CHAIRMAN’S VIEW
Another terrific Henley for LRC although ultimately not quite the results we had been aiming for. We have much to be proud of and all crews gave strong, determined displays of rowing, doing the Club proud.
In the Thames Cup, it was oh so nearly, and our boys’ brilliant fight back in the semi-final to within a quarter of the length was largely thwarted by the Bucks station. Not many crews were winning on that side following the heavy rain of the last few days.
The women’s ‘A’ crew made LRC history, reaching the final of The Wargrave with their excellent and mature rowing. Previously, we hadn’t advanced through the early rounds so this represented a real leap forward. In the floating stand for the Wargrave final, a Thames member told me how well he thought LRC were rowing.
The ‘B’ and ‘C’ eights have also clearly benefited from being part of a high performance squad.
The Brit, Wyfold and Prince of Wales crews all showed real pace with some cracking contests. I watched a few races on live stream and found the commentary on our crews particularly complementary and well-informed. One commentator noted the incredible increase in numbers in our women’s squad over the last four years.
The results are a credit to Stu and the rest of the coaching team. We have all known the pain and disappointment of defeat but there is much to build on and take pride in.
Chatting to people over the Regatta produced many interesting comments. One parent told me how much happier his son was at LRC after being at another major club. And the word amongst one London University college is that LRC is the club to aim for after graduating.
We are a club with a positive vibe and this will surely pay dividends in the future as athletes perform better when they are happy.
Looking at the summer season, we have had great results at The Met, Marlow and Henley Women’s as well as the terrific Victor Ludorum win at the BR Masters Championships. Some from other clubs hadn’t appreciated how many active members we have! The club is on an upward trajectory and I am confident that exciting times lie ahead.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the AGM on Sunday, 21 July starting at 12:15, with the bar opening at 12:00.
Bill Baker
Chairman, London Rowing Club
NOTICE OF AGM
This year’s AGM of the Club will be held in the Club house, with Zoom access, at 12.15 on Sunday, 21st July.
The bar will be open from 12.00. We hope that many members will attend in person to make this an enjoyable social occasion as the rowing year draws to a close.
An agenda, with Zoom access details, will be circulated in due course.
Andrew Boyle
Honorary Secretary, London Rowing Club
CAPTAIN’S REPORT
In the last few weeks, London Rowing Club has continued to make history.
In June, we won the Victor Ludorum at BR Masters Championships for the first time. Proving that team work really does make the dream come true, we had our largest ever entry, galvanising members across all the non-squad rowing groups. James Sexton-Barrow, with support from the group leaders, banged the drum all the way to victory, with a plan formulated and executed with excellence.
Two weekends before HRR, the men in the squad performed well at Marlow Regatta at Dorney Lake with the top men’s VIII showing that they were the fastest men’s eight in the country and Adam von Bismarck and Jack Cadwallader winning the champ pairs.
The squad women, meanwhile, were at Henley Women’s Regatta with our highest number of athletes ever taking part. As a sign of the changing times, LRC had four boats in the quarter-finals and two boats in the final, the Club VIII and Club 4-. The Club VIII had made up lengths on their strong TRC opposition since the MET but narrowly lost after an exciting race. The Club 4- of Hermione Brewster, Kate Griffiths, Gaby Morton and Millie Perrin made history with a huge win over UTRC and, for the first time, brought home the Lester Trophy. The Club could not have been prouder of our finalists and winners. This was our first non-composite win at HWR and the first of many to come.
There was no rest for the women as they changed boat class and refocused their sights on Henley Royal Regatta. With our squad ‘B’ and ‘C’ boats and small boats needing to qualify, the magical ‘Trailer Jenga’ took place and we all went again. This was the first time LRC had fielded three women’s crews for the Wargrave, the only women’s club event, and we managed to prequalify one boat and secure a spot with the second. Our third was at the top of the fastest non-qualifiers. The Thames ‘B’ and Wyfold ‘B’ crews also secured their spots but spaces were too few and competitive for the open small boats.
