J13 coxed quad GOLD

     

WJ14 coxed quad GOLD

WJ14 double scull GOLD

National Schools' Regatta June 2012

The weather at the National Water Sports Centre, Nottingham over the Jubilee weekend 3/4 June may have been dismal and disappointing but the results returned by the visiting crew members were bright and promising !

Ed Grisedale raced in the "Sculls Cup", Championship Single sculls with very strong contenders for the title. He had the "race of his life" as Jed Barlow, his coach, explained. Ed was out of the medal places with 200m to go but his determination helped to drive him to a very close finish. He powered over the line to win a Bronze medal by a mere half a second. All the medal positions were covered by about 3 seconds!
Gold was won by Tideway Scullers School, Silver by Westminster School.

Lucy Burgess raced in the "Internationals' Cup", Championship Girls Single Sculls, winning her semi final race decisively by 12 seconds, meeting  her rival Katie Bartlett of Nottingham RC in the final. Lucy recovered from a bad start to be level at 1,000m halfway marker. Unfortunately, after a ding dong battle she narrowly lost out in the sprint for the line by two seconds to win a well deserved Silver medal with all the other competitors trailing well behind.
Lucy will be as determined as ever when this contest may well be resumed at Women's Henley next week when they both chase the Elite Sculls title.

Two up and coming young scullers who have been making their mark, Finn Lawton and Harry Blake gained a lot of experience from this challenging competition. Both young men did well considering they only started rowing a year ago! They both have the potential to progress further, so watch out for the build up to next year!
Finn missed qualification for the semi final in the J16 single sculls by 0.5 seconds and Harry finished fourth in the semi final of the J15 single sculls needing to be second to progress.

The two Junior14 girls crews attending the Regatta for the first time enjoying the moment, competing very well, to the delight of family members and their coaches Graham Law and Tim Preece. Both crews raced the processional time trial in coxed quads with NRC "A" coming 12th out of 40 crews. They progressed to the semi final gallantly finishing in third place in their heat with first and second going to the final. The experience will encourage all of them and certainly boost their confidence for future races.

All eyes and hopes will be focused on the third and final World Cup Regatta in Munich on 16 & 17 June when Northwich Rowing Club will be cheering on the Men's Eight with Matthew Langridge in the seven seat! Good Luck to the team GB!

Learn to Row Regatta May 2012

The final eight Learn to Row candidates celebrated the end of the 8 week course on Wed 30 May when they were joined by family, friends and club members to compete in their own mini Regatta and toast their efforts with a well earned glass of Pimms!
Two Eights comprised of beginners and club rowers raced the best of three races over a 300m stretch.
The Learn to Row members loved the thrill and excitement of the "Sprint"!
The club hopes they will now be keen to further their progress with the sport and we will be delighted to welcome them.
       
      Gold Winners                                                                                       Silver Winners

                                     

                                                     


               



                         

GB Eight win Silver Medal at Lucerne, Switzerland

The second World Cup Regatta took place at Lucerne, Switzerland on 25-27 May 2012.
Our interest lies with Matthew Langridge as part of the GB's Men's Eight. The Eight scooped a silver medal again in the final only a second adrift of the reining world champions Germany. The weekend had started slowly with the crew who needed a repechage to reach the final after finishing third in the heats on Friday.
The squad will be racing again in Munich at the third Regatta meeting on 17 June 2012

NORTHWICH Sprint Regatta.

128th Northwich Regatta 2012 will be well remembered for the record breaking racing entry and the unseasonal hot sunny weather! The race organizers had a challenge to accommodate over 200 crews with racing starting at 9am and continuing non stop through the day until 7pm, over the 500m sprint distance.
This premier sporting event held on Sunday 27 May, at the rowing club on the river Weaver is a high quality, busy event attracting crews from around the country. The club prides itself in making the regatta a successful and enjoyable day for spectators and competitors alike.
This year the sunshine was an added bonus for everyone but a challenge for the athletes on the water to keep cool and hydrated; the essentials being a hat, sunscreen and a bottle of water!
The club was delighted to welcome visiting crews from within the NW region and further afield namely Pengwern RC, Wellbeck College RC, Bradford RC and Lancaster Schools RC. The spectators were entertained with some exciting races and very close finishes. Northwich RC entered approx 30 crews covering all status categories with many crews having closely fought races.
It was the Junior squad who excelled returning 7 wins.
The older Junior girls and boys racing at Senior status winning Mixed IM3 coxed Four, Womens IM3 Eight and the younger 13, 14 and 15yr girls and boys racing extremely well during the day with many of them having several rounds to reach the finals namely the Junior 13 double and Women’s Junior 14 coxed quad.
The Eights races are always exciting to watch heralding the end of the days racing. The Junior girls who have recently been deprived of competition, due to adverse weather cancelling their events, were fired up for their race, a straight final, against Wellbeck College RC, Loughborough in Women’s Intemediate 3 coxed Eight, winning comfortably by five lengths. The final two races were highly charged Challenge Eights with the NRC junior girls and boys racing against their rivals from the Grange School. The NRC boys Eight was delighted to win their race by a comfortable two and a half lengths and the Grange girls Eight winning by a half length in a hard fought race to the finish line.

