8 miles (2 portages):
Senior K2 - Mike Panrucker & Ian Abrams 9th (1:19:08), Jacque & Dave Cayford 11th (1:25:38)
Vet Mens K1 - Chris Sze 3rd (1:16:17), Mike Toomey 7th (1:20:14)

Stortford were first on points won by unranked juniors (Tom Barton, Tom Holloway and Jack Gaulton being our high-scorers here), so we remain at the top of the Dick Grieve league.

A few photos are can be seen in Angela's Flickr album and Chris has added videos of his race to You-Tube

Chris & Richard made a formidable crew in the senior doubles race at Cheshunt, taking the bronze medals in a very impressive 52:44. Mike P & Alasdair also put in a great performance  to secure 5th place.

In the under-12s class, Edward won the boys bronze medal and Libby took the girls silver.

There was an excellent team result for the club, with BSCC taking a convincing 2nd place behind Chelmsford. This places us in second place overall in the Winter Series league behind Chelmsford CC - but only one point ahead of Leighton Buzzard CC. With LBZ's home race still to come, retaining that lead is not going to be easy. 

We were also second at Cheshunt for points scored by novice juniors, which means that we are currently in the top position for the Dick Grieve trophy.

See a league table and a link to the full results on the results page. A few photos are can be seen in Angela's Flickr album.

Alex found himself the only novice paddler amongst some much more experienced competitors in Boys u16 but, nothing daunted, he achieved a very respectable time. Kerstin was again the fastest lady SuperVet.

Malcolm seemed to be particularly delighted to be back in a Canadian, as he showed Josepha just what trusty old "Victoria" can do in the right hands. The TC2 class seems to be regaining its old popularity, and the bronze medals won by the pair came after some very close-fought competition.

B. Stortford were fourth overall, behind Chelmsford CC, Cambridge CC and Leighton Buzzard CC. We were third on Dick Grieve points (scored by novice juniors) behind The Royal Hospital School and Cambridge CC. See a league table and a link to the full results are on the results page.

Some photos are on Angela's Flickr album. Chris has also put up a video of the race on You-Tube, which you can see on the Videos page.

The 2020 Hasler season got off to a good start at Chelmsford. Although the Stortford team (21 in number) was small by the standards of a couple of years ago, it was the largest team we have put out to an away race in the past year - and over half of those who went came home with a trophy!

Connor and Kerstin paired up to win Div 6 doubles with a time which also beat most of the Div 5 doubles crews as well.

Overall we scored 221 points and came a very respectable 4th. Chelmsford CC were the winning club (234 points) with Leighton Buzzard CC 2nd (232) and Norwich CC 3rd (228).

See

• final race results (updated)
  
• regional league table
• photos by Angela on Flickr

STOP PRESS: Jamie G has been promoted to Div 7!

BSCC is strongly focussed on kayak racing on rivers and canals ("flatwater racing"). This often appeals to those who have not settled into the more mainstream sports, delivering a unique blend of serious competitive challenge with the perennial fun of "messing about in boats". It is equally accessible to both sexes and a very wide age range, making it ideally suited to family groups. Personal fitness need not be high at the outset, but canoeing delivers a great deal of exercise to those who participate regularly.

Unfortunately, both have been in limited supply at the club of late. A shortage of coaches brought recruitment into the club to an almost complete stop in 2018. A record number of people were keen to come along, but the club simply did not have enough coaches to teach new paddlers as well as training existing ones. Like most racing canoe clubs, BSCC is 100% volunteer-powered, and it typically costs in excess of £700 for a coach to became qualified - often at their own expense.

Club chairman Andy White said: "We are delighted to have secured this investment to enable us to support our volunteer coaches - qualified coaches are the heart of the club, and without them we cannot thrive. Having the new beginner equipment will allow us to teach brand new paddlers in groups of similar ability which will be more efficient for the coaches and more fun for the participants".

The club is hugely grateful to Sport England and East Herts Council for their support - and of course to everyone who plays the National Lottery.

Anybody interested in giving kayaking a go should contact the secretary so that we can get you along to the club as soon as possible.

Members of the public took to the water in the club's stable one-person kayaks and in large open canoes operated by coaches and assistants. Many of the families coming along commented that they they had been to the event before in past years and were delighted to find it being repeated.

See also press report of the event.

Eleven Stortford paddlers went to Herts Young Mariners Base to take part in the third local regatta of 2019.

The 500m heats took place on the river and then it was over to the lake for the 200m heats.

After a break for a BBQ there were crew races in K2 and (always a special feature of this event) K4. Euan, Connor, Maddison and Josie put in a very creditable performance in K4 as if they had been paddling together for months. Hudson seemed to have endless energy, paddling with two different K2 partners as well as making up a mixed K4.