British Rowing Junior and Senior Club Championships, July 19th-20th

20th July, 2024

After the fun and success the girls composite J16 quad (Charlotte from Minerva, Liv and Tatiana from Avon and Zara from Millfield) had at Reading and Henley Women’s – they decided to keep training and work towards the British Rowing Junior and Senior Club Championships.

So on the incredibly hot weekend of 19th July, up to Nottingham we travelled. With 42 boats entered into the WJ16 4x- category they knew they needed to be focussed and determined – traits this crew is not short of. The trial went smoothly, completing the 2000 metre course in 7 mins 37, coming 9th overall. This meant they were into lane racing, with a semi final to determine those who would be in final A or B!

Their semi final was an exciting race for the crowds and commentators (maybe not for the rowers!). The boats were neck and neck for most of the race, with our girls narrowly missing out on third place. Onto final B at 6.30pm…

The final race proved to be just as exciting as the semi, with boats all jostling for an advantage. At every 250 metre marker the girls pushed on with the stroke rates increasing, but Sir William Perkins School beat them across the line and the girls came a respectable 4th.

The following day the girls were back again for the doubles events. Charlotte and Tatiana from Avon in a J16 2x boat, with 55 boats entered into their category. Having only rowed for a few weeks together in the double they knew they needed to focus on the time trail to get into a final. They came 20th, earning a place in the D final – and escaping the elimination phase.

It was a tight and competitive final – draining them of all their reserves (the day before had been tiring enough!). The places for third, fourth and fifth were battled out with a photo finish with Minerva/ Avon losing to Weybridge and Tyne and Wrexham by 100th of a second!

What a fabulous few months these girls have had – creating friendships and memories.

An enormous thank you to our fabulous Zoe Brains who has helped with coaching, vehicle towing, logistics and for being an all-round incredible support.