Six Lakeland Rowing Club Members made the journey south to compete at British Rowing Masters Championships at The National Watersports Centre, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham, on a beautifully sunny but windy day.
In the Mixed Masters E quad was Graeme Mactavish (aged 58 from Bolton Low Houses), Nick Cowan (aged 65 from Eaglesfield), Sam Ayers (aged 54 from Eaglesfield) and Julia McCumiskey (aged 55 from Keswick). This was only the second competition for this crew, but one to look out for in the future. They took a Silver medal, losing out to a crew from the prestigious southern club Molesey BC.
A short time later Celia Whittam, aged 68 from Troutbeck, took to the water in her single in the Women’s Masters G finals. By this time the wind had picked up and was gusting up the lake to give the rowers a hefty head wind. One of the ladies capsized at the start line whilst attempting to attach to the stake boat, adding to the nerves of the other crews. Celia stuck to her technique, rowing a long hard race to achieve a Silver medal. Credit should go to all rowers who ventured out in a single during the middle of the day in the strongest winds.
Late in the day all six rowers competed in the mixed doubles events. Celia and Gordon took Silver in the Mixed Masters G double (crews with an average age of 65-69) first, followed by Silver from Julia and Graeme in the Mixed Masters E double (average age 55-59), and Silver from Sam and Nick in the Mixed Masters F double (average age 60-65).
Julia said “Whilst we love racing across the north of England it’s good to come further afield and compete against some of the well-known clubs from the south of England. Although there were only six of us from the club competing, we had lots of support from family and friends, and other rowers from the Northern clubs were shouting for us from the banks.”
Lakeland Rowing Club racked up an impressive tally of eleven silver medals during the day – once again this small Northern club makes a big impact.
Lakeland Rowing Club, based in Keswick, welcomes beginners, recreational and returning rowers, coxes, coaches, and prospective sponsors.
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