CLUB NEWS

Masters and Seniors Racing Report – Summer 2025

Well, what a summer we have had of beautiful, long, hot days with four official heatwaves. However, this has brought some very challenging river conditions for us to train on. But we have adapted and still turned up in our numbers across all our sessions. This dedication has led us to some great results across the regatta season.

The early part of the season brought us four wins at Evesham, a win at Monmouth, two wins at Hereford.  

Our Men’s quartet of George, Lenny, Steve and Anthony made a great show at the BR Masters Championships. Between them entering a Double, a Pair, a Four and a composite 8 with Monmouth reaching two finals. Everyone should take fitness inspiration from these guys (George was involved in all four of these events – phew!!).  Bron and George joined the chaps for their first taste of the National Championships, competing in the intermediate WMasD 2xand were very chuffed to come away the Gold medal.

Annabel and Fliss also did us proud in a Pair at the BR Club Championships reaching the final in a very competitive field.

Building on this inspirational start to the season we then hadthree really competitive regattas:

Llandaff

With a fantastic 20 race entries and two trailers of boats we had a great club weekend. There was some excellent close racing in blazing 30+ degree heat, and we took away five brilliant wins (25% success rate):

• Alice, Ellen, Holly and Georgie with Rachel coxing our W 4+

• Bron and George in a W 2x

• Charlie, Annabel, Greg and Georgie with Jessie coxing our Mx 4+

• Yasmin Howe in her 1x

• and a great win for some of our newest rowers in the Mx 4x Beginners race including, Holly, Kirsty, Andy and Chris Coxed by Bianca

Bewdley

Bewdley brought us another great show with a fantastic 17 entries and some really close competitive races.  We produced seven great wins increasing our success rate to 41%

• Charlie, Annabel, Fliss and Oliver, coxed by Niamh in our Mx 4+

• George and Lenny in a 2x

• Alice, Alison, Ellen, Georgie, Holly, Kate, Sarah and Yvette coxed by Rachel in our W8

• Graham, Sarah, Dave, and Yvette with Sheron coxing ourMx 4+

• George Smith winning in his 1x

• Annabel, Fliss, Georgie, Niamh coxed by Lilly in a W4+

• George, Anthony, Lenny and Steve coxed by Lilly in a 4+

Stourport
In our most recent event, we again had some great results from some fantastic racing. Over our 12 entries we came away with six wins, again upping our success rate to a fantastic 50%.

• Greg, Georgie, Buffy and Mike in a 4x

• Bron and George in a 2x

• Annabel and Fliss in a 2x

• Alice, Alison, Ellen, Holly, Geroge, Steve, Anthony and Alex coxed by Jessie in a Mx 8

• George, Anthony, Tim D, and Tim B coxed by Sheron in a 4+

• Bianca, Kirsty, Kate and Lisa coxed by Jessie in our Low CRI (not anymore) 4x+

I hope you will all agree that this summer has been a great success. The above wins show only part of the story.  We had excellent racing across the board and great progress was made by all our racers – well done to everyone who has competed so far! To progress from a 25% to 50% success rate over three regattas is great testament to our determination. As we now turn our attention our own Regatta this weekend, to the Great Ouse Marathon and then to the autumn and winter training, we are very excited for the next few months and building into next year.

Bron and Graham (Women’s and Men’s Captains)

Junior Racing Report

In mid July we had juniors from Ross competing at the British Rowing Club Championships in Nottingham. With awful conditions over the weekend, the four crews entered for Ross juniors braved the weather on the Monday on a 1000m course.

Setting off first in the WJ15 2x, Matilda White and Isabel Ruck had a great row in the time trial but, with more than 60 crews entered and some very strong competition, narrowly missed out on making a final.

Next, in the J15 2x, Will Berry-Jones and Ben Mattos raced their time trial and managed to secure a place in the semi final. In the semi, they came a very close fourth, putting them into the B final. This was postponed due to bad weather but  they raced and had an amazing sprint finish, placing them 12th overall.

