Rupert Kirtland was in the under 12s Mini Sprint B class, coming 4th in the K1 200m (1:34.17), then pairing with Connor Bates of Leighton Buzzard Canoe Club to come 3rd in the Mini Sprint A K2 500m final (3:17.17) and partnering with the winners of that race, Lexi Small and Freya Snell (of Wolverhampton and Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Clubs) to take 1st place in the K4 500m Mini Sprint (2:51.27). Joe Fitzpatrick also competed in the Men’s B class, coming 4th in the K1 500m final (2:22.97), 4th in the K1 1000m final (5:21.48), and 3rd. | In the Paddle-Ability class, Oliver Klumpler came 3rd in the K1 200m final race (1:10.88), and 4th in the K1 500m final race (3:32.99). As one of only two juniors in the class, he achieved two 1st places in his age group. Joao Spinola was representing Bishop’s Stortford at a Sprint Regatta for the first time, competing in the Men’s D class (combined with Master’s C/D), coming 5th in the K1 500m final (2:28.81), and a brilliant 2nd in the K1 200m final (55:77). He partnered with Joe Fitzpatrick in the K2 Men’s A/B and Master’s A K2 500m final, coming a very respectable 3rd (2:10.00) |
A team of seven from BSCC went up to Nottingham for the National Sprint Regatta. The weather was mild but very windy, making for very choppy paddling conditions on the lake. Jasper Kirtland was promoted from the Mini Sprint to the Intermediate class at the end of the 2023 season, and thoroughly enjoyed moving up a level! He qualified fastest for the K1 500m race in the heats, coming 2nd in the final (2:46.49), and paired up with Matthew Anderson of Leighton Buzzard Canoe Club in the K2 Intermediate races. They had two close fought sprints with a Glasgow pairing, with the BSF/LBZ pair taking the lead from the start before being narrowly beaten on the line and coming 2nd in both the K2 200m (1:00.19) and K2 500m (2:38.59). When the promotions were announced at the end of the event, Jasper had been promoted from the Intermediate class up to Boy’s D - an excellent achievement. Rich Winstanley competed in the Master’s B class (combined with Men's C). He came 7th in the K1 1000m final (5:52.28) and 8th in the K1 500m final (2:45.02). As this was a Junior Selection event, Eddie Kirtland was competing in the Boys Under 16 class (as opposed to Boy’s C). He took part in a number of heats, qualifying for the K1 Final 2 in the 200m (9th; 55.27), and the K4 500m final in conjunction with paddlers from Gailey, Richmond, and Worcester clubs, coming 7th (2:06.15). Overall, it was a good set of results for the first National Sprint Regatta of the year! See also the full results online. Photos courtesy Flora Klumpler
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There were some great results for the three BSCC paddlers - Kat Burbeck (Wilson), Joe Fitzpatrick and Rich Winstanley - taking part in the annual Devizes to Westminster race this Easter. Heavy rain had caused the organisers to repeat last year's precaution of terminating many of the classes at Teddington, but it was hoped that the Senior Doubles would be able to go all the way through to Westminster, completing the full 125 miles. However, by Saturday the tidal part of the river was Red Flagged so the race ended for everyone at Teddington Lock - "only" 108 miles, with 77 portages.
