BSCC - News

Hasler Finals, Worcester (24 Sep 2023)

24/9/2023

Fourteen paddlers from BSCC made the journey to Worcester to be amongst the 613 taking part in the Hasler finals.

Everyone acquitted themselves well, and in particular Gold medallists Finlay & Oliver (Div 9) and Bronze medallists David G & Kat (Div 2) - together making the club's biggest medal haul in at least the last 20 years.

The River Severn was swollen from recent rain, and flowing strongly, with a stiff breeze as well. These were always going to be challenging conditions for young paddlers reared on the Stort, but Finlay & Oliver took it in their stride.

Even being knocked badly off course by another boat at the start did not phase them. They just kept paddling determinedly to the end - and won.

David & Kat's race ended with an exciting contest for third place against Chelmsford's Melissa Johnson & James Walkinton, which the Stortford pair won by the very narrowest of margins.

DOUBLES -
12 miles, 2 portages
Div 2: David Gurney & Kat Wilson 3rd (1:21:08)
8 miles, 1 portage
Div 4: Chris Sze & Ben Tubby 26th (1:05:24)
Div 6: Kerstin Queeney & Kerry Tubby 11th (1:09:55)
4 miles
Div 8: Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 7th (34:31)
Div 9: Finlay Sandall & Oliver Klumpler 1st (36:20)

Because of the conditions, the usual beach portage was abandoned in favour of a false portage directly in front of the clubhouse.

Being the finals, many of the races had a high number of entries - apart from Divs 1 and 2 all the singles divisions had at least 30 entries and there were as many as 48 paddlers in Div 7. Eddie's Div 4 race had a field of 37, so a position of 17th was impressive. The same was the case for Eilidh (18th out of 35 entries). Eddie and Eilidh were both paddling in divisions to which they had only recently been promoted.

SINGLES -
12 miles, 2 portages
Div 2: Joe Fitzpatrick 4th (1:26:12)
8 miles, 1 portage
Div 4: Eddie Kirtland 17th (1:05:08)
4 miles
Div 7: Libby Gaulton 39th (36:42)
Div 8: Eilidh White 18th (36:25)

Bishops Stortford were 13th out of the 30 clubs taking part.

Chris & Ben had an eventful race. The were in top form, making excellent time and seemed on course for a good result - until their boat was unexpectedly swamped and they soon found themselves neck-deep in the water. They were able to completed the race, but the incident cost them a lot of time - though it certainly made for some memorable Go-Pro footage.

See also

B. Stortford Sprint Regatta (17 Sep 2023)

17/9/2023

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.

As usual the Social Committee ensured there was a lovely BBQ and a spread of cakes available - thanks are particularly due to the volunteers who baked and donated cakes, or who cooked and served the hot food. Many thanks also to all the club the volunteers who helped by doing the timings and on water safety - as well as getting the clubhouse ready and tidying up afterwards.

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.

See
The full results (FRA website)
Photos (Angela's Google photo album)

Pangbourne Hasler (10 Sep 2023)

10/9/2023

Seven paddlers from Bishops Stortford went to the Pangbourne Hasler in September - four of them returning with medals.

DOUBLES -
12 miles, 3 portages
Div 2: Joe Fitzpatrick & Oli Rix [NOR] 2nd (1:29:23), David Gurney & Kat Wilson 3rd (1:33:49)
8 miles, 2 portages
Div 4: Eddie Kirtland & Ewan Bates [LBZ] 1st (1:07:34), Chris Sze & Ben Tubby 4th (1:08:18)

SINGLES -
4 miles
Div 9: Kerry Tubby 11th (41:29)

See also

Nottingham Sprints (2-3 September 2023)

3/9/2023

Over a very warm September weekend, Bishops Stortford Canoe Club took a team of eight paddlers to the National Sprint Regatta for a weekend of camping and competition.

They took part in K1, K2 and K4 races over 200m/500m/1000m on the 2km long, purpose-built regatta lake at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham.

