Burton Leander Rowing Club

Shrewsbury Regatta 2010

Saturday's events were raced over 1000 metres upstream, and saw Leander's first win in the Intermediate 3 Double Sculls competition, as Jonathan Spencer and Sam Friel defeated first round opponents Liverpool Victoria by an 'easy' verdict. A tougher final saw the duo collect the silverware with victory over Bewdley RC opposition. The club's promising Junior 14 Double Sculls pairing of Jack McDonagh and Daniel Roe - competing together for only the second time - comfortably defeated Shrewsbury locals Pengwern RC in the first round, and and Kings School Chester in the final. Not wishing to be outdone by the boys, Leander's Womens Eight of Natalie Gould(stroke), Emma Henderson, Sam Shorthose, Holly Foster, Emily Sahin, Katherine Abbot, Laura Bray and Sophie Archer with Clare Jephcote coxing, competed in the Womens Intermediate Eights event. Having defeated De Montford University in the first round, success - and the trophies - came with victory over The Queen's College Womens 1st VIII in the final of the event. The 600 metre course on Sunday provided promise without ultimate success for several Leander crews. McDonagh and Roe moved up a status having won on Saturday, and despite defeating one crew from Royal Shrewsbury School in the first round, lost in the final to a second Shrewsbury double. The novice double of Boyle and Frost lost in the final of the Novice Double Sculls event; Junior 14 Double Scullers Ben Cresswell and Rory Anderson, and Junior 12 Double Scullers Scott Smith and Jordan Simons - racing together for the first time - both had unlucky draws and despite sculling well, lost out to more experienced opposition. Womens Junior 12 double scullers Jade and Jazmine Smith comfortably defeated first round opponents Ross RC before losing to Nottingham RC. Single scullers Adam Brown and Ryan Ganley both came through their first rounds in Junior 15 and Junior 14 Sculls respectively, before losing narrowly in the second round. Ben Roe - competing at his first regatta - also sculled well on both days, losing to more experienced opposition in the Junior 15 events. Despite not adding to Saturday's trophies, Sunday's racing at Shrewsbury showed great promise for future success for many of the Stapenhill Road club's junior crews.

Leicester Regatta

Having ended the winter head racing season with a victory, Burton Leander Rowing Club took home three wins from the first regatta of the new season. Chris Williams gave the club victory in the final head race of the 2009/10 season, collecting the medal for Junior 16 sculls at the South Yorkshire Head. 193 crews raced 5100 metres downstream on the River Ouse, finishing in the centre of York. Williams was the 7th fastest sculler to compete in the event, posting a time of 20 minutes and 14 seconds - faster than many senior competitors. As racing switched from longer distance head racing to the shorter course regatta format, Leander's winning streak continued at Leicester Regatta. 177 crews from 25 clubs around the country raced on the Grand Union Canal in Leicester, over a 700 metre course. Leander's Womens' Novice 8 of Holly Foster, Sam Shorthose, Natalie Gould, Emily Salvin, Charlotte Anderson, Emma Anderson, Katherine Abbott and Emily Livesey - coxed by Clare Jephcote racing together competitively for the first time, took part in a straight final against local rivals Derby R.C. and won the race by a distance of 3 lengths. Leander's more experienced partnership of Rosie Winters and Laura Bray defeated Leicester R.C. in the first round of the Womens' Intermediate 3 Double Sculls event, before collecting the trophies with an fine win over a RAF double in the final. It was worth a long wait for a late race in the Junior 12 double sculls event for Leander juniors James Manton and Jordan Simmons who competed in their first regatta and sculled excellently to defeat a Leicester R.C. double in the final of their event and round off a sunny and successful day for the Stapenhill Road - based Rowing Club.

Scullers Head

Whilst most of the club was busy in Loughborough, Terry Roe took to the water on the river Thames, racing in the Scullers Head. Held over a 4 and a quarter mile course from Mortlake to Putney (the reverse of the Boat Race course). The 420 competitors always start in the position that they finished the previous year and after a solid row in rough conditions Terry gained 10 places finishing in a time of 24minutes and 53 seconds climbing 5 places.

Loughborough, Soar Head

Saturday the 28th November saw Burton Leander Rowing Clubs women and junior squads competing at the Loughborough Head race. Competing crews had to complete a time trial course held over 3000 metres up stream on the river Soar. Junior members Chris Williams and Adam Brown raced to success in the junior 16 single sculls event with a 1,2 finish, Williams winning the event by a clear minute and Brown coming in second ahead of a strong field from Nottingham and Doncaster. Williams and Brown then combined to compete in the double sculls but due to poor steering hit the bank leaving them in third place when they crossed the finish line. Ben Cresswell and Rory Anderson also took to the water competing above their own age category in junior 15 double sculls. Looking strong throughout the twosome powered it home in second place behind an older more experienced crew from Doncaster beating many other crews in the process. The women�s squad continued to show their strength in both rowing and sculling events. Veteran sculler Fiona Brown continued her success from the Burton Head, winning the D category single sculls by 1 minute 8 seconds. The women�s novice squad had a point to prove following the penalty that they incurred at Burton Head. The crew of Emma Henderson, Fiona Brown, Sam Shorthose and Emily Sahin coxed by Rob Jephcote won by 20 seconds with the �B� crew of Charlotte Anderson, Sarah Peck, Resi Harris and Katherine Abbot coxed by Rosie Winter coming in 4th on their first competitive outing. Rosie Winter then had a close miss in the Intermediate 3 double sculls racing with Laura Bray finishing second with a narrow defeat to Welbeck college by 6 seconds. Crews now look ahead to the New Year and a strong 2010 season.