On Saturday the route took them onto the Thames at Reading and down to Marlow. Many of the competitors found the strong currents challenging, but the Stortford pair took it in their stride. Joe was slightly faster on this second section and ended Saturday in second place, and Rich third. On Sunday it was Rich who was the faster of the two, reaching Teddington with a total elapsed time of 14h 41m 18s, making him second overall and the first Veteran (35+). Joe was 4th overall with a time of 15h 17m 12s. While Joe does not seem to have enjoyed the experience (the monotony broken only by some swan issues), Rich was disappointed not to be able to do the full 125 miles. He had wanted to undertake this famous race ever since he started paddling as a child. For Rich, the DW was a short training run for his next challenge - the Yukon 1000 in July. This unsupported race goes along the Yukon river though the Canadian wilderness to a point 1000 miles downriver in Alaska. See the full results of DW 2024
Libby & Jasper proved to be a very successful pairing, coming 2nd in Div 7 doubles. DOUBLES - 14 km, 4 portages Div 4: Ben Tubby & Martin Shirley [EAL] 5th (1:47:32) Div 5: Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling [EAL] 1st (1:26:42) 7 km Div 7: Libby Gaulton & Jasper Kirtland 2nd (37:03), Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 6th (39:17), Kerry Tubby & Tom Stephens 8th (43:17) Div 8: Oliver Klumpler & Finlay Sandall 4th (43:37)
The spring sunshine had tempted the leisure boaters out and an unfortunate meeting with a punt sent Eddie for a swim and caused him to retire. Kerry & Tom also took a dip at the turn.
“Choppy” was the main word on everyone’s lips after the final race of the Winter Series. A much reduced BSCC team paddled in what turned out to be delightful weather for the time of year; however, the river Can was at turns very wavy and very shallow, leading to more than one unexpected dip for our paddlers. On the 8-mile course, the best results for the club came from Kerstin and Catherine who took gold in the K2 16+ women’s race. Kerry and Chris made for a successful pairing in the K2 16+ mixed doubles race, coming in 3rd place, whilst Jacque and Dave also battled through this race, taking the first Ultra-vets medal.
Rupert also took 4th place in the u12s boys race – as the only unranked junior competing for the club it fell to him to score the only Dick Grieve points for BSCC. 8 miles: K2 16+ Mixed - Chris Sze & Kerry Tubby 3rd (1:11:49), Jacque & Dave Cayford 7th (1:20:09) K2 16+ Ladies - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling (EAL) 1st (1:08:43) K1 Sen Men - Joao Spinola 4th (1:08:13) K1 Sen Ladies - Megan Kenny (EXE) 2nd (1:14:09) K1 u18 Ladies - Eilidh White 2nd (1:23:12) 5 miles: K1 SuperVet Men - Ben Tubby 2nd (48:05), Robin Dromard 7th (1:02:16) K1 u16 Boys - Eddie Kirtland 2nd (45:34) 3 miles: K1 u14 Boys - Jasper Kirtland 4th (27:16) C1 Novice - Petr Luksan 1st (30:36) K1 u12 Boys - Rupert Kirtland 4th (32:43) Full race & series results are on the FRA website. See Angela's Google album for some photos of the Chelmsford race & awards. BSCC SERIES RESULTS: Libby Gaulton - winner u14 Girls Trophy Petr Luksan - winner C1 Novice Trophy Megan Kenny (for EXE) - 2nd in Senior Ladies Jack Gaulton - 2nd place in u18 Men Eilidh White - 2nd place in u18 Ladies Eddie Kirtland - 2nd place in u16 Boys Rupert Kirtland - 2nd place in u12 Boys Oliver Klumpler & Finlay Sandall - 2nd place in u16 K2 Ben Tubby - 3rd place in SuperVet Men Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling (EAL) - 3rd place in Ladies K2 Jasper Kirtland - 4th place in u14 Boys Joao Spinola - 5th in K1Senior Men BSCC were second overall in the series (which was won by Chelmsford CC). The contest for the Dick Grieve Trophy (based on points scored by unranked juniors), went right up to line. Leighton Buzzard CC and Cambridge CC were tied for first place, with the winner (Buzzard) being decided by the number of overall wins. Just one point behind, BSCC and Chelmsford CC tied for third place. We were also third in the Bob Porter Trophy (for level of participation by u12s). One particular highlight of the day was an award for Angela Aldam, who has been helping to organise the Winter Series for nearly 20 years - she was presented with an engraved vase and some flowers to mark her 100th race and to thank her for all of her hard work over the years.
