CLUB NEWS

What a night to remember!

On Saturday 27^th September, 122 senior and junior members of the Club gathered to celebrate an incredible 150 years of rowing,  and what a celebration it was!

The evening began with a drinks reception in the beautiful gardens of The Old Court Hotel, Symonds Yat where guests mingled beneath the late-summer sky, glasses of fizz in hand, surrounded by laughter and chat.

Everyone had scrubbed up beautifully so the perfect time to take lots of photos and yes, it must be said… thankfully no lycra in sight!

As the chill set in, we moved inside and guests took to their seats, perfectly organised by Alison and Nicky.  The table décor looked amazing with Claire Darnell producing the incredible centrepiece and a 150^th anniversary booklet by Holly and Lucy announcing all the Club wins throughout the year as well as the order for the evening.

It was now time for the Grand Draw kindly organised by Greg with thanks to Torsten for sourcing prizes.    I’m delighted to announce that an estimated £1,500 has been raised for Club funds.   Great work Greg!

Jack then took to the microphone to lead the game ‘Heads and tails’.  Chaos prevailed and laughter rang out with Harriet B-W winning the final toss of the coin and taking away the cash prize of £100!  Well done H!

Guests were then treated to a delicious three-course meal that delighted every palate — a fitting feast for such an occasion.

Holly provided a wonderful display of photographs and videos for us all to enjoy.  The conversation flowed as freely as the wine, with stories shared from past regattas, river adventures, and friendships forged on and off the water.

Jeremy PT and Jonny took to the floor with brief, meaningful speeches with Bryn proposing the toast to the Past and Future of the Club

Then it was time to hit the dance floor – the shoes were kicked off and any hint of formality was long forgotten.  The dance floor erupted into pure, joyful chaos with a few questionable spins that somehow worked out in the end.

Just when we thought the night couldn’t get any livelier, the opening notes of “Oops Upside Your Head” filled the room and within seconds, members took to the stage and the rowing motion began – obviously in perfect timing to the beat!

On a more serious note, a lot of hard work takes place behind the scenes to make these events happen, so huge thanks to the team involved.  Also, many thanks to Tori at the Old Court who couldn’t have been more helpful.

Its been a challenging year for the Club in some respects but it was an evening that perfectly captured the ethos of Ross Rowing Club – fun, friendship, energy and full of spirit.

Together we can row harder, laugh louder and support each other every stroke of the way.

Here’s to the next 150 years!

Lucy Preece

Ball Pictures

Captains Report

Following a challenging summer of low water, we are all aware of how important it is to look after our fabulous fleet of club boats.

This summer our Boat House Fairy has been incredibly busy ensuring that we all continue to have the equipment we need and we thank him for all his hard work.

To give you a little insight, the following boats have all undergone repairs this year due to drops, dinks and scrapes, etc, totaling just shy of £2000. This list does not include the boats that have also undergone a ‘refurb’ due to more serious damage or age. Nor does it include replacement fins or additional general maintenance.

Nigel Shepherd, Tim Ball, PGL, Flippin Oarsome, Wye Phantom, Haigh, Beerfest, Women of Ross, Beerfest (again!), Little Egret, Mallard, Mandarin, Beerfest (again, again!), and Ian Howell.

As part of our commitment to keep our fleet so fantastic, we have a replacement strategy for rotating and upgrading boats. Sales have included two singles, a double and just this week we sold Doc Budd after a long period of being for sale. We have also purchased a single (Mike Jones) and a 2x/2- majority funded by M&M Ices (Knickerbocker Glory) and most recently the sister boat to Royal Boarder (match funded by British Rowing).

What a task to keep us all on the water in such a fantastic fleet of boats. Every time we use the equipment that makes our sport what it is, wee are responsible for its upkeep and for reporting any damage, so that we can all stay safe on the water.

Happy and safe rowing everyone.

