Towy rowers make their mark in Welsh vests

SEVERAL rowers from Towy Boat Club in Llansteffan were selected to represent Wales in the Commonwealth Beach Rowing Sprints Championships at Poole in Dorset.

Bryony Jones of Llanion Warriors, Jerry Owen of Fishguard and Goodwick, Chris Harding of Llanion Warriors, Euan Mortlock of Swansea University, and Manon Dixon, Charlotte Heath and Ben Curtis, all of Towy Boat Club, were all picked.

At the Commonwealth beach sprint regatta, the Welsh team took on England, Uganda, Vanuatu, Barbados, Namibia, Canada and Scotland and progressed to the finals in all categories, and after some gruelling competition Wales won a bronze medal in the coxed quad category.

The Welsh rowers then turned their attention to the British Rowing Offshore Championships, which were being held at Poole on the same weekend, with a distance of 4km in the heats and 6km in the finals.

The goal was to finish in the top five to qualify for the world coastal championships at Victoria, Canada, in October. The Welsh ladies’ crews all secured a top ranking to progress to the world championships. The men’s crews finished just outside the top five and await the British Rowing ranking announcement to see if they will join the ladies in Canada.

Before venturing to Canada the crew have international races at Aberporth, which is for the Welsh Open, and also in Ireland and in Spain.