West Norfolk rowers enjoy successful day at regatta
Crews from West Norfolk Rowing Club enjoyed a successful day at the Peterborough Spring Regatta.
The club took a ladies coxed four, a men’s coxless quad, and an open coxless quad at the regatta, which was held at the purpose-built 1 km four-lane racing lake.
Peterborough Regatta is a huge spectacle, with more than 1700 rowers competing in more than 300 races over one weekend.
West Norfolk ladies have been learning sweep rowing this season, under the enthusiastic coaching of Lewis Gray, and this was the crew’s first competitive outing as a four.
The crew of Liz Palmer, Beatriz Bond, Vicky Alexander and Helen Pryer, with Carol Rose coxing, looked to have a tough heat in the W.4+ (Band 3) category, up against Lea RC, Milton Keynes RC and Putney Town RC.
They executed a fantastic race and came second in their heat with a time of 4 mins 43 secs over the kilometre course, qualifying for the final later in the day.
They had to feed, hydrate, rest, and prepare to race again a couple of hours later.
In the final they were up against two crews from Lea RC and one from Globe RC, all of who had set faster times than them in the heats.
Nonetheless, the West Norfolk crew managed to up their pace, and despite finishing fourth in the final were justly thrilled to set a faster time of 4 mins 38 secs.
The West Norfolk open and men’s coxless quad crews have been training intensively under the guidanceof head coach, Belinda Walker.
They have made huge advances in technique and crew-rowing and were entered in the Open 4x-category and were placed in separate band two heats, against university crews, and others of comparable youth.
The open quad crew of Simon Prior, Karen Wilson, Robert John and Mike Hutchinson had a good race, but were not able to reach their training time over 1 km, and finished fourth in their heat with a time of 4 mins 12 secs.
The men’s quad crew of Phil Holden, Doug McNeil, Theo Bailey and Mark Dawson powered home with a time of 4 mins 3 secs, but finished third in their heat and also did not make the final.
West Norfolk graduates Megan Hart and Imogen Magner, now both on a national rowing training programme at Ely, won their W.2x (Band 1) event, and wishes them further successes.
Numerous members of West Norfolk RC came along to support their competitors and help with rigging and de-rigging boats in what was another successful day for the club.
