The junior Inverness rowers performed exceptionally well at the recent Scottish Championships at Strathclyde Park winning four gold medals, three silver medals and many other qualification races. The Open J14 quad (Joseph Wright, Angus Thomson, Bronya Johnson, Ishana Graham and Maya Doughty) set the tone with an open water victory on the first day, followed by a series of emphatic wins by Novice double scullers Bethany Irvine and Shona Gilmour who were untouchable on their way to claim gold.

Inverness girls J13 quad - Ishana Graham, Rhiannon Hopcroft, Heather Gordon and Eve Macleay coxed by Bronya Johnson - sailed over the line for an easy win over Glasgow Academy/Glasgow Schools RC, while Joseph Wright missed gold by less than a second in his J14 single with team mate Angus Thomson coming in third just behind him.

However the boys stamped their authority on the J14 double event, beating six other crews by over eight boat lengths! They then went on to prove that this was no fluke by winning the Open Men's Novice Double Heat by a considerable distance, and their 5th place finish in the final, against senior rowers from universities and clubs, was not only fractions of a second behind 2nd place, but almost 30 seconds faster than any of their previous races!

The National Championships is combined with the School Championships so any crews comprised of pupils from the same school are able to compete for their school. This means Joseph Wright won a silver medal for Inverness Royal Academy in single sculls whilst Joseph and Angus won gold for Inverness Royal Academy in their double sculls event.

Racing in the W J16 coxless quad, Hannah Campbell, Holly Barnard, Shona Gilmour and Maya Doughty won their heat with clear water, and led the final for 750m but had to settle for silver behind Glasgow Academy.

Special mention must go to single scullers Jane Patterson and Bethany Irvine who raced in the new format time trials and subsequent graded finals which provide national selectors with an overall ranking for all singles and pairs rowers. Jane Patterson raced in and won the "D" Final achieving a national ranking of 4th fastest lightweight in Scotland.

Bethany Irvine, also representing Millburn Academy, came an excruciatingly close 2nd in the "F" Final and achieved a ranking of 3rd fastest J18 sculler in Scotland! Her performance is exceptional considering it was only the second time she has raced in the single.

The Inverness junior rowers will be competing again at Castle Semple Regatta on June 14 in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire.

Results:
O J14 4X Gold J Wright, A Thomson, B Johnson, I Graham, Cox M Doughty
O J14 2X Gold J Wright, A Thomson
O J14 1X Silver J Wright
3rd A Thomson
W J13 4X Gold I Graham, R Hopcroft, H Gordon, E Macleay, Cox B Johnson
W J13 2X 4th H Gordon, R Hopcroft
W J13 1X 5th R Hopcroft
W J14 4X 5th B Johnson, I Graham, H Gordon, R Seed, Cox P Blackwood
W J16 4X Silver H Campbell, H Barnard, S Gilmour, M Doughty
W J18 8 2nd H Barnard, B Irvine, H Campbell, R Irvine, S Gilmour, B Johnson, E Kenton, M Doughty, Cox P Blackwood
W J 18 4+ 4th H Barnard, B Irvine, H Campbell, R Irvine, Cox E Kenton
W 1X FF 2nd B Irvine
W 1X FD 1st J Patterson
W Nov 2X F Gold B Irvine, S Gilmour
W Nov 2X H 4th M Doughty, E Kenton
W Nov 4X+ 6th A Robertson, P Blackwood, R Seed, E Macleay, Cox E Kenton
SG NC 4X+ 3rd H Gordon, P Blackwood, R Seed, E Macleay, Cox B Johnson
O Vet 2X 4th T Baker, S Standish-Hunter
O Vet 1X 3rd T Baker
O Vet 1X 5th R Sinclair


Report prepared by Susanne Standish-Hunter :D