|
| |
RYDE WIN SOUTH COAST ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
  Ryde Rowing Club's Men's Senior Fours Crew of Ben Ade, Mike Jenner, Matt
Allsopp, Ian Hayden and cox Bryony Reeve, duly completed the "Triple
Crown" of Coastal rowing on Saturday when they added the South Coast Mens
Senior Fours Championship to the already secured Hants & Dorset ARA
Mens Senior Fours title and the National Coastal Champions title to
complete a fantastic season for the Wightlink sponsored Club. They
received their Championship Medals and the famous "Bidiford Bowl" from
four time Olympic Gold-medal winning oarsman Sir Matthew Pinsent, CBE,
at a ceremony in the Clubhouse during Saturday evening. This is the fourth time
the Club has won the South Coasts most important rowing
title, following wins in 1985, 1986 and 1987 and they are one of only
six Hants & Dorset Clubs to have won the Senior title - with only Christchurch
having won it on more occasions.
Representing the Hants & Dorset ARA along with their old rivals from BTC
against the Champions and runners-up from the
West of England and the Coast ARA the Ryde Crew were
led briefly of the start by Bexhill, the Coast ARA Champions, but had eased
into a lead, which they never gave up, by the 500m
mark. From here on until they finished the 2000m course
they were always in control in spite of a late challenge from BTC which took
them past Bexhill and into second place behind Ryde who finished
the race just over a length ahead.
Two other Ryde Senior Crews competed in the supporting events - the "A" Crew of
Matt Evans, Adam Dracott, Stu Johnson, Sam Cocker and Penny Glazzard, cox
qualifying comfortably for the final where they finished 5th in a very close
race. The Senior B Crew of Robin Kirstey, Ash
Maitland, Nick Christopher and Ollie Bottrell with Bryony Reeve coxing just
missed out on the final finishing 3rd in their heat less than a
canvas behind the second placed crew. A similar fate befell the Mens
Junior Four or Callum Lowe, James Eklund, Tom Clark and Jamie Lawson with Ollie
Gove coxing, however the Senior Ladies Four of Aimee Dibbens,
Hayley Edwards, Rachel Brimstone and Sophie Draper with cox Adam Edwards
qualified for their final where they finished in 5th place.
During the morning Ryde's crews had also competed in the Junior Regatta,
although without any success - Ollie Gove competing in the Boys
J14 Single Sculls and Josh Collyer and Adam Edwards in the Boys J14
Double Sculls although they acquitted themselves well in their first
competition at this level.
The Junior Regatta and the South Coast Championships Regattas was hosted by the
Hants & Dorset ARA and held at the 2012 Olympic Regatta course at
Dorney Lake, near Eton. The Regatta had been more than two years in the
planning with Ryde member Steve Bull taking a leading role in the
organization and the Ryde Club providing one of the largest volunteer
support teams of any Club for the event, with responsibility for helping to keep
the regatta on time by ensuring that crew boated and returned according to the
program, which involved more than two hundred and forty crews in fifty-four
races staged over a seven hour period. The Club and
their sponsor Wightlink also supported the event by each sponsoring a
race - Wightlink sponsoring the Open Veteran Fours and the Club the Mens Senior
Fours Championship race - which they duly went on to win!
/Photos attached:
1) Ryde's Senior Mens Four just after winning the South Coast Rowing
Championships - L to R - Ben Ade, Mike Jenner, Matt Allsopp and Ian
Hayden with (front) Bryony Reeve, Cox.)
2) Ryde Senior Mens Four - with the "Bideford Bowl" they had just
received from Sir Matthew Pinsent, CBE. - Mike Jenner, Matt Allsopp, Ben
Ade and Ian Hayden with Bryony Reeve, Cox.
|