Shrewsbury Regatta

Burton Leander returned from Shrewsbury Regatta with four wins to add to the season's early tally of silverware. Over six hundred crews from forty - one clubs around the country competed on the River Severn in Shrewsbury on the weekend of the 9th and 10th of May at a regatta generally known for high standard of rowing.
Saturday's event, raced over 1000m upstream provided the first two pots of the weekend for the local club. Michael Jones had a bye through the first round of the Junior 17 sculls, but won his semi-final and final comfortably to pick up the trophy at the end of the day. The day's second win was in the Intermediate 1 Coxless Fours event, when Andy Stonehouse, Rob Jephcote, James Walsh and Matt Isard defeated their Abingdon opponents in the final. Competing together for the first time, Alex Ganley and Isard won the first round of the Intermediate 3 Double Sculls event by an "easily" verdict, before losing to more experienced opposition in the second round. Terry Roe, racing in the Veteran C Single Sculls event, competed well against the event's ultimate winner.
Better weather conditions on Sunday saw crews race over the shorter, 600m course. Jephcote and Walsh doubled their weekend's trophy collection with victory in the Elite Coxless Pairs event, once again defeating Abingdon opposition. One of the day's last races was well worth waiting for, as club Treasurer Fiona Brown won the final of the Women's Veteran C/D Novice Sculls with a convincing win over her Guildford RC opponent. Competing once again in the Vet C Sculls, Roe went one round further than the previous day, defeating Northampton opposition in the first round before losing by 3 lengths in the final to strong opposition from Wycliffe College BC. Leander's juniors also did their club proud, with Ben Cresswell and Rory Anderson making it through to the final of the Junior 13 event, and Hannah Robertson and Lizzie Manton performed well in adversity - having been stung by a swarm of bees whilst waiting to boat for their Womens Junior 13 event. Chris Williams competed well for the club in his first official regatta, losing to tough opposition in the Junior 15 Single Sculls event.
The next regatta on the club's schedule is at Loughborough on the weekend of 13th / 14th June. Club members are expecting to take part in both the Loughborough Regatta on the Saturday, and the National Veterans Regatta on the Sunday.
On Friday 5th June the Club is holding a Midsummer Doubles Evening at the club-house on Stapenhill Road, with races between scratch crews, a barbeque and the presentation of club awards. All club members, old and new, are welcome to atttend - for tickets and information please contact the club between 7pm and 9pm on Tuesday or Thursday evenings, or between 10am and 1pm on Sundays.

Leicester Regatta

The 2009 regatta season got off to a great start for Burton Leander, with two wins and a further two club members winning through to finals of their events at Leicester Regatta on Sunday 19th April.
A total of 147 crews from around the UK raced in 47 events over a 700 metre course on the River Soar in the centre of Leicester. The Burton club took 14 crews in total, and competed in categories ranging from Junior 13 through to veteran. The club's first success was by Graham Withers, competing in the Veteran E/F category of Mens Single Sculls. Despite a six - second handicap in favour of his opponent, Withers sculled well and comfortably won his final and collected his first silverware for the season.

The Stapenhill Road club's success continued as the Mens Novice coxed four of Johnny Spencer, James Ganley, Sam Friel, Rory MacFarland and cox Ben Cresswell - racing together competitively for the first time - defeated their Lincoln RC opponents in the first round, before rounding off their day with a win in the event final.

Club treasurer Fiona Brown comfortably won through two heats of the Womens Novice Sculls, before eventually losing in the event final. Mitchell Howard went one round further, with three victories - including an excellet performance against clubmate Graham Wright - before a narrow defeat in his final. There were also promising performances by several of the club's juniors, including Cresswell and Rory Anderson in their first regatta as a J13 double sculls pairing, Anderson having also raced in the J13 single event.

The sunshine on the Soar provided a bright setting for some entertaining rowing, the opportunity to row in some of the club's new boats, and two early pots for Leander. All of which add up to what is hoped to be a successful season for the local rowing club.

Marlow Fours and Pairs

Burton Leander won 2 events at Marlow Fours and Pairs head this weekend. Graham Wright, racing in a Leicester composite quad won both the senior 4 and senior 3 events. Winning by 52 seconds in senior 4 and 17 seconds in senior 3.

