Inverness Junior and Veteran Crews shine at Scottish Championships Saturday and Sunday, 15th & 16th June
posted by Roy Sinclair - 27 Jun 2013, 8:31 a.m.
The race course at the 2013 Scottish Rowing Championships was changed due to
structural amendments to the Strathclyde Park loch in preparation for the 2014
Commonwealth Games. This meant that all crews had to race 1500m instead of the
usual 1000m and 2000m distances.
While this might have been a bonus to the seniors whose course was shortened,
it was quite a significant challenge to juniors, novices and veterans who
normally race 1000m. Race conditions on Saturday were difficult, with strong
gusty winds and cold temperatures.
The J15 girls quad (Hannah Campbell, Holly Barnard, Shona Gilmour, Maya
Doughty, Meghan Hunter, cox) set the pace with an excellent third place finish
in a full field of eight crews. This performance bodes very well for their
standing in next year's J16 coxless quads.
In the Women's Novice Doubles, Ellie Kenton and Indigo Philip-McDade
finished 3rd out of 7 in their heat, narrowly missing a spot in the final.
Bronya Johnson and Shona Gilmour came 5th in their heat, racing for the first
time together.
The J14 boys' quad (Joseph Wright, Angus Thomson, Abel Ellis, Euan
Trommino, Meghan Hunter, cox) came third in their final ahead of St Andrew BC,
and behind GWC and ASRA. The J16 girls quad raced in the new Schoolgirls'
Neil Cup event and qualified second in their heat, but were unfortunately too
late for the final.
IRC's senior women raced in the Intermediate 4+ where they finished 3rd
out of seven crews, having raced neck and neck with second-placed Aberdeen
most of the way.
Best race of the day came from the J13 boys double (Joseph Wright and Angus
Thomson) who led the field by a good six lengths to win over Nithsdale and
George Watsons.
On Sunday, conditions were much improved, with calm water and even sunshine!
Tom Baker and Susanne Standish-Hunter raced first in the Open Vet Double,
finishing 3rd but importantly ahead of the other "F" category crew
from Aberdeen BC.
Once again, the junior girls' novice eight performed particularly well in
a strong field of university and club crews. Sitting third out of six crews
for most of the race, they were pipped by just half a second by Crichton
Uni/Nithsdale, but beat Aberdeen Schools and Aberdeen BC.
Abel Ellis and Euan Trommino faced stiff competition in their J14 double, yet
out-paced ASRA to claim 4th in a fast race.
To finish off, Joseph Wright once again sculled to a commanding lead over St
Andrew BC and George Watsons to collect his second Championships medal.
2013 Scottish Champs Results
1st O J13 2X Joseph Wright, Angus Thomson
1st O J12 1X Joseph Wright
2nd SGNC 4X+ H Indigo Philip-McDade, Rachael & Bethany Irvine, Ellie
Kenton, Pippa Blackwood, cox
3rd W J15 4X+ Hannah Campbell, Holly Barnard, Shona Gilmour, Maya Doughty,
Meghan Hunter, cox
3rd O J14 4X+ Joseph Wright, Angus Thomson, Abel Ellis, Euan Trommino, Meghan
Hunter
3rd W Int 4+ Hazel Geddes, Hazel Smith, Susanne Standish-Hunter, Jane
Patterson, Meghan Hunter
3rd Open Vet2X Tom Baker, Susanne Standish-Hunter
3rd W Vet 2X Rosie Arthur, Mary Clouston
4th W Nov 2X Indigo Philip-McDade
4th W Nov 8+ H Barnard, B Irvine, H Campbell, R Irvine, M Doughty, E Kenton, I
McDade, B Johnson, M Hunter, cox
4th Open J14 2X Abel Ellis, Euan Trommino
5th W Nov 2X Shona Gilmour, Bronya Johnson
5th Open Vet 1X Roy Sinclair
Report by Susanne Standish-Hunter