8 miles: Senior K2 - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling 6th (1:09:01) Vet M K1 - Petr Luksan 4th (1:18:54) 5 miles: Ladies K1 - Eilidh White 2nd (55:42) 3 miles: GP - Oliver Klumpler 4th (43:41) u12 K1 - Emilie Klumpler 7th (41:55) Club points were another matter though, and with such a small team, a disappointing 5th place on the day was inevitable. The poor team result here has brought down our overall position in the Winter Series to 5th, as well as 3rd in the Dick Grieve league (novice juniors) and 3rd for the Bob Porter (participation in u12 K1). There is one more race to go - can the situation be retrieved? | Thanks to Flora K for providing some of the photos |
A sadly depleted team represented Stortford at the Chelmsford marathon on Sunday - it was left to just six paddlers to try to sustain the reputation of the club. Petr opted to enter the Vets race mistakenly thinking the course would not be suitable for high-kneel C1s, but nevertheless achieved an excellent 4th position. Eilidh took silver in her class, and together with Oliver (1st Paddleabiity in GP) and Emilie (Gold as the 1st girl in u12 K1) the three scored enough points to bring Stortford a respectable 3rd place amongst the novice juniors.
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Only a dozen competitors represented Stortford in the Cambridge Winter Series race. Kerstin and Catherine achieved a very good time in the senior doubles race, coming 8th out of 24 boats. Jasper won a very well-deserved silver in the u12's race, and there were two further medals in that class for Emilie (girls' silver) and Rupert (first u10). Oliver continues to persevere in racing the essentially non-racing boats of the GP class, and also won a first Paddleability medal. A special mention should also go to Petr who for the first time competed in high-kneeler C1 at an away race.
Heavy rain in the days leading up to the race forced a complete re-think of the parking arrangements, and as the rain continued on the day itself, created challenging conditions for everyone, especially the marshals and the volunteers manning the BBQ - but canoeists are not ones to be put off by a little water. Despite the downpour, race attendance was back up to pre-covid numbers. As well as 24 members of BSCC, the 130 competitors included teams from seven other clubs and independent paddlers drawn from at least three others. Stortford's best results came from the Veteran Men's K1, in which Rich won gold for his impressive time of 1:02:42 and Chris took the medal for first "ultra-vet" (over 60). Eilidh won bronze in the combined ladies class and was the club's fastest girl on the 5 miles course. In the u12s race, Jasper and Emilie each won bronze as third boy and third girl, and Rupert won the medal for first boy under 10. Oliver was awarded a first paddleability medal in the GP race. Special mention should be made of Petr for successfully completing his first marathon race in C1. 7 miles (6 portages): Senior K2 - Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling 13th (1:15:18), Jacque & Dave Cayford 17th (1:20:49) Vet Mens K1 - Rich Winstanley 1st (1:02:42), Chris Sze 5th (1:10:22), Ben Tubby 10th (1:20:06) u18 Boys K1 - Tom Barton 4th (1:22:03) 5 miles (3 portages): u16 Boys K1 - Jack Gaulton 4th (56:36), Arthur Catmur 7th (1:01:27), Ewan Gowing 8th (1:05:02), Daniel Baines 9th 1:08:14 Ladies K1 - Eilidh White 3rd (1:05:54), Kayleigh Gaulton 4th (1:06:14), Karen Bradley 5th (1:06:38), Tamzin Catmur 6th (1:22:39) u16 K2 - Eddie Kirtland & Libby Gaulton 1st (54:23)
The club was second overall with 114 points, behind Chelmsford CC (271) but comfortably ahead of Leighton Buzzard CC (73). The club is also off to a good start in the Dick Grieve league, based on point scored by novice juniors, with Eilidh, Oliver, Arthur, Ewan, Daniel, Finlay, Ananya and Jasper all making significant contributions towards this.