Mark, paddling in the Men’s K2 race with Steve Tingay of Leighton Buzzard, donned an LBZ vest to pay homage Steve’s mother - a long held wish of hers finally fulfilled. Other Stortford paddlers at this distance were Joao in the Senior Men’s K1, Jaroslav in the Vet Men’s race and Megan in Senior Women (for Exeter CC). 8 miles (2 portages): K2 16+ Men - Mark Adams & Steve Tingay [LBZ] 5th (1:18:17) K2 16+ Mixed - Chris Sze & Kerry Tubby 4th (1:21:22), Jacqueline Cayford & Dave Cayford 8th (1:28:48) K2 16+ Women - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling [EAL] 1st (1:18:17) K1 Sen Men - Joao Spinola 7th (1:19:11) K1 Sen Women - Megan Kenny [EXE] 2nd (1:22:20) K1 Vet Men - Jaroslav Klumpler 8th (1:27:18) K1 Vet Women - Karen Bradley 1st (1:35:05) K1 u18 Men - Jack Gaulton 2nd (1:28:02)
Fifteen BSCC paddlers braved the elements for a particularly grim Winter Series race in Cambridge. The cold and wet weather added a certain frisson to the already muddy portages, on which many of the races were won or lost! The club's best results on the 7-mile course came from Jack, who won silver with a spirited performance in the Under-18 Boy’s race. Daniel also put in a fantastic performance, coming 5th in the same race, his first time competing at this distance, and this in an unfamiliar boat, with a borrowed paddle. Ben and Kerry took on the K2 16+ mixed doubles, but an unfortunate capsize put them in 5th place. Other paddlers competing at this distance were Karen and Christine who were second in the K2 16+ Women’s race – although they led for much of the race, an especially difficult portage put them just behind the eventual winners. Eilidh was third in a challenging Under-18s Girl’s race. Jaroslav enjoyed his first Winter Series race this season, wading through the mud at the portages and coming 7th in the Vet men’s race. 7 miles (4 portages): K2 16+ Mixed - Ben & Kerry Tubby 5th (1:18:32) K2 16+ Ladies - Karen Bradley & Christine Meula 2nd (1:30:17) K1 Vet Men - Jaroslav Klumpler 7th (1:23:59) K1 u18 Men - Jack Gaulton 2nd (1:23:40), Daniel Baines 5th (1:35:34) K1 u18 Ladies - Eilidh White 3rd (1:30:05) On the 5-mile course it was Eddie who shone, winning silver in the Under-16 Boys, whilst Finlay and Oliver struggled to a very hard-earned silver in the Under-16 K2s race.
Thirteen BSCC paddlers made the journey down to Kent to be part of the first ever Winter Series race hosted by Maidstone Canoe Club. The club's best results on the 9-mile course came from Joe & Eddie who won silver in the men's doubles race.
Aaron and Rupert not only won significant points for the club but brought us to second place on Dick Grieve points (based on the performance of unranked juniors). While Chelmsford were the overall winners of the event, Stortford came second, and Barking third.
