Maidenhead Rowing Club

MAIDENHEAD JUNIOR GIRLS At British Indoor Rowing Championships 2002

Pictures 2002

MAIDENHEAD JUNIOR GIRLS SHOW FORM AT WORCESTER REGATTA

Maidenhead Rowing Club competed at Worcester Junior and Veteran Regatta on Sunday 8th September. The Junior and Veteran squad competed in 11 events, raced in eight finals and won in six of the finals.

The junior 15 girls quad of Catherine Brennan (stroke), Lauren Connolly, Laurian Pepper, Kelly Edwards with Ally Brooks as cox put up an excellent performance to win the WJ15 event. Maidenhead raced Northwich in the first round and came home winners by 2 lengths, in the semi-finals Maidenhead were up against Evesham’s top crew who looked very impressive in earlier heats, both crews raced neck and neck over the 500metres course with Maidenhead winning from Evesham by 2 feet. In the final Maidenhead raced against Bedford Star Club and won by 1 length.

The junior 14 quad of Ally Brooks (stroke), Chrissie Wright, Louise Entwistle, Sarah Edwards with Ailsa Harris as cox also did extremely well to win their final against a strong Evesham crew by half a length.

The junior 14 double scull of Louise Entwistle and Sarah Edwards raced well against their opponents in the final coming home winners by 2 lengths.

In the junior 13 double scull Chrissie Wright and Ally Brooks continued their winning way with comfortable wins over both Stourport BC in the semi-final and Evesham RC in the final.

Final win in the junior section came from Ally Brooks competing in the WJ14 single sculls This is one year above her age group. In the first round she beat Brelan from Wallingford comfortably and in the semi-final she won a hard fought race against Danby of Stourport by 1 length. The final was a tough race with Brooks coming home to win by one length.

Maidenheads J13 sculler, Chrissie Wright did well to reach the final but lost a very exciting race to Fitzsimmons of St Neots RC by only 1foot.

The WJ16 double scull of Jo Wright and Natalie Trinder did well to win in heats to reach the final. In the final they lost by one length to a strong double from Wycliffe College BC.

Maidenhead had two crews competing in the WJ15 double sculls. Maidenhead ‘B’ crew of Laurian Pepper and Lauren Connolly raced against Evesham RC and were neck and neck until a blade was caught and Evesham went on to win by 3 lengths. The ‘A’ crew (Catherine Brennan and Kelly Edwards) raced against Worcester RC and won by 3 lengths in the heat and lost to Star Club in the semi-final after encountering a steering problem of the start.

In the WJ16 singles Maidenhead were represented by Jo Wright and Natalie Trinder. Trinder went out by 1 length to a good sculler from Reading. Wright beat a sculler from St Neots before going out to Wycliffe College sculler by a length and a half.

MAIDENHEAD ROWING CLUB AT NATIONAL ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS JULY 2002

DOUBLE GOLD AND SILVER FOR MAIDENHEAD

Maidenhead Rowing Club won their first National titles for several years last weekend at the National Rowing Championships which were held at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham.

Maidenhead were represented by a total of nine junior boats.

David Jones and Sam Ashburner opened the racing with wins in the J14 single sculls early on Friday morning. They then moved into a J14 double scull. David and Sam progressed through both events to the finals on Saturday afternoon without either being beaten.

The first final was the single sculls. David Jones was fourth at 500metres but had moved ahead of the field by half way, moving ahead of Stott of Monmouth who was second by one second. Jones extended this lead to seven seconds with 500metres remaining and finished over ten seconds clear of the field. Sam Ashburner who was in doubt for the championships a few weeks ago, due to injury, finished a creditable fifth.

Just thirty minutes after the finish of the singles, the boys had to be back at the start for their doubles final. Jones and Ashburner lead through the first 500m mark by just under a second from Newark Rowing Club and gradually increased their lead to over seven seconds during the remainder of the race. The two Championship wins are the first for several years at Maidenhead where the junior section has expanded rapidly over the last two years.

