Western junior rowers step up to the challenge
Top juniors from the Western region made the journey to the National Watersports Centre on 9 April 2011 to compete in the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta.
The annual event brings together twelve regions and the best junior rowers from around the country. All races were held over the maximum 2000 metre distance. The format was such that all twelve crews raced off in two heats of six, with the fastest six crews seeded to the ‘A final’ and the remainder racing in the ‘B final’.
Five Western crews made the main A finals. Impressive performances were produced by the two Dart Totnes Junior 14 doubles, where both Joe Oswald and Luke Reiser, together with Emily Edwards and Phoebe Clark both secured fourth place in the ‘A final’, whilst at Junior 16 level the women’s crew of Olivia and Tasha Howes, Alice Jenner and Anna Wittingslow from Exeter finished in fifth place.
The Totnes J14 boys just missed out on bronze and were less than a second off silver, whilst in the girls J14 2x the top four crews had three seconds between them. Also making the final was Simon Kerswell-Jensen from Totnes.
Exeter’s Imogen Mackie in the WJ16 single sculls reached the ‘A final’ and sculled determinedly against very strong opposition coming in fourth. A proud result for a national final of which Imogen can take the experience on to the GB J16 camp to be held later in the year at Nottingham.
Martha Bright and Molly Billingsley, a new WJ16 double combination at the regional trials competed in the ‘B final’ and came home a comfortable second.
The North West team finished the day in eleventh place overall with a total of 72 points. It was promising to see junior rowers from the West challenging the stronger regions from around the country.