WINNING CREWS

Mixed IM3 coxed Four beating Wellbeck College RC by one and a half lengths

Alex Walton, Rebecca Jones, Nathan Jump, Liam Adamson

cox Libby Weltman

Women’s Intermediate coxed Eight  beating Wellbeck College RC by five lengths

Libby Welman, Olivia oakes, Samantha Over, Izzy Philips, Kristina Purchas, Ashlene Hudson, Bethany Chaplin, Katie Meenan, cox Chloe Weston

Junior 16 double scull     savoring their win against strong competition from Queens Park High School by a length.

Nathan Jump, Finn Lawton

Junior 15 double scull  winning a close race against Runcorn RC  by three quarters of a length.

Jake Dutton, Harrison Blake

Junior 13 coxed quad   beating Pengwern RC in the first round and winning comfortably against their neighboring rivals Royal Chester RC.

George Crouchley, Fergus Brown, Greg Murphy, Lawrence Williams,

cox Jack Hudson

Junior 13 double scull  who were on the water for some time racing in a large entry of eight crews and doing extremely well to reach the final against Royal Chester RC beating them easily showing off their sculling skills and boosting their confidence for future events.

Greg Murphy, Lawrence Williams.

Women’s Junior 14 coxed quads Two NRC WJ14 crews were represented in this large group and were also on the water for some time. Each crew raced well beating The Grange RC and Royal Chester RC in their heats to then meet in the closely contested final. The winning crew crossing the line with a one and a half lengths lead.

India Trigg, Callie Bloodworth, Emma Roberts, Victoria Gargner, cox Sam Platt

Shrewsbury Regatta 2012 Cancelled!

May 12 & 13 2012

Shrewsbury Regatta is remembered for warm weather and sunshine, heralding the summer.
However, not this year!
The organising committee after extensive discussion and analysis of predicted river levels for the weekend were forced to cancel this popular Regatta due to flooding and potential dangerous water conditions.

There had been unexpected heavy rainfall in upper river catchment.
Their concern was for the safety on and off the water of competitors and they decided that given the peak of 2.3 m due to come through on Friday and a predicted level one metre above normal racing levels, the organisers would not be able to put the necessary safety in place to ensure safe racing on Saturday.

In addition the trailer parking area and car park was waterlogged. Not much fun for campers either!

The club had entered a number of crews who were looking forward to the competition from outside our region. Namely, the junior boys and girls Eights who were fired up, following the disappointment of not being able to race at the Junior Inter Regional Regatta a few weeks ago, again due to the adverse weather conditions.

Northwich RC is now preparing for our own Regatta and look forward to welcoming many clubs.          Northwich Sprint Regatta Sun 27 May 2012


Good water, spectator viewing options and catering make this a popular event for Senior, Novice, Junior and Masters crews.

This year we have added the following events to the usual full list:  J16.8+, W.J16 8+,  Nov.4x+ and W.Nov.4x+.
The latter two events may be of particular interest for some 'learn-to-row' crews !

NRC very proud to be represented in three venues! Home and Away!

      May 5 & 6 2012

• Merseyside Regatta
Northwich Rowing Club was well represented at Merseyside Regatta on Sat 5th May by the junior squad entering 17 junior crews ranging in age from 13 to 16 years girls and boys racing in sculling and sweep oar boats. This event is hosted by Liverpool Victoria RC at the West Float, Wallesay, racing over a regatta distance of 750 meters.
This venue has completely different water conditions to our river as it is a floating dock and the weather conditions can be challenging for the younger athletes in this open water with few markers to aid steering in coxless boats. Fortunately, Saturday turned out to be a pleasant day for rowers and supporters.
The club returned with 2 wins however that doesn’t reflect the extent of racing achieved by many of the crews particularly the Women’s Junior 14 girl’s squad who raced in doubles in the morning and quads in the afternoon competing in numerous heats coming second and third in their final races.