Burton Head 2008

The second Burton Head Race took place on the River Trent in Burton on Sunday 26th October, and local club Burton Leander had wins in five of the categories. Seventy crews from around the Midlands competed against each other over 3500m downstream to the Ferry Bridge in Burton. One of Leander's most impressive wins was that of Michael Jones, who won the Mens Junior 18 single sculls event in the fastest time of any single sculler competing in the whole competition - Jones' time of 12 minutes and 1 second being only two seconds slower than that posted by Loughborough Boat Club's Novice eight. Jones also competed in Leander's Mens Senior 2 coxless four, alongside Andy Stonehouse, James Walsh and Rob Jephcote - winning their event in a time of 10 minutes and 59 seconds. Alex Ganley - usually a crew mate of Jones - won the Mens Novice Single sculls category, and to complete a family brace of wins, his uncle James Ganley won the Mens Senior 4 double sculls event, partnered by junior club mate Mitchell Howard. The fifth win for the club came in a composite crew of Graham Wright and his Leicester doubles partner, who won the Mens Senior 2 double sculls event, rounding off an excellent day of hard work by club members and supporters both on and off the water. Leander member Mike Wilcox also collected a medal, as his John Snow College crew - the day's furthest travellers - won the Mens Senior 4 coxed fours event.

National Indoor Ergo Champs

Whilst some were competing at the Burton Head, club member Gary Tully made his way to the National indoor arena to compete at the National Indoor Rowing Championships. Racing in the 30-34 Heavywieght category Gary posted a time of 6:35.3 over 2000 metres placing him 13th overall.

Grimsby Ergo Champs

At the same time her club mates were breaking records in Boston, Leander’s Emily Field – Lucas was winning gold at the Indoor 1 mile ergo championships in Grimsby, recording a winning time of 6 minutes and 7 seconds.

Boston Rowing Marathon

With the regatta season over for another year, Burton Leander began the Autumn/Winter head racing season in style with success in the gruelling Boston Marathon. Raced over 31 miles on the River Witham between Lincoln and Boston, the race draws around 200 entries from clubs around the UK, with some of the sport’s more prestigious crews taking up the challenge. Burton Leander entered two crews into the event. Jo Coldicott and Danni Smith competed in the Womens Senior 4 double sculls category, and completed the course in 5 hours and 10 minutes – just 5 minutes behind the winners of the event, Northampton RC. The club’s Mens Senior 2 quadruple sculls crew of Alex Ganley, Matt Isard, James Walsh and Rob Jephcote came home in 3 hours and 35 minutes, some 18 minutes ahead of second placed Huntingdon RC. The time gave the Stapenhill Road - based club the record for the event’s Senior 2 coxless quad sculls category. At the same time her club mates were breaking records in Boston, Leander’s Emily Field – Lucas was winning gold at the Indoor 1 mile ergo championships in Grimsby, recording a winning time of 6 minutes and 7 seconds. The next event on the club’s calendar is the London Pairs Head on the River Thames in two weeks time when three pairs from the club hope to continue to build on a successful start to the winter season.

Stourport and Ross Regatta's

The final two regattas of the rowing season saw more success to round of a good season for Burton Leander Rowing Club. The Stapenhill Road based club had victories at both Stourport and Ross Regattas - despite dreadful weather and poor river conditions Stourport Regatta - held over two days, with a long course on the Saturday and a shorter, sprint course on the Sunday - provided wins in eights, fours and single events. The club's Gary Tulley, won the Mens Novice Sculls event on the Saturday, recording a verdict of 'easily' in his final. The promising, young combination of Chris Duffill, Alex Ganley, Mitchell Howard and Oliver Foulds - coxed by Clare Jephcote - won the final of Mens Novice Fours, again being given an 'easily' verdict in their final. There was double success for the Mens Senior 2 eight of Rob Jephcote, James Walsh, Matt Isard, Andy Stonehouse, Tulley, Michael Jones, Mike Wilcox and Craig Slater - coxed by Jo Coldicott. The crew won the final of their event on both days, beating Bridgenorth by 2 lengths on the Saturday, and Stourport by the same distance on the Sunday. Ross Regatta - held in a pretty setting on the River Wye - provided difficult conditions for many of the crews competing, with very strong currents throughout the day. Despite the conditions, there was success for Chris Duffill who won the Novice sculls event, defeating friend and club mate Mitchell Howard in a well fought final. Clubmates became rivals in the Mens Senior 2 Coxless Pairs final - with club captain and secretary Jephcote and Walsh defeating the Leander pairing of Ben Collins and Matt Field - Lucas to collect the silverware. The days' final success saw the Senior 3 Mixed Four of Jones, Ganley, Coldicott and Danni Smith defeat Sheffield Hallam by 2 lengths to bring a successful end to a good season, and reward for hard training on and off the water. Winter training has already started at the club, who are enjoying an influx of new members. The first, long distance head race is due to take place in two weeks, when the club returns to Stourport for the Veteran and Junior Head - with entrants including Fiona Brown, Graham Withers and Club Chairman Terry Roe hoping to bring a successful start to the winter season. The following day sees the club hoping to take part in the Boston Marathon - a gruelling event raced over 30 kilometres. Anyone wishing to join Burton Leander can find contact details on the club website or by calling at the club on Sunday mornings between 10am and 12 noon.d.

