BSCC - News

Leighton Buzzard Winter Series Marathon (25 Jan 2026)

25/1/2026

Fifteen Stortford club members raced in the final event of the 2025-26 Winter Series. The weather was damp and overcast but not cold for the time of year. The team secured 4 silver medals and 8 bronzes, and was placed third overall (84 points) behind Chelmsford CC (100) and Leighton Buzzard CC (92).

8 miles:
K2 Men - Rich Winstanley & Jamie Winstanley 3rd (1:04:09)
K2 Mixed - Ben Tubby & Kerry Tubby 3rd (1:16:36), Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 5th (1:33:29)

K2 Ladies - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Shirley [EAL] 2nd (1:16:54)
K1 Senior Men - Joe Fitzpatrick 2nd (1:18:07, Jamie Bond 3rd (1:26:18)
K1 Vet Men - Robert Gough 6th (1:25:55)
K1 Vet Ladies - Zoe Norford 2nd (1:30:39)
K1 u18 Men - Eddie Kirtland 2nd (1:18:01)

2.5 miles:
K1 u12 Boys - Rupert Kirtland 3rd (27:20)
K1 u12 Girls - Summer Norford 3rd (33:44)
K1 Open - Connie Colgate 3rd (32:27)

See

BSCC SERIES AWARD WINNERS:
Petr Luksan - winner C1 Advanced
Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Shirley (EAL) - 2nd place in Ladies K2
Ben & Kerry Tubby - 2nd Mixed K2
Zoe Norford - 2nd Vet Ladies
Summer Norford - 2nd u12 Girls

Over the course of the series, 31 BSCC members took part in at least one race. Nobody made it to all six races, but Petr and Ben competed in 5.

BSCC did not make it onto the top three teams this year, which were Chelmsford CC (60 points), Leighton Buzzard CC (47) and Cambridge CC (45). Stortford ended the season with 44 points.

BSCC did win The Dick Grieve Trophy, which is based on a separate league table calculated exclusively on the the points won by unranked juniors (i.e. Div 9 and below), thanks to a long-standing rule that the trophy cannot go to the club which wins the overall cup. Therefore, although Chelmsford won 46 DG points, the cup goes to Bishops Stortford (42 points).

The other club cup in the WS - the Bob Porter Trophy - goes to the club with the greatest participation in the under 12s classes across the series. Stortford were second (11 seats taken by under-12 across the series), behind Chelmsford CC (14).

Chelmsford Winter Series Marathon (11 Jan 2026)

11/1/2026

Given the recent weather conditions it was not entirely surprising that it was only the most dedicated Stortford racers who elected to take part in the penultimate Winter Series race at Chelmsford, and this number was reduced further by several members falling ill.

After a couple of weeks of extremely cold temperatures which saw many rivers around the region iced up, there was a risk that the race might have to be postponed. However, slightly warmer temperatures and rain in the days leading up to the race cleared the ice from the River Can which runs through Chelmsford, and there was sufficient flow to ensure that even sub-zero temperatures on Saturday night did not cause it to re-freeze.

As a safety precaution the courses had each been modified to a larger number of shorter loops, with total race distances also being slightly reduced on each of three courses.

Even so, the conditions in the narrow channel through the town were extremely choppy, with a tight turn at the far end.

A total of eighty-nine competitors took part, some travelling from considerable distances.

7 miles:
K2 16+ Mixed - Ben Tubby & Kerry Tubby 1st (1:04:10)
K2 16+ Ladies - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Shirley [EAL] 2nd (1:03:38)

4 miles:
C1 Advanced - Petr Luksan 2nd (52:09)

2.5 miles:
K1 u12 Girls - Summer Norford 2nd (36:21)

Despite Stortford's two golds and three silver medals, having only five club members taking part had an inevitable impact on the total team score (47), and the Stortford paddlers had to settle for overall 4th place.

Photo credit: Ben T

The day naturally went to Chelmsford CC who made up the vast majority of the competitors (100 points), followed by Cambridge CC 2nd (58) and Leighton Buzzard CC 3rd (55).

Petr is now guaranteed to win the C1 advanced trophy, while the Tubbys and Summer are both level-pegging with their respective rivals for the Mixed K2 and u12 Girls trophies.