Womens Novice coxed quad, The junior 16 girls showing their sculling skills with a decisive and comfortable win against Stoke RC.
      Crew: Ash Hudson, Victoria Scott, Alex Walton, Olivia Oakes Cox Jacob Copac

   

Junior 13 coxed quad, this squad of young boys are gaining confidence and ability having worked hard  through winter training , with this crew displaying their technical skills to beat Royal Chester RC by 5 lengths. This will encourage them all for the coming Regatta season.

  Crew: Greg Murphy, Lawrence Williams, George Crouchley, Sam Platt, cox Jack Hudson
The crew was awarded the “Jeremy Jones Roberts Claret Jug” honouring the best rower Liverpool Victoria RC have had. This is presented to encourage young crews to keep motivated and in recognition for their great performance on the day. (Greg Murphy was the only remaining crew member at the venue to receive this lovely trophy, see photo)










Junior coaches Mike Palfreyman, Jed Barlow, Simon Crouchley, Tim Preece and Graham Law were delighted with the standard of racing from all the crews with many reaching the finals.
The club travels to Shrewsbury Regatta on 12/13th May.



• Munich Junior International Regatta 2012 5/6 May 
 Lucy Burgess was delighted to have been selected to represent GB at this event which is the largest and most prestigious junior event other than the Junior World Championships.

Racing on Sat 5th in the heats when first and second places progress to the final sadly Lucy finished third in a very respectable time. She showed her strength of character and technical sculling skills putting up a good fight against a very strong German sculler who took the lead from the start.

This event followed her success the previous weekend winning the junior women’s sculling event at the GB Junior Squad Regatta on Dorney Lake on Sun 29 Apr.

She is dedicated to the sport and has the ambition to represent GB in the single scull at this year's Junior Worlds in Plovdiv - Bulgaria in August thus emulating Matt Langridge's representation. She is on track with this ambition having been the best girl sculler at all the trials so far this year.  After that, selection for Junior Worlds in the single will depend on going fast enough at final trials to convince the selectors that she is a potential finalist.  Whatever happens there, she is virtually certain to be on the team in some crew or other.


• GB Squad World Cup 2012, Belgrade 5/6 May (quoted from British Rowing)

First World Cup of the season with all 12 GB Rowing Team crews that started in the finals at the World Cup in Belgrade finished their journey on the podium as Britain won four golds, six silver and two bronze medals to add to their international-class gold and silver of last night.
Men’s coxed Eight winning silver having had a crew change with Matt Langridge, moving from 7 seat to Stroke the Eight. He explained after the race, “It was great to get out ahead of the Germans in the first half of the race but when we get out in front we need to learn how to stay out there and build on it”.

Britain and Germany were expected to go head to head in this race as World silver and gold medalists respectively. The green of Germany’s bow showed ahead of the yellow of the British boat in the opening 100m.

Britain was not prepared, though, to let them get away. At the first timing point, the GB crew had a margin – but a small one. Scything stroke for stroke down the course the bow-balls surged and dropped, surged and dropped with the power of the crews.

At halfway there was still nothing much to choose between them but GB still had the edge, forcing the Germans to put on more power – unaccustomed as they have become in recent years to being led in any race.
At 1500m the roles were reversed. Britain was four tenths down and you could almost see the confidence surge through their opposition.

Was it all over? With 40 strokes still to come, the Germans picked up their speed and pulled away again. The fast-finishing Dutch came up in a sprint to challenge the British who held on for silver.

The GB crew, whilst disappointed, will take confidence and lessons from this performance.

Spring Head of River Race 1 April 2012

Northwich Rowing Club hosted their annual Spring Head of the River Race on Sunday 1st April. The club welcomed local crews from The Grange School and Sir John Deane’s College with visiting crews from across the country and attracting clubs from within the North West region. The entry was the largest for a Spring Head with a record breaking 269 boats entered to race over 3 divisions through the day from 9.45 to 3pm.

This is a very popular event for all ages and abilities as the course is a short 2,600 meters on the River Weaver. This year the rowers, scullers and spectators were bathed in spring sunshine throughout the day with perfect racing conditions resulting in some very fast times. Northwich entered 23 crews with nine wins overall.

Congratulations to York City RC who had a very successful visit entering 23 crews and finishing the day as top winners with 13 wins overall.

Racing commenced with the single scullers division in which 89 boats took to the water with the ages of competitors ranging from 13 to 60 years. Northwich Rowing Club’s rising star Ed Grisedale won the division in Elite single category in 8:57.1 nine seconds ahead of Agecroft RC.

The 2nd and 3rd divisions included Eights, Fours, coxed and coxless Quads and Doubles.

