ST NEOTS BRAVE THE ELEMENTS AT CAMBRIDGE WINTER LEAGUE I
Nearly 30 St Neots rowers braved the elements on Sunday 16 January to compete in the first leg of the Cambridge Winter League – the first race of the New Year.
The Club fielded an impressive ten crews in total across three divisions of racing on the River Cam. Despite the poor weather conditions, St Neots put in a strong performance across all categories. A crew of Graham Mailer, Mick Staddon, Mick Lawrence, Kevin Sadler, Clive Emmerson, Alistair Mackie, Simon Winter and Steve Fox, coxed by Robyn Staddon, completed in a time of 11.28, coming second in the IM3 eights and 11th overall out of a total field of 173. When the crew split to race in two fours, each crew then completed the 2.6 km course in exactly the same time – 12 mins 49 secs.
A junior (J15) double of Ethan Page and Nick Shorten beat opposition from Northampton two years their senior (J17) putting in a time of 13.33. The juniors were also represented in a J16 quad. Of the ladies, three crews competed on the day (two eights and a four). The Masters C 8+ crew recorded a time of 13.39 and the women’s IM3 coxed four a time of 14.03.
Club Captain Mia Hartwell said:
“Conditions on the Cam were very difficult, with gusts up to 40 mph and sharp bends making this a challenging row for all those involved. ”
The photograph shows the Women’s IM3 eight: Tash Wilson, Mia Hartwell, Ali Brown, Sam Lawrence, Sarah Davies, Dionne Page, Charmian Hardwicke and Robyn Staddon, coxed by Sarah Porteus. Photograph to be credited to Jemma Phillips.
Two further legs of the Cambridge Winter League are scheduled for 20 February and 13 March 2011.