See

Cambridge Winter Series Marathon (7 Dec 2025)

7/12/2025

Cambridge CC welcomed the largest turn-out of the season so far, with 128 competitors taking to the water, including 17 from BSCC.

Especially well done to Rupert who has been in a close contest all through the series with three higher-ranked lads from Leighton Buzzard and and Chelmsford clubs. At each race he has been getting closer and closer to Gold, which he won at the Cambridge race by two seconds!

Summer has her own nemesis in 12 Girls, but despite having to settle for silver on this occasion, Summer already has two golds under her belt so remains in the lead overall.

3 miles (2 portages):
K1 u12 Boys - Rupert Kirtland 1st (29:22)
K1 u12 Girls - Summer Norford 2nd (40:48)
K1 Open - Connie Colgate 6th (36:07)

Petr was using his high-kneel boat for this race but could not outpace the two sit-down C1s, so won bronze on this occasion. However, he remains (just) in the lead for the Advanced C1/Sup series overall.

A silver for Jasper and bronze for Libby completed the medals on the 5-mile course.

5 miles (4 portages):
K1 SuperVet Men - Mark Adams (ret)
K1 u16 Boys - Jasper Kirtland 2nd (56:04)
K1 u16 Girls - Libby Gaulton 3rd (1:04:56)
C1 Advanced - Petr Luksan 3rd (1:15:49)

The familiar pairing of Kerstin & Catherine clocked up the fastest time for an at least partially Stortford K2, winning Silver in the Ladies' race. BSCC also took both the Gold and Silver positions in Mixed K2, thanks to Rich & Hannah and Kerry & Ben.

Eddie was our fastest K1 (Silver in u18 M) and Zoe also won Silver in Vet Ladies.

7 miles (4 portages):
K2 16+ Mixed - Rich Winstanley & Hannah Crofts 1st (1:11:29), Ben Tubby & Kerry Tubby 2nd (1:11:50)
K2 16+ Ladies - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Shirley [EAL] 2nd (1:11:24)
K1 Sen Men - James Breeze 4th (1:36:05)
K1 Vet Men - Robert Gough 6th (1:19:02), Jack Law 8th (1:36:12)
K1 Vet Ladies - Zoe Norford 2nd (1:28:06)
K1 u18 Men - Edward Kirtland 2nd (1:11:55)

Well done also to James Breeze and Jack Law who bravely pitted themselves against some of the cream of the regions top-division racers in the Men's Senior and Vet races.

Stortford's 17 paddlers brought the club 93 points and a very respectable 3rd place overall, behind Chelmsford CC (100) and Cambridge CC (95). This means that, despite the poor showing at Barking, BSCC is clinging on to an equal third position in the league, behind Chelmsford and Leighton Buzzard, both of whom are still to have their home races.

Also, thanks to the late entry from Connie boosting the Dick Grieve points from Summer, BSCC also came third in the Dick Grieve competition (based on the performance of juniors ranked Div 9 and below). This in turn has put us in joint lead for the Dick Grieve series trophy

See

Barking Winter Series Marathon (23 November 2025)

23/11/2025

It was a record-breaking performance at Barking - but not in a good way, as the club achieved its lowest turnout at a Winter Series race ever.

Stortford's only competitor in this race was Petr, who was glad to have a race on a wide river with no portages so that he could bring his outrigger C1.

Temperatures were not as cold as they had been for the previous few days, and the rain gave way to sunshine for the duration of the race.

Entries were low all round, giving those who did attend a significant boost to their series total.

Petr won C1 advanced on the 8 km course with a time of 57:37 - five minutes ahead of Robert Passmore of Tonbridge CC. When these two were head to head at Maidstone the previous week, it was Robert who took gold by a narrow margin.

The race was won by Chelmsford CC (100 points), with Cambridge CC second (58) and Leighton Buzzard CC third (35). BSCC were joint 8th (10). This leaves Stortford in third position overall at this half-way point through the series.

Thanks to Petr (without whom BSCC would have sunk to 6th overall) Stortford is still in third position at this half-way point through the series, so there is still a chance of ending the season in the top three. However, with Cambridge and Leighton Buzzard's races still to come, this is by no means a foregone conclusion.

