 Whoever was in charge of ordering the weather definitely let us down for this race, with a persistent icy rain that began just as the race was getting under way and did not let up until just after prizegiving. Nevertheless, 105 paddlers turned up on the day and braved the conditions.
Chelmsford were the overall winners, with Cambridge second and Stortford third. Cambridge won the most Dick Grieve points (based on performance of juniors Div 9 or below). The full club results are included on the end of the main results.
 A select group of Winter Series devotees, plus a few from Ealing CC and Tonbridge CC, took part in the inaugural WS race at Maidstone - a total of 76 competitors in all. The river levels had reduced since the previous week, enabling the postponed race to go ahead, but a rolling start was used because of the amount of flow.
 The race was run very efficiently by the organising team at Maidstone, and everything went off smoothly. We hope that WS "regulars" from the Eastern Region clubs enjoyed the change of scenery, and that Maidstone will have us back again next year! 
The next race will be the held at Cambridge on Sunday 3rd December. The online entry system will close on Friday 1st.
Despite the after-effects of Storm Ciarán, which put both the usual parking field and the upstream section of the river out of action, the race was able to go ahead with 136 paddlers participating.  The largest class was the Veteran Men with 14 entries - this was in addition to the new SuperVet class which attracted a further 8. Matthew Johnson & Leah Falltrick achieved an impressively speedy time of 53:15 on the 7-mile course. Although 53s faster than the course record set by Kat Wilson & Mark Wilkes in 2016, the original record still stands because on this occasion the turn was moved significantly short of Sawbridgeworth Lock to avoid works taking place there. [Edited]  The new class structure put ladies' singles races on the 7-mile course for the first time. The fastest lady was Sienna Payne in 1:02:40, but this is not being recorded as a course record for the same reason as above. [Edited]
 Class winners were: Class 1 (K2 16+ M) - Scott Leblanche & Domas Malinauskas (BAD) Class 2 (K2 16+ Mixed) - Matthew Johnson & Leah Falltrick (CLM) Class 3 (K2 16+ F) - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling (BSF/EAL) Class 5 (K1 Sen M) - Tim Gannicott-Porter (CLM) Class 6 (K1 Sen F) - Megan Kenny (EXE) Class 7 (K1 Vet M) - Richard Winstanley (BSF) Class 8 (K1 Vet F) - Kat Wilson (BSF) Class 9 (K1 u18 M) - Ali Kabeer (WOK) Class 10 (K1 u18 F) - Sienna Payne (CLM) Class 20 (K1 SuperVet M) - Ben Tubby (BSF) Class 21 (K1 SuperVet F) - Tammy Edwards (NOR) Class 22 (K2 u16) - Rebecca Perrin & James Johnson (CLM) Class 23 (K1 u16 M) - Cassian Payne (CLM) Class 24 (K1 u16 F) - May Perrin (CLM) Class 25 (C1 Adv) - Tan Shanzheng (CAM) Class 30 (Touring C2) - Adrian Pyke & Chris Howe (CAM) Class 31 (K1 u14 M) - Matteo Bose (CLM) Class 32 (K1 u14 F) - Libby Gaulton (BSF) Class 33 (C1 novice) - Petr Luksan (BSF) Class 34 (GP 16+ M) - Tim Chamberlin (CLM) Class 34 (GP 16+ F) - Deborah Wilkes (CLM) Class 38 (K1 u12 M) - Alessio Bose (CLM) Class 39 (K1 u12 F) - Lucy Myers (LBZ) The medals were presented by Richard Townsend, the Mayor of Bishops Stortford.  Chelmsford were the winners with 338 points, followed by Stortford (183) and Leighton Buzzard (125). Stortford won the most Dick Grieve points (based on performance of juniors Div 9 or below), Chelmsford second and Leighton Buzzard third. The full results are included on the end of the main results. See
The next race will be the inaugural Winter Series race at Maidstone on Sunday 19th November. The online entry system will close on Friday 17th.
We are delighted to announce that this year, for the first time, Maidstone CC will hold a Winter Series marathon race, bringing the series back to five events. (We still hope to return to a full compliment of six races in the following season).
Changes to the classes for 2023-24 Last year we held a survey of paddlers' opinions about the Winter Series, and a number of changes have come out of this. One of the most noticeable is that the classes have been restructured. In particular we have introduced K1 SuperVet races on the 5-mile course for those 50+.  Some classes will have inevitably have low entries, so starts will frequently be combined on the day - but this will not affect competitors' finishing positions or points, which will still be given with regard to just their own class. Entries & Eligibility Another big change is that the series has been registered with BC's Marathon Racing Committee as a Group A race. In practical terms this means that
Seat Fees We are continuing to hold the cost of junior entries at £5, as they have been for the last 20 years. The senior seat fee will now be £10, but there are no late fees. For more detail and to see the full WS rules, please visit the main Winter Series page.
