A York rower has been honoured by her home town club by having a boat named after her.
Lucy Edmunds, 22, had a double sculls boat named after her by York City Rowing Club in recognition of her achievements in the sport – including a medal-winning performance for Team GB at the World Championships – and helping to raise the profile of the club.
Edmunds christened her namesake and another single scull boat called Moorhen, at a ceremony at the club before taking the boat out on her maiden voyage on the River Ouse.
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Both boats were blessed by the Reverend Canon Maggie McLean from York Minster, and tributes were paid to Edmunds by Phil Press, chairman of York City Rowing Club, and Phil Jones, the club’s junior coordinator.
A former pupil of Huntington School, Edmunds is currently studying at Yale University in the USA, although her studies have been interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Edmunds said: “I am truly honoured to have a boat named after me. When I look at the names of some of the boats in the club, like Phil Jones and Phil Press, who have done so much for the club, I don’t feel I’ve done anything like as much so I’m genuinely humbled by this honour.
“I would never have thought that when I started rowing at the club at the age of 14 – and fell in on my very first day! – that I would be honoured by the club in this way.”
International success
After winning many regional regattas, her first major success at a national level was winning bronze in a single scull at the British Rowing National Junior Championships in 2015 at Strathclyde.
She has represented Great Britain five times, with the highlight being the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Sarasota, Florida in 2019, where she won a silver medal in the Women’s Eight.
Her other GB call-ups began with the European Coupe de la Jeunesse in Poland in 2016, winning a silver medal in a quad, and she went on to represent GB at competitions in 2017 in Munich and at the European Junior Championships in Krefeld, Germany, and finally that year competed at the World Junior Championships in Lithuania in a quad, finishing fourth.
Edmunds was made an honorary life member of York City Rowing Club in 2017 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the club and for her selection for the GB team at the World Junior Championships.
She was the Active York Young Female Sportsperson of the Year for 2017 and 2018.
‘An honour’
This year Edmunds was again selected for the GB team for the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in the Czech Republic in the Women’s Eight but was unable to compete due to Covid protocols.
She was a finalist at Henley Royal Regatta in the women’s elite fours competition, rowing for Leander Club in Henley, where she is currently training before returning to Yale in January.
As a member of the Yale Women’s Crew, Edmunds has rowed for the Varsity Eight, including at the Ivy League Championships in New Jersey, winning a Bronze medal, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s national championships in Indianapolis.
Phil Press, Chairman of York City Rowing Club, explained boats are generally named after club members who either demonstrate a history of substantial voluntary contribution/service to the club, or a member with extraordinary rowing achievement in skill, competition, sportsmanship, coaching, or other accomplishment.
Edmunds added: “The phrase ‘Eat, Sleep, Row, Repeat’ is a mantra all rowers know but it is true. If you work hard, train hard and have a little bit of luck then rowing really can take you places you might never have dreamed of.
“While I want to thank everyone at the club for this honour, I particularly want to thank Phil Jones for all his support and everything he has done for me over the years.”