Rich Winstanley competed in the Masters B class (combined with Men's C). He came 5th in the K1 1000m final (4:22.40). He narrowly missed out on the K1 200m final, but qualified for the final in the 500m, finishing 9th (2:09.32).

Eddie Kirtland was competing in the Boys D class. He qualified for the A finals of both the K1 200m and 500m, finishing in 5th place in the 200m (48.10), and 2nd in the 500m (2:15.50). Eddie has received a well-deserved promotion from Boys D to Boys C.

In Mens D (combined with Masters C) Tom Holloway stormed to victory in the 200m heats, qualifying for the finals, and came 9th in the final in 49.15 seconds.

Partnering Ethan Bates of Leighton Buzzard in the K2 200m race, Eddie qualified for the final, in which the boys came 3rd (47.96). Eddie also joined Ethan and two Nottingham paddlers for the 500m K4 race, which they won with a commanding lead (1:57.92).

Tom Barton also competed in the Boys D class, coming 7th in his heat in the 200m race (53.69), sadly narrowly missing out on a place in the final.

Jasper and Rupert Kirtland were in the 12s Lightning B K1 class 500m races. Jasper won both his heat and then the final (3:05.96). He has been promoted from Lightning B to Lighting A (rebranded as “Mini”). Rupert was 5th in his heat (3:34.54), narrowly missing out on the final. Rupert and Jasper teamed up to win the K2 Lightning A/B combined event with an excellent time of 2:50.08. They also competed in the K4 event along with a two paddlers from other clubs, coming 3rd in a thrilling finish.

In the Paddle-Ability class, Stortford’s Alex Scott and Oliver Klumpler competed in K1 500m and K1 200m races. Alex, returning to sprinting after several years, came 7th in the 200m (1:18.35), and 5th in the 500m (3:07.86). Oliver came 4th in his first 200m race with a personal best of 1:04.34, and 5th in his second race in 1:11.40. He finished 4th in the 500m race in a time of 2:56.38. As one of only two juniors in the class, he achieved a 1st and two 2nd places in his age group.

These results meant that BSCC finished in 22nd place in the Interclub “McGregor Paddle” competition, out of the 32 clubs at the event - a great result for such a small team.

See the Sprint website for the full results of the September Regatta.

It was the last Nottingham Sprint Regatta of the year, so some overall results were also announced. Stortford was placed 7th in the 2023 Intermediate Series (u14s). Jasper was the top-scoring boy in Lightning B during 2023, and Rupert was joint 2nd. Oliver was also awarded two bronze medals (200m & 500m) for his performance in Paddle-Ability Sprint in 2023.

Photo credits: Flora Klumpler & Rich Winstanley

B. Stortford Hasler (9 Jul 2023)

9/7/2023

Excellent results for Bishops Stortford at our Hasler race! Six gold medals, 4 silvers and 2 bronzes brought the team 592 race points and second place - just three race points behind Chelmsford CC, and ahead of Norwich CC (587).

This means that Stortford has finished in third place overall in the Eastern Region, and will therefore be going through to the National Hasler final at Worcester in September!

In weather that was hot but generally overcast, 157 competitors (including 24 paddling for BSCC) took part in the event. There was an especially large number of Division 9 singles (25) necessitating a split start.

photo: Chris Sze

Jaroslav elected to race for the first time in Div 6, and was rewarded with a gold medal.

Eilidh has been promoted to Division 8, as also has new club member Tom Stephens. Jasper also raced in Division 9 for the first time, having been promoted out of Geoff Sanders after the Leighton Buzzard race. Robin, Alex and Ally Judge all took part, having each been out of competition for some time.