In total Stortford had a team of 26. It was lovely to see Megan back paddling with us again though, under rule that comes with bringing the race under the MRC, she was obliged to paddle for her official club of Exeter. While concern about the river conditions may have put off a few of the younger juniors that we would normally expect, numbers were more than made up by the return of Veteran/SuperVet Men at a level seen since the pandemic. Over-50s now have the option of entering M/F "SuperVets" classes on the 5 mile course, but this still left a field of 14 for the 7-mile Veteran Men's race. Rich reprised last year's success to take Gold in Vet Men, while Ben did the same in the SuperVet M. 7 miles (6 portages): K2 16+ Ladies - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling [EAL] 1st (1:10:18), Octavia Abbott & Kerry Tubby 2nd (1:11:50), Karen Bradley & Christine Meula 5th (1:21:53) K1 Senior Men - Joao Spinola 5th (1:12:44), Jamie Bond 7th (1:40:30), David Gurney (rtd) K1 Senior Ladies - Megan Kenny [EXE] 1st (1:16:06) K1 Veteran Men - Rich Winstanley 1st (1:01:12) K1 Veteran Ladies - Kat Wilson 1st (1:03:15) K1 u18 Ladies - Eilidh White 2nd (1:26:21) 5 miles (4 portages): K1 SuperVet Men - Ben Tubby 1st (45:45), Mark Adams 2nd (47:28), Robin Dromard 8th (1:06:54) K2 u16 - Oliver Klumpler & Finlay Sandall 3rd (1:03:46) K1 u16 Boys - Eddie Kirtland 2nd (47:28), Jacob Chan 7th (1:12:21), Aaron Sandhu 8th (1:13:36) K1 u16 Girls - Ananya Bhusari 6th (1:18:51) approx 3 miles (2 portage): K1 u14 Boys - Jasper Kirtland 4th (39:42), Jamie Winstanley 8th (47:11) K1 u14 Girls - Libby Gaulton 1st (41:12) C1 Novice - Petr Luksan 1st (42:53) GP 16+ Men - Alex Scott 3rd (1:04:20) K1 u12 Boys - Rupert Kirtland 4th (50:06) The Mayor of Bishop's Stortford, Richard Townsend, kindly came along to give out the medals. The club was second overall with 183 points, behind Chelmsford CC (338) but well ahead of Leighton Buzzard CC (125). BSCC is also leading the Dick Grieve league, based on the performance of novice juniors only, thanks to the efforts of Jacob, Aaron, Ananya, Jasper, Jamie W, and Rupert. Congratulations to Jamie B. and Jacob for successfully completing their first marathon races, and to Jamie W. on his return after a long absence.
Brilliant results for Stortford at the Chelmsford Hasler. The 26-strong team (the largest the club has fielded in over a year) very nearly swept the board in the doubles classes by achieving a first and/or second place in six out of the seven contested divisions.
Edit: Now that the results have been finalised, there are lots of promotions for our doubles crews. Rich joins Joe in Div 2, and Kerry joins Octavia in Div 7. Libby and Isabel go to Div 7, and Finlay & Oliver to Div 8. Well done everybody! Eilidh's fourth place in Div 8 singles was only fractionally short of the promotion time. Jasper's 12th place in Div 9 singles was also especially notable, given his age and the large field of 31 entries.
For the first time, Stortford's annual Regatta was run as a Local Sprint under the auspices of the BC Sprint Racing Committee. Through the SRC, we were put in touch with Laura Sugar MBE, the reigning KL3 World Champion and Paralympic gold medallist, who came along to chat to everyone during the lunch break and kindly agreed to present the medals for the day. As well as the home club, paddlers came from Chelmsford, Cambridge, Lee Valley, and Maidstone. Although a smaller event than usual with only 37 competitors, everyone was kept busy during the morning with repeated runs of 500m, 200m, and 1000m. In the afternoon there were relay races for fun and also timed runs of 100m in the club's newly-acquired K4.
Results for Stortford paddlers: u10 Boys - Rupert Kirtland (silver) u12 Girls - Emile Klumpler (silver) u12 Boys - Rupert Kirkland (gold) u14 Girls - Libby Gaulton (silver) u14 Boys - Finlay Sandall (silver) u16 Boys - Eddie Kirtland (gold), Jack Gaulton (silver), Aaron Sandhu (bronze) u18 Girls - Eilidh White (gold) u18 Boys - Tom Barton (gold) u23 Men - Tom Holloway (gold), Jamie Bond (silver) Veteran Ladies - Ally Judge (gold), Karen Bradley (silver) C1 - Petr Luksan (silver) PaddleAbility - Oliver Klumpler (gold), Alex Scott (silver) The day was rounded off with a specially-made piñata for the youngest children.
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