See

Full race results (FRA website)
League table
Photos: Rimantas's Dropbox folder and Angela's Google album

Maidstone Winter Series Marathon (16 Nov 2025)

16/11/2025

It was a day for silver medals, with half of the Stortford entries coming second in their respective classes. Rupert, Claudia and Jamie gained bronze, while Summer was Stortford's only gold medalist.

The points for each paddler/crew accumulate across the season, so those who have paddled in the same class in both races are already in a strong position: Kerstin & Catherine are in second place for the Ladies K2 trophy, with Christine & Karen third. Summer is leading u12 Girls and Rupert is joint third in the u12 Boys.

7 miles (2 portages):
K2 16+ Men - David Gurney & Scott Leblanche [BAD] 5th (1:14:02)
K2 16+ Mixed - Ben Tubby & Kerry Tubby 2nd (1:22:37), Claudia Redeker & Jamie Bond 3rd (1:26:49)
K2 16+ Ladies - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Shirley [EAL] 2nd (1:22:16), Christine Meula & Karen Bradley 4th (1:32:46)
K1 Vet Ladies - Zoe Norford 2nd (1:46:21)

5 miles:
K1 u16 Boys - Jasper Kirtland 2nd (48:36)
C1 Advanced - Petr Luksan 2nd (1:04:50)

2 miles:
K1 u12 Boys - Rupert Kirtland 3rd (21:31)
K1 u12 Girls - Summer Norford 1st (26:07)

Though Stortford only fielded 13 paddlers this time, we still managed to come second overall.

See

Full race results (FRA website)
League table
Photos in Angela's Google album and more on Maidstone CC FaceBook page

B. Stortford Winter Series Marathon (2 Nov 2025)

2/11/2025

The rain held off and there was even a fair bit of autumn sunshine for the opening race of Winter Series 2025-26. We welcomed teams from 11 other clubs, making a total 118 competitors.

On the 7 mile course, Rich & Hannah were gold medalists in the mixed K2. Kerstin and Ealing's Catherine were silver in Ladies K2, and faster still were Jasper & Harry from Wey who took silver in Mens K2.

Both the Mens K1 and Ladies K1 course records were broken. William Stroud of (CLM) shaved 30 seconds off the previous best time set in 2014 by Keith Moule by finishing in 53:17. Ladies races only moved to this distance in 2023, with the fastest time of 1:19:08 set by Tori Elliott-Moulden (CLM) last year. Two paddlers beat that this year. Rebecca Perrin (CLM) finished in 1:17:40, but the new record holder is Lauren Avery (CLM) with a time of 1:13:23.

Joao was our fastest singles paddler, winning gold in Vet Men K1.

7 miles (6 portages):
K2 16+ Men - Jasper Kirtland & Harry Luck [WEY] 2nd (1:00:37), David Gurney & Robert Gough 4th (1:03:47), Ben Tubby & Tom Kelly [TON] 5th (1:04:57)
K2 16+ Mixed - Richard Winstanley & Hannah Crofts 1st (1:10:52), Claudia Redeker & Paul Lane [MAI] 3rd (1:23:45)
K2 16+ Ladies - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Shirley [EAL] 2nd (1:09:23), Christine Meula & Karen Bradley 5th (1:16:58)
K1 Senior Men - Jamie Bond 4th (1:19:24)
K1 Veteran Men - Joao Spinola 1st (1:07:51), Jack Law 8th (1:28:09)
K1 Veteran Ladies - Zoe Norford 1st (1:23:13)

On the 5 mile course, gold medals were won by Zoe in SuperVet Ladies, Libby in u16 Girls and Petr in C1.

5 miles (3 portages):
K1 u16 Boys - Jamie Winstanley 5th (57:03), Shehan Sheikh 6th (1:10:42)
K1 u16 Girls - Libby Gaulton 1st (57:02), Stella Thompson 4th (1:12:14)
C1 Advanced - Petr Luksan 1st (1:05:47)

The Boys' K1 record on the 3 mile course also fell - Marco Mangiantini of Royal CC beat the time of 25:57 set by Ali Kabeer in 2019, by finishing in 25:15. Summer won gold in u12 Girls, Clio took silver in u14 Girls and Rupert was joint third in the hotly-contested Boys u12 race. In the same race, Alex T won the medal for fastest under-10.