SINGLES -
19km, 8 portages
Div 3: Kat Wilson 4th (1:34:07)
11.5km, 6 portages
Div 5: Eddie Kirtland 4th (1:11:11)
Div 6: Jaroslav Klumpler 1st (1:15:39)
6.5km 2 portages
Div 7: Libby Gaulton 11th (40:08)
Div 9: Eilidh White 2nd (38:11), Tom Stephens 5th (39:27), Jasper Kirtland 11th (42:16), Robin Dromard 12th (43:14), Alex Scott 20th (48:31), Tamzin Catmur 23rd (50:08), Ally Judge (rtd)

All of the doubles crews did well, and were responsible for most of the medals. Oliver & Finlay continued to score top points for the club in Division 9 doubles. Chris Sze & Ben Tubby have formed a formidable partnership, winning Division 4 by a comfortable margin.

Meanwhile, in Division 8 there was a re-play of the close-fought contest between Octavia & Kerry and Jacque & Dave.

photo: Chris Sze

DOUBLES -
19km, 8 portages
Div 2: David Gurney & Oscar Griffiths [ACU] 2nd (1:22:27)
11.5km, 6 portages
Div 4: Chris Sze & Ben Tubby 1st (1:02:02)
Div 5: Mark Adams & Steve Tingay [LBZ] 1st (1:07:50), Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling [MAI] 4th (1:08:45)
6.5km, 2 portages
Div 8: Octavia Abbott & Kerry Tubby 2nd (35:45), Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 3rd (35:49)
Div 9: Finlay Sandall & Oliver Klumpler 1st (40:32)

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
2.5km
Div B: Rupert Kirtland 5th (21:03)
Div C: Emilie Klumpler 5th (27:04)

Many thanks are due to all the members and their families who worked as volunteers to keep everyone, safe and well fed, and enabling everything to run smoothly on the day. Also, those who helped to get the club ready beforehand.

See also

Nottingham Sprints (1-3 July 2023)

3/7/2023

Joe F, Chris and Eddie K travelled up to the July Sprints at Nottingham which were also the Senior and Masters National Sprint Championships.

Joe took part in the Senior Men's K1 1000m event, coming 5th in his heat (4:29.10) and then 8th in Final 2 (4:32.29). He was also 9th in the 5000m K1 (22:06.05).

Eddie was racing in Boys D. In the K1 200m he was 2nd in his heat (55.30), winning him a place in the final in which he came 9th (56.96). In K1 500m he was again 2nd in his heat (2:32.08), and then 8th in the final (2:27.12).

However, he won three silver medals in crew boats, coming 2nd with C Packer of Reading in both the K2 500m race (2:23.86) and the 1000m (4:45.82), and 2nd with E Bates (LBZ), A Deri (LBZ) and M Grant (NOT) in K4 500m.

Chris was competing in Masters Over-54. He was 2nd in his heat in the K1 500m race (2:28.96), but in the final his time of 2:36.23 brought him only 8th place. However his third place in the K1 1000m race (5:03.59) won him a bronze medal, which he then equalled with a second bronze medal in the over-54/64 K2 1000m race with C Mayo of Devises (5:09.43). The high point came when he teamed up with P Gorman (Wey), G Holmes (Wey) & L Czillaho (Richmond) in the o54/64 K4 500m race and took gold with a time of 2:00.37.

See the Sprint website for the full results of the July Regatta. Also see Chris's Flickr album for more photos.

Photo credit: Chris Sze

Leighton Buzzard Hasler (18 Jun 2023)

18/6/2023

Six gold medals and five silvers translated into a draw for overall first place with the home team at Leighton Buzzard!

In doubles, the established crews of Chris & Ben, Jacque & Dave, and Finlay & Oliver all achieved medals, as did the surprise new pairing of Octavia and Kerry.

Libby & Isabel also crewed up for the first time and showed a lot of promise.

