Bournemouth Regatta 14th August

Holidays and work commitments led to a much reduced team from Ryde Rowing Club attending the final Hants & Dorset ARA Regatta of the season, at Bournemouth, on Saturday (14th August) - with just two oarsman competing. Mick Jenner and Matt Allsopp both competed in the Men's Senior Sculls with Mick Jenner easily qualifying for the final where he finished in 2nd place behind the Hants & Dorset ARA champions from Poole. Matt Allsopp would also almost certainly have qualified for the final - but unfortunately, in a rare incident, one of his sculls snapped while he was making his final push to qualify resulting in a capsize. However he recovered quickly to join Mick Jenner to race in a Men's Senior Pair - where, in a combination in which they have never competed before, they finished in an impressive 4th place in a large field.

While the Wighlink sponsored Ryde Club has had some success in this years Hants & Dorset Regatta program this year, including wins at Men's Senior Fours, Men's Senior Pairs and Men's Senior and Novice sculls and in a number of J16 events the season has been disappointing compared with recent years and this will be the first time for a number of years that the Club dose not have a crew representing the Association at this years South Coast Championship Regatta. Never the less the club did finish as runner-up for the the Men's Senior Sculls Championship and in 4th place in the Men's Senior Fours and Senior Pairs championships and will have a number of crew competing in the open events at the South Coast Championship Regatta

Christchurch Regatta 7th August

Ryde Rowing Club represented the Island at Christchurch Regatta last Saturday (7th August) - but with no small boat events at this Regatta there was a limited entry from the Wightlink sponsored Club who are traditionally not at their best over the shorts course on the River Stour which is limited to two boat racing.

However there was a good performance from the Clubs Senior Crew of John Gedling, Stuart Johnson, Ben Ade, Sam Cocker and cox Bryony Reeve who fought through several heats before meeting this years Hants & Dorset Champions and eventual winners BTC Rowing Club in the semi-final wherer they lost out by two lengths. Earlier in the day they had set a fastest time of the day of seven minutes two second which was only beaten by the BTC crew in the final in the last race of the day.

The Clubs also had two J16 crews racing - the "A" crew of Sam Corney, Charlie Gedling, Dale Buckett and Max Reeve with Bryony Reeve coxing - and the "B" crew of - Andreas Hicks, Harvey Kirkby, Christian Lacey and Holly Evans, with Graham Reeve coxing - both crews also reaching the semi-final where unfortunately they were both defeated. The A crew also competed in the Men's Novice Fours event but lost in the first round - and Bryony Reeve also raced in a composite Novice Ladies crew with Poole Rowing Club but again they went out in the first round.

Swanage Regatta 31st July

Boosted by the return of a number of rowing members who had been competing for their River Clubs so far this season, the Wightlink sponsored Ryde Rowing Club came away from the Hants & Dorset ARA organized Swanage Regatta on Saturday (31st July) with two wins and a number of other good results.

A Men's Senior Four consisting of Henley winner Ollie Bottrill, England oarsman and GB National Champion Ashley Maitland and John Gedling who had just returned from Durham University where he had moved from Novice to Intermediate status, joined Ian Hayden and cox Bryony Reeve to provide a new challenge for the clubs that had been contesting this event so far this season. They showed their intent with a comfortable win in the heat before going on two win the final by a length and a half over the Championship contenders from Coalporters R. C.

A second win came in the J16 event where the Ryde "A" crew of - Max Reeve, Charlie Gedling, Dale Buckett, Sam Corney and Bryony Reeve (Cox) - a J14 crew once again racing against older and larger opposition - clinched victory by just over a length from a Lymington crew with whom that had raced neck and neck until the last two hundred meters when they were able to pull clear in a final sprint to the line. The Ryde J16 "B" Crew of - Holly Evans, Christian Lacey, Andraos Hicks, Harvey Kirkby with Graham Reeve coxing - also showed improving form to finish in 4th place.

