Dear Members,

This is the first of what I hope will be regular updates on the club racing successes and activities so we can all keep track of the many activities and ambitions ongoing across the club. In my first weeks as Captain the scale of endeavour across the club has amazed me which you can see reflected in this report - there is a lot going on! I have also been trying to find time to meet with representatives of each of the squads so I can get you know you better and understand the support you need to realise your rowing ambitions – but if I haven’t spoken to you yet or if you still have some thoughts to share please grab me on the pontoons for a chat...

The annual Maidenhead Junior Regatta took place on 20th May and was another resounding success with near perfect racing conditions. First of all I have to thank Liam and the Regatta Committee for organising the event, and the legions of members and parents who volunteered on the day to help run the event. There were 11 visiting local clubs and schools with 340 juniors competing in 74 crews, spread across 15 events and 98 races (plus a couple or re-rows after dead heats). As usual it was well supported by the visiting clubs and schools with crews from Claire's Court School, Henley Rowing Club, Great Marlow School, Guildford Rowing Club, Canford School, Wellington College BC, Shiplake Vikings, Lady Eleanor Holles School, Headington School, Fulham Reach Boat Cub and our neighbouring club Eton Excelsior.

Maidenhead RC enjoyed a particularly successful day with six wins (more than any other club) in the following categories events:

• J15 4x+: (Nat Harlow, Dillon Cook, Ed Rayner, Nilay Patel & Ametz Parcell-Arregi (cox))
• J14 Coxed 4x: (Jacob Ioras, Max Bird, Danny Lewis, Filip Damon & Unai Parcell-Arregi (cox))
• J16 2x: (Dillon Cook & Ed Rayner)
• WJ13 4x+: (Isobel Mayhew-Smith, Scarlet Hunter, Rucha Potdukhe, Annabel Rayner, Ione Parcell-Arregi)
• WJ15 4x+: (Stephanie Stuij, Ella Myers, Christa Scott and Hannah Leeper & Ametz Parcell Arregi (cox))
• WJ16 2x: (Hannah Leeper & Tilly Bishop)

The Victor Ludorum prize for most wins by a visiting club was shared Henley Rowing Club and Guildford Rowing Club with three wins each. Prizes were presented by Zoe Lee, stroke of the silver medal winning Great Britain women’s eight from the Rio Olympics accompanied by our very own former Maidenhead RC junior and world championships silver medallist in 2017, Jack Beaumont.

Other Successes in April/May:

J18 Boys have enjoyed some early successes for the season at Munich representing GB:

• J18 B 4x where Elliott Kemp, Eduardo Marshall + 2 scullers from Tideway Scullers School and Chester-Le-Street winning Gold medals against crews from Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Austria and Germany.
• J18 1x (Victor Kleshneva) winning Silver.
• J18 A 4x: Victor Kleshneva raced with boys from Windsor Boys School, Globe and Glocester winning Bronze medals.

The J18 boys also saw success at the GB Trials in Nottingham where in the 1x competition Victor Kleshneva finished 1st and Eduardo Marshall 2nd.

The Junior girls had wins at the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta on 21st April:

• WJ14 4x+: (Amelia Carpenter, Olivia Hall, Jasmine Stockdale, Ametz Parcell-Arregi, (cox) Ione Parcell-Arregi) winning Gold medals
• WJ15 2x: (Izzy Sellers & Elizabeth Hollis) winning Silver medals

Maidenhead also saw wins at the Junior Sculling Regatta on 5th May:

• WJ14 2x: (Amelia Carpenter & Jasmine Stockdale) winning Gold medals
• WJ14 2x: (Ellen Gomersall & Dallas Thompson) winning Silver medals
• J18 1x: (Harrison Rowe) winning Gold

The Adaptive squad is getting off the ground after winter training with Dan Stevenson receiving a novice medal in the AdaM1x event at Phyllis Court invitational time trials in April.

And finally, the Veteran Men’s squad saw their first win of the season at Putney Town Regatta with a D4x (Nick Steel, Mark Stockdale, Keith Abbott & Tim Hudson).

The Maidenhead RC annual dinner was held on 12th May which was well attended by members past and present representing all the squads. In addition to the excellent food and drink, attendees were able to enjoy a video compilation of the club achievements over the past 20 years since the new clubhouse has been in place. Again many thanks to the organising committee who did and amazing job!

Now that the river is starting to get busy we have seen a sharp increase in damage to equipment, which has taken a number of boats out of action over the past weeks whilst they are repaired. Most of this damage was avoidable, so please make every effort to read the safety plan and take care on the water particularly when navigating the bridge. If you have any questions regarding safety please contact Claire/Emma or your squad captains who will be glad to advise.

It is also important to remember that the river itself is our most important asset, and with the increase in fine weather of cruiser traffic and other river users we all need to remember to abide by the rules and practices outlined by the Environment Agency for river usage and treat other river users with courtesy and respect at all times. If you are in situations with other river users where rules are have not been followed please keep your cool and report the incident to myself or the squad captains when back ashore so that we can follow up through the official channels.

The next few weeks (and indeed this weekend!) promise to hold even more excitement as we get closer to key events in the rowing calendar at Henley and the National Championships – so work hard in your training and preparation, and good luck when racing...!
Regards

Keith