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. |  |