Finally, in the J15 1x, Guy Turner and Thomas Dartnell time trialed next, both performing very well in their single sculls, with Guy placing in a semi final and Tom missing out on a final. Guy then did the semi and got a place in the B final, in which he came second which put him eighth overall out of more than 60 other crews.

Also from Ross juniors, racing the day before for Hartpury, was Faith Thorpe-Williams in the WJ18 4x- where she came away with a silver medal with very strong performances in the time trial, semi and final. This was also a scratch quad and Faith had been out of rowing for the whole season with injuries.

Straight after Brit champs, and after a successful week of summer camp, the Ross juniors competed at Bewdley regatta.

On the Saturday over a 800m course, the double with Leah Cotton and Faith Thorpe-Williams raced in the W2x and WJ17 2x. In the morning division, the girls lost in the women’s category in the semi by 1/3 length against a very strong crew from Warwick who then went on to win the event. Then, in the afternoon division, the girls raced in the WJ17 category with a by to the final where they won by a comfortable 6 lengths against Avon.

On the Sunday on the shorter 600m course, there were 8 crews entered. The double of Leah and Faith raced again in the W2x in the morning and won the event, then raced in the WJ17 2x in the afternoon and won the event. The other crews racing were Tom Dartnell and Monty Vaughn in the J15 1x and J15 2x, and Matilda White and Isabelle Ruck in the WJ15 1x and WJ15 2x. They unfortunately did not get to their finals, but rowed very well and finished with margins as small as three feet, even with broken blades and crabs being caught for some.

Also from the Ross juniors, Lily McLean coxed the women’s four and the men’s four to victory in the senior category.

Stourport

Above: Mx4x- winning crew on Saturday long course, 1000m upstream

Above: Mixed 8 with their medals

Above: W4x+ won on the Sunday sprint

Above: M4+ with their medals from the Sunday sprint

Bewdley

Above: Tilly White in her single.

Above: The mens 4+ trying really hard (it did pay off with medals).

Above: Dave and Graham in their pair.

Above: A win for the W4+.

Above: A win for the W8+.

Llandaff

Above: A win for the W4+.

Above: A win for the Mx4+.

Above: A win for the mixed beginners.

Above: A win for the W2x.

Last but not least

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone (Dave, Graham, George, Karen etc.) who tow our trailers to regattas – without you we could not race! It is very much appreciated by everyone.

By Darren Mclean

On Sunday (after being asked for nearly 3 years) I took the plunge and spent 5 hours doing a parent’s introduction to Rowing session at Ross Rowing club.  There was a bunch of other novice parents alongside me with our very patient and experienced children supporting us.  Was I terrified…yes (not of falling in / capsizing) …but of letting my daughter down!

It was a gloriously sunny day on the river which brought about its own challenges with countless swimmers, paddlers, canoeists, paddleboarders and pets to navigate).

After a fun land-based session warming up, we quickly moved onto the ergs (rowing machines) and learned that it’s all about the technique.  This was followed by a stint on rowing frames outside with ‘proper’ blades which helped us to understand our hand positions and the difference between ‘feathered’ and ‘squared’ blades.

By this point we were raring to go (ish)! The crews were carefully selected, and we were allocated to boats which were matched to our size and weight. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to row in Peter Gordon Lawrence!

I started off in a ‘quad’ (4x) which is a sculling boat with 4 rowers. (Sculling is when you have 2 blades each…’sweeping’ is when you only have 1 blade each)! I tried my best to remember all the times I’d launched the junior crews off from the rowing step. Blades first – feet second; making sure your gates are firmly closed.

With a junior rower in stroke and bow (front and back!) and parents in seats 2 and 3 we slowly set off up the river.  For anyone who hasn’t rowed before, there’s a lot to remember. Hands, feet, arms, back, feathering, blade height / depth, stroke length, finish position etc!  Needless to say, we splashed and chopped our way up to the A40 bridge.

