Masterful performance
There was success for Newton Primary in the Scottish Schools Orienteering Championships at Hopetoun House recently.
Fourteen youngsters from the Dunblane school took part in the junior competition and were rewarded for their efforts with the gold medal in the P5/6 girls competition.
Audrey McQuaid led the way in eighth place (16.19) and was joined in the top 20 by Anna Clinkenbeard (15th, 20.24) and Eilidh Connor (19th, 21.17).
Newton finished 12 points and three minutes ahead of defending champions, Inverness Gaelic School. Stirling Rowing Club made a first-ever appearance at the British Masters Rowing Championships over the weekend at Strathclyde Park.
And it was a successful time with six winning crews and numerous other fantastic performances which all contributed to Stirling finishing an incredible third place overall in the Victor Ludorum amongst the 81 competing clubs from around the UK and Ireland.
Racing took place over a distance of 1000m in a number of age categories with Masters A (27yrs +) being the youngest age group through to Masters H (70yrs +).
On Saturday, a number of Stirling crews raced well including a hard fought second place for Gregor Hall in the Masters A single scull and Kevin Plank landed the club’s first win of the regatta with an impressive victory in the Masters C single scull as the former junior and senior British champion added a Masters title to his collection.
The next Stirling win came a few hours later from Graeme Duff and Hall in the Masters A double scull.
In one of the bigger fields of the weekend, Stirling’s Masters stalwart Billy Brown joined up with his long time rowing partners from Castle Semple Rowing Club in the Masters E quad scull to win comfortably and these successes and other great performances from the other competing members Sandra Engstrom, Christine Gravelling, Sam Francis, Ross Marchbank, Neil McGuire, Simon Butler, Dave Sannachan, Ian Robb, Davie Plank, Andrew Hilley and Gordon Henderson saw Stirling in eighth place in the Victor Ludorum overnight.
Sunday’s first win came from Duff and Hall again who moved from two oars each to one with a relatively easy win in the Masters A pairs. A hat-trick of titles followed when they were joined by Ross Marchbank and Kevin Plank in the Masters A four.
Stirling’s final victory came in the Masters E pair from Brown and Kevin Plank who also collected a hat-trick of titles.
As the club were loading their boats on to the trailer and tow truck supplied by Stirling Trailer Centre, they received the fantastic news that they had finished third in the Victor Ludorum. Club Captain Graeme Duff said: “What an amazing achievement. We are a much smaller club than many of the others who took part and it is a credit to everyone at Stirling Rowing Club that we continue to achieve such results at a national level.”
Stirling’s next event is in Dumfries at Nithsdale Regatta on Saturday, June 22.