Bewdley Regatta

In the glorious sunshine, and beautiful setting, of Bewdley Regatta - held on the River Severn this weekend - Burton Leander collected six outright wins with a further three as one of their members collected a hat-trick of trophies rowing for her university club. Saturday's longer course provided the first three victories for the Stapenhill Road club. Promising young sculler Michael Jones notched up a victory in the Junior 16 event, a week after a good performance last week at the National Championships at Nottingham. Jones defeated scullers from Evesham and Stourport to win the event - both with official verdicts of 'easily'. The same verdict was given for the Senior 3 double scull partnership of Liam Rose and Ben Collins. Victory over Stourport added to an already impressive tally for the pair who have been only been competing together for a few months, with Collins only taking up competitve sculling recently. Yet unbeaten in provincial regattas, the pair also performed well at the recent National Championships. The third win for the day came for Mitchell Howard and Matt Field - Lucas in the Novice double sculls event in their first competitive outing. Defeating Ross in the semi final and Evesham in the final, two 'easily' verdicts allowed the pair to collect the silverware. Sunday's sunshine saw three more victories for Leander. Jones doubled his tally for the weekend with victory in a composite crew with Sam Cook from Derby RC. With Jones competing above his age in Junior 18 double sculls, the pair - racing together for the first time - beat opposition from Ross by 1 length to win their event. Club captain and secretary, Rob Jephcote and James Walsh, won the Senior 2 coxless pairs event, defeating City of Oxford by 1 3/4 lengths. What must have been the loudest Leander cheer of the day however was given to Jo Coldicott, who sculled excellently through three races to collect the trophy for the Womens' Novice sculls event, beating City of Oxford in the final by 1 3/4 lengths. Leander club member Megan Singleton collected a hat-trick of trophies over the weekend whilst rowing for her university club, Reading. A combination of Singleton's Reading and a Brookes University crew provided her with her first wins as they took the trophy for Mixed Snr 2 eights on both days, defeating Trafford easily in the process. On the Sunday, Singleton's Senior 2 four beat Warwick to provide her with a trio of trophies to commemmorate the weekend.

National Championships

A number of promising performances were placed by Burton Leander at the National Championships this weekend with 5 crews racing over the 3 days. First off were the junior 16 single sculls of Mike Jones and Chris Duffill both put in strong performances but missed out on qualification for the final 12; Jones missing out by just 0.6seconds.

Saturday saw the 2 open doubles of Rich Clarke and Simon Ludlow; and Liam Rose and Ben Collins. In the semi-final the crews were drawn against each other and as the crews came to the line Rose and Collins were 2 lengths up on Clarke and Ludlow with both crews progressing to the repechage. The repechage saw the doubles racing each other again Rose and Collins again pushing hard and this time increasing their lead over their club mates to 3 and a half lengths missing out on the final by 1.5 seconds. This was a particularly strong performance taking into account that Collins only started sculling at Christmas and is still novice.

The final crew to race were the lightweight 4 of Stonehouse, Walsh, Jephcote and Isard. Although in the mix at 1000m they were unable to maintain their early pace and had to settle for 5th in the final. The crew were disappointed but again happy with the progression that they had made over the last sixth months, Walsh only losing his novices the previous August. Burton Leander now look ahead to winter training and the soon approaching head season.

Burton Regatta

The sun came back to Burton Regatta this weekend – with a good standard of competition on the water, success for Burton Leander and an enjoyable two days for the event’s supporters, sponsors and spectators. After the 2007 regatta was cancelled due to flooding, it was good to see a wide variety of competitors attend the regatta – with crews from as far away as Australia rowing on the Trent in Burton. Derby – based company Mertrux was the event’s main sponsor, as they would have been in 2007 and they, along with a wide variety of local firms and individuals, provided a financial backing to the weekend’s competition.

Saturday saw Burton maintain the holders of the 'Burton Cask' for most successful club competing at the event. Burton Leander achieved 6 wins in total on the Saturday. Veteran sculler Ken Moore defeated Johnston of the Royal Chester RC in the final of his single sculls event. At the other end of the ‘experience’ scale, Alasdair Senior and Scott Hepburn claimed victory in the Junior 14 Double sculls event. Liam Rose and Ben Collins won the Senior 3 double sculls event, prior to their competing in the National Championships at Holme Pierrepont next weekend. Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, Jo Coldicott and Danni Smith won the final of the Womens Senior 4 double sculls competition. In the bigger boats, victory was achieved by Mike Wilcox, Matt Field–Lucas, Rose and Craig Slater, coxed by Hannah Bright who won the Mens Senior 4 Fours trophy, and the day was completed by a win in the Mens Senior 3 Eights when club captain Rob Jephcote, Andy Stonehouse, James Walsh, Michael Wilcox, Michael Jones, Terry Roe, Rose and Field–Lucas, coxed by Coldicott, defeated Trent RC by 2.5 lengths in a hard fought race to collect the silverware.

