Success at Ironbridge Regatta

Warwick Boat Club crews travelled to Shropshire this weekend to compete in Ironbridge Rowing Club’s annual regatta.  The regatta is one of the biggest in the region, attracting crews from as far away as Peterborough and St. Ives, and takes place on the River Severn in the spectacular Ironbridge Gorge.
Undaunted by the fierce competition the club came away with three wins, in women’s masters A coxed fours, and masters C and E single sculls.  The women’s four of Esther Kinnersley, Hannah Thomas, Emma Pinchbeck, Kate Parkinson and Sam Wesley (cox) kept their composure to win a closely contested race against a home crew, and Paul Gosling and Chris Skuse sculled well to win their respective events.
Other crews performed strongly against some tough competition. The men’s intermediate 3 coxed four rowed well to reach the final of their event only to meet a very strong Grosvenor RC crew.  Particularly impressive were the men’s novice coxed four of Simon Anderson, David Pestell, Ben Joannou and Nick Stevens who rowed very competitively in their first ever regatta.  After a convincing win in the semi-finals they met another strong Grosvenor crew in the final and were unlucky to lose out.
The clubs next event is Henley Masters Regatta in two weeks’ time, where some of the clubs more senior members have the opportunity to race crews from all over the country on the famous Henley Regatta stretch of the River Thames.