However, something magical happened as the sequencing slowly started to click. Arms, Body, Legs, Hands, Legs, Body, Arms, Hands, etc.. (Proper rowers refer to this as Catch, Drive, Finish and Recovery)! Soon, we’d successfully made it a fair way up the Wye, avoiding the rocks in the shallow waters and managing to only catch 1 crab between us (losing control of one of your blades)!

We learned to turn around and spent a joyful hour going up and down the river. When the 4 of us were fully in sync and ‘driving’ at the same time, it was an incredible feeling – it almost felt as if we were gliding on top of the water.

We stopped for a well-deserved rest and had lunch outside the club – fully appreciating the location and the beauty and tranquillity that the River Wye gives.

‘Crews’ were rejigged, and quads were replaced by doubles and singles. 

Having watched my daughter row for 3 years, I finally got my chance to join her in a boat.

The biggest challenge of rowing in a double, is that I was in stroke (at the front) as the steering was done by Lily in ‘bow’ (the back)! That meant I had nobody in front of me to copy!  I gave it my best shot and again we managed to make it up the river and back several times.

Lily was giving me top tips and was really tolerant when I messed up (frequently)! When I asked her for a rating out of 10, she proudly replied, “Pretty good…about an 8!”.  (Incidentally, the very same score she gave her mum when she did it last year)!

After getting off the water it was a case of washing the boats down, putting them (and the safety launch away) and doing a warm down / stretch.

I wasn’t as physically tired as I thought I would be, but muscles I didn’t know I had certainly ached for the next few days.

It’s fair to say that it was a brilliant day and I may just have caught the bug!

Ross Rowing Club is open to all – regardless of ability. It’s a lovely club with great facilities and has a fab junior section. They regularly run introductory 6-week Learn to Row courses for over 18’s as well as Junior Learn to Row camps (at the start of the summer and Easter) for 12-18 year olds.

You can row socially… and enjoy coffee and a cake (or something colder) afterwards in the clubhouse or, if you get the bug – you can compete locally and nationally as the club enjoys a rich history of rowers competing at the highest international level.

Imogen Bell had a fantastic opportunity this year to work for the media team at Henley. Here is what she had to say before and after her week:

I am so beyond excited to be able to share that I will be working at Henley this year! I am the secondary shooter for a wonderful photographer called Lisa Worthy. This means that this week I am on the official Henley Press team! I am ecstatic at this opportunity and am so wildly grateful.

I arrived today and am fully kitted out. I will be all over Henley this year, on pontoons, in launches, tents and much more. I look forward to seeing some of you on Wednesday!! And I’ll be sure to share some of the snaps that I get, I have linked both mine and Lisa’s Instagrams below so you can see what we get up to!!

Henley Press has been the most educational, exhausting and fulfilling job I have ever done! I’m up at 6:30am every day. At the course for 7:45am. Shooting and editing all day so I’m not in bed till 11 each night!! I’ve been meeting and working with Olympians, record holders, industry legends as well as up-and-coming photographers like myself. Being on this side of Henley brings a new level of respect for the media team that runs these events!

Here is a photo of myself (far right) and some of the media team from All Mark One and Lisa Worthy. As well as a photo I was able to capture of the Pope’s on their Wednesday visit to the Stewards Enclosure.

Ross Regatta Update

Despite shallow water, we ARE holding a Regatta on Sun 24th & Mon 25th (with Dragon boats on the Sat 23rd).

Tim Davies is Regatta Organiser, Buffy is Regatta Secretary.

The Regatta success is based upon people’s enthusiasm, participation and vibes (for Gen Z) so get yourselves involved, it’s always a great time 🙌

Look out the Duty Rota in the club and stick your name down (no previous experience required) 👍

Ross Rowing Club – Founded 1875

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