The 2nd division had 78 boats racing, 9 of which were Eights. NRC had 5 wins.
IM3 coxed Four’s beating Salford University by 2 seconds. The crew comprising of older junior boys were very satisfied with their win building into their preparations for the forthcoming Inter Regional Regatta later in the month. Northwich RC / Royal Chester composite Pair had a decisive win against their opposition from Mersey RC. The Women’s Novice coxed Four comprising of junior girls raced extremely well to beat their opposition from neighboring local clubs. The Women’s squad won 2 Masters categories, Women’s Masters D coxed Four beating Pengwern RC for Shrewsbury by 4 seconds and Women’s Masters B/C double sculls delighted with this success which will encourage them in their training programme for future events.

Royal Chester RC won the 3rd Division in a very fast time 7:40.8. The crew was delighted to be presented with the “Walter Benyon Trophy” for the fastest boat of the day by his widow Susan Benyon. 73 boats raced and Northwich RC had 3 wins; IM3 coxed Eight comprised of older junior boys continued their run of success over the winter months narrowly winning against NRC Senior men. Masters C double sculls finishing 27 seconds ahead of their opposition from Grosvenor & Bradford. Women’s Novice coxed Eight, the crew was represented by the WJ16 girls and raced well beating a visiting Murray Edwards College crew from Cambridge by 10 seconds. The girls will be in the final stages of their training programme in preparation for the Inter Regional Regatta when they will represent the North West Region with their fellow junior boys members.

The next event to be held at the club will be the Northwich Regatta on Sunday 27th May. Racing takes place all day starting at 10am. Admission is free with catering and refreshments available. Spectators are very welcome!

Names of winning crews:
Division 1:
Elite single 08:57.01
Ed Grisedale

Division 2:
IM3 coxed Four 09:01.73
Zak Triggs, Fynn Lawton, Tom Astiradias, Alex Murphy cox Craig Milne
Pair – Matt Jump (NRC) Richard Hawkins (Royal Chester RC)
Women’s Novice coxed Four 10:05.51
Sam Over, Ashlene Hudson, Beth Chaplin, Katy Meehan cox Chloe Weston
Women’s Masters D coxed Four 10:57.92
Clare Holt, Carolyn MacRitchie, Carole Riddell, Elaine Young cox Jonty Moore
Women’s Masters B/C double sculls 10:53.87 (rec’d 12 sec handicap)
Clare Briegal, Melanie Benson

Division 3:
IM3 coxed Eight 08:27.3
Joe Renolds, Fynn Lawton, Nathan Jump, Rian Gamble, Zak Trigg
Tom Astirades, Liam Adamson, Alex Murphy, cox Craig Milne
Masters C double sculls 09:18.5
Simon Crouchley, Andy Malins
Women’s Novice coxed Eight 09:31.4
Libby Weltman, Olivia Oakes, Sam Over, Ashlene Husdon, Kristian Purchas,
Issie Philps, Beth Chaplin, Kate Meehan cox Chloe Weston.




Spring Sunshine at the Start








Finish - A Good Days Racing!

North of England Head Race 2012

The City of Chester was the venue for the competition over the weekend.
Royal Chester RC hosted the North of England Head Race, on Sat 10 March, on the River Dee, a 5km race from Eccleston Ferry to the Groves. The River Dee can be challenging with strong winds however on this occasion the crews raced in favorable spring sunshine. This race is only open to Eights, Junior Octuples and quads and used by many crews in their training build up for the forthcoming Tideway Head races. Many of the competing crews were visitors from outside our region heightening the level of competition.

Five eights raced over the two divisions –
Mens IM3 & Men’s Novice; Women’s Novice & WJ18; Women’s Master C/D.

Northwich RC returned with a win for the Women’s Masters C/D eight composite with Runcorn RC having a good race with a strong, experienced crew winning against Royal Chester in 21:10.
The Men’s Novice Eight made up of older junior boys performed well finishing second out of nine crews to the winners Durham University BC (17:09) by 30 seconds.

Crew win
WMas C/D coxed eight
Clare Holt, Carolyn MacRitchie, Vicky Cheshire, Elaine Young, Carole Riddell,
Val Edwards (Runcorn RC), Heidi Hackett (Runcorn RC), Clare Briegal (s),
Cox Sam Over

Forthcoming events

Head of the River, Tideway, London, Sat 17 March
Junior Sculling Head, Dorney Lake, Eton, Mon 19 March
Schools Head of the River, Tideway, London, Tues 20 March

Northwich Spring Head Sun, 1 April

At the start 5000m still to go! 5000m on the Dee and finished!