Burton Leander once again took victory in the showpiece eights event, winning three races to take medals for the Senior 3 final. The crew of Jephcote, Roe, Field – Lucas, Jones, Rose, Collins, Slater and Walsh defeated John Snow College, Loughborough BC and Stourport BC to win the event. There were cheers all round too as Graham Withers claimed double victory – in veteran sculls with a win over club mate Louis Pinchbeck, followed by crossing the line first in the club’s Novice Four with Sam Friel, Chris Duffill and Jones, coxed by Coldicott. Duffill also won in a single scull, taking home the trophy for Novice sculls, and in the Mixed Senior 4 double with Danni Smith. Coldicott added to her trophy tally for the weekend with success in the womens novice sculls event, and the Junior 16 single sculls final was won by Leander’s promising young sculler Michael Jones.

Henley Royal Regatta

After prequalifying for the Wyfold Challenge Cup the coxless four consisting of Andy Stonehouse(Stroke), James Walsh,Rob Jephcote and Matt Isard lost to Marlow Rowing Club by 3 lengths on Wednesday. Although disappointed with the result the crew were happy with the result and now look ahead to the national championships where they will be racing lightweight coxless 4's

Jones and Ganley win Weathered Plate at Marlow

Burton Leander travelled to Dorney Lake, venue for the 2006 World Championships, this weekend to compete in at Marlow International Regatta. After the disappointment caused by the cancellation of the National Schools Regatta, Michael Jones and Alex Ganley were really up for a win competing for the prestigious ‘Weathered Tray’ in junior 16 double sculls. All the hard work that the crew have put in paid dividends with the Burton crew coming home first in a time of 8:08 10 seconds ahead of second place.

The mens elite double of Simon Ludlow and Richard Clarke also posted a good result in the elite double sculls coming home second behind a crew containing Ian Lawson who represented Great Britain in the single sculls event at the Athens Olympics. Ludlow and Clarke now look ahead to the National Championships next month.

Also competing at the event were the men’s lightweight coxless 4 of Andy Stonehouse, James Walsh, Rob Jephcote and Matt Isard. After strong performances at Nottingham and Metropolitan Regattas the crew were hopeful of a good result but with a tough draw in the semi-final the crew were pushed into 4th position as they crossed the line just 1.5 seconds behind Henley rowing club and a place in the next round. They now wait to hear later this week as to whether they have performed well enough across the season to pre-qualify for Henley Royal Regatta held in the first week of July.

National Veterans Championships

Ken Moore and George Strang were back in action at the National Veteran Rowing Championships this weekend after a strong start the crew held second position trailing Dart Totnes. Unfortunately coming into the last 250 metres all crews began to push on but the Burton crew was pushed back into bronze medal position narrowly missing out on Silver.

Also racing were Lou Pinchbeck and Clive Sayers, after staying with the pack for the first 250 metres the crew began to slip back and were unable to maintain their initial momentum. Well done to all.

Loughborough Regatta

Burton Leander were back at the National Water Sports Centre this weekend to compete at the Loughborough Regatta. Jo Coldicott and Danni Smith put all their hard work to the test in womens senior 4 double sculls. The double raced well finishing 2nd in the final by a length and a half to Liverpool Victoria beating the rest of the competition by a convincing distance. Senior 2 mens double of Richard Clarke and Simon Ludlow also finished 2nd in mens senior 2 double sculls losing by half a length to the Grange School. Chris Duffill finished third in the final of mens novice singles after coming home first in the heat. This left Ben Collins and Liam Rose to race trying to continue their unbeaten track record, the crew were in the lead straight from the start pulling to a comfortable 2 length lead which they maintained until the finish.

Peterborough Regatta

Club veterans Ken Moore and George Strang made the journey down to Peterborough regatta in preparation for the National Veterans Championships held in Nottingham the following weekend. Competing in Vet F doubles sculls the crew were successful winning by a convincing margin of 8 seconds over 500 metres.

Metropolitan Regatta

The mens lightweight coxless 4 of Andy Stonehouse, James Walsh, Rob Jephcote and Matt Isard competed at the Metropolitan Regatta on Dorney lake this weekend. In excellent conditions the crew had a solid first row coming home third in their heat behind Upper Thames and London placing them in the repechage. The repechage saw the crew have one last shot at making the final. The race was hard faught by all crews with 2.5 seconds seperating the first 5 crews at the 1000 metre mark. The pace appeared a little quick for the newly formed crew in the second half of the race where they finished 5th but happy with the result. The crew hope to take this experience forward with them as they prepare for Marlow regatta on the 21st June.

Shrewsbury Regatta

Excellent weather and a great weekend was had by all members of Burton Leander competing at Shrewsbury regatta this weekend. 6 more wins were had in total over the weekend building upon the successes from over the year and showing how much winter training has payed off. First win of the weekend came from Michael Jones winning J16 single sculls and i the process losing his novices and going for a much deserved swim. Ben Collins and Liam Rose remained on form in the double scull winning the senior 3 event with ease before combining with James Walsh and Rob Jephcote in a coxless four to record the third win of the day with an easily verdict against Exeter University.