The next final was the boys J16 coxed fours. This was an exciting race with Maidenhead taking the initiative in the first 500 metres, where they lead the rest of the field by a length who were level. St George's College Weybridge then broke free from the chasing pack and gradually whittled down the lead to half a length with 500 metres remaining. The last section was very exciting and, unfortunately for Maidenhead, the boys were not able to hold off the St George's challenge, losing by a canvas at the line. The silver medal was a very creditable performance for Sam Truswell, Martyn Hartfield, Phil Spooner and Sean Condron, coxed by Georgia Smith in her first major regatta.

Vickie Innes, in the Women's lightweight sculls had 'a good scrap' in her quarter final and easily finished in the top three to qualify for the semis. Finishing fourth in the semi final, she missed out on a place in the final by 1/3 length, to three GB squad girls.

Maidenhead also had a girls J16 coxed four and a quad scull. This was their first major championship. The quad finished sixth in the final. This was good experience for the girls who have been in the sport a relatively short time.

The girls J14 quad scull of Laurian Pepper, Louise Entwhistle, Lauren Connolly, Chrissie Wright coxed by Ali Brooks started their campaign well with a win over local rivals, Sir William Borlase's School, Upper Thames and George Watson's College, Scotland.. They were second in their semi final beating Borlase again and coming second to Reading.

The final was a good race but the crew gave away five seconds to the leaders in the first 500metres where they were fifth. They did not manage to improve on this position and finished a length and a half behind Reading who gained the bronze medal. Headington won the event by a margin of ten seconds. This was still a very creditable performance for Maidenhead , as three of the crew have another year in this event,

The boys J14 quad of Tom Bennet, Max Gerrard, Oliver Truswell Michael Kirby and coxed by Robert Ashburner started with a third place behind Reading Blue Coat and Royal Chester. They had a tough draw in their semi final, losing a final qualification place by two lengths to Reading Blue Coat School who won the bronze in the final. On times Maidenhead could have finished third in the other semi final. The event was won by Yarm School near Durham by over eight seconds.

Patrick King won his repecharge in J15 sculls to qualify for the semi final and was then unfortunate to draw the three eventual medallists in the race. King was third at 500m but was unable to get back on terms and finished fourth. Francis of Hereford and Baker of St Neots who won gold and silver in last years J14 event were fourth and fifth in the J15 final this year. The event was won by Davidson from Tideway Scullers School with Hinde of Runcorn and Esslemont of Shiplake in silver and bronze positions.

Overall this was the best National Championships for Maidenhead Rowing Club for several years with some good emerging talent, especially in the lower age groups.

Maidenhead Juniors win 8 events in one weekend!

On Saturday 15th June, at Reading Amateur Regatta Junior Boys (aged 17 and 18) competed in the Mens' Senior 3 coxed fours event. (Kieran Hardman, Daryl Brady, Robert Williams and Robert Davies with Fiona Truswell coxing). They reached the final comfortably after two heats and the semi-final where they met St Paul's School. St Paul's got off to a good start and were leading, but the Maidenhead boys dug deep and took the lead after about 250m. From then on they powered their way down the rest of the course to win easily.

Maidenhead's ever successful younger juniors were also successful at Marlow Town Regatta on the same day.

The first win of the day came to the boy's J14 quad of Mike Kirby, Oliver Truswell, Max Gerrard and Tom Bennet with Robert Ashburner coxing. They won their heat comfortably and beat King's School Rochester and Tiffin School in the final by three lengths. As the boys passed the finishing line a huge cheer came from spectators(?) in the beer tent just as England scored a second goal against Denmark!

Tom Bennet, in his first J14 singles event, competed against seven scullers from Canford School and won both his heat and the final in impressive fashion.

Oliver then rowed with his father John Truswell to win the parent/junior double sculls event against Billy Brooks and his daughter Ali of Maidenhead and a crew from Tideway Scullers.

In the J14 double sculls, Mike Kirby and Oliver won their heat but perhaps the final race was one too many and a powerful Tideway Scullers crew won the event.

Later, Oliver coxed a J16 coxed four comprising his brother Sam Truswell, Martyn Hartfield, Phil Spooner and Sean Condron. The four powered away and beat Westminster and Harrow schools by a length.

Finally, a J13 quad comprising Toby Ayre, Sam Prosser, Philip Jupp, Dermot Kehily and coxed by Josh Prosser competing in their first event, won the final easily against two Marlow crews.