Stortford paddlers Chris Sze and Kerstin Queeney headed off to the 2022 ICF Masters World Championships held on 26-27 September in Ponte de Lima, Portugal. The K1 racing took place first - Chris came 24th in K1 mens 60-64 (1:52:56) and Kerstin was 10th in the ladies 55-59 race (1:42:47) On the following day Chris paired up with Gordon Bullock to come 6th in the mens 60-64 K2 race and came 6th (1:54:11). Kerstin together with Catherine Ayling then secured a bronze medal in the ladies 55-59 K2 event (1:28:40). Well done! Full results can be found at
https://www.canoeicf.com/canoe-marathon-masters-world-championships/ponte-de-lima-2022 It was a very small group who travelled to Runnymede to take part in what has traditionally been the most important race in the club calendar. Inevitably, in a race which is scored on the basis of the results from the club's top 6 singles boats and top three doubles, the results from the club were never going to great (23rd out of 32 clubs present), but there were some individual highlights. Jacque and Dave did so well in their race that they only narrowly missed being promoted. There was an excellent performance from Tom B who came 11th out of a huge field of 33 competitors. Also good to see Joe resuming his rightful place in Div 2. Singles: Div 2 - Joe Fitzpatrick 16th (1:38:23) Div 4 - Eddie Kirtland 25th (1:04:57) Div 6 - Tom Barton 11th (1:07:01) Div 7 - Jaroslav Klumpler (ret) Doubles: Div 8 - Jacque & Dave Cayford 11th (44:25) The complete results can be found on the marathon website here: https://entries.gbcanoemarathon.co.uk/results/races/2022/hasler-final-2022 (click on the "Points" tab to see the club results) Stortford did not have any Geoff Senders (u14s league) paddlers taking part in this event, but the national results for the Geoff Sanders Trophy are cumulated over the whole season, and it has been reported that we came 9th overall! (Not yet online to be confirmed?) If this is right, it is a real achievement for the club and enormously encouraging for the future.
The club was delighted to welcome paddlers from Chelmsford CC, Cambridge CC, Leighton Buzzard CC, Hemel Hempstead CC and Le Valley Paddlesports to our Regatta - not only because it was the first local regatta since 2019, but also because we were using the occasion to celebrate the club's 50th anniversary. The 49 paddlers spent the morning taking part in a series of races across 500m, 1000m and 200m, in sets of four. After a lunch break, the organiser Rich made up teams for fun relays. After the prizegiving, everyone was invited to share a glass of bubbly and a a slice of celebration cake.
The full results of the Stortford Regatta can be found on the Sprint Results page of the FRA website.
Many thanks to Kerstin and another contributor for the use of some of their photos!
This September, for the first time in a few years, Bishops Stortford Canoe Club took a team to a national sprint regatta at Holme Pierrepont in Nottingham. The races take place on a 2km long, purpose-built regatta lake. There are three race distances to choose from: 200m, 500m and 1000m, and there are races for singles (K1), doubles (K2), and fours (K4). The club took a small team of five paddlers to Nottingham for a weekend of camping and competition.
The September regatta is also the national club championships, and points are awarded for the results of each club’s paddlers throughout the weekend, the club with the most points being awarded the MacGregor Paddle. Bishops Stortford Canoe Club came in 23rd place out of 40 clubs. Quite respectable given the small team that they took to the regatta. The full results from the event can be found on the National Regatta website. Photos courtesy of Chris Sze
After the interruption of Covid it was good to finally be able to hold the Hasler at the club again - the 5th time it has been held on the Stort. The total number of 168 competitors was not too far below pre-Covid levels, and larger than most races in our circuit this season, which is extremely encouraging. There was a particularly good turnout of 20 Geoff Sanders (u14s) entries. Many thanks are due to all the members and their families who gave their time to make this event happen - as starters, marshals, safety boats, car park marshals, or serving the refreshments; also not forgetting the bakers who donated delicious cakes and those who cleaned up both before and afterwards. The intense heat made the day an especially demanding one for everyone involved, perhaps especially those who were doubling up by acting both as volunteers and competitors. The racing was conducted in two halves. In the morning, the Div 7/8/9s raced down to Sawbridgeworth and back (11.5km and 6 locks), while the Geoff Sanders classses went in the opposite direction to the town centre and back (2.5km). In the afternoon the Div 1/2/3s went down to Sawbridgeworth but with an extra loop to make a course of 19km and 8 portages. The were followed by the Div/7/8/9s who turned at Spellbrook to create a course of 6.5km with 2 portages. There was a welcome return to the club for Tony Brett who, despite an absence from the sport of ten years partnered Ella to victory in Div 6 doubles, beating not only the other Div 6 boat but also all the boats in Div 5. BSCC continued to dominate the Division 6 races, with Ben K and Tom H taking gold and silver in the singles class.
