Medal haul for Salopians at British Rowing Indoor Championships

On Saturday fifteen members of the Boat Club travelled to the Birmingham NEC to take part in the British Rowing Indoor Championships.  

The event formed part of Fitfest which saw around fifteen thousand people taking part in several different events through the weekend. We were greeted by a significant buzz of noise and energy on arrival which didn’t stop throughout the day. 

The British Rowing Indoor Championships saw competitors from all ages taking part in sprint, endurance or relay events spread out through the day. The first event for the club saw three of our Senior Boys taking part in the J18 2000m race. All three put in a strong showing with Richard W (I, LVI) placing 3rd, Max E (SH, LVI) placing 4th and Ben M (S, LVI) placing 10th out of a field of 45 competitors. Lettie H (M, V) placed 8th out of 35 in the WJ16 six-minute event and Will G (O, IV) placed 12th out of 45 in the J15 five-minute event. 

In the 500m sprint events Harry B (SH, IV) placed 3rd and Jake D (SH, IV) placed 6th out of 30 in the J15 event. In the J16 event Con W (Ch, V) produced a stunning performance to claim gold by leading from start to finish with Maxi P (O, V) placing 4th only a fraction off the medals in the same event out of 28. In the Women’s U23 event Tara L (M, UVI) put in a strong performance to place 5th in a competitive field. 

The final events of the day saw teams of four taking part in an eight-minute relay race to try and cover the furthest distance in the time. The club had three crews competing with one each in the J15 Boys, J18 Boys and J18 Girls events. The J15 Boys got the racing started with the teams making a frenetic start with one person from each team going off at top speed for a limited number of strokes before changing over to the next member of the team.  

The team tactics worked well with the boys leading their fields after the first round of changeovers. The time spent practicing the changeovers leading up to the event paid dividends as the crew broke away from the chasing pack to win their event overall. The J18 Boys and J18 Girls teams were next to race and followed suit with a terrific effort from both crews to lead from start to finish. The crews put on an impressive display to much acclaim from the commentators for their impressive teamwork on the ergo and the changeovers. 

The J15 Boys Team was made up of Harry B (SH, IV), Jake D (SH, IV), Will G (O, IV) and Tilo M (I, IV). 

The J18 Boys team was made up of Richard W (I, LVI), Max E (SH, LVI), Ben M (S, LVI) and Joe D (SH, UVI). 

The J18 Girls team was made up of Lettie H (M, V), Tara L (M, UVI), Mollie P (M, UVI) and Kattie W (Q, V). 

Athol Hundermark

Director of Rowing