Regatta Season
Regatta season started with a bang at the Nithsdale Sprints in March. This event celebrated the 160th Anniversary of Nithsdale Rowing Club with our development and recreational squads having an enjoyable day racing.
With an unusual overlap this year, some squads trained in Chester while others raced at Strathclyde Park. Challenging weather didn’t stop the medals rolling in at Spring Regatta. Most starting their regatta season here to practice their racing.
Our junior development and recreational groups travelled north for the North East Regatta in Aberdeen, a new addition to our calendar. Racing 700m sprints in good conditions, it was a fun weekend out on the Dee. A couple of our junior coaches also got in on the action of the weekend.
Coming into May, a group of our athletes competed at Castle Semple Regatta. This annual event, with typically windy conditions, brought plenty of enjoyment, along with a few hard-fought victories.
From June 7th to 8th, we saw plenty of our squads compete at the Scottish Championships. Whilst we faced some rain and wind, sparks of sunlight still seeped through the clouds at times. Some of our athletes were trialling for the Scotland team and achieved impressive results. Collecting more medals to add to the ever growing pile for the season.
On June 14th, a small regatta for recreational groups took place under sunny skies. Rowers raced side by side against other clubs, enjoying the perfect opportunity to practice their skills and embrace the excitement of competition at Nithsdale Regatta.
Finishing off June, Henley Women’s Regatta and Marlow Regatta took place in England, where high-performance crews were be in attendance in both races. Having athletes over 5 crews at Henley Women’s Regatta and a crew at Marlow Regatta.
Moving onto Henley Royal Regatta, our men’s 4- ‘A’ from Marlow pre-qualified, whilst our women’s 8+ made history as the first Scottish crew to qualify for the Wargrave Challenge Cup. Sun and rain as the tradition follows this regatta, enjoyment was still had by our athletes.
Finishing the Henley trend, 2 crews travelled down for the Henley Masters’ Regatta – W MasE 4- and Mx MasE 8+. Making through the first round, both crews raced in the finals!
Now it was our juniors’ turn to be in the spotlight at the British National Championships. From the event being cancelled at National Schools regatta, our J16 boys quad was finally able to race. Seeing multiple crews racing this weekend, much enjoyment was had.
Finishing off the regatta season, 5 athletes represented Scotland in the Home International Regatta – 2 junior girls and 3 senior men. Having last year been hosted by Scotland at Strathclyde Park, our team travelled down to Dorney Lake for hosting by Wales. Strong performance were held that day by our athletes.
After a strong performance this year, the club looks forward to next year with hopefully many medals won and much enjoyment taking place. We yet again say a massive thank you to our trailer towers who spend many extra hours on the road to the rest of us as well as making sure our equipment is safely transported. Without such people we would not be able to race at so many different races over Britain.
Henley
Blazers out, oars out. Walking down the course and finding the most extravagant hats and dresses, maybe seeing some of the racing between your servings of Pimms. The Henley season is an exquisite time where everyone is walking around in heavy rain or in bright sunshine – and this year was no different.
Starting with Henley Women’s Regatta, we saw some spectacular racing with athletes in 5 different crews for 5 different Cups – The Redgrave Challenge Vase (C2-), The Grosvenor Cup (PR3 1x), The Copas Cup(AC8+), The Groton School Challenge Cup(J4+), The Bea Langridge Trophy(J4x).
We saw 4 of our crews making it passed qualifying and 3 further making it to semi-finals on the Sunday. Providing a strong performance for the club at this years Henley Women’s regatta.
From the success of the men’s 4- ‘A’ at Marlow, they were able to pre-qualify for Wyfold Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Our women’s 8+ made it past qualifying on Friday – making them the first Scottish crew to qualify for the Wargrave Challenge Cup.
The men’s 4- went on to win two of their side by side racing, getting beaten by London RC ‘A’ in the quarter finals.
Onto the last Henley Regatta of the season, Henley Masters’ Regatta. This year we sent down two crews to this event – W MasE 4- and Mx MasE 8+. Both crews won their first race, getting through to the final!
After a successful Henley season this year, our club looks forward to what next year brings us.
In Memory of Hal Duke
A message from Tom and Trini Duke, long-standing members who have both contributed greatly to St Andrew Boat Club:
Our 28-year old son, Hal Duke, died unexpectedly on Sunday 8 June. We have happy memories of him as a junior member of Saint Andrew BC and wanted to share a few photos from that time. We will miss him more than we can say.
Head Season
From starting back in October to finishing in March, from the north in Inverness to the south on the Tideway, the club has been busy.
The season went off with a bang with the Clyde Head seeing a couple of our athletes in both senior and the junior section racing.
A build into the annual trip to Inverness in November and a lovely weekend of much sportsmanship and many wins through the bitter cold.
Once facing the cold of the north, we decided travelling to a warmer England may be a good idea. A few crews travelled to Rutherford Head for a race down the Tyne, coming home with shiny tankards.
However, we seemed to have missed the bitter cold in Inverness….travelling once again back to the Caledonian canal. Whilst finding it to be windy for once, there was still many medals won and much enjoyment!
Coming into a warmer March, the club decide to travel back down south for WEHOOR, HORR and Vesta Head.
Finishing 56th, the women won the Medium Club Pennant! The men, wanting to match the placement, finished 58th in HORR!
From the successes of HORR and WEHORR, Vesta saw a men’s novice eight row down the Tideway for the first time.
A special mention to our trailer drivers who without their time and commitment we wouldn’t be able to compete.
Boathouse Paid Off
Having started at £12,000 back in November thanks to our generous double match funding – who had brought the price down from £36,000 – we successfully repaid our boathouse in full at the end of February!
A huge thank you and congratulations to everyone who was able to contribute and spare what they could.