Ben K, Tom H, Tony and Ella have all been promoted to Div 5, while Tom B and Ben T will take their places in Div 6.
Under 14s (Geoff Sanders) 2.5km Div A: Zuzanna Madeja 4th (18:32), Ananya Bhusari 5th (21:42) Div B: Finlay Sandall 1st (17:43), Jasper Kirtland 4th (19:41), Rupert Kirtland =7th (21:23), Oliver Klumpler =7th (21:23) Div C: Emilie Klumpler 4th (25:42) BSCC achieved 4th position at this race with a total score of 587 points - just one point behind Norwich CC. Leighton Buzzard CC were 2nd (594 points), narrowly beaten by Chelmsford CC (595). This was the last regional Hasler in the Eastern Region for the current season. As Bishops Stortford have ended the season in 4th position in the Eastern Region, we should have secured our place at the prestigious National Hasler Final to be held at Runnymede on the Thames (hosted by Wey CC) on 25 September. Those who wish to compete in Hasler divisions at the finals must have taken part in three Hasler races during the season (which started at Chelmsford last year), whether in our region or elsewhere.
Twenty-three paddlers from Stortford took part in the Leighton Buzzard race with largely excellent results. The warm weather had brought out all the recreational paddlers and narrowboats on the Grand Union Canal, causing a significant extra challenge, especially at the second turn, where there were a particularly large number of narrrowboats. Joe and Eddie won Division 4 doubles race with ease.
Bishops Stortford CC were fourth overall at this race, behind Leighton Buzzard CC (1st) and Norwich CC and Chelmsford CC who tied for second place. This left Leighton Buzzard and Norwich in equal top position in the Eastern Region league - the winner of the Eastern Region trophy will be resolved at the final race of the season at Bishops Stortford. The final positions after the Stortford race will also determine which four clubs from the region will qualify to go to the National Finals in September. See also
Joe and Mark formed a very effective crew to take second place in Div 4 doubles in a photo-finish, one second ahead of the third-placed crew and just 30s behind the winners. Tom H and Jamie G led Division 7 doubles from the start and refused to be overtaken, making them the fastest boat on the 6.5km course despite some serious competition. Both have been promoted to Div 6.
The day's most notable racing début was the appearance of club chairman Kevin Short partnered by Mick Hussey in an open canoe in Division 9 doubles. Although still fourth in the Eastern Region League behind Norwich CC, Leighton Buzzard CC and Chelsmford CC, there is now a much wider gap between BSCC and the rest of the clubs. In the under-14s races, Nadim did exceptionally well, taking second place in Div C in only his first Geoff Sanders race. DOUBLES - 13km, 2 portages Div 4: Joe Fitzpatrick & Mark Adams 2nd (1:03:39), Chris Sze & Eddie Kirtland 7th (1:09:27) Div 5: Kerstin Queeney & Catherine Ayling [MAI] 7th (1:12:19) 6.5km Div 7: Tom Holloway & Jamie Gaulton 1st (33:26) Div 8: David Cayford & Jacqueline Cayford 5th (37:04) Div 9: Ewan Gowing & Arthur Catmur 1st (41:25), Mick Hussey & Kevin Short 2nd (57:40) SINGLES - 6.5km Div 7: Tom Barton 4th (37:03), Jaroslav Klumpler 5th (37:29) Div 8: Ben Tubby 1st (36:34), Jack Gaulton 3rd (37:23), Petr Luksan 9th (38:49) Div 9: Libby Gaulton 6th (41:22)
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