Henley Rowing Club

Founded 1839

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GHENT INTERNATIONAL

Last week saw Henley Rowing Club compete at Ghent International Regatta which also incorporates the Belgian Rowing Championships and the International Flemish Junior Rowing Championships. The regatta is held on a five lane course virtually in the centre of Ghent and attracts crews from across Europe with 17 different countries competing this year with crews from as far as India and Venezuela.

The Junior girls competed in the International Flemish Junior Rowing Championships and the crew of Emily Derrig, Chantal Cummings, Pippa Whittaker and Alice Skinner racing in the coxless fours event came away clear winners half a length ahead of Skibereen RC of Ireland.  

Chantal picked up a second gold in the Flemish Championships when she teamed up with other members of this years potential GB squad to compete in the quads event. In the same event where two Henley crews Emily Derrig, Orla Millar, Alice Skinner and Pippa Whittaker and then Gemma Hall, Liz Blair, Florence Lock and Hayley Lloyd. The later crew being only J15s and where competing 2 years above their age group, both crews did well finishing fourth and fifth respectively and where the fastest truly club crews in the event.  

Ailsa Buck, Kelly Whittaker, Kate Chapman, and Raffie Varley combined with four girls from Maidenhead Rowing club to compete in the eights event. At half way the girls where in contention for the Gold medal when in the rough and windy conditions of the day a blade got caught stopping the boat, the girls quickly recovered but where only able to pull themselves back into third place and the Bronze medal.  

On Sunday the coxless four crew of Chantal , Emily , Pippa , Alice, repeated the success of Saturday to pick up a second Gold Medal (Chantal's third). Later in the day they joined  Kate Chapman, Orla Millar, Raffie Varley, Kelly Whittaker and cox Katherine Meah to compete in the eights event. A very good start saw them take an initial lead but this was pulled back by Cornelis Tromp Hilversumse RV of the Netherlands a very tough race then ensued but the girls where unable to regain the lead and finished in a very good silver medal position.  

The total medal tally for the girls from the weekend being three golds a silver and a bronze which was very good as the squad was slightly weakened due to illness and for some of the combinations it was the first time they had raced together.

Meanwhile Henley's Senior men were also in action at the regatta with particular success in the Senior Mens Coxed Fours when Robert Kenedy,  John Gelling, Nigel Maynard,  Ross Barnes and cox Michelle Tipping won the Gold medal in 6.31 minutes, followed by  Mike Lambourn, James Padmore, Dominic Pivonka, Nick Rushton amd cox Katherine Meah winning the Silver medal in 6.36. Coach Ian Desmond said he had  concentrated  on the fours event  prior to the regatta and was pleased with the result, however there was  still plenty of work to do  to generate more boat speed. The competition for places is fierce within  the  squad with no crews yet finalised  and with the most important regattas still to come. Henley also won a Bronze medal in the final of the Senior Men's Double  Sculls with Dorian Weber and Alex Cawthorne  sculling particular well to come third behind the Belgian National Team  who  came first and a Mainzer/Russelheimer combination  crew from Germany coming second.

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