The 28 Stortford paddlers who went to the Chelmsford marathon, despite recent freezing conditions which had threatened to cancel the event, were rewarded with a good haul of medals. Although Euan was the only one to bring back a gold,  there were silvers for Little Joe, Dave H, Octavia, Isabelle C and Emilia, as well as bronzes for Lexie and Luke S. Jacque & Dave also won 1st Supervet and Catherine 1st PaddleAbility in their respective classes. Murdo and Connor missed out on a medal by a narrow margins, while Ricky, Chris and Melanie put in particularly notable performances.

8 miles:
Senior K2 - Kerstin Queenie & Robin Dromard 18th (1:18:41), Jacque Cayford & Dave Cayford 22nd & 1st Supervets (1:27:37)
Mens K1 - Joe Fitzpatrick 2nd (1:00:24), Wayne Stevens 10th (1:23:24)
Vet Mens K1 - Dave Hallam 2nd (1:07:05), Ricky White 4th (1:12:30), Chris Sze 5th (1:12:39), Kevin Warbrick 7th (1:15:43)

5 miles:
u16 Boys K1 - Euan Caton 1st (48:49), Murdo White 4th (53:13), Luis Blanco 7th (1:09:42)
Ladies K1 - Octavia Abbott 2nd & 1st Vet (48:56), Lexie White 3rd & 1st junior (49:19), Melanie Bennett 6th (54:01), Siobhan Latham 11th (1:04:14), Catherine Robinson 13th & 1st PaddleAbility (1:07:40)
u16 Girls K1 - Isabelle Crawford 2nd (55:57)
Marathon C2 - Malcolm Duckworth & Gary Aldam 4th (51:52); Paul Surrage & Richard Baker 6th (54:34)

3 miles:
u14 Boys K1 - Luke Sellstrom 3rd (26:13), Connor Higgins 4th (26:57), James Sellstrom 7th (35:01)
u14 Girls K1 - Emilia Boylan 2nd (25:31)
u12 K1 - Eilidh White 4th  (30:39)

Full results can be seen on the FRA Winter Series results page, which also includes the series results for each class so far.  Photos can be seen in Angela's Flickr album.

Stortford again took a comfortable second place overall. We look set to win the Series Dick Grieve Trophy (for the performance of novice juniors) but whether we can secure the Bob Porter Trophy (for participation by under 12s) hangs in the balance and depends on how many entries we can muster for class 21 at the final race (see club results for the series so far).

Good to see so many Stortford paddlers turning out for this race despite the persistent cold rain.

8 miles & 6 portages:
Senior K2 - Jacque Cayford & Dave Cayford 11th (1:30:30), Kerstin Queenie & Robin Dromard 12th (1:35:03)
Mens K1 - Wayne Stevens 5th (1:40:43)
Vet Mens K1 - Dave Hallam 1st (1:08:02), Chris Sze 3rd (1:12:45), Ricky White 5th (1:17:26), Mike Toomey 8th (1:20:06), Kevin Warbrick 9th (1:21:44)

6 miles & 4 portages:
u16 Boys K1 - Murdo White 4th (1:01:12), James Daly 7th (1:12:46)
Ladies K1 - Lexie White 4th & 1st junior (1:00:14), Siobhan Latham 8th (1:13:44), Catherine Robinson 9th (1:19:01)
u16 Girls K1 - Yazmin Layzell 1st (1:06:26),  Isabelle Crawford 2nd (1:06:27), Jess Gaynor 3rd (1:19:26)
Marathon C2 - Malcolm Duckworth & Gary Aldam 2nd (56:11); Paul Surrage & Richard Baker 4th (58:15)

3 miles & 2 portages:
u14 Boys K1 - Connor Higgins 5th (29:40), Luke Sellstrom 6th (30:35), James Sellstrom 8th (36:32), Cory Jones 10th (40:12)
u14 Girls K1 - Emilia Boylan 1st (30:00)
u12 K1 - Eilidh White 5th & 1st girl (36:15)

Full results can be seen on the FRA Winter Series results page. You will also find the series results for each class so far. Those who have competed in three or more races during the season will be eligible to win a series award.

The club again took second place behind Chelmsford CC, but comfortably ahead of Barking CC. In terms of points from novice paddlers, however, BSCC were the highest scorers, leaving us strong favourites to win the Dick Grieve Trophy.