St Neots Rowers’ results not dampened by rain in Ely

Six crews from St Neots Rowing Club raced in Ely last weekend for their Head of the River Race and despite a cold and rainy day performed well on the 5km race course; home to the Cambridge University Blues.

It was an early, and very wet, start for the club’s Women’s double scull and a Mixed Master’s 8 in the first division having to launch their boats at 8am to paddle 6km to the start. The women’s double of Olivia Marsh and Clara Zwetsloot, in their debut race, overtook another crew mid-race and were strong in the closing stages, finishing fourth. It was also a first race for the Masters mixed eight, stroked by Ali Brown and driven on by cox, Sarah Leatham, they put in a great effort, something to build on going forward.

Division 2 saw the debut race for St Neots’ newest cohort of rowers from the club’s 2022 “Learn To Row” programme. Racing in another Mixed 8, all have been rowing for less than a year. The crew was stroked by Emily Usher and coxed by the more experienced Matthew Wigmore. The crew finished in good spirits despite a brief stint rowing as a six while some emergency foot plate repairs took place mid-race. A great result for this novice crew over a long course in difficult conditions.

Division 3 brought a blissful break in the rain but a building headwind made conditions tricky for the club’s three men’s crews: an Open Men’s 4+, Masters Men’s 4+ and a Masters Men’s double scull. The Men’s 4+ with a last-minute change saw Clara Zwetsloot in her second race of the day taking on the cox’s role. The crew of Matt Wigmore, Rob Offord, Bradley Willies and Dan Grimes came second out of six boats in their category. The ‘class act’ of the day was the Masters double scull of Dominic Chapman and Andy Major who won their battle with the wind, overtaking six boats in what was Andy Major’s first race in 20 years, they were the fastest Saints crew on the day. Ely was yet another triumph for the Masters 4+ (Kevin Sadler, Stuart Williams, Phil Copperwheat and Bob Hetherington) on the back of their British Masters Championship medals earlier in the year.

The St Neots club is now preparing to send some crews to the Fours Head of the River Race on the Thames later this month. The performances at Ely should spur the club’s squads to do even better in 2023, especially the newest members, with a strong programme of winter training under the direction of club Captain Ryan Keating and his team of Vice Captains.