The total haul of tankards for the day was twenty-three!

Maidenhead Junior 14 Boys and Girls quadruple sculls win at Hampton

Hampton Sculls Pictures

On Saturday, 1st December, seven Maidenhead Rowing Club junior crews competed in the prestigious Hampton Small Boats Head at Molesey near Hampton Court.

Seven crews were entered in two divisions. In the first division Sam Ashburner in his single scull had to compete one year above his age and came an extremely creditable second just five seconds behind the winner.

The Year-9 girls ‘A’ crew beat six other entries to win the WJ14 quad sculls category, turning the tables on the home favourites, Molesey, who had beaten Maidenhead at Pangbourne a fortnight ago. This was a very impressive win for the young crew of Laurian Pepper, Louise Entwistle, Lauren Connolly, Christina Wright and, coxed by Ailsa Harris, especially as Christina Wright, from Burnham, at just 12 years of age was rowing two years above her age group and Louise Entwistle one year above.

A second Maidenhead WJ14 quad of Alexandra Brooks, Amanda Young, Catherine Brennanand Kelly Edwards, coxed by Laura Vaughan, came third in the event – another good result showing the strength in depth at the club.

In the same division, the year nine boys in their J14 quad saw off nine other crews to get first place in their category and beat their closest rivals from Reading Blue Coat School. The crew consisted of Oliver Truswell, Michael Kirby, Sam Ashburner, Tom Bennet with Robert Ashburner as cox.

The Womens J16 double sculls of Sarah Collyer and Jo Wright had a good scull against tough opposition and finished 11th in their division. Rachael Entwistle competed in the womens J16 single sculls and during her race she caught three scullers to be placed a very creditable 6th in her division and only 5 seconds of the second place sculler.

At the end of the day everyone was treated to masses of free food and drinks by Hampton School at Molesey Boat Club whilst waiting for the results. After an anxious hour and a half of waiting the Maidenhead rowers and supporters were thrilled to hear the names of their winning crews announced first.

This Saturday, 8th December thirty one Maidenhead crews are entered for Walton Small Boats Head and on Sunday a junior eight crew is competing at Wallingford. All in all, it is a very busy – and successful - time for Maidenhead Rowing Club.

Pangbourne Sculling Head of the River Race 10 November 2001

Maidenhead Rowing Club ‘Project Oarsome’ Juniors had another extremely successful series of races at Pangbourne Junior Sculls on Saturday 10th November. Held at the beautiful venue of Beale Park in glorious sunshine, Maidenhead entered 13 girls and boys crews for the event, out of a total entry of 195 crews from several top rowing schools and clubs.

With three racing divisions, the older crews raced over 3,000m, whilst the J13s and under raced a shorter course of 1,750m. First to race was the Maidenhead boys J16 quad scull of David Jones, Sam Truswell, Martin Hartfield and Phil Spooner. National Champions, Windsor Boys School, just beat Maidenhead’s time of 10:22 to win by 3 seconds. Sam Ashburner dominated the J14 single sculls, winning the gold medal by the substantial margin of 43 seconds from a field of 12 scullers in a time of 12:26, which itself was only 7 seconds slower than the winning J15 time.

In the short course division, Chrissie Wright had a superb win for Maidenhead in the girls’ WJ12 single sculls event, finishing 45 seconds clear of her nearest competitor in a time of 8:01 that would have also won the WJ13 event by 8 seconds. Racing over the same distance, Ben Lion came a very creditable 2nd place in the boys J13 single sculls event, just 6 seconds behind the winner from Tideway Scullers. Max Gerrard finished 6th in this popular event of 21 entries.

In the final division of the day over the 3,000m course, three boys from the Maidenhead J16 quad scull crew (Phil, Martyn and Sam) raced in single sculls, finishing 6th, 7th and 8th respectively out of 24 entries. The boys J14 quad of Tom Bennet, Sam Ashburner, Michael Kirby and Oliver Truswell with Robert Ashburner coxing had an excellent row to finish in 2nd place, just 15 seconds behind Reading Blue Coat School.