Some of the Juniors - Andraos Hicks, Max Reeve, Charlie Gedling and Dale Buckett with Bryony Reeve coxing again - also competed in the Men's Novice Fours event - against even older and larger opposition - and did well to finish 4th in their heat but failed to make the final.

There was also a good performance from Ollie Bottrell and Ash Maitland in a Senior Pair - who comfortably reached the final where they were let down by some steering problems - which was hardly surprising as this was there first race in a Senior Pair in this combination.

In the Men's Novice Sculls both Stu Johnson and J14 Oarsman Sam Corney made the final where Stuart finished in 2nd Place with Sam finishing in 5th.

Bryony Reeve competed in the Mixed Fours event in a composite crew with fellow Islanders from Shanklin Rowing Club finishing in 5th place.

The biggest disappointment of the day came in the Men's Senior Sculls where Ian Hayden, having comfortably qualified for the final made a mistake at the the turn which cost him the chance of winning and almost certainly any chance of taking the Hants & Dorset ARA Men's Senior Sculls title - although his win in the Senior Fours in the last race of the day will have been some compensation.

Photos:
J16 Swanage: Winning J16 Crew at Swanage Regatta - L To R: Max Reeve, Charlie Gedling, Bryony Reeve (Cox), Dale Buckett, Sam Corney.
Senior Four Swanage: Winning Senior Four - L To R: Ian Hayden, John Gedling, Bryony Reeve (Cox), Ollie Botttrell, Ash Maitland.

 

2012 Olympics Open Weekend.
Rowing taster Session at Ryde Rowing Club.

Over the weekend (24th and 25th July) thousands of people across the UK took part in the London 2012 Open Weekend where hundreds of events took place to mark two years to go to the London Olympic games. As part of the celebrations Ryde Rowing Club offered a free "taster session" for anyone who wanted to try rowing. A small but enthusiastic group, all new to the sport, with ages ranging from eight to around fifty came along to the Ryde Clubs Appley Park Clubhouse. They were given basic instruction using indoor rowing machines and then went afloat off Appley Beach in training sculls coached by a dedicated group of Ryde Rowing Clubs volunteer coaches including recent Henley Regatta winner Ollie Bottrell.


Photo 1. Group - Ryde Rowing Club Coaches and some of the participants.

GB National Rowing Championships.

Oarsman from two Island Rowing Clubs, Ashley Maitland from Ryde and Steve Salter from Newport, both now living and working in London and rowing together at London Rowing Club had a very succesful GB National Rowing Champions which was held at the Strathclyde Country Park, near Glasgow last weekend (Saturday 17th & Sunday, 18th June).

Along with two other members of London Rowing Club they took the Gold medal in the Men's Open Lightweight Coxless Four and then racing together in the Men's Open Lightweight Coxless Pair they took gold again to earn selection for the England team that will race at the home countries International Regatta in Cork, Ireland on the 24th July.

Cadet Report- Bryony Reeve - July 2010

Training Sessions at East Cowes:

The Cadets have continued water training at East Cowes when there has not been a regatta. The Cadets have mainly been training in the coastal four with a few of the cadets out sculling or doubling.

The younger cadets have continued training on a Saturday morning down on the canoe lake or sometimes the sea. Sue and Darrell along with our Henley Stewards Trust Coach Toni have continued helping the younger cadets to progress even further with their rowing skills. Hopefully some of the younger cadets on a Thursday will be moving up to the advanced group in September.

Rowing around the Island on an Ergo:

On Good Friday (2nd April) the cadets rowed around the island on an ergo. They started around 9 and finished around 4. We completed it in 6hours and 53minutes which was a very impressive time. They raised £400 towards the club funds. Each cadet would row for 1000m and then swap over. Throughout the day we had some members of the public come up to see what was happening and kindly made a donation. Also some members of the club came up to see how the cadets were getting on and also kindly made a donation. The cadets had a great time as a Wii was taken along for everyone to play on.

Regattas:

The Cadets have been representing the club at many Hants & Dorset regattas this season. The J14/15 Boys have been racing Novice Men and in the J16 Races. The J15/16 Girls have been racing in J16 Ladies races.

