Thanks to Steve from Ryde Rowing Club for this latest report. Ed
Ryde’s Wightlink sponsored Men’s Junior Senior Four of Stephen Johnson, Adam Edwards, Ollie Gove and James Cleary with Sam Brading coxing secured the Hants & Dorset Amateur Rowing Associations Men’s Junior Senior Fours Championship at Christchurch Regatta on Saturday (28th June) with their seventh consecutive win in the event.
Dominating performance
It was their most dominating performance of the season as they swept aside the opposition from Westover to win by eight lengths in the second fastest time of the day securing the Championship at the earliest possible opportunity and the first to be settled this season.
The win gives the Club its 43rd Hants & Dorset Championship title and guarantees them a place representing the Association in this event at the South Coast Rowing Championships to be held at Swanage, in Dorset in September, which will be the 37th time a Ryde Crew has been selected to represent the Association.
Narrowly defeated
The Club’s other crews competing at the fours only, two boat race format regatta did not fare so well – the Men’s Novice A of Sam Brading, Callum Lockhart, James Smith and Will Ford with Austin Smith coxing were very narrowly defeated in their heat – and the young Novice B Crew, with an average age of just 15 – of Ben Toms, Joel Smith, Steven Soal and Joe Groves with Austin Smith coxing once again suffered the same fate – although by a slightly larger margin.
Joel Smith, Steven Soal and cox Austin Smith then teamed up with Ben Toms and Tom Kearney to race in the Boys J16 event where they reached the semi-final before loosing out to host club Christchurch.
Image: Ryde winning Men’s Junior Senior Four – also Hants & Dorset ARA Mens Junior Senior Fours Champions for 2014: James Cleary, Ollie Gove, Sam Brading (Cox), Adam Edwards and Stephen Johnson.