DOUBLES -
8 miles, 2 portages
Div 4: Chris Sze & Ben Tubby 1st (1:06:01)
Div 5: Kerstin Queeney & Jack Gaulton 5th (1:13:30)
4.5 miles
Div 8: Octavia Abbott & Kerry Tubby 1st (42:38), Dave Cayford & Jacque Cayford 2nd (42:39), Libby Gaulton & Isabel Knight 5th (45:41)
Div 9: Finlay Sandall & Oliver Klumpler 1st (45:40)

Jaroslav did well to catch up in Div 7 as far as he did considering the amount of time lost by a capsize at the start.

Joe was paddling up into Div 1 to win his silver. Daniel and Eddie also won silver in their respective divisions.

SINGLES -
12 miles, 6 portages
Div 1: Joe Fitzpatrick 2nd (1:35:43)
8 miles, 2 portages
Div 5: Eddie Kirtland 2nd (1:15:36), Tom Holloway 4th (1:33:47)
4.5 miles
Div 7: Jaroslav Klumpler 7th (43:35)
Div 9: Daniel Baines 2nd (45:06), Eilidh White 5th (46:30), Aaron Sandhu 13th (57:44), Petr Luksan 14th (1:03:08)

See also

Well done to Aaron for completing his first race.

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
2 miles
Div A: Jasper Kirtland 1st (17:16)
Div B: Rupert Kirtland 5th (19:24)
Div C: Emilie Klumpler 5th (26:54)
K2: Jasper Kirtland & Rupert Kirtland 3rd (23:17)

While the excellent results at Buzzard have not changed our overall position in the Eastern Region - we are still equal third with Leighton Buzzard CC - it has widened the gap with the clubs above and below, and a trip to the finals at Worcester now looks a lot more certain.

The big question now is, can we edge ahead and finish the the season with an outright third place in the region?

Big Paddle Clean Up - 11 June 2023

11/6/2023

Many thanks to those who went out in the heat on Sunday 11 June to collect litter from the river and bank as part of the "Big Paddle Clean Up" - a nationwide two-week effort by groups across the country as part of the "Clear Access Clear Waters" campaign

Six members collect litter by boat while another four combed the towpaths for litter, mainly between Southmill and Twyford locks.

By the end of the session we felt confident that everything that could possibly be collected had been removed.

The good news is that the total amount collected was not huge - possibly two full bin-bags worth if it was all put together - and roughly half of that came from the land.

Just a few years ago, the same stretch of river typically yielded at least 3 bags of rubbish every month from the river alone.

The reduction in the amount of litter is almost certainly as a result of fortnightly litter picking that takes place by the SOS (Save our Stort) group.

By removing the litter at source (the town centre), they are not only making the river cleaner and healthier in Bishops Stortford but are directly affecting the river all the way down to the next town and beyond.

The current lack of rubbish on the upper Stort is a testament to the wide-reaching effectiveness of regular and sustained litter picking.

Save Our Stort are a voluntary group who meet every fortnight to help keep the river clean, usually at 11.30am on the towpath near the Rose and Crown. See their FaceBook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/saveourstort

Norwich Hasler (21 May 2023)

21/5/2023

Great results at Norwich have put a place in the National Hasler Finals within reach again.

Three of the team were paddling with members of other clubs. Kerstin and Catherine from Maidstone are a regular pairing but this race also saw Joe paddle with Ollie Rix of Norwich, and we were joined for the first time by Kat Wilson paddling with Chelmsford's Leah Falltrick.

Ten members of the 18-strong Stortford team came home with medals. Golds were won by Finlay & Oliver in Div 9, David in Div 1, Eddie in Div 5 and Jasper in GSA. Silvers went to Chris & Ben in Div 4, Tony in Div 5, Joe in Div 2 doubles, and Kat in Div 3 doubles.

DOUBLES -
19.5km, 5 portages
Div 2: Joe Fitzpatrick & Ollie Rix [NOR] 2nd (1:27:10)
Div 3: Kat Wilson & Leah Falltrick [CLM] 2nd (1:38:54)
13km, 3 portages
Div 4: Chris Sze & Ben Tubby 2nd (1:04:38)
Div 5: Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling [MAI] 5th (1:10:48)
6.5km
Div 9: Finlay Sandall & Oliver Klumpler 1st (41:07)

Two further paddlers put in performances which were close to winning them a promotion yet didn't get to stand on the podium. Jaroslav (Jay) came very close to making it into Div 6, and Eilidh's time almost saw her break out of Div 9.