3 miles (1 portage):
K1 u14 Boys - Joshua Luksan 6th (41:46)
K1 u14 Girls - Clio Thompson 2nd (40:57)
K1 u12 Boys - Rupert Kirtland 3rd (32:09), Alex Thompson 5th (40:44), Benjamin Spinola 6th (44:37)
K1 u12 Girls - Summer Norford 1st (40:38)
K1 Open - Sebastian Lane-Watkins 5th (38:21), Connie Colgate 6th (39:07), Georgia Leisegang 7th (43:52)

The overall winners were Chelmsford Canoe Club (100 points), with Bishops Stortford CC second (97) and Leighton Buzzard CC third (70).

Big thanks are due to the club's volunteers who turned out to marshal the starts/finishes, turns and road crossings, as well as to the catering team who kept everyone fed and watered throughout the day.

It was good to see so many members taking part - 27 in total. This included a large number of novice juniors. This was reflected in the club scoring the most "Dick Grieve" points by a long way.

Especially well done to all those who were taking part in their first marathon race: Joshua, Sebastian, Connie and Georgia.

See

Chelmer Hasler (19 Oct 2025)

19/10/2025

Despite getting the exact same total score as last year (582) which was enough to take second place on that occasion, Norwich pipped us to the 2nd place spot with 584 and we were third. Still a very good result to go over the winter with and some very good performances throughout the team.

Daniel - one of this year's recruits to the club - was one of the team's stand-out performers. Daniel managed to manoeuvre his way to a good position on the Div 9 start line and was able to get away ahead of the pack. He was soon locked in a battle for first place with a Chelmsford paddler, which continued as they portaged over Barnes Mill Lock, turned at Sandford Lock and returned across Barnes Mill Lock. Daniel eventually managed to draw ahead and crossed the finish line as the winner, 19sec clear of his rival. Not only did Daniel win the trophy for first place but was also awarded a double promotion to Division 7.

Daniel's daughter Stella was also in Div 9, racing for the first time and achieved a very creditable 11th place. Over the same course, there was an excellent performance from Rupert.

On the 8 mile course (8 portages), there were some great results from Stortford's doubles crews. Eddie & Robert won the Div 5, with Ben T & Kerry 4th. Jamie B & Kerstin took 2nd in Div 6. Joao's 6th place in the highly competitive Div 4 singles was also noteworthy, four of the paddlers ahead of him being promoted.

Those on the 12 mile course had to go all the way to Paper Mill with a total of 10 gruelling portages. In Div 3 doubles, Rich (Div 2) paired with Jasper (Div 4) to win. Meanwhile, in Div 3 singles, David G came second and was rewarded with a well-deserved promotion to Div 2.

DOUBLES -
12 miles, 10 portages
Div 3: Jasper Kirtland & Richard Winstanley 1st (1:32:08)
8 miles, 8 portages
Div 5: Edward Kirtland & Robert Gouth 1st (1:19:53), Ben Tubby & Kerry Tubby 4th (1:20:38), Jamie Winstanley & Mark Adams 10th (1:28:35)
Div 6: Jamie Bond & Kerstin Queeney 2nd (1:26:03)
3 miles, 2 portages
Div 7: Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 4th (33:38)

SINGLES -
12 miles, 10 portages
Div 3: David Gurney 2nd (1:32:38)
8 miles, 8 portages
Div 4: Joao Spinola 6th (1:16:54)
Div 6: Zoe Norford 10th (1:40:37), Karen Bradley 11th (1:40:43)
3 miles, 2 portages
Div 7: James Breeze 9th (35:49), Jack Law 10th (36:18)
Div 8: Rupert Kirtland 4th (35:41)
Div 9: Daniel Thompson 1st (34:06), Stella Thompson 11th (39:41)

Well done also to Summer, who won bronze in GS-A, and Benjamin S who was 4th in GS-C in his first ever marathon race.

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
2km
GS-A: Summer Norford 3rd (18:34)
GS-C: Benjamin Spinola 4th (20:55)

National Hasler Finals, Worcester (5 Oct 2025)

5/10/2025

After the disappointment of last year's finals being cancelled, it was worrying to hear that the event at Worcester was in jeopardy because of the wind and rising water levels. Fortunately, the event was able to go ahead and with very little adjustment to the original arrangements. However, the flow was strong making the upstream starts very hard work.