On to the regatta itself and our fours provided some tight and exciting racing throughout the week. Both men’s eights showed their strength throughout the competition, with the second boat progressing to Thursday and the top boat putting on a spectacle but exiting in the semi finals.
It was, however, a regatta where the LRC women shone, with both crews making history. Before HRR 2024, LRC had not made it through a round of the Wargrave and this year we qualified two eights. The Wargrave ‘B’ boat had a dog fight down the course and exited to a strong Kiwi club, having been granted a bye to Thursday.
Wargrave ‘A’ not only made it through a round, but took it all the way to the final, beating TSS, RBC, UTRC and TRC. An unselected crew, and only the third club to have ever made it that far in the Wargrave’s history, LRC ultimately lost to a strong TRC crew but enjoyed, and learnt from, each round along the way. The crew was made up of Georgia Hellard-Timm, Laura Bates, myself, Kate Griffiths, Claudia Turley, Hermione Brewster, Millie Perrin and Chase Lemley - a crew of determined, supportive and talented athletes. Emma Feerick and Stu Heap coached the crew and demonstrated that by looking beyond our own individual performances and succeeding as a club, our triumphs are bigger.
Being Club Captain and making a Henley final is something so monumental that I am still coming to terms with it - I could not be prouder of my crew and the whole squad. Representing the club that I care about so much in a sport that I love so much is truly an honour and I could not have asked for a better squad or support system to help me and my crew achieve this accolade for LRC.
A massive thank you to everyone who came to Caps & Ties and a huge well done to Jenny Arthur, Jason Bowyer, Rob Porter and Andrew Boyle who battled the elements to make it happen. And thank you to everyone who braved the pouring rain to wish the racing crews luck and clap us on and off the water - the London Roar is really something.
As I digest the magnitude of the last few weeks, a clear take away from me is that London Rowing Club is still pushing the limits of our sport 160 years on. This report is my last as captain and what a way to sign off - it has been a privilege.
Bang the drum!
Elizabeth Cottrell
Captain, London Rowing Club
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
12-13 July: Henley Masters Regatta
13 July: England Trials for Home International
13-14 July: Kingston Regatta
18 July: Talk at LRC by Gavin Jamieson
20-21 July: Molesey Regatta
21 July: London Rowing Club AGM
25 July: Club Supper (open to all)
27 July: Home International Regatta
27-28 July: Staines Regatta
27 July - 3 August: Rowing at Paris Olympics
3 August: Henley Town & Visitors Regatta
24-25 August: Gloucester Regatta
25-26 August: Ross Regatta
30 August - 1 September: Rowing at Paris
Paralympics
8 September: Doug Melvin Challenge
14 September: Vesta Scullers Head
21 September: Great River Race
28 September: Wallingford LDS
5 October: Reading SBH
6 October: Annual Thames Barrier test closure
12 October: Pairs Head
See more detail for these events, visit our Calendar of Events…
IRREGULARS REPORT
Last month was very busy. I will try and keep it short and sweet – our wonderful achievements at Henley must have all the space they deserve.
Several Irregulars took part at BR Masters Championships in Nottingham on the 15th/16thJune – one crew, believe it or not, even medalling! The Club won the Victor Ludorum at the event – a great achievement and very well done to all those that contributed towards that success.
Our mixed quad - Fiona Young, Diana Bartley, Miles Preston and Eddie Markes.
Our Men’s Four - Andrew Boyle, Giles Adu, Mike Newsom Davis and Philip Carre.
Our Men’s Quad – Andrew Boyle, Eddie Markes, Miles Preston and Mike Thompson.
Some wonderful Thursday evening outings have been held – this one in perfect idyllic conditions – nothing better!
There has been a good number of Irregulars attending Henley this week – a lovely photo of our senior steerer John Auber flanked by Kate Pearson and Fiona Young about to embark in Tubby Bryant to watch some racing.
Finally, since my last communication we have welcomed two illustrious new members to our ranks – Dermod Sweeney and Giles Bedford – A big welcome to them both.
