Ryde Rowing Club at the National Rowing Championships of Great Britain - 23rd July 2001.

Ryde Rowing Club maintained their commitment to fully support the Coastal events at the National Rowing Championships of Great Britain over the weekend of 21st and 22nd July taking a Coxed Four, Coxless pair and two single scullers to the National Water Sports Centre, at Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, along with a J16 Boys crew who competed in the Junior River events on Friday, 20th July. They were also able to assist Shanklin Rowing Clubs first entry for a number of years but transporting their boat for them. The Clubs main sponsor, Wightlink Isle of Wight Ferries, provided support with the ferry crossing from the Island and further support was provided by Carisbrook Shipping.

Ryde also maintained their record of recent years returning from the Championships for the fourth year in succession with a medal in the Coastal events. This year the newly formed Senior pair of Chris Jenkins and Steve Titmus finished in the Bronze Medal position in the Men’s Coastal Coxless Pairs in spite of sustaining damage to their rudder while carry out repairs to their boat at the start. As result they were some way of the pace but did well, in the circumstances, to complete the course and secure third place.

The Men's Coastal Coxed Fours Crew of Chris Aitkin, Matt Allsopp, Ben Ade, Steve Salter and Penny Abdul, coxing, made it through to the final where they found the pace just a little to hard to handle finishing just outside the medals in fourth place.

Richard Adams, a former bronze medal winner having just returned to the Island from University, where he had competed for the River based Star Club, found the switch back to a Coastal Single Sculling boat more difficult than he had expected and failed to make the final in his heat or through the Repechage. However young Ashley Maitland, just sixteen, known as the "Pocket Rocket" racing against older and much bigger Coastal Scullers missed out on a place in the final, racing in the Repechage following a difficult heat, by just a canvas. Ashley had a busy weekend as he also coxed the Ryde J16 Coxed Four, the Wessex Regional Rowing Club Ladies Coxed Four, and picked up a Bronze Medal coxing the Shanklin Men's Coastal Coxed Four.

The Ryde J16 Coxed Four, of Chris Walker, Matt Bull, Lee Bennett, Mike Palin with Ashley Maitland coxing had the misfortune to come up against the eventual Gold and Silver Medallist

in their heat and were outclassed in this race. But they performed much better in the Repechage where a close race saw them just miss out on a place in the final.

For the last few years the Club has also used the National Championships weekend as a mid-season Club Training Camp making the most of the facilities provided by the National Water Sports Centre. This year this included early morning and evening training sessions on the Olympic standard rowing course, the opportunity to see the latest innovations in equipment and coaching methods, coaching from ex.Ryde Oarsman and GB Under 23 International Simon Jones and a rare outing in an eight on the Trent.

Steve Bull