The sun shone brightly on York Spring Regatta, bringing summer racing on the Ouse to the heart of the city on Saturday 5th May to kick start a glorious Bank Holiday weekend.
Racing over 900m from St Peter’s Boathouse to just above the YCRC boathouse at Lendal Bridge, the regatta draws competitors from across the region and further afield, with 20 clubs competing in this year’s event in more than 180 different crews.
Run entirely by volunteers from YCRC and further afield, the regatta served up some wonderful racing for those who by the evening had lined the banks of the Ouse to cheer them on in the sunshine.
It was a great day for the host club – across the 56 events offered over different boat classes and ages, YCRC rowers took home 36 wins, with successes for Junior, Senior and Masters rowers alike.
Regatta secretary Anne Homa said: “It was great to see rowers from all sections of the club, many racing for the first time ever, enjoying racing good opposition in fantastic conditions.”
Fantastic run
The success on home waters follows a recent fantastic run of successes on the national stage by the YCRC junior squad.
In March, Lucy, Katarina, Alfie and Josh won the J18 mixed quads event at the school’s Head of the River Race, held on the Thames in London, by 15 seconds over their nearest rivals.
This is the first ever School’s Head win for YCRC, an event that draws strong crews from across the country, and is a fabulous achievement by some of the squad’s most experienced athletes.
The success did not stop there – the Junior Inter Regional Regatta was held in April, with crews representing each of the regions battling it out at Holme Pierrepoint, Nottingham.
Earlier in the month, twenty YCRC crews won selection to the Yorkshire team, and on the day four crews went on to qualify in the ‘A’ finals for a chance to bring home a medal.
All the crews raced hard against tough opposition, but the highlight of the day was a superb gold medal for the WJ15 double scull of Charley and Josie, who finished their final in style to secure a great win for Yorkshire.
Give it a go
Thanks to Phil Jones and the rest of the coaches at YCRC who put in so much time to help these juniors reach their potential both at home and away, and for the commitment shown by these young rowers.
The next regatta at York will be the Summer Regatta, which will take place on Sunday 24th June, and which promises to guarantee close racing again, even if we cannot guarantee the same fabulous weather!
If you fancy giving rowing a go yourselves, or if you are returning to rowing, check out our webpage. Find out more about our squads and how to sign up for our taster sessions in July and August.