The J14/15 Boys have been doing incredibly well. They have been improving each week especially in the J16 Races. Woolston Regatta has been the highlight for the Boy’s season so far. They raced in J16 and from the start, dominated the whole race. From the start they took the lead. In the end it was between Ryde and Coalporters, who were around 2 lengths behind, with our Boys winning their first Regatta Tankard. What was also impressive that they were the youngest crew as they were racing against 16 year olds (a lot Bigger and Stronger!). All in all it was a great day and everyone had a lovely time.

Hollie and Bryony raced at Poole with two BTC girls in the J16 Race where we came 3rd.

Sam Corney has been sculling in the J16 races at the regattas. He has been doing very well with his First win at Itchen Regatta. Sam also came 2nd at Poole and 3rd at Woolston which is also excellent. Harvey Kirkby has also been sculling alongside Sam and has been doing very well and improving each week. Again they were among the youngest scullers in the race with Harvey definitely the youngest.

Bryony J

Henley Veterans Regatta. 9th/10th July, 2010.

Ryde Rowing Clubs veteran squad competed in the Henley Veteran Regatta last weekend (9th/10th July). This Regatta has been held on the week following Henley Royal Regatta since 1994 and is hosted and run by Upper Thames Rowing Club over 1000m of the the Henley Royal Regatta course. The regatta has grown into an internationally recognised event for veterans or masters crews and competitors come from all over the world to compete making the standard very high.

The Wightlink sponsored Ryde Club competed in the event for the first time last year and had a quad and two scullers reach their respective finals. They travelled to Henley this year with high hopes of doing better - but in spite of a strong performance from the squad - racing against some of the best Veteran oarsman in the world - they will be disappointed with their results.

The quad - Russell Page, Mick Jenner, Nick Pike and Ian Hayden - racing in the Veteran/Masters "C" event fought through several round to reach the semi-final of their event where they missed out on a place in the final by just two feet. A similar fate befell Russell Page and Nick Pike in their Veteran/Masters "C" single sculls event - where they also missed out in the semi-finals, with Mick Jenner loosing in an earlier round.

But Ian Hayden, racing in the Veteran/Masters "B" event went one better reaching the final of his event before loosing once again to Praed of Auriol-Kensington R. C. - who beat him in last years final!

Henley Royal Regatta, 4th to the 8th July, 2010

Ryde Rowing Club had a number of its member competing at the Henley Royal Regatta last weekend, all be it they were racing for their mainland clubs or Universities. These included Ashley Maitland competing for London Rowing Club and John Gedling competing for Durham University. The best performance from a Ryde Oarsman can from Ollie Bottrell who was part of the Nottingham and Union Rowing Club coxless four which came from behind in the final to beat London Rowing Club to win the won the Wyfolds Challenge Cup by 1 1/4 lengths.

WIGHTLINK Sponsorship

Wightlink, Isle of Wight Ferries have agreed to sponsor the Isle of Wight based, Ryde Rowing Club for a further year taking the agreement through to May, 2011. They provide the Club with considerable assistance in transporting their competitors, coaches and equipment to and from the Island for mainland competition throughout the year. Their support allows the Club to compete on the mainland on a regular basis in the Hants & Dorset ARA Coastal Regatta programme during the summer months and inland in River events during the winter. Their support has been especially useful to the Clubs successful and expanding Junior Section enabling them to attend competitions and training camps on the mainland. Without Wightlink’s support all these activities would be substantially restricted.

Wightlink, Isle of Wight Ferries are the leading ferry operator across the Solent offering the greatest choice of routes with a fleet of eight car and passenger ferries and four high-speed foot passenger catamarans. Each year Wightlink carries in excess of 5.6 million passengers and 1.2 million vehicles across the Solent on its three routes, with more 72,000 sailings annually - up to 230 a day in peak periods. Wightlink’s sponsorship of the Ryde Club is the companies oldest sponsorship agreement - as they were the first Club sponsored by the company, formally known as Sealink following their support of the 1987 Isle of Wight hosted South Coast Rowing Championships Regatta. It is believed to be the longest running and most successful sponsorship partnerships in Coastal Rowing and one of the longest running in the sport of rowing.

