A small BSCC team was amongst the 188 competitors who flocked to Cambridge from all over the country for the first Hasler race of 2022. After two years of interrupted racing, no fewer than twenty different clubs took advantage of this unusually early start to the Hasler season. As well as the usual faces from within the region, the list of out-of-region clubs read like a Who's Who of flatwater racing, with members of Pangbourne, Reading, Nottingham, Elmbridge and many other well known clubs represented, and Richmond and Lincoln particularly in evidence.  Needless to say, the standard of paddling was high.

Whenever there has been a long break between races, and also whenever paddlers from different regions compete together, there tends to be a great deal of movement between divisions as the discrepancies between regions are levelled out. Perhaps for this reason it proved impossible to calculate the promotions on the day, and thus the points due to each of the six Eastern Region clubs present.

In Division 7 Eddie took second place from the start line and retained it all the way but with a Norwich paddler on his tail throughout, so he too had to sprint for the line to take his silver award in  close finish. Eddie too has been promoted.

Also in this race were Jack and Tom H, both of whom were racing for first time in Div 7 following promotions from Div 9 at  Chelmsford last October. Jack finished a very comfortable 7th. Tom got off to a great start and was going well at the first turn but had to pull out with an injury soon after.

Our only paddlers on the 14km course, Kerstin & Mark, unfortunately also fell victim to injury after a promising start. But it was still good to see Mark back in a BSCC vest!

SINGLES -
7km
Div 7: Edward Kirtland 2nd (39:47), Jack Gaulton 7th (43:22), Thomas Holloway (retired)
Div 9:  Thomas Barton 1st (39:58), Jaroslav Klumpler 8th (42:13)

The other Eastern teams Norwich, Leighton Buzzard, Chelmsford, as well as the Cambridge home team, were all out in force. As only four BSCC paddlers finished the race out of an already undersized team of seven, and only three of these scored points (no points are awarded if the paddler is promoted more than one division) BSCC inevitably finished in last place in the main Hasler race.

Although the race had been rescheduled at short notice (the original date being cancelled due to ice on the canal) most of Stortford's original team were able to get to the final race of the Winter Series, held at Leighton Buzzard.

Kerstin paired up with Catherine Ayling again for the K2 race on the long course and this time were able to secure silver medals. On the middle-distance course, Oliver & Finlay took silver in the junior K2 event,  Karen won bronze in the Ladies K1 race, and Eilidh bronze in u16 girls.

All three of Stortford's gold medals came on the short course, where Dave won the GP race, and Libby and Jasper came first and second respectively in the u12 race to win first girl and first boy. Also in u12s, Nadim and Emilie took silver as second boy and second girl. Meanwhile, Eddie came in a close second to Chelmsford's Cassian Payne in u14 Boys, but had to settle for the silver medal, while Ewan took bronze.

Many thanks to everyone who took part in this series - including the parents who have given up their Sundays to bring their children to the events and those who have driven the trailer.

See Angela's Flickr page for some photos of the Leighton Buzzard race and awards.

On the 3-mile course, Eddie was narrowly outpaced in the Boys u14 K1 race by the winning Chelmsford boat and brought back a silver, and the same thing happened to Dave in the GPs by an even tighter margin.

Despite a capsize at the start of the mixed u12s race, Libby was able to make up much of the lost time to take 4th overall and 1st Girl.

For the first time in two years, canoe racing came back to the Stort. Although the total number of competitors was somewhat reduced at 109, the presence of a loyal core of top-class paddlers ensured that the standard was as high as ever.

On the 3-mile course Eddie unfortunately capsized within a few paddlestrokes of the start line following a collision with another paddler and it took some time before he could climb back into his boat and continue the race. Nevertheless, he managed to regain enough time to win a bronze medal in u14M. Libby and Emilie won the girls gold and silver u12 medals, while Jasper and Rupert won the boys silver and bronze medals.

5 miles (3 portages):
u16 Boys K1 - Jack Gaulton 5th (58:48)
Ladies K1 - Karen Bradley 4th (1:07:50), Christine Meula 6th (1:11:50), Catherine Robinson 7th (1:24:51)
u16 Girls K1 - Eilidh White 1st (1:05:40)

3 miles (1 portage):
u14 Boys K1 - Edward Kirtland 3rd (33:16), Ewan Gowing 5th (35:09), Finlay Sandall 6th (38:22), Oliver Klumpler 8th (40:59)
u14 Girls K1 - Madeja Zuzanna 5th (46:39)
u12 K1 - Libby Gaulton 2nd (35:53), Jasper Kirtland 3rd (36:58), Rupert Kirtland 4th (48:03), Nadim Shawky 5th (49:31), Emilie Klumpler 6th (50:30)

Big thanks are due to members, past members, family and friends who turned out to help with the race - as marshals, safety boats, car park marshals, and to work on the BBQ and refreshments, as well as the racers who helped with the setting up and tidying up - and not forgetting all those who made cakes for sale.

With the start of the new Hasler season, there were excellent results for the 13 BSCC paddlers who competed in the main divisions of the Chelmer Hasler, with 6 taking podium positions.

It was also a day of many promotions, as the effects of there having been much improvement over the summer months, but with little opportunity to compete against other clubs, worked its way through the system.

Gordon Bullock paired up with GB teammate Bryn Price to race in the Mens 65-69 K2 over 15.4km, achieving a time of 1:26:07.

The Norwich website has the full (provisional) Norwich results.

Three club members also went to the Reading Circuit Race on 30 May and competed with success.

The Reading CC website has the full (provisional) Reading results.

Chris's videos of the races can be seen here:

• Norwich Hasler 2021
  
• Reading Circuit Race 2021