St. Neots Regatta (2016)

A large number of Sudbury Rowing club competed at St. Neots two day regatta, some having a very busy weekend.

On Saturday the course was 1000 metres with a sweeping bend not dissimilar to our home course in Sudbury. In very hot and sunny conditions, which suited the spectators more than the athletes, there were some mixed results.

Single sculler Amelia Moule was beaten in the early round by the eventual winner of the event. Sam McLoughlin raced up an age and won his heat in Junior 15 singles, but the semi final proved too tough. Also, Nell Belcher and Amelia Moule had a good race only to be beaten by the faster crew who went on to win the event. In the women’s IM3 coxed fours event Victoria Burgess, Emily Morton, Ellie Archer, Sophie Thompson-Hyland and cox Lucy Keedy-Davies, raced well to win their heat taking them into the semi final. Unfortunately their opposition in the semi, from Lea RC proved too strong and held them off.

The women’s novice eight of Maria Vigneau, Vickie Hayton, Angela Colclough, Asha Thobhani, Sophie Lovegrove, Catherine Smith, Nicola Porter-Vaughan, Claire Wells and Hannah Lodge (cox) won their heat against Doncaster, but they couldn’t manage a second win against Star Club in the Semi final. Zoe Rogers and Victoria Burgess competed in the Junior 18 double sculls event winning their semi final. The final saw some interesting steering from their opposition from Norwich who went on to claim victory. In the Womens Novice quad sculls event, Vickie Hayton, Catherine Smith, Asha Thobhani, Sophie Thompson-Hyland and Amelia Moule (cox) raced their semi final against Maidstone RC who took the win.

The mixed eight, shown in photo, beat Doncaster in the semi final but couldn’t overcome the strong St. Neots crew in the final. The men’s IM3 eight, also shown in the photo, were straight into the final after their opposition for the semi had to pull out of the event. In the final Sudbury met with a crew from London Otters and raced well to win the event.

On Sunday, it was pleasantly cooler with a variable breeze. Byron Bullen raced the 500 metre course but was beaten early on, again to the eventual winner of his event. Callum Power had a close race against Northampton in the Men’s Junior 18 single sculling event but didn’t quite have the pace of the opposition. Sam McLoughlin raced in the junior 14 single scull event, again a close race but his opposition from Poplar took the win.

The Women’s IM3 coxed four, Men’s Masters D double sculls (Alan Muir and Sean Moriarty), Masters D eight of Robin King, Stephen Nichols, Austin Shaw, Mark Tyrie, Lee Adams, Paul Spencer, Keith Paxman, Tony Moule and Helen Sharp (cox), the women’s novice eight, men’s Masters E/F double sculls (Keith Paxman and Jeremy Milbank) all raced well but didn’t get through to the finals, some being beaten by the eventual winners.

The Women’s Junior 16 double of Emma Rogers and Amelia Moule had a good race in the heat, winning to gain a place in the semi final against a crew from St. Neots. After a good race, the St Neots crew won by half a length and went on to win in the final. Martha Bullen raced in the Junior 13 single sculls event, losing by 1 length.

Women’s masters C/D quad of SJ Gibbons, Jen Ward, Sarah Watts and Rosemary Hogsbjerg won the semi against Maidstone taking them into the final against an older crew who were given a four second head start. The Leicester/Peterborough crew were very fast and the Sudbury crew did gain, but couldn’t quite make up the deficit. Watts and Hogsbjerg went straight on to race the final of the Masters E double sculls. After beating a crew from Star Club in the semi, Sudbury faced rivals from Peterborough and the two crews had a very good race with Peterborough taking the win.

The mixed eight of Mark Hughes, Tom Horton, Kieron Dibley, Tom Bowles, Amy Bowles, Molly Shaw, Ellie Archer, Zoe Rogers and Victoria Burgess (cox) raced well to beat crews from Bedford and then Northampton in the final.

Newly formed Women’s Junior 18 quad of Victoria Burgess, Amy Bowles, Zoe Rogers and Sophie Masetti raced in the semi against a crew from Boston, but didn’t make the final on this occasion.

Women’s novice quad of Vickie Hayton, Catherine Smith, Asha Thobhani, Jen Titterington and Amelia Moule (cox) had a good race against Doncaster who they beat in the semi final. In the final, Sudbury met with Maidstone who went on to win.

Sudbury rowing club now have a week off racing before their own regatta on the 6th August.