Last Saturday, members of Inverness Rowing Club travelled to compete in a variety of junior, senior and veteran events at the Castle Semple Rowing Club's regatta on the 1000 metre six lane course at Lochwinnoch in Renfrewshire. Three of the club's junior members also competed for the North Area in the events in the first ever Scottish Junior Inter-Regional Championship being held in conjunction with Saturday's regatta.

In this championship, teams of male and female athletes in the under 15 and under 16 age categories representing north, east, west and central/south areas took part in boys and girls quadruple sculling and mixed eights events on the six lane 1000 metre course in fine, sunny and sometimes blustery conditions. Close racing excited the many spectators with the north, central/south and east teams each achieving success in one event with the team trophy being awarded to the delighted north team on account of their second place finish in the two other events. Team captain Alan Lawrie accepted the trophy on behalf of the north team which was largely composed of boys and girls from Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association who raced along with Meghan Hunter, Rosie Sheherd and Kirsty Guild from the Inverness club.

In the other events staged, the Inverness womens junior under 15 coxed quadruple sculls crew of Meghan Hunter, Rosie Shepherd, Kirsty Guild, Rachael Wells and Emma Brander (cox - from Castle Semple RC) recorded a fine win in their event chased home by crews from Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association and George Watsons College Boat Club. Also striking gold were Hazel Geddes with a sound wins in womens veteran single sculls and with Katie Van Exan in the womens veteran double sculls. Other Inverness athletes performed well in the tricky crosswind conditions, some narrowly missing gold medal positions.

Now rowing with Strathclyde University Boat Club, Black Isle athlete Colin Sinclair
was in the stroke seat of both their R2 coxed four and eight crews which recorded significant wins over other experienced club and university crews.

And also at the weekend at the Metropolitan Regatta at Dorney Lake near Eton, Inverness athlete Imogen Walsh, now rowing with Clyde ARC, convincing won her heat and later claimed an excellent silver medal in Elite lightweight single sculls against strong opposition from Scottish and English clubs.