A special thank you to our generous double match funder for extending the deadline from the 31st of December to the 28th of February which drastically helped us reach our goal. We will forever be grateful for such generosity and selflessness.
Paying back this amazing new facility will enable us to be able to use future donations and savings on repairing equipment, and of course new flashy equipment.
But it’s not over yet! After such a massive stepping stone, the club is still in need of your help to keep the community thriving. Donations are always more than appreciated which will help fund an enjoyable and communal place for all to enjoy.
Donations and contributions of any amount are always welcome and will not only help a growing rowing community but help grow a social community for all ages through sport or boat maintenance.
Our shop is always open for donations and merchandise to be purchased.
Anna and Maia named Crew of the Year
Anna Fisher and Maia Hely from our women’s squad have been named Crew of the Year at the Scottish Rowing Awards 2024.
The announcement was made at the Scottish Rowing AGM, and the judges recognised Maia and Anna’s exceptional performance last season, including their win representing Scotland at Home International Regatta.
Citing the award submission, they said the two women had dominated the Scottish rowing scene this year, despite only coming together in the run-up to Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta 2024. The crew not only outclassed their competition in the R2 category at Scottish Spring Regatta, but also stepped on to do the same in the W2- at this years Scottish Championships (where they came an impressive 2nd), before representing Scotland in this boat class and securing a dominant win at HIR.
The two rowers also supported other crews in the club to great successes this year, being part of the W8+ that secured the challenge pennant at WEHORR.
“This is all while they were balancing full time employment and training within a club environment which is equally impressive – showing that rowers are able to succeed on the performance pathway regardless of age and stage.”
(picture credit: Ron Wallace)
St Andrew named Club of the Year 2024
St Andrew Boat Club has been named Club of the Year at the Scottish Rowing Awards 2024. The judges recognised the club’s place right at the centre of its local community along with the great performance of athletes from right across all our squads.
At the announcement, made during the Scottish Rowing AGM, the submission for the award was read out, which highlighted that the club’s size has increased considerably to now about 180 members – a growth that has been made possible by a dedicated group of volunteers who coach and run sessions for experienced rowers, but also Learn to Row courses both for children and adults.
It went on to say that not only has SABC seen unparalleled success at regattas, the club has also established a regular diary of rowing sessions and events for rowers of all ages who are less experienced or not interested in racing. This includes the club’s “Monkey Games”, which see beginners and juniors race with seniors and masters rowers in quads, boosting community spirit in the club and a sense of belonging even in the most inexperienced beginner.
SABC mourns the death of George Hunter OBE
We are sorry to report the death of George Hunter at the age of 97. George was
president of SABC from 1982 until 2017.
George, along with the late Ken Scott, was one of the small group who got St
Andrew back onto the water in the 1950s. George and Ken had been involved in
coastal rowing with the old Eastern club at Portobello, but wanted to row all year
round and take part in inland regattas.
When George arrived, St Andrew Boat Club existed only in the form of a committee
of pre-war members who held an AGM and a sherry party. The group of new, young,
members recovered the club’s boats from EUBC and carried out maintenance on
the small fleet. They began training, and affiliated the club to the SARA so that they
could start racing. Without that group, it is unlikely that SABC would still be in existence.
George was Secretary of SABC for several years, beginning in 1957.
Not content with helping to revive SABC, in 1958 George started a rowing club at his
old school, George Watson’s College. George ran that club as an unpaid volunteer
until in 1994 the school employed a member of staff with responsibility for rowing
and George was able to step back from active involvement. There are several
members of SABC who owe their start in rowing to George’s coaching and
encouragement.
George was on the executive of the Scottish Amateur Rowing Association (the
predecessor to Scottish Rowing) for 51 years. He combined the roles of secretary
and treasurer for many years, served two terms as president and then completed
another term as treasurer, before retiring in 2001.
Another area where George made a significant contribution to sport was through the
Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland. George served on their board for over
37 years. He was initially the Treasurer, raising and managing the funds to send
teams to the Games, and then became honorary secretary from 1970 to 1999.
George was assistant team manager for Scottish Games teams from 1966 in
Jamaica through to 1990 in New Zealand. George was also part of the team who
brought the Games to Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986.
The 1986 Games saw the return of rowing to the Games programme as one of the
optional sports. George was one of a number of people who had been instrumental
in getting the rowing course included in the initial design of Strathclyde Country Park
in the 1970s and then in ensuring that the facilities were upgraded to full international
standard to allow for the Commonwealth Games rowing in 1986.
Two wins for SABC at Rutherford Head
Juniors, as well as senior men and women’s crews travelled to Rutherford Head on 25 November. In icy conditions, both the women’s 8+ and the women’s Masters 8+ were victorious, bringing home a set of tankards.
Women’s 8+:
Anna Winton, Maia Hely, Rosie Mason, Emily Carruthers, Anna Fisher, Ge Wilks, Jade McEntee, Darcy Flockhart, Cox: Will Coalter
Women’s Masters 8+:
Alison Hulme, Martha Walsh, Gillian Connal, Alison Harrison, Sharon Wallace, Linda Carruthers, Trini Duke, Sarah Whitley, Cox: Darcy Flockhart
Scottish Rowing Award for Lindsay Flockhart
Our captain Lindsay Flockhart has been awarded Club Coach of the Year by Scottish Rowing. The award recognises Lindsay’s work with the women’s squad, which has seen significant growth, and had a great season last year, including an 8+ qualifying for Henley Women’s Regatta.
It also cited Lindsay’s broader support for the club as a whole and his commitment to ensuring access to the sport for anyone keen and committed.
Ronan Welch from Scottish Rowing visited the boathouse to award the trophy to Lindsay at a packed women’s erg session.