The Club is celebrating a fantastic milestone this year as a record number of 28 enthusiastic beginners joined the Learn 2 Row programme.    What an achievement!

Three L2R courses have taken place this year from April to end of September with a total of 28 beginners learning on and off the water, mastering the basics of rowing technique, boat handling and teamwork finishing with confidence, smiles and a strong sense of achievement.

The L2R squad have now progressed into the Development Squad which has resulted in the novice rowers gaining confidence and continuing to improve their technique with more experienced rowers resulting in retaining a high level of membership.  

These courses could not have taken place without the coaching expertise of Tim and Buffy who have given up their Saturday and Sunday mornings for the last six months, together with their great team of dedicated assistants.  A huge thank you to everyone involved.

A few crews have taken part in beginners regattas including Bridgenorth (West Mids Recreational League), Llandaff,

Ross, Upton, the Great Ouse Marathon and more recently Chris and Andy at the Head of the Dart.

Those competing include –

Llandaff

• W Beginners 4x Holly W, Kate M, Fran and Jo H – Cox Bianca

• Mx Beginners Holly W, Kirsty, Andy and Chris – Cox Bianca *WIN*

Stourport

• W2x Bianca and Holly W

Ross

• Holly W in a W4x With Lisa, Kirsty and Bianca

• W4x Beginners Jo PS, Jo S, Jo H and Fran – Cox Jessie

• Op4x Beginners Andrew S, Luke, Peter ans Steven – Cox Tim

• Mx4x Beginners Jo PS, Jo H, Luke and Andrew Cox Bianca

Ouse

• Op2x Chris and Andy

• Holly W competed in a Mx4x with Lisa, Gareth and Kirsty – Cox Rachel

Upton Beginners Regatta

• Mx4x Steve, Joanna, Jo and Luke – Cox Emily

Head of the Dart

• Op2x Chris and Andy

 The Club is also delighted to announce that it has secured a grant from British Rowing to help encourage more people to get involved in the sport.

This grant has resulted in the acquisition of a new stable coxed quad especially for beginners adding to the sizable fleet of boats in the boat house.

Lets hope all our Development Squad members brave the colder weather and continue to improve their skills throughout the winter.

L2R graduates and other club members at the Presentation Evening and Boat Naming Ceremony.

Bravo to the Boys – Head of the Dart

On 11th October Chris Jarvis and Andy Dorman took on the challenge of the head of the Dart. Having only started rowing in April of this year, these two have taken to rowing like ducks to water.

With near perfect weather conditions Chris and Andy set off from Totnes with a goal of completing the 14.5km course in under 55 minutes.
Not knowing the water from a rowing perspective was a tough task, local knowledge was most definitely an advantage to the home club and despite some choppy, tidal water and some hefty breeze, the boys completed the race in 50 minutes and 36 seconds!!
An amazing achievement to have completed this race, having also rowed the Great  Ouse Marathon just a few weeks before, we can expect very good things from these two!

Big thanks to Monmouth for space on their trailer, help with boat handling and delivering the boat back to the club!

Buffy was delighted to accept a ‘certificate of appreciation’ on behalf of RRC from Ross Lions. This represented a huge thanks for the Duck Race that we held at our Regatta which raised £1700 for local causes.

Well done and thanks to all who helped to organise and run this quacking event!

RRC 150th Anniversary Raffle

Thank you to everyone who helped support the anniversary raffle this year. The winners were:

1st: Ticket 00660 – Tessa Bannister
2nd: Ticket 00631 – Lily Taylor
3rd: Ticket 00942 – I North

We would like to make a special mention to Torsten Pope for persuading our kind donors for the first and second prizes and Chris Crowhurst for the kind donation of 3rd prize.

We are extremely grateful to those who donated such fabulous prizes that have allowed us to make in excess of £1500 for club funds! What a fantastic total I am sure you will all agree. This was helped greatly by the fantastic tea tent team at regatta who sold over half of the tickets alone!

Ross Rowing Club – Founded 1875

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