Maidenhead entered two girls’ WJ14 quad scull crews. The ‘A’ crew of Laurian Pepper, Kelly Edwards, Lauren Connolly and Catherine Brennan, coxed by Amanda Young, rowed well in a very tough race, finishing third, just 4 seconds behind 2nd place Headington School. The ‘B’ crew, of Katherine Alington, Becky Evans, Alex Brooks and Laura Vaughan, coxed by Charlotte Eynon, were racing for the first time and rowed extremely well, finishing behind the Headington ‘B’ crew. Both crews are determined to get ahead of these Headington crews in the future.
Chrissie Wright and Louise Entwistle contested the girls’ WJ14 double sculls - two years above their age group - finishing in second place, 9 seconds behind Headington who had also beaten them at Bedford 3 weeks ago. Max Gerrard and Ben Lion joined forces for the boys J14 double scull event – a year above their age group – finishing a creditable 5th behind strong opposition.

In total, Maidenhead achieved seven ‘Top 3’ places, topped off by two gold medals. This tally was only beaten by Radley School and is a strong boost for the Maidenhead Junior ‘Project Oarsome’ squad as the season progresses through the autumn.

Maidenhead Scullers take on Henley Head (3 November 2001)

Henley Sculls PHOTOS

On Saturday, 3rd November, a full trailer load of Maidenhead boats made its way to Henley, ready for the 2001 Henley Scullers Head. This is competed over a distance of three kilometres and takes in the famous Henley Royal Regatta course for the final two thirds. With entries from 13 year old through to veteran categories, Maidenhead Rowing Club was well represented.

The Quads and Doubles were in the first division in the morning. The junior 16 men’s quad, who were bronze medallists at the GB National Rowing Championships, came a good second but were disappointed not to have been able to snatch a win against the silver medallists, Dulwich College, who won the event. The same fate came to the Women’s Junior 15 Quad. However, both boats were moving well and have great potential for success. The boys J14 coxed quad had a very convincing win over Upper Thames and Royal Docks by a margin of 1 minute 57 seconds. The quad comprised Tom Bennett, Michael Kirby, Sam Ashburner, Oliver Truswell and Robert Ashburner as cox.

Then the Women’s double came storming through the field, leaving their opposition in their wake and also overtaking crews in the category above. Despite some interesting steering in the last hundred metres, they managed to win by over half a minute. This boat was crewed by Sarah Collyer and Jemma Brooks, both from Maidenhead. Also moving fast through the division was the Veteran double, though unfortunately it had no opposition.

After lunch, a fleet of single scullers took to the water, attempting to continue the success of the morning. Paul Gerrard and Steve Joy, junior coaches, attempted to show their squads how to go about winning a head race, but without success. It will probably be some time before they do that again! Patrick King won the J15 sculls. In J14 single sculls, David Jones had a fantastic competition winning by 37 seconds from his club rival in this age group, Sam Ashburner who, in his first single sculling head, came second. Sam beat half of the J16 scullers in the process and David Jones’s J14 time was faster than Patrick’s in J15 by 5 seconds.

Maidenhead rowers are currently preparing for the Fours Head in London, next weekend. There are seven boats going, ensuring our continued success which includes one boat from the junior section.

Maidenhead Rowing Club Press Release 16 October 2001

Bedford Head PHOTOS

It's been little more than a month since Maidenhead Rowing club easy-oared after their last regatta, and already training for the winter 'head' season is under way. On Saturday Bedford played host to one of the first head, or processional, races of the season, and Maidenhead's Junior Women's squad were out in force, asserting the club's dominance established throughout the summer. Amongst the respectable results were the Women's J15 quadruple scull, who beat seven other crews to win by ten seconds over the 2000m course. The Womens J14 double scull came second by only a second.

The mild weather was also appreciated on Sunday, as other members of the club competed at Reading Small Boats Head. Phil Munslow, Bruce Gorton, Dave Downie and Keith Dixon won the Mens Elite coxless fours to retain their title from last year. Phil Munslow, from Cippenham, Buckinghamshire and Keith Dixon then went on to come second in the Elite coxless pairs competition, by only a small margin. Patrick King made light work of the 3.3km course to win the Mens J15 single sculls, and Gordon Fraser finished fourth out of twenty in the Mens Novice single sculls. Perhaps most spectacular was Vicky Innes, who, as a novice sculler, not only won her class, but beat all the elite women.