A total of 501 competitors took part in the main Hasler competition, and another 27 in the Geoff Sanders competition.The challenging conditions, which the organisers described as "lumpy", defeated many of the competitors and there were 44 who retired.

The first races of the day were those on the 4 mile course. Both of our doubles boats in Div 7 (Oliver & James B, and Jacque & Dave) got off to an excellent start amongst the 28 boats competing in this class. Jack found the flow of the river challenging but completed the distance without mishap. Robin in Div 9 (23 boats) was the club's top scorer.

Next up were those on the 8-mile course, comprising 2 laps and including one beach portage. Eddie was up against the biggest field of the day - 44 competitors in Div 4. Joao & Jasper in Div 4 doubles (35 boats) got a great start and were in 7th place at the end of the first lap, moving up to end in 6th. Robert also had a good start in Div 6, and was able to improve on his position of 10th at the end of lap one, to finish 7th out of 23.

Kerstin partnered a Worcester CC paddler but as a split boat were not able to score, under the special rules that apply to the finals. Zoe & Christine were both taking part in their first race over this distance, having been promoted at the last regional race.

Many of those on the 8 mile course reported slipping over in the mud at the beach portage.

The club only had one competitor on the 12 mile course: David G was amongst the 30 entrants in Div 3. After an excellent start he was soon in the leading group. There were portages in the second and third laps. After the second portage he broke away from his group and caught up with a group from the Div 2 race ahead, and going on to win with a comfortable lead. Not only did he take the gold medal, but was the 12th fastest of all the singles paddlers at the finals.

SINGLES -
12 miles, 2 portages
Div 3: David Gurney 1st (1:22:22)
8 miles, 1 portage
Div 4: Eddie Kirtland 24th (1:04:03)
Div 6: Robert Gough 7th (1:11:00)
4 miles
Div 7: Jack Law 32nd (47:42)
Div 9: Robin Dromard 12th (44:24)

DOUBLES -
8 miles, 1 portage
Div 4: Jasper Kirtland & Joao Spinola 6th (56:30)
Div 5: Kerstin Queeney & Tamsin Pedlar [WOR] 16th (1:05:02)
Div 6: Zoe Norford & Christine Meula 14th (1:13:36)
4 miles
Div 7: Oliver Klumpler & James Breeze 21st (36:17), Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 24th (36:53)

Because of the challenging conditions, the Geoff Sanders course was shortened from its intended 2.5 miles. Four Stortford youngsters took part and completed the course,

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
Div A: Benjamin Middleton 10th (12:45), Summer Norford 11th (12:47)
Div C: Sophie Middleton 6th (14:21), Romeo Law 7th (17:38)

Overall, Bishops Stortford Canoe Club finished 15th out of the 28 clubs participating. Norwich CC were one place ahead and Chelmsford CC were 4th. The overall winners were Elmbridge CC.

B. Stortford Sprint Regatta (14 Sep 2025)

14/9/2025

There was an excellent turnout of 58 paddlers for our annual regatta. As well as 24 Stortford competitors, there were teams from Chelmsford CC, Ealing CC, Cambridge CC, Lee Valley Paddlesports, and Hemel Hempstead.

The club's volunteers worked hard on organising the timings and manning the safety boats, as well as providing the BBQ and serving other refreshments

Medals were presented on the basis of performance in the 500m, 200m and 1000m singles races.

There were also relay races and timed K4's just for fun.

