Class winners at this race were:
Class 1 (K2 16+ M) - Scott Leblanche & Domas Malinauskas (BAD)
Class 2 (K2 16+ Mixed) - Kayleigh Dixon & Matt Lodge (LBZ/NOR)
Class 3 (K2 16+ F) - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling (BSF/EAL)
Class 4 (Marathon C2) - Peter & Helen Kruszelicki (PRA)

As the last race of the series, the prizegiving for the day was followed by the presentation of series trophies. First, second and third place engraved glasses were given in all classes, subject to paddlers/crews having completed at least three races. There are also perpetual shields or cups for most classes.

See also the full class & club results for 2023-24 Winter Series.

Some photos here

Last season we asked paddlers to give us their opinions about the Winter Series. We had an extremely good response and spent much time deliberating over everyone's feedback. We can't fix the weather (unfortunately) and some people wanted things changed in the opposite direction to other people, so we know we won't have pleased everyone.

At the same time, the Winter Series races were re-designated as Class A races (like Haslers) which necessitated further changes to fit in with MRC rules and requirements. All together, there were quite a number of changes to this season's series!

We would now like to know how all these changes worked for you, so we are inviting you to complete a very brief, anonymous survey using GoogleForms.

To take part in the survey,

• use the link that was mailed out to those on the FRA mailing list on 24 Jan,
• look out for the QR code poster at the Finals at Chelmsford (Sunday 28 January 2024),
• ask your club's WS team leader for the survey link,
  
• email the FRA Secretary from any email address that has been used to place entries in the WS during this season and request a link
  

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 full race results on the Winter Series results page
  
• a few other photos of the race on Google Photos
  

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

• advance entries will be made through the same online system as Haslers (though we do not expect to be collecting payments electronically this season)
• Club Associate members of any BC-affiliated club, not just those who host Winter Series races, can participate without the need to purchase an Event Ticket (as well as personal BC members)

We still expect that in most cases it will be Team Leaders who will make the entries for their teams, but please check with your own club what their intention is.

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.

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.