We hope to see lots of you at the first race at Bishops Stortford on 5th November! The Stortford Regatta was again a stand-alone event in 2023, so BSCC decided to try running it as an SRC Local Sprint Regatta in the hope that this would give the event a wider reach. Members of Chelmsford CC, Cambridge CC, Lee Valley PS and Maidstone CC attended, but the majority of the competitors were from the home club.  Although attendance was small, the programme of races was non-stop during the morning with 500m, 200m and 1000m events. In the afternoon there were optional fun relay races and the opportunity to have a go in a K4.
 During the lunch break, we were delighted to be joined by reigning KL3 World Champion and Paralympic gold medallist Laura Sugar MBE, who chatted to competitors and stayed to present the medals.
The class winners on the day were:
The full results from the day's racing can be found on the Summer Series results page.
 After being called off by ice the week before, the postponed race went ahead in dry and sunny conditions. Smaller than usual turnouts in some of the classes led to the organisers combining some of the starts.
 High river levels on the 15th Jan, with more rain predicted, meant that the race was postponed by a week. The last minute date change combined with cold temperatures resulting in a much lower attendance than usual. However, this did mean that the 89 loyal competitors who made their way around one, two or three loops of the river Can through Chelmsford had a greater chance to boost their series points total.
Chelmsford CC's own members naturally made up the vast majority of those taking part, and were the overall winners, both in terms of total club points and points won by novice juniors (towards the Dick Grieve Trophy). Cambridge CC finished in overall second place, ahead of Leighton Buzzard CC by just one point. However, Leighton Buzzard CC's novice juniors took second, 3 points ahead of Bishop's Stortford CC.
There was another good turnout of 135 competitors for the Cambridge Winter Series race, with the senior doubles class being, as usual, the largest with 24 boats - it was lovely to see five MC2s amongst these. The Vet MK1s were also out in typical force, but more surprisingly their number (14) was equalled by the Open K1 class.
 Ten teams took part. Chelmsford CC were the overall winners at Cambridge (236 points), with Cambridge CC second (122), followed by Norwich CC (95). In the competition for the Dick Grieve Trophy (based on the performance of novice juniors only) Chelmsford CC were again in the lead (43 points) while Bishops Stortford CC and Leighton Buzzard CC tied for second place with 32 points each. This means that with, two more races to go, four clubs (Cambridge, Stortford, Buzzard, and Norwich) all have exactly the same number of series points. There is also a tie for first place in the Dick Grieve competition between Chelmsford and Stortford (with Leighton Buzzard close behind). Even the Bob Porter Trophy (for the club with most participating u12s across the series) is currently tied between Leighton Buzzard, Bishops Stortford and Chelmsford! See
The next race will be at Chelmsford on 15th January.
Persistent rain did not deter a good number of competitors from coming to the opening race of the 2022-2023 Winter Series at Bishops Stortford - 130 competitors took part.  The senior doubles class, which has been steadily increasing in popularity over the last few years attracted 23 entries, making for a packed start line, to which the increased flow caused by the rain added an additional challenge. Leah Falltrick & Kat Wilson, who came third in this class, completed the 7-mile 6-portage course in 1:02:04 and thus beat the record of 1:09:20 for an all-female crew set by Ella Beatty & Maia Wallace-Loizou in 2015.
The other course record to fall this year was that for a C1 on the 3-mile 1-portage course. Shan Zheng Tan (4th overall in the Red class for Novice C1 & u14 Girls K1) finished in 34:33 - the previous fastest time (35:06) was achieved by Robin Dromard in 2006. Class winners were: Class 9 (Senior K2/MC2) - Sienna Payne & William Stroud (CLM) Class 8 (K1 Open) - James How (NOR) Class 7 (Vet M K1) - Rich Winstanley (BSF) Class 6 (u18 M K1) - Ali Kabeer (WOK) Class 5 (u16 M K1) - Jack Rayment (LBZ) Class 4 (16+ K1 & Adv C1) - Rachael Hampton (CLM) Class 3 (u16 K2) - Eddie Kirtland & Libby Gaulton (BSF) Class 2 (u16 F K1) - May Perrin (CLM) Class 1 (TC2) - Dora Goupil & Hadar Ben Gal (IND) Class Blue (u14 M K1) - Matteo Bose (CLM) Class Red (u14 F K1 & C1) - Johanna Milbradt (CAM) Class GP - Tim Chamberlin (CLM) Class Yellow (u12 K1) - Noah Nobbs (NOR) The Mayor of Bishops Storford, Dave Anderson, kindly attended to present the medals.  Eight teams took part. Chelmsford CC were the overall winners (271 points), with B. Stortford CC second (114), followed by Leighton Buzzard CC, Cambridge CC and Norwich CC. See
The next race will be at Cambridge on 4th December.
 Although only one FRA regatta took place this year, the attendance of 49 paddlers was in line with pre-covid numbers. All the clubs in the FRA sent teams, and it was also pleasing to see a small group from Hemel. 
The full results from the day's racing can be found on the Summer Series results page.
 |