Results for Stortford paddlers:
u10 Girls - Sophie Middleton (silver)
u10 Boys - Alex Thompson (gold), Benjamin Spinola (silver)
u12 Girls - Summer Norford (gold), Clio Thompson (bronze)
u12 Boys - Rupert Kirkland (bronze), Joshua Luksan (5th)
u14 Girls - Stella Thompson (4th), Connie Colgate (6th)
u14 Boys - Jasper Kirtland (gold), Benjamin Middleton (9th)
u16 Girls - Libby Gaulton (silver)
u16 Boys - Oleh Kuzmenko (gold), Jamie Winstanley (6th), Shehan Sheikh (8th), Oliver Klumpler (9th), Sebastian Lane-Watkins (10th)
u23 Men - James Breeze (gold)
Senior Men - Jamie Bond (silver)
Veteran Ladies - Zoe Norford (silver)
Veteran Men - Robert Gough (gold), Daniel Thompson (silver)
SuperVet Men - Petr Luksan (4th), Ben Tubby (5th)
C1 - Petr Luksan (gold)
PaddleAbility - Oliver Klumpler (gold)

See

Sprint Regatta, Nottingham (6-7 Sep 2025)

7/9/2025

Fourteen paddlers from BSCC travelled up to Holme Pierrepont for the final National Sprint Regatta of 2025 - our biggest team at the Nottingham Sprints in many years. The September regatta is the National Inter-Club MacGregor Competition, in which paddlers score points for their club. BSCC achieved a fantastic position of 16th in the country – our best result in 16 years!

Men's Races

In the men’s races, BSCC Sprint Team Leader Rich was joined by Joao, Ben T, Rob and (taking part in his first national regatta) Jamie B. Rich and Joao competed in the Men’s C class, whilst Ben, Rob and Jamie were in Men’s D.

Rich came 5th in the K1 Men C 1000m race final, and won the K1 Men C 500m Final 2, as well as working with Joao to take an excellent 3rd place in the K2 Men C 500m Final. Joao finished in 4th place in the Men's C K1 1000m Final 2 as well as taking part in the heats for the Men’s C K1 200m and 500m races. Ben, Jamie, and Rob all took part in the Men D K1 200m and 500m heats, with Rob coming 6th in the 200m Final 2, and Ben coming 9th in the 500m Final 2. Jamie and Rob paired up to do the Men D K2 500m race, coming 7th in the final.

The club also had enough senior men to put together a Bishops Stortford K4 team of Joao, Rich, Ben, and Rob, coming 5th in the K4 Men B/C 500m Final, and earning valuable club points.

Women's Races

Zoe was also competing in her first national regatta, in the Women's D class, coming 5th in her 200m K1 heat, and 6th in her 500m K1 heat. She also teamed up with Jamie B, Ben, and Rob, to paddle in the Men D K4 500m Final, where the team came a creditable 7th in their first outing together.

Junior Races

Several club juniors took part in the regatta – Oleh, Jasper, and Eddie were competing in the Boys B class, Jamie W in the Boys D class, and Libby in the Girls C class. Oleh finished in a fantastic 2nd place in the K1 200m Final, and 4th in the K1 500m Final, also taking a strong 4th place along with Jasper in the K2 500m Final. Eddie came 7th in the K1 200m Final 2, whilst Jasper did not qualify for any of the Boys B K1 final races despite promising performances in the heats. Jamie W unfortunately took a brief dip towards the end of his 200m heat, but managed a much better 5th place finish in his 500m K1 heat.

All four Junior boys teamed up to form a full K4 crew for the Boys B K4 500m race, coming 2nd in the final against stiff competition.

Libby came 4th in both of her K1 heats, qualifying for both the 200m and 500m Finals. She came 8th in the K1 200m Final, and 9th in the K1 500m Final, both good results against strong competition.

MiniSprints

In the MiniSprint series, Rupert competed in the A class races, and at her first sprint regatta, Summer competed in the B class races. Rupert qualified for both the 200m and 500m K1 Finals, coming 9th in the 200m, and 5th in the 500m race. Summer qualified for the mini sprint K1 500m final, finishing in 9th place. Rupert and Summer also teamed up for the Mini Sprint A K2 200m race, sailing through their heat easily, and finishing in 7th place in the Final. They also teamed up with two Chelmsford CC paddlers to fill a K4 boat, coming 7th in the K4 200m Final, and 6th in the K4 500m Final. As this was the final sprint regatta of the season, the final scores for the mini paddlers were added up, with Rupert finishing in first place overall in the A series, and Summer in 3rd place overall in the B series!

PaddleAbility

The September regatta is also the PaddleAbility National Championships, with medals on offer. Oliver competed in three of the Junior PaddleAbility races (a 500m race, and two 200m races), coming 2nd in all three, and earning three silver medals for his efforts.