As the first swallow signifies the start of summer, so Wallingford Regatta (as a rower) signals the start of the regatta season. With a cheer we all say, the long winter of endless training sessions and head races is behind us!
Wallingford is the first real chance for athletes and coaches to assess how well their winter training programmes have gone and where they currently stand against the competition. It is a traditionally well attended and high quality regatta and Maidenhead sent over 20 crews from the Advanced Intermediate and Senior squads.
Maidenhead scullers and rowers performed well to come away with 3 victories as well as a number of very good finishes.
Multi-lane racing over 1500m at Dorney always poses a challenge to any rower, especially when the conditions can rapidly change a race or result. It really puts in place the hard training over the winter and is a true test of fitness and technique.
The conditions were tough to start with and got progressively worse as the day went on, with the cold wind picking up and the dark clouds eventually getting the better of the patchwork blue sky. With racing starting at 8am and finishing just before 7pm and a programme of over 130 races, this was a long day in testing conditions.
In the Mens S3 Single Sculls, Phil Clapp sculled fantastically down the course to win his first ever men's senior event, finishing 4 seconds ahead of Barrett of Burway and Lee of Latymer Upper.
In the Women's J15 4x+, Maidenhead's crew of Katie Lion, Maddie Reynolds, Aimee Broadbent, Carmel Bevan and cox Emily Webster came through the heats, twice beating Kingston Grammar, firstly to qualify and then again in the final by a 3 second margin, in a time of 5m52s.
In the Boys J15 4x+, Maidenhead's crew of Ertan Hazine, Alex Ryde, Ross McCoriston and Rob Ashburner with cox Tom O’Reilly won their heat convincingly by 4 seconds, and in the final beat Kingston Grammar School and Westminster by the same margin in a time of 5m20s.
In the Womens S2 2x, Ally Brooks and Louise Entwistle won their heat. In the final they met the Walzcak sisters from Hollingworth Lake, who are also GB athletes and on the day proved themselves too strong for the Maidenhead girls, winning the race with Maidenhead in 4th place, 6 seconds behind.
Coming 3rd in the strongest of the WJ16 4x heats, Alice Ancora, Sophie Delaney, Aimee Campbell and Rebekah Kerns were up against it in the final. The result was again decided between the same 3 crews who had contested the first heat, this time Lady Eleanor Hollies boat club beating Bedford High School by 4 seconds, who only just beat Maidenhead to second place in a photo finish on the line.
The 17 strong WJ14 4x+ event had 2 Maidenhead crews, with the 'B' crew being selected from the WJ13's in the intermediate group. The 'A' crew of Carmel Bevan, Emma Kerns, Anna Campbell, Hannah Shimmin and cox Emily Webster won through to the final, coming 2nd to Bedford High School in their heat. The 'B' crew of Fifi Bevan, Lexy Dobson, Gabby Watson, Rebecca Reeve and cox Emma Sanerkin also progressed to the final, winning their heat in style. In the final the very strong boat from Lady Eleanor Hollies started off at a fast pace and were 4 seconds ahead at the 500m mark, pushing harder to be 5 seconds clear at the finish. The Maidenhead 'A' and 'B' crews were neck and neck down the course with every stroke the lead changing, until in the end the strength of the older girls pushed them ahead to beat the 'B' crew by 2 seconds. A fantastic result for the young ones, rowing a year up and who had only come together as a full crew just before Easter.
Max Gerrard competed in a new Walton/Maidenhead composite in the J18 Quadruple Sculls, finishing less than a second behind the winning Marlow crew. Max went on to scull again in the afternoon in the J18 Single Sculls coming fourth in the event which was won by Loveday of Marlow.
Report kindly produced by Fiona Dobson.
Billy Brooks
Captain Juniors
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