Maidenhead Juniors will be competing at Henley Head on 3 November, and the Senior squads will be among the 500 boats in the Fours Head of River Race, from Mortlake to Putney on 10 November.

National Rowing Championships of GB

Maidenhead Rowing Club Junior Boys bag Bronze Medal

Last weekend saw the culmination of months of preparation and training in the UK world of rowing when top crews from all over the country met to compete in the National Rowing Championships of Great Britain at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham. Conditions were typical for Nottingham at this time of year with 20mph head winds on the course making it seem more like March than July. Saturday, in particular, the day of the semi-finals and finals, was a day of strong winds making the course seem more like rowing on the sea than on a lake. The crews had to contend with rough water conditions and a strong head wind, further complicated by intermittent gusts.

Eight boys from the junior section of Maidenhead Rowing Club were entered in the championships with all of them reaching their respective finals easily. This meant that they were all placed in the top six in their events. The heats were rowed on the Friday with the Junior Under 15 Coxed Quad setting the course record for their age group in this event with a new distance of 2000 metres this year. In previous years the distance was 1500 metres. The crews included Philip Spooner and David Jones in J15 double sculls. Philip and David had only very recently started sculling together and did extremely well in their heats and the semi-finals to come sixth in the final. In fact the final was the fifth time they had ever sculled together whereas their competition would have been training together for many months.

Patrick King in J14 single sculls gained an early lead in the final against last year's winner Rob Francis of Hereford. The strong winds saw his lead reduced over the course. Patrick finished third to gain the bronze medal in very challenging conditions. David Jones also gained sixth place in this event: a very good achievement as David is still only a J13 having celebrated his 13th birthday at the beginning of the month.

The J15 boys' quad consisting of Martyn Hartfield, Liam Rothwell, Sam Truswell and Sean Condron with their cox Oliver Truswell, got off to a slow start in the final. However, they quickly pulled through the field to second position to challenge Windsor Boys' School, the favourites who won last year's gold and gold this year at National Schools. The challenging conditions did not favour the relative inexperience of the Maidenhead crew who struggled in the conditions. Dulwich College passed them at 1500m but Maidenhead held off a challenge from St Neots RC to take the bronze medal.

This was an outstanding achievement for these boys, three of whom only learnt to scull this Easter. This very promising crew, coached by John Truswell and Bruce Gorton, have won three events this season and are looking forward to future sculling time trial events in the new heads season this Autumn.

Maidenhead Rowing Club was also represented in the men's lightweight quads. Keith Dixon of Maidenhead Rowing Club was joined by scullers from Loughborough University, Tiffin School and Hampton School. The crew got together after Henley Royal, so only had a couple of weeks to train together. However they still managed to get to the final through the repecharge, but were out of the rankings for a medal, beaten by crews that had been together all year.

Maidenhead Juniors win at Molesey

A team of Junior girls and boys from Maidenhead Rowing Club achieved four wins last weekend at the inaugural Molesey Junior Regatta. The regatta was limited to the Junior 11-13 age groups, raced over a short 500m-sprint course within a stones throw from Hampton Court Palace. Over 80 crews were entered from both Clubs and Schools.

Laurian Pepper was the first Maidenhead winner of the day in WJ13 single sculls. After beating a local Molesey sculler in the heats, Laurian beat Thames Rowing Club from Putney in the final.

Racing together for the first time, Chrissie Wright, a resident of Burnham and Louise Entwistle won their heat of WJ12 double sculls against the home crew from Molesey Boat Club, going on to race a very fast crew from Burway Rowing Club in the final. At nearly three-quarters distance, Maidenhead were leading by half a length when Burway had to stop briefly to avoid a buoy, helping the Maidenhead crew to a three length win.

Chrissie also raced with her older sister, Jo, in the WJ14 double sculls. The Wright sisters from Burnham unfortunately just lost to a crew from Lady Eleanor Hollis school in the first heat. In WJ14 single sculls, Jo lost to a fast sculler from Molesey in the first round.

The Maidenhead boys were represented by Oliver Truswell and Sam Ashburner in J13 double sculls, who raced a straight final against Molesey, rowing with great authority to win by 10 lengths.