Sunday brought with it the younger members of the club keen to build upon the results from Leicester regatta two weeks earlier. All junior members of the club competed excellently but all narrowly missed out on a pot. Chris Duffill and Danni Smith had an excellent performance in the mixed senior 4 double scull bringing home the fourth win of the weekend with a convincing victory against Trent rowing club. Collins and Rose then repeated their performance from Saturday leaving 2 Burton Leander boats in the final of womens junior 15 double sculls with Amber Robertson and Laura Bradford narrowly beating Sophie Archer and Charlotte Anderson by half a length.

Nottingham City Regatta

On a windy saturday morning Burton Leander made the short journey over to the National Water Sports Centre to compete in the Nottingham City Regatta. First race of the day was for Jonah Jones in mens Novice singles and stamped out a strong performance in his heat, finishing with the fastest time of all heats putting him straight through to the final. Unfortunately due to illness his performance was affected in the final coming home sixth a little off the pace but still a good performance in his first singles competition held over 2000 metres. Next off were the mens lightweight fours final with the crew consisting of Andy Stonehouse (Stroke), James Walsh, Rob Jephcote and Matt Isard(bow) the crew had a poor start and were a clear length down on the rest of the field at the 250m mark but they soon dug in and by 1000m in were up to second position. Unfortunatly leaving themselves too much to do to get back on terms with Loughborough Students that beat them by 5 seconds.

Racing in the afternoon division were the mens senior 2 coxless 4's of Ben Collins (stroke), Gary Tulley, Gary Smith and Liam Rose(Bow) and also the lightweight 4 which raced earlier in the day. The conditions proved too much for the lightweight crew finishing 5th in their heat. The heavy weight crew had a good start and were in 2nd position at 500m hoping to hold their position to go through to the final. A poor 3rd 500 meant that they dropped to 4th and narrowly missed out on the final but still showed potential for the coming regatta season.

Leicester Regatta

Another successful day was had at Leicester Regatta with the first two wins of the regatta season. First win of the day coming from Jonah Jones and Alex Ganley following the previous days success at inter-regionals to win J16 double sculls in an all Burton final against fellow club mates Chris Duffill and Mitch Howard. The second win of the day coming from Ben Collins and Liam Rose in senior 3 double sculls bringing Ben his first sculling pot in his first sculling competition. Well done to all the juniors that competed at what was for many their first event and good luck to everyone for the rest of the regatta season.

Junior Inter-Regional Regatta

The Inter - regional rowing championships held at Nottingham's Holme Pierrepont saw two of the club's juniors bring home silver medals, after competing against high level competition, and in difficult weather conditions.

Conditions were deemed to be too bad for the competitors to race in single or double sculls, so representing the East Midlands region, Leander's Alex Ganley and Michael Jones were chosen to compete in the Junior 16 coxed quadruple sculls event, alongside two juniors from Newark Boat Club. Never having raced together prior to the event, the crew performed excellently and bought back with them silver medals - just rewards for their winter training, and a promising start to the new season.

South Yorkshire Head

Burton Leander made a successful start to the 2008 Head Race season, with three wins at the South Yorkshire Head on Saturday 16th February.
In chilly conditions, crews raced 3000 metres upstream on the River Don in Doncaster. The Stapenhill Road club’s Mens Senior 3 eight, comprising Rob Jephcote (stroke), Chris Matthews, Ben Collins, Liam Rose, Andy Stonehouse, James Walsh, Graham Wright and Matt Isard, coxed by Clare Jephcote, completed the course in the second fastest recorded time of the day. The only crew to complete the course faster was the elite quadruple scull from York City R.C.
Four of the eight rowers then doubled their tally for the day with victory in the Mens Senior 3 fours event. Stonehouse (stroke), Walsh, R Jephcote and Isard, coxed by C Jephcote, won their event in another impressive time.
C Jephcote completed her hat-trick of wins as cox as the club’s Womens Senior 4 four of Abigail Grief (stroke), Rachel Bradford, Hayley McAdam and Danni Smith won their event and, in the process, rounded off a most successful day at the club’s first Head Race of the year.

English Indoor Rowing Championships

Fiona Brown brought home the clubs first medal of 2008 racing in the 50-59 lwt event in Manchester. Fiona had a good race which resulted in her bringing home a silver medal.

The Burton Head

The inaugural Burton Head Race was held on Sunday 28th October, and saw 97 rowing crews from around the country compete on the River Trent in Burton.

Raced over 3500 metres downstream, and finishing at the Ferry Bridge, weather conditions were wet and windy for the morning division, but improved for the second batch of races in the afternoon. Competitors travelled to the event from towns and cities including Burton, Derby, Leicester, Stoke on Trent, Bewdley and Nottingham, and the overall standard of rowing was high. Boat categories varied from Senior eights to Veteran and Junior Under 15 single scullers. The two local clubs were both successful, with Leander winning five events, and Trent two.

