14 Year Olds Give SBC New Record ... 1979

Two crews of Under 14 rowers helped provide the new Boat Club record of 38 wins in a rowing season, with 2 months still to run. The girls four of Lucy Ree, Amanda Underwood, Helen Cherry, Paula Caswill and cox Jane Hambridge raced in Ladies Novice Fours at Trentham Gardens Regatta against much older opposition. They delighted their supporters howevr, by staying level with Notts & Union to halfway, having left Hereford in their wake, only to forge ahead over the last 500 metres to win by 1 1/4 lengths. They were not spared the traditional ducking in the lake and proudly received silver goblets for this superb win, having only competed once before.
The boys four of Chris Payne, Colin Hastry, Ian Clarke, Tim Dorrell, and cox Paula Caswill are well used to winning, having won seven times so far this, their first season, but they made it eight with room to spare against a very large Derby crew in under 14 fours at Trentham. They had destroyed Monmouth Rowing Club in the first round, and took an immediate lead against Derby, only to see them fight back on terms. However, the Stourport crew’s will to win has rarely failed them and this time it produced a 2 lenght lead at the finish. Both these crews will race again this year before concentrating on winter training for their new status of under 15 in 1980.
Duncan Gwilliam and Henry Evans reversed a result at Gloucester Regatta when they had lost to Stratford, by winning Senior C Pairs at Trentham against the same crew plus another from Newark. The Boat Club’s old clinker pair was the only boat available, despite being older than the two oarsmen in it, but they never allowed Stratford the luxury of a lead, and pulled away from both crews to win comfortably.
Maurice Hayes has hit winning form in his sculling boat over the last six weeks with wins at Bewdley and Gloucester, and has now added Leicester Senior C Sculls to his list. Starting slowly in every round, he desposed of Leicester easily and Roland Hart of Bewdley to get to the semi-final. Notts. Britannia proved a little more difficult as he only won by 3/4 length but this win matched him against Northampton Casuals in the final. Not fooled by the name, Maurice attacked hard , but it was stroke for stroke throughout the 800 metre course in the most exciting final of the day. The verdict of 3 feet to Stourport clocked up the club’s 38th win this year and puts them within striking distance of the top ten clubs in Britain on 1979 totals, with 2 months still to go.
Three other finalists over the weekend might have produced a larger total, but they live to fight another day. A Veteran C Four met their colleagues from Stratford who will go to form a Veteran C Eight for the World Championships in Nottingham on September 22nd, and an under 14 sculler narrowly lost the final at Trentham. Paula Caswill, having won three pots on Saturday, could not make it four in the Ladies Novice Sculls on either day but looks like winning in the near future.
R. Lloyd Report September 1979