Woolston Regatta, Saturday, 26th June, 2010.

Ryde’s Rowing Clubs Junior Squad flew the flag for Island rowing at Southmapton Rowing Clubs Woolston Regatta on Saturday (26th June). With the Clubs Senior squad focusing on their preparation for the Henley Veterans Regatta is was the Clubs Junior squad who represented the Island and produced some fine performances.

In particular their J14 Boys coxed four of Dale Buckett, Anndras Hicks, Sam Corney and Max Reeve with Bryony Reeve coxing, racing in the J16 event against boys two years the seniors were in top-form to win the event. Another fine performance came in the Boys J16 Single Sculls, where again the two Ryde J14 scullers were racing older opposition but Sam Cornney still managed a second place – with Harvey Kirkby finishing 5th.

There was however disappointment for the second J14 crew of Bryony Reeve, Holly Evans, Harvey Kirkby and Harrission Sparry - who were forced to withdraw through illness.

One Senior Club members was able to attend – Ian Hayden racing in the Mens Senior Sculls where he finished 2nd to stay in the running for this Hants & Dorset ARA Championship.

Photo: Ryde's winning J14 Coxed Four - winner of the Boys J16 Fours event at Woolston Regatta. L to R - Andras Hicks, Max Reeve, Dale Buckett, Cox Bryony Reeve and Sam Corney.

Last Saturday (19th June) saw the Wightlink sponsored Ryde Club compete at the latest Hants & Dorset ARA Championship Regatta at Poole.

The Clubs J14 Boys crew of Andreas Hicks, Charlie Gedling, Dale Buckett and Max Reeve with cox Bryony Reeve, competed in the Men’s Novice Four against – much older and larger opposition where, although failing to make the final, they produced a very encouraging performance. They then competed in the J16 Fours – with just one change, Sam Corney coming in for Andreas Hicks and where, once again they were competing against older opposition, and they finished in an impressive 2nd place – with the gap between them and the leaders closing fast at the finish.

Sam Corney and Harvey Kirkby also competed in the Boys J16 Sculls event, again against older opposition, Sam finishing in 2nd place and Harvey in 5th in a closely contested final.

Ian Hayden, fresh from his gold medal winning performance at the GB Masters Championships, competed in the Men’s Senior Sculls securing a relatively comfortable victory to put himself back in the lead for this Championship – he then paired up with J14 oarsman Andreas Hicks to race in a coxless double, where they finished 3rd in the final.

Bryony Reeve and Holly Evans competed in the Girls J16 fours in a composite crew with BTC finishing in 3rd place.

James Cleary, making his debut in the Men’s Novice Sculls event was well in contention in his heat at the turn but his inexperience let him down and he just failed to make the final.

British Rowing Masters Championship Regatta. Sunday, 13th June, 2010.

RYDE BECOME THE FIRST ISLAND ROWING CLUB TO COMPETE AND WIN AT THE BRITISH ROWING MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Ryde has become the first Island Rowing Club to compete and win medals at British Rowings Maters Championships, held at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham on Sunday, 13th June. Over four hundred and twenty crews and Scullers competed at the long established National Veteran Championship Regatta, which has been re-named as a “Masters” event – in-line with international regulations.

The Ryde Club had a coxless quad, of Russell Page, Simon Saunders, Mick Jenner and Ian Hayden, racing at Masters/Veteran B status for which they had high hopes, but an equipment failure just after the start cost them dear and they dropped behind the leading crews before recovering to finish in 3rd place – but outside the medals due to the limited entry in this event.

The four members of the quad the raced in singles with Simon Saunders and Ian Hayden racing in the Veteran/Masters “B” status and Mick Jenner and Russell Page at Veteran/Masters “C” where, in both events, the competition was much stronger requiring the scullers to battle through a number of heats to reach the finals.

