WS 2025-26 Race 6: Leighton Buzzard Results

One hundred and two competitors turned out for the final race at Leighton Buzzard, in damp and overcast conditions.

Class winners were:
Class 1 (K2 16+ M) - James Doran & James Walkinton (CLM)
Class 2 (K2 16+ Mixed) - Cassian Payne & Olivia Logie-Simpson (CLM)
Class 3 (K2 16+ F) - Gayle McKeand & Sienna Payne (CLM)
Class 4 (Marathon C2) - Peter Kruszelnicki & Helen Kruszelnicki (PRA)

Class 5 (K1 Sen M) - William Stroud (CLM)
Class 6 (K1 Sen F) - Lauren Avery (CLM)
Class 7 (K1 Vet M) - Chris Cheyne (CLM)
Class 8 (K1 Vet F) - Leanne Jordan (MAI)
Class 9 (K1 u18 M) - Ewan Bates (LBZ)
Class 20 (K1 SuperVet M) - Robert Molnar (WEY)
​Class 21 (K1 SuperVet F) - Karen Wiemer (CAM)

Class 23 (K1 u16 M) -  Mason Hammett (LBZ)
Class 24 (K1 u16 F) -  Freya Bentley (CLM)
Class 25 (C1 Adv) - Ross Pearton (HEM)
Class 30 (TC2) - Adrian Pyke & Yan Ma (CAM)
Class 31 (K1 u14 M) - Marco Mangiantini (ROY)
Class 32 (K1 u14 F) - Edith Smerdon (CLM)
Class 34 (GP 16+ M) - Chris Sharp (NOR)

Class 35 (GP 16+ F) - Deborah Wilkes (CLM)
Class 36 (GP u16 M) - Thomas Ross (CLM)
Class 38 (K1 u12 M) - Elliott Kasperaitis (CLM)

Class 39 (K1 u12 F) - Emily Hubbard (CLM)
Class 40 (K1 Open) - Chris Myers (LBZ)

The MRC has confirmed there will be no promotions from this race.

The event was won by Chelmsford CC (100 points), with Leighton Buzzard CC second (92) and Bishops Stortford CC third (84).  In the Dick Grieve competition for novice juniors (Div 9 and below), Chelmsford were also the victors  (20 points), Ealing CC second (19) and Bishops Stortford CC  third (18).

This season's trophy winners:

The prize-giving for the day's racing was followed by the presentation of series trophies. To be eligible, paddlers/crews must take part in at least three races. The scores for up to five races are added together to make their total for the series. The first, second and third paddlers in classes 1-39 received engraved glasses, with the winners of the class also taking home the class perpetual trophy.

The K2 classes were all won by new crews.

K2 Men - James Doran & James Walkinton (CLM)
K2 Ladies - Sienna Payne & Gayle McKeand (CLM)
K2 Mixed - Julia Passmore & Tom Kelly (TON)
K2 u16 - Kipp Chugtai & Alessio Bose (CLM)

Doug Herbert won the Veteran Men's trophy for the fourth time, and Cassian and Ethan each won u16 and u12 respectively for the second time.

K1 SuperVet M - Robert Molnar (WEY)
K1 Vet M - Doug Herbert (CLM)
K1 Sen M - William Stroud (CLM)
K1 u18 M - Cassian Payne (CLM)
K1 u16 M - Louis Auvray (CLM)
K1 u14 M  - Marco Mangiantini (ROY)
K1 u12 M  - Ethan Tingay (LBZ)

Leanne Jordan (formerly Brown), who won her first WS trophy as a junior back in 2000, and is ten times winner of the Senior Ladies trophy, won the Veteran Ladies for the first time.

K1 SuperVet F - Karen Weimer (CAM)
K1 Vet F - Leanne Jordan (MAI)
K1 Sen F - Lauren Avery (CLM)
K1 u18 F - Rebecca Perrin (CLM)
K1 u16 F - Freya Bentley (CLM)
K1 u14 F  - Edith Smerdon (CLM)
K1 u12 F  - Emily Hubbard (CLM)

In Canoe, Petr Luksan, previous winner of the Novice C1 class, this yet moved on to take the Advanced class. No-one competed thee times in the Novice C1 class so the trophy remained unclaimed.

C1 Advanced - Petr Luksan (BSF)
Marathon C2 - Andy Porter & Dean Williams (CLM)
Touring C2 - Adrian Pyke & Yan Ma (CAM)

The General Purpose classes were not well attended, but those who do take part are amongst the most loyal supporters of the Winter Series.

GP Sen M - Chris Sharp (NOR)
GP Sen F - Deborah Wilkes (CLM)
GP u16 M - Thomas Ross (CLM)

The main Winter Series Club trophy was won (as it has been in since 1994) by Chelmsford CC with a perfect score of 60 points. Leighton Buzzard were runners-up with 47 points and Cambridge CC were third with 45.

A second club trophy - the Dick Grieve cup - is based on the performance of unranked juniors. As the rules preclude it from being won by the club which wins the main club trophy, this passed to B. Stortford.

The Bob Porter Trophy is awarded to the club with the largest number of u12 entries. This season the winners were Leighton Buzzard CC who filled 14 seats in the u12 classes across the series.

See

• the full race and series results on the Winter Series results page
• simplified race results on the MRC results page
  
• a few photos of the Chelmsford race on Google Photos