B. Stortford Hasler (7 Jul 2019)

The fourth Bishops Stortford Hasler had the usual good turnout of competitors, with large teams of roughly equal size from Norwich, Chelmsford, Leighton Buzzard, Cambridge and ourselves, five smaller teams, and a smattering of out-of-region paddlers.

Water levels in the Stort were low, but considerably recovered from earlier in the week when, for a time, it seemed as if there was not going to be any water left in the river to run the race. Fortunately, CRT stepped in to fix the leaky lock gate which was at the root of the problem.

All available volunteers in the club had to be mobilised to undertake all the jobs associated with this complex event, with its separate morning and afternoon sessions and simultaneous upstream & downstream starts. Massive thanks are due to the small army of members and family who undertook timekeeping, on-water safety, towpath sweeping, turn marshalling, catering, entry booking, and car park marshalling, many of whom were also competing in the race.

David G was our fastest paddler , winning div 3 by a comfortable margin and gaining a promotion to div 2. Jenny & Kerstin took silver in div 7 doubles, while Catherine & Talal teamed up to achieve the same in div 9 doubles. Also in div 9 doubles, Eilidh partnered Maddison to gain bronze - a particularly pleasing result as Maddison is extremely new to the sport. Meanwhile, Maddison's brother Hudson, another new recruit taking part in his first race, won u10 boys Lightnings.

Jamie G narrowly missed out on the medals in div 9 singles despite putting in a very good performance, but was able to go home with a promotion to div 8. Special mention should also be made of Josie, who gained a very creditable 8th place in div 9 in her first ever competition.

DOUBLES -
11.5km, 6 portages
Div 4: Connor Higgins & Chris Sze 4th (1:05:00)
Div 5: Mike Panrucker & Ian Abrams 6th (1:11:56)
6.5km, 2 portages
Div 7: Kerstin Queeney & Jennifer Burtwell 2nd (46:57)
Div 8: Jacque Cayford & Dave Cayford 4th (52:20)
Div 9: Catherine Robinson & Talal Sajad 2nd (59:37), Eilidh White & Maddison Loveday 3rd (1:02:15)

SINGLES -
19km, 8 portages
Div 3: David Gurney 1st (1:30:26), Euan Caton 6th (1:38:52)
11.5km, 6 portages
Div 5: Ricky White 8th (1:11:57), Kevin Warbrick 9th (1:12:02)
6.5km, 2 portages
Div 9: Jamie Gaulton 4th (52:56), Josie Pretious-White 8th (56:16), Leo Ranade 14th (1:08:11), Kayleigh Gaulton 15th (1:10:24)
Div 10: Jack Gaulton 2nd (58:59)

LIGHTNINGS
2.5km
u12 Boys: Fabian Nyikos 5th (20:54), Edward Kirtland 6th (21:52), Josh Ranade 7th (22:23)
u12 Girls: Gemma Beazley 3rd (19:42)
u10 Boys: Hudson Loveday 1st  (22:54), Killian O'Dwyer 2nd (22:57)
u10 Girls: Libby Gaulton 2nd (21:13)

The event was won by Cambridge CC with an impressive 237 points, only 3 short of the maximum. Overall, Stortford finished 5th - the position we have occupied for all the previous races of the season bar one. It was therefore no surprise to find ourselves 5th in the Eastern Region League table and excluded from the national finals. A disappointing result for a team that twelve months before was joint winners of the regional cup. But a fresh season begins in October, and who knows what that will bring.

The full results of the race can be found on the marathon website.
You may also want to look at the final league table at the end of the season  (or, if you are from Stortford, possibly not ...)