New club member Isabel looked as if she had been paddling all her life, and achieved a very impressive time for her first Div 9 race.

SINGLES -
19.5km, 5 portages
Div 2: David Gurney 1st (1:39:02)
13km, 3 portages
Div 4: Mark Adams (rtd)
Div 5: Eddie Kirtland 1st (1:11:05), Tony Brett 2nd (1:11:27)
6.5km
Div 7: Jaroslav Klumpler 4th (35:27)
Div 9: Eilidh White 9th (39:41), Isabel Knight 11th (42:07), Karen Bradley 12th (43:39), Kerry Tubby 15th (45:38)

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
3.5km
Div A: Jasper Kirtland 1st (20:50)
Div B: Rupert Kirtland 4th (22:38)

The overall winners were the home club, with Chelmsford CC second. A third place for Stortford has moved us from 5th to equal 3rd position in the Eastern Region, and this with a real chance of finishing the season in the top four and winning a place at the finals, which this year will be held at Worcester.

See also

Bedford Hasler (30 Apr 2023)

30/4/2023

Eight gold medals, a silver and two bronzes, a third place overall, and two double promotions - not a bad day's work for the Stortford team!

Twenty-two Stortford paddlers were among the 134 competing at Bedford.

River conditions at the first turn caused a few capsizes in what was otherwise a particularly successful day.

Most of the club's medals came from the four doubles boats. Chris & Ben T were spurred on by a friendly rivalry with Gordon Bullock and his new Barking CC partner to win Div 5 doubles. Kerstin & Jack also paddled particularly well together in Div 6. It has been announced that as a result of these crew performances, Ben is being promoted to Div 4 and Jack to Div 5.

David G, our only competitor on the longest course, fought a close contest for Div 2, with all four boats crossing the finish line within 8 seconds of eachother. David was 1 sec behind Ali Kabeer but 6 sec ahead of Matt Parkes.

Other high-scorers in the singles races were Eddie K, Jaroslav (Jay), and John.

A special well-done to Kerry who was competing in her first ever race.

DOUBLES -
12.9km, 2 portages
Div 5: Chris Sze & Ben Tubby 1st (1:10:08)
Div 6: Kerstin Queeney & Jack Gaulton 3rd (1:14:40)
6.8km
Div 8: Jacque Cayford & Dave Cayford 1st (43:31)
Div 9: Finlay Sandall & Oliver Klumpler 1st (47:48)

SINGLES -
19.7km, 4 portages
Div 2: David Gurney 2nd (1:41:24)
12.9km, 2 portages
Div 5: Eddie Kirtland 1st (1:15:38)
6.8km
Div 7: Jaroslav Klumpler 5th (42:04), Libby Gaulton 9th (57:48)
Div 9: John Catmur 10th (49:34), Karen Bradley 14th (51:57), Arthur Catmur 18th (54:45), Eilidh White 19th (55:09), Kerry Tubby 21st (55:53), Tamzin Catmur 24th (1:00:32), Petr Luksan 25th (1:15:18)

Under 14s (Geoff Sanders)
2.5km
Div A: Jasper Kirtland 1st (18:29)
Div B: Rupert Kirtland 5th (21:41)
Div C: Emilie Klumpler 5th (24:50)

BSCC achieved a comfortable third position in this race, which has to some extent offset the disappointing club result at the previous race. Although we are now fifth in the region we are only one league point behind Cambridge CC and L. Buzzard CC (tied for 3rd place). With three more races to go, the possibility of being in the top four by the end of the season - and therefore going to the national final - is still very much on the table.

See also