Eddie Markes
YOUNG IRREGULARS REPORT
It has been an exciting month for the Young Irregulars since our last edition of The London Roar; new joiners, the British Masters and the lead up to Henley Masters have kept everyone busy!
Our Wednesday evening and Saturday morning water sessions participants continue to increase, with us sending at least two quads out mid-week and several more doubles on top of this on Saturdays.
The group has grown in numbers for the third month running as we welcome Liz Lobkowicz to our group, all the way from New York. We hope she has a fantastic time with us on the Tideway, even though the water is a little choppier and less predictable than her home waters!
The middle of June brought with it an exciting British Masters Regatta with nine of the group making the journey up to Nottingham to take part in more than 10 different races across the weekend and in several disciplines (2x, 4x, 4-, 8+).
The crews which participated came out with great results across the board. However, special mention needs to be made of Ulrike Forster (Young Irregulars) and Tom Whatterly (Masters group) for their 1st place in the Mixed B doubles on the first day of the regatta.
Tom and Uli walking back with their first place medals for the Mixed B doubles.
What our group enjoyed most about the event (even during the thunderstorms on the Saturday and the scoreboard no more than 100m away being struck by lightening) was the whole club community feel present as we all worked towards one common goal - the Victor Ludorum.
We hope we can continue to build this community feel even more through future events with Henley Masters just around the corner.
All of the Young Irregulars managed to go out for a group meal on the Saturday to load up on pasta ahead of another big day of racing on Sunday, joined by a few of the broader Masters community from the Club.
We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who helped organise such a wonderful event. We are very aware of the amount of effort that went into creating and organising the crews and equipment. In addition to this organisation, we thank Kathleen Curran for being the bedrock of our groups crew organisation, training/coach organiser and chief supporter (with unmistakeable cheering we could hear from the start line)!
Some of the Young Irregulars bask in the glorious weather we had on Day 2.
Back row: Joe Downes and Tom Downes
Front row: Camille, Victoria, Rachel, Kathleen and Heather
Following the success at the British Masters, attention has turned to enjoying the calmer waters we currently have on the Tideway, and crews preparing for the forthcoming regattas.
Tom Downes
NEW MEMBERS
We would like to welcome the following new members to the Club:
• Rob Farthing
• Elisabeth Lobkowicz
• Jack Millar
We hope you will enjoy being part of the London Rowing Club community and will help us build an ever happier and more successful club.
We are always pleased to have more members so, if you know of anyone who you think might like to join the Club, please either let us know or encourage them to get in touch with us themselves.
Read here for information on becoming a member on our website, or you can email the Club’s Membership Secretary.
Andrew Boyle
Honorary Secretary, London Rowing Club
WATER'S GLEAMING GOLD
On 18th July at 19:00, there will be a second chance to hear the incredible story of Hugh "Jumbo" Edwards from Gavin Jamieson, the author of Water's Gleaming Gold. This is a free ticketless event, and the bar will be open to members and their friends.
CASAMAJOR CLUB WINNERS
Congratulations to the Casamajor Club winners from the recent quarterly draw, who are:
£75 prizes:
Kathleen Curran
Christian Green
Dugald Moore
Christopher Whyte
Fiona Young
Mike Shasha
Charles Powell
Mike Williams
£30 Prizes:
Nick Cooper
Paul Reedy
Derrick Smouha
Michael Blogg
Anyone who would like to contribute towards our boat maintenance for only £5 a month and join in the fun of the club lottery – please follow this link.
John Auber
REPORTING SAFETY INCIDENTS
All members are reminded that if you are involved in or witness a water safety incident, you are required to report it using the following email address – safety@londonrc.org.uk
The Club will file any necessary reports on your behalf with British Rowing and the PLA. Members should not submit reports directly to either body.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
My thanks to everyone who has contributed to this edition of the London Roar. If you have an idea for an article or would be interested in submitting a piece for inclusion in a future edition, please email me on miles.preston@londonrc.org.uk
Please do not submit an article without first liaising with me.
Miles Preston
Editor of The London Roar
