On Saturday 13th September, a large contingency of Hexham rowers went to do battle on the River Tyne at Newburn in singles and doubles. With plenty of strong performances across all four divisions and a number of first-time competitors making their debut in the singles and doubles; the Hexham crews showed determination and team spirit throughout the day.
Division one – Masters Ladies and Senior Open Singles
Luckily for the morning rowers the weather was good; there was even some sunshine, but the flow was strong due to heavy rain on the previous day. For some, Julie, Lorraine, Ali it was their first ever head race in a single. Some great racing happened with near wins for some of the more experienced rowers, however there were a few mishaps too. Lorraine got over excited at the start and capsized but valiantly got back in the boat to complete the race, Shor hit weeds near the finish but still came first in the B category, Catherine stopped just before the end of the race and was pipped to the post.
One of our junior squad, Seth had his very first race for Hexham. Competing in Band 2 of the Open Singles against older and more experienced opposition, Seth held his own, rowing strongly to secure a very respectable 4th place, a great start to his last junior year with the club.
Division two – Senior Women and Masters Open Singles
In division two, Bel who is a J18 junior but wanting the challenge of rowing against the senior women was the first boat to race in the division, taking on a competitive field of university athletes. Undeterred, she put in a powerful performance, finishing in an impressive 3rd place. In the Masters Open singles, James and Stuart both had good races, Stuart being beaten by a mere 5 seconds and James came 11th, commenting that he regretted overtaking on the outside of a bend against the stream, complaining that it was hard work!
Division three – Junior Singles
Division 3 had four Hexham members racing; Dan (J18), one of our more experienced juniors, once again showed his consistency with a strong race to claim 3rd place in a very competitive field. Kate (WJ17) also put in a solid row to finish 4th, demonstrating her progress and resilience against some tough opposition. This division also saw the first singles races for Olivia and Esther (both WJ17). Taking on the challenge with confidence, Esther raced in Band 2 and crossed the line in 5th, while Olivia, racing in Band 3, with a brilliant 3rd place finish in her debut single. It was encouraging to see our juniors stepping into singles racing for the first time and rising to the challenge.
Division three – Doubles and Pairs
As division 4 arrived, the weather had turned decidedly wetter, the wind had picked up and the tide had turned making conditions a bit bouncy on the corners and a strong headwind on the long Newburn straight, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of our doubles crews.
First down the course were Esmé and Olive in a newly-formed WJ18 double. They stormed to victory, winning their category by a solid 20 seconds. Their time also made them the second fastest women’s double overall on the day, and impressively, it was quick enough that they would have finished second in the equivalent men’s event too. Next up were Leo and Jude in a J16 double, who delivered a strong race to secure a well-earned 3rd place. We then had two WJ17 doubles on the water: Anna and Bethan, who showed real determination to come away with 3rd place, and Sophie and Grace, who gave their all to finish 6th in a competitive field.
Onto our Masters’ rowers – More first time races in doubles for Gill, Sue, Angus and Paul. The Crews tackled the conditions well and some really solid performances all round. Catherine and Shor were supposed to race the pair but with no competition they were moved to WMasters 2X and were the fastest crew out of the 6 that raced. John Young teamed up with a TURC rower and had a great race against TURC G/H, but on this occasion were runners up. Gill and Sue, Julie and Lorraine both had great races.
It was a fantastic day for Hexham Rowing Club at Tyne, with strong results, lots of first-time experiences, and plenty of promise for the rest of the season. Well done to everyone who raced, and thank you to all the coaches, parents, and supporters who braved the weather to cheer the crews on!
Full results can be found here: Results
That’s the first race of the long distance / head season. We won’t have long to wait before heading back to the Tyne, as the Club’s next outing will be at the Tyne LDS and TURC Small Boats Head.
Thank you to Newcastle university, the event organisers, to Dan and Ali for compiling this comprehensive report and to Catherine and George for towing the trailers.