For Simon Saunders, who has only just returned to competitive rowing, the standard proved to be too high and in spite of a good performance he failed to make the final. However there were no such issues for Ian Hayden, who won his heat and semi-final to cruise into the final where he produced another fine performance to take the Gold medal.

Both Russell Page and Mick Jenner fought their way through hotly contested heats to reach their final where Mick Jenner finished in the Bronze medal position to secure the Club its second medal of the day and Russell Page finished in 6th place.

The veteran squad will now focus on the Henley Veterans Regatta in mid July before competing in the last few Coastal Regatta’s.

Photo: Ryde R. C. Veteran B Sculler - Ian Hayden. Gold Medalist. British Rowing Matsers Championships.

 

 

Peterborough Regatta Weekend, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th June + Itchen Imperial Regatta, Saturday, 5th June, 2010.

Peterborough Regatta Weekend, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th June

As part of their preparations for the GB Masters and Henley Veterans Regatta the Ryde Rowing Club Senior Veterans competed in the Peterborough Regatta staged last weekend with racing over 1000m on the Saturday (5th June) and in the sprint Regatta over 500m on the Sunday (6th June) returning to the Island late on Sunday evening with a number of wins. On the Saturday Ian Hayden won the Men’s Veteran B Sculls event and Mick Jenner won the Men’s Veteran C Sculls event, setting a new course record in the process with Nick Pike and Russell Page also both performing well in this event. The four scullers then combined to race in the Men’s Veteran C Quad but were disqualified for going outside their lane after the rudder was clogged by weed. However they made amends on the Sunday, over the sprint course, winning the combined Men’s Veteran B/C event comfortably. Ian Hayden then repeated his win in the Men’s Veteran B Sculls and Ryde’s three Men’s Veteran C Scullers – Mick Jenner, Nick Pike and Russell Page dominated their event and produced the best race of the Regatta with all three finishing within just one second of each other – with Russell Page taking the honours to round off an excellent performance by the Wightlink sponsored Club.

Itchen Imperial Regatta, Saturday, 5th June, 2010.

The attendance of the Senior Veteran Crews at Peterborough led to a depleted Ryde squad attending the Itchen Imperial R. C. Regatta on Saturday (5th June) but they were still able to produce a reasonable set of results. The hi-light was a win for young Sam Corney in the Boys J16 Sculls. Sam is still a J14 sculler so was racing against older boys – but still won his heat comfortably before winning the final in a very close race. Harvey Kirkby, also only a J14 sculler also competed in this event, his first race at this level, and was narrowly defeated in his heat in a very encouraging performance. There was another fine sculling performance in the Men’s Novice Sculls where Stuart Johnson again won his heat with some ease before facing very stiff opposition in the final – loosing by just half a canvas in a re-row after a dead-heat in the first race. Ben Ade and Tom Clark produce a good performance in the Men’s Senior Pairs winning their heat before just loosing out to host Club Itchen in the final. The Men's Senior Four of Tom Clark, Stu Johnson, Ben Ade and Sam Cocker with Mar Reeve coxing had the misfortune to draw he current Hants & Dorset Champions and eventual winners, BTC, in their heat - who narrowly beat them into second place so they just missed out on a place in the final. A Ryde J14 crew of Dale Buckett, Andreas Hicks, Charlie Gedling, Max Reeve and cox Bryony Reeve competed in both the Boys J16 Fours and the Men’s Novice Fours – in both cases against older and larger opposition – so it was not too much of a surprise when they failed to make the final in both events – but they gave a good account of themselves and gained valuable experience. Young Ryde Novice Oarswomen Bryony Reeve and Holly Evans competed in composite Ladies Novice Crews – Bryony with Westover, who were second in their heat, just failing to reach the final – and Holly with Island neighbours Shanklin – who won their heat – and finished 3rd in the final.
 

Ryde Rowing Club would like to acknowledge the support and help they received from the other two Island Rowing Clubs - Newport and Shanklin - with transport over the weekend that helped them to compete in two very different events.