The fastest category of the day saw crews from Bewdley and Burton Leander dead heat in a time of 11 minutes and 3 seconds, in the Mens Senior 2 coxless 4 event. Leander's crew comprised Andy Stonehouse, Ben Collins, Gary Tulley and club captain Rob Jephcote. Leander's Richard Clarke teamed up with his regular Hollingworth Lake rowing partner to win the Mens Senior 2 pairs event in a time of 12 minutes 47 seconds. The Veteran Single sculls event saw good competition between Leander's Graham Withers and Ken Moore, with Moore being awarded the medal via a handicapping system that takes into account the ages of the competitors. Leander's ladies also collected medals, with victory in both the Womens Novice eight, and Womens Senior 4 fours categories. Medal winners included Fiona Brown, Sophie Archer, Charlotte Anderson, Resi Harris, Daniella Smith, Ashley Maxwell, Amber Robertson, Laura Bradford, Rachel Bradford, Ella Willott, Hayley McAdam, Abigail Grief and Clare Jephcote.

Nottingham Autumn Head

Burton Leander Rowing Club made a successful start to the new season of Head races, with victory in two events at the Nottingham Autumn Head Race. The race, held over 3850 metres on the River Trent in Nottingham, saw entries from around the country compete in timed events. Leander's mens Senior 3 eight, of Rob Jephcote, Chris Thai, Ben Collins, Liam Rose, Andy Stonehouse, Ian Watkinson, Matt Isard and James Walsh, coxed by Amy Seaber, won their event in a time of 12 minutes 53 seconds, the third fastest time of the day and 19 seconds faster than their nearest rivals, Nottingham RC. Representing the clubs ladies, Abigail Grief, Rachel Bradford, Hayley McAdam and Danni Smith, coxed by Clare Jephcote, won the womens Senior 4 event in a time of 15 minutes 3 seconds, 20 seconds faster than the second placed Nottingham RC crew, and 5 seconds faster than a Nottingham - based women's Senior 4 eight. The club's Junior 16 men's crew of Alex Ganley, Michael Jones, Mitchell Howard and Chris Duffill raced well in the men's Novice quadruple sculls event, but came home second behind a St Peter's School crew.

The Boston Marathon

Bringing about the closure of the regatta season and start of winter training Burton Leander made a trip to Boston to compete in the 31 mile marathon. Three crews were entered into the event, Abi Grief and Hayley McAdam racing in Senior 3 womens doubles finishing second in their event in a time of 5 hours 14 minutes. Alex Ganely, 'Jonah' Jones, Chris Duffill and Mitch Howard in Junior 16 quadruple sculls finished in a time of 4 hours and last but one boat off for the day the mens senior 3 8 consisting of Rob Jephcote, Matt Isard, Ben Collins, Liam Rose, Andy Stonehouse, Bewdley Ben, Mikey Wilcox and James Walsh holding an average rate of 31 strokes a minute the crew finished in a time of 3 hours 40 after overtaking all but one of the other 8's by the time they got to the lock.

Bristol, Ross Bank Holiday Weekend

The August Bank Holiday weekend traditionally sees the slowing down of the regatta season for all rowing clubs, but with it brings good competition in the form of regattas at Gloucester, Bristol and Ross on Wye. Burton Leander rowers continued to add more wins to a season which has bought some excellent results, despite many events being cancelled through the poor weather.

Unable to compete at Gloucester due to an exceptionally high level of entries, the Stapenhill Road club took a number of crews to Bristol, to race over a 500 metre course on Sunday 26th August. Success came in both the Mens and Womens Senior 4 coxed fours events. The womens' crew of Abigail Grief, Hayley McAdam, Danni Smith and Rachel Bradford, coxed by Rosie Winter, defeated their opponents in their final by 3 lengths. Not wishing to be outdone, their male counterparts of Mike Wilcox, Ben Collins, Matt Field - Lucas and James Walsh, coxed by Rob Jephcote, also won their event, with a slightly narrower verdict of 1 length.

Monday's racing took place on the River Wye in Ross. Bradford and Smith doubled their trophy tally for the weekend with an 'easy' verdict in the final of the Womens Novice double scull event. Jephcote added to his coxing trophy from Bristol with a 1 1/2 length win alongside Jo Coldicott in the Open Mixed double sculls final. The final win of the day came in the Mens Senior 4 eights event, when Wilcox, Walsh, Collins and Field - Lucas joined forces with Liam Rose, Alex Ganley, Oliver Foulds and Dave Bartram, coxed by Winter, to bring home the silverware with a 1 1/2 length victory in their final.

Stourport Regatta

Burton Leander Rowing Club collected seven more wins at the Stourport Sprint regatta on Sunday - adding to two from the previous day's events, and to an impressive tally for the season. The two day regatta, held on the River Severn at Stourport, is one of the last regattas of a season that has been hard hit by cancellations due to the bad weather. Competition is generally of a high standard, with racing over 1100 metres on Saturday, and 500 metres on Sunday.

Saturday's wins were provided by Michael Jones, who defeated his opposition from Llandaff in the final of the Junior 15 single sculls event, and to Abigail Grief and Jo Coldicott who won the Womens' Senior 4 double sculls final. Coldicott narrowly lost out in the final of the single sculls, defeating local rival Gemma Barker from Trent RC in the first round of the event.

