20/06/06

Success at Henley Women's Regatta for UTRC

Becks Sadler and Naomi Ashcroft of Upper Thames Rowing Club won the Parkside Trophy for Elite coxless pairs at Women’s Henley Regatta on Friday, Saturday and Sunday last. They beat the Scotland Squad pair rowing as Aberdeen University and Glasgow University to give Naomi her tenth medal since the Regatta started.

In the 19th year of what has become known as Women’s Henley the popularity of this Regatta increases every year. The entry for Intermediate Coxed Fours was so large (more than 50 crews) that time trials had to be run off on the Friday to bring the number down to thirty-two.

The Upper Thames crew in this event of Elise Cope (bow) Claire Ginn, Imogen Roberts, Katherine Burrage (stroke) and Dominic Foley (cox) did well in the time trial and met Agecroft RC in the semi-final. Although they lost to them in a headwind, both crews broke the course record which had stood for 10 years with Agecroft went on to win the event.

In the Elite lightweight double sculls, Mary-Ann Chalmers and Maureen McGarvey rowing as an Upper Thames RC/ Strathclyde Park RC composite crew (they were Commonwealth trialists for Scotland) dropped a length off the start to the likely England Squad double rowing as Auriol Kensington RC/Mortlake Anglian and Alpha RC, and fought back over the course to lose by only half that distance.