Reading Amateur Regatta 2014

Thames Rowing Club men and women’s squads are well into their final preparation for the upcoming Henley Regattas and attended the Reading Amateur Regatta to get their first taste of side by side/knock out racing for the season.

For the women it was a final chance to test their readiness for the upcoming weekends Henley Women’s Regatta (20-22nd June) and for the most part they did not disappoint.

The W.IM1.4+ event was split up into two divisions due to the large number of entries in the event and Thames showed its strength with a crew in each one of the finals. The crew of Amy Lafferty, Jenny Lapish, Sharn Ward, Anne Menard and Lucy Abel, a club combination, were beaten in their final by a handy senior combination from Oxford Brookes while Fay Sandford, Jo Harris, Jordan Cole-Hossain, Beth Hickey and Laura Bryant-Smith cruised to victory in their final by 4 lengths proving they are ready for HWR.

In the W. SEN.8+ event our club entry for HWR progressed to the final in style but were beaten by half a length by the University of London after a very gutsy effort leading the eventual winners for much of the race course. The race of the day though was laid down by lightweight single sculler, Sally Hodgson in the W.IM1.1x Finding herself trailing a full length behind with a mere 200m of racing left she shot the rate up and her boat ahead of her opponent claiming victory on the line by no more then a foot.

Results were just as promising on the men’s side highlighted by the fact that Thames were represented by two fours in the finals of the M.Eli.4-. The crew of John Bale, Richard Dyer, Anthony Lester and Simon Challen claimed victory over the combination stroked by Hardy.

The men’s 3rd eight racing in the Senior event blew past Leander’s Thames Cup Eight on route to their final were they renewed their rivalry with the Lea crew they faced in the finals of the Bedford Regatta earlier in the summer. Unfortunately they were beaten again but this time by a smaller margin of one length after a very gutsy performance.

All in all Thames reached no less than six finals and won three of them:

M.Eli.4- Challan – Winners
W.IM1.4+ Hickey – Winners
W.IM1.1x Hodgson – Winner
W.Sen.8+ O’Toole – Beaten Finalist
W.IM1.4+ Menard – Beaten Finalist
M.Eli.4- Hardy – Beaten Finalist