Record Stirling club show at Strathclyde
Big rewards for local participants in annual regatta
Stirling Rowing Club had a record number of entrants in the recent Strathclyde Park Regatta with 34 participants compared to just 10 three years ago.
And they were rewarded with a number of wins over the two-day event on the water which will host the European Rowing Championships in August.
More than 40 clubs competed including teams from the North East of England and Northern Ireland and Stirling’s crews had a broad range of abilities and ages with the youngest member of the team being 11 and the oldest at 71.
For some members of the club it was only their second competition.
On day one, there were some tough conditions with strong winds and waves but the Stirling club put in a strong and steady performance with many crews qualifying for finals and medals won in the Women’s Master B Novice Coxed Quad for S Engstrom, K Aberdeen, M Buchan, J Robson and S Brett and silver in the Women’s Novice Double for J MacLennan and E Butler.
The following day saw calmer water with some sunny spells making for better rowing conditions – ideal for some of the younger juniors who were competing in the single sculling events.
Stirling had some fine performances in the morning and gleaned a number of medals throughout the day with wins in the Open Masters FG Single Sculls for W Brown; Open Restricted 1 Double for G Hall and R Marchbank; Women’s Restricted 2 Double Scull for N Firth and L Arnott; Open Restricted 1 Quad for R Marchbank, G Duff, J Dunse and K Plank and a brilliant silver for R Waddell, Q McDonnell, J Matthews, R Reid and L Arnott in the Junior 14 Coxed Quad.
One of the main highlights of the weekend was a win in the Open Masters FG Quad for D Sannachan, A Hilley, I Robb and D Plank who have a combined age of 266 years in their boat and more than 150 years of rowing experience.
Three crews from Stirling also competed in the Women’s Restricted 2 Double scull – all of whom made it through to the final.
It was also the first regatta outing for Stirling’s new eight-boat racing against Belfast and Tyne who just pipped Stirling by inches in the Masters event in one of the closest races of the weekend.
As always the club could not achieve this success without the many volunteers and parents who ensured Stirling crews had a well organised team and strong vocal support over the weekend.
The next event for is Castle Semple Regatta on Saturday, May 12.