In the final of WJ13 Quad sculls - the last race of the day - the Maidenhead 'A' crew lined up against the Maidenhead 'B' crew. This was the first time both crews had raced each other at a regatta, and the 'B' crew of Catherine Brennan, Ailsa Harris, Becky Evans and Louise Dhillon, coxed by Oliver Truswell, were determined to beat the 'A' crew. In a thrilling race, the 'A' crew of Laurian Pepper, Kelly Edwards, Lauren Connolly and Louise Entwistle, coxed by Philip Jupp from Eton Wick. They raced well and pulled out a lead of just under a length by the finish line.

The juniors are now looking forward to racing at Maidenhead Regatta on 11th August. Maidenhead Regatta expects to welcome crews from Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and the rest of the Thames Valley area.

1 July Egham International Regatta

Last Sunday, 1st July, Maidenhead Rowing Club once again continued their run of wins at local regattas. Five Maidenhead crews battled it out through their heats to come out victorious.

It was a very good day for some of the youngest members of the Club who had successes in three of the five winning events. The first win came when David Jones, who is still only 12 years of age, had a comfortable win in single sculls racing in an Under 14 event for boys one year older than himself. Soon after that another two of the youngest competitors, Sam Ashburner and Oliver Truswell, beat Upper Thames RC in the final of the

Under 13 Double Sculls. The third win at this age was for the girls in an Under 13 Coxed Quad. Louise Entwistle, Kelly Edwards, Lauren Connolly, Laurian Pepper with their cox, Philip Jupp beat Headington School, which is renowned for it's rowing accomplishments.

The next two wins came for the older boys. The Men's Novice Coxed Four comprising four junior boys, Keiren Hardman, Daryl Brady, Robert Williams and James Brunton. They were coxed by Olivia Whitworth and coached by Dean Calkin. In their heat they beat Staines Boat Club comfortably in the joint equal fastest time of the day. These boys had to juggle their training programme with sitting exams for GCSE's and AS's, making all the effort very worthwhile. In the final J16 novice coxed four won their first event against very stiff competition from rowing school Hamptons

And finally towards the end of another very hot afternoon, the Under 15 Boys Coxed Quad Sculls, comprising Spooner, Hartfield, Truswell and Condron with their cox O. Truswell, had a very close race against St George's BC to win their third consecutive win in three weekends in the other joint equal fastest time of the day.

16th June 2001 - Marlow Town Regatta and Festival

In spite of the rain and the mud Maidenhead Rowing Club had a very successful day at Marlow Town Regatta on Saturday, 16th June. The first win came for the junior under 13 boys coxed quad, coached by Paul Gerrard, who beat Tideway Scullers easily. Tom Bennet, Max Gerrard, Sam Ashburner and Michael Kirby with their cox Sam Prosser were proud to accept the Bucks Free Press Plate. Max goes to Desborough School which is a partner school in Project Oarsome, Tom and Sam Ashburner attend Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow, Michael attends Furze Platt senior school and Sam Prosser goes to St Nicholas's Primary School.

The next win was for the junior under 15 boys coxed quad, coached by John Truswell and Bruce Gorton, who beat Westminster School in the final easily. Liam Rothwell, Philip Spooner, Sam Truswell and Sean Condron with their cox Oliver Truswell were presented with the Crown Plaza Marlow Trophy. This was a very good win for this crew, three of whom only started rowing this March. Liam goes to Langley Grammar, Philip goes to St Bernard's Convent Slough, Sean goes to Windsor Boys whilst Sam and Oliver attend Sir William Borlase's Grammar School.

The junior girls also had a good days racing. The quad performed well, as did both doubles. The big surprise was a scratch double, of Sarah Collyer and Joanna Wright, who sculled superbly and reached their final. They finished an impressive second. The single scullers that were entered all sculled well, and showed that valuable lessons were learnt last week and applied at this race.

And finally, Maidenhead Rowing Club Captain, John Truswell and his youngest son, Oliver had a very comfortable win in the final against Tideway Scullers in the Parent and Child Double Sculls. All in all it was a very successful day for the Truswell family who went home having won four pewter tankards between them.

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2002 News Archive