Sudbury oarsmen compete with the best

This weekend has been the Big One for the men of Sudbury Rowing Club as winter training, hard nights in the gym and cold, wet weekends on the river came to a climax at Saturday’s Tideway Head of the River Race.

Run over the full 4 and a half mile Boat Race course this is the biggest domestic race of the winter and spring, carrying also much international prestige with this year’s entry including more than 50 foreign crews from all over Europe and the USA. A crew including 4 times Olympic champion Steve Redgrave led off the field but even they could not contain the eventual winners, rowing as Queens Tower, the Great Britain national squad crew aiming for glory at Sydney

To this illustrious company Sudbury RC was proud to add 2 fit, strong and well motivated crews drawn from a wide spread of age, background and experience. The First VIII, Ken Mills, Ben Formesyn, Andy Blit, Tony Moule, Matt Clayton, Trevor Chambers, Aidan Dunn and Sam Hogsbjerg, coxed by Deborah Kingsmill were aiming for a significant improvement on last year’s 188th position and, with skill and effort, achieved the Club’s best ever result, finishing 159th. Included amongst the crews beaten were entries from Ireland, Germany, Italy and Switzerland and within their own classification SRC 1 were 10th club crew home out of 62 from all over the United Kingdom.

The Second VIII, consisting of Jim Kean, Jeremy Fisher, Steve Bradshaw, Martin Blackwell, Paul Spencer, Mike Arnott, Adrian Ablitt, Robert Craig and coxed by Michelle Moule made up for any lack of experience with guts and power, finishing a valiant 282nd. They were 6th of the 19 club crews in their class, which shows great promise for the summer.

On the Sunday it was the turn of the SRC Veterans to wave the flag, competing over the same course in the Vesta Veterans Head. The crew, K.Mills, M.Arnott, T.Hogsbjerg, R.Craig, A.Ablitt, A.Moule, A.Blit and S.White coxed once more by Deborah Kingsmill contained many of the tired bodies from the day before. But paddling for the Club, they raced aggressively and smoothly on another lovely morning, overtaking 2 crews and catching a 3rd. The finish position of 37th of 140 competing overall was another ‘best ever’ and left the Club elated, though also exhausted, from the weekend.

This Friday sees the Easter Opening of the Club, a traditional ceremony which this year celebrates both the 125th anniversary of the Club’s foundation and the opening of the new Clubhouse, built with money raised by club members together with contributions from bodies such as Babergh Council and the National Sports Lottery. The latest addition to the Club’s fleet of racing craft will be named for Nibs Rendall, one of the Club’s longest standing members, who sadly died earlier this year. The Club flag will be raised at 12 noon and there will be beer, buns, scratch racing and even Morris Dancing. The entire town is invited to join the members of SRC and to look forward, with them, to a grand summer’s racing.