Coldicott went one stage better on Sunday, with victory in the Womens' Novice single sculling competition, once again defeating Barker in the first round, before rowing over to collect the trophy when her final opposition failed to race. Pot number three for Coldicott came for coxing the Mens four of Ben Collins, James Walsh, Gary Tully and Gary Smith to victory in the Senior 4 event. Tully and Smith then went on to compete in the Mens Senior 2 fours event, alongside Simon Ludlow and Rob Jephcote, coxed by Alex Ganley. Having defeated host club Stourport BC in the first round of the event, they initially dead - heated with Hereford in the final, but won the re - row by one length to collect the silverware. Ganley then partnered Jones to comfortably win the Junior 15 double sculls event, defeating Reading and a Stourport / Bewdley composite crew in the process. In the Womens Junior 18 double sculls event, Grief joined forces with Rachel Bradford to claim victory for Leander. Liam Rose won the Junior sculling event - defeating Ross RC in a straight final, by a margin of 2 lengths. One of the day's highlights came in the Mens Senior 4 eights event as Leander's eight, of Mike Wilcox, Rose, Collins, Andy Stonehouse, Matt Field - Lucas, Dave Bartram, Oliver Foulds and Walsh, coxed by Clare Jephcote, defeated Worcester RC in the first round, before beating Pengwern by one length in the final to produce the final victory of the weekend. Losing finalists for Sunday included Jones, whose Llandaff rival from Saturday sought revenge with the narrowest margin of 2 feet in their repeat confrontation in the Junior 15 event; Graham Withers who lost in the final of the Veteran E single sculls event, having comfortably defeated his Quintin BC competition in the first round; and last, but not least Leander's Mens Novice 4 of Wilcox, Field - Lucas, Foulds and Bartram, coxed by Rosie Winter, who won their first round before losing a well fought final against local rivals Trent RC.

Bronze for Prestidge
The national championships of Great Britain saw more success for Burton Leander this weekend with Ashleigh Prestidge winning bronze in mens open single sculls. Narrowly missing out on bronze by a canvas in open mens quadruple scull of Simon Ludlow, Andy Stonehouse, Richard Clarke and Rob Jephcote. Other notable performances came in the junior 15 coxed quad, who finished 9th in a time trial caused by the bad weather on Friday. The girls junior 18 quadruple scull missed out on the final and did not progress past the repechage.

Loughborough Regatta

A strong performance was shown by the mens sweep squad at the National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. The Novice mens 8 romped home 12 seconds ahead of second place Nottingham Trent a strong performance from a newly formed crew hoping for some more wins over the coming months. The second trophy of the day was won by the mens senior 3 crew at their second regatta. The crew hard a hard battle with Demontfort University all the way to the line and although in front all the way down the course won by 0.9 seconds.

Junior Inter Regional Regatta

The regatta season got off to a wonderful start for Burton Leander - with a medal in the Junior Inter-regional Regatta for the club's junior boys, and a tally of eight wins from Leicester Regatta. After the disappointing head race season, which saw almost all the longer distance races cancelled through bad weather conditions, the regatta season could not have started better for the Stapenhill Road based club. Saturday saw the annual Junior Inter Regional Regatta at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont, Notts. The Amateur Rowing Association's 12 regions compete in various junior events, and race over a distance of 1500 metres on the centre's 6 laned course. Leander's J15 boys coxed quadruple sculls crew, comprising Chris Duffill, Michael Jones, Mitchell Howard and Sam Padbury, coxed - loudly - by Simon Duffill, represented the East Midlands Region, and won their qualifying heat to go through to the final, in which they won the event's bronze medal, finishing closely behind the silver medal winning Eastern region. It was the first time the crew had raced together competitively, with Padbury sitting in for the crew's regular member, Alex Ganley - the result being therefore even more praiseworthy.

Gold, Silver & Bronze - National Championships 2006

The weekend of 15th - 17th July brought huge success for Burton Leander Rowing Club - who returned from the National Championships with gold, silver and bronze medals. Leander's gold came for Ashley Prestidge, who led throughout the race, and won the final of the Open Under 23 Sculls event by a comfortable margin - his closest opposition coming from Molesey BC, who came home over 6 seconds slower than Prestidge's time of 7 minutes 19 seconds. Silver came for Liam Rose, who - despite finishing just one second outside the previous course record for his event - lost to his Nottingham Schools Rowing Association rival, George Caines, by seven seconds. Rose and Caines - gold medal winning double scull partners a week ago in France - had remained in close proximity through much of early part of the race, but on this occasion the local sculler had to settle for silver. Ironically, if Rose had posted his finish time of 7 minutes 41 seconds in the final of the Under 18 single sculls event, rather than Under 16, his time would have given him the gold medal. The bronze medal was won for Leander by the Open Double Sculls crew of Simon Ludlow and Rob Jephcote. Racing shortly after having competed in the final of the Open Quad Sculls event, alongside Andy Stonehouse and Matt Isard, Ludlow and Jephcote raced to bronze behind Glasgow University BC and Liverpool Victoria RC. Although there were no medals for the quad, nor for the club's Junior 14 double sculling partnership of Alex Ganley and Chris Duffill, just to have reached the Championship was a huge acheivement. This acheivement, and the medals received, are just reward for the hard work put in by the scullers themselves, and their coaches - Ray Jones, Bob Laver and Terry Roe