STRATFORD-upon-Avon Boat Club’s junior crews showed plenty of promise at the prestigious Junior Sculling Head at Dorney Lake.
The club’s J14, J15 and J16 squads competed against crews from around the United Kingdom over the Olympic course at Dorney Lake.
And the J14 women’s coxless quadruple scull of Bryony Francis, Maeve Dunn, Becca Smith, Sophie Franklin and Martha Cooke (coxswain) made a storming start up the first 1,800m leg of the course.
The crew held their own over the next 1,800m stretch to finish an impressive eighth out of 45 crews that entered.
Steve Wellstead, J14 coach and junior co-ordinator said: “This places the WJ14 squad amongst the top crews in the country and makes for an exciting summer regatta season ahead.”
The J15 girls were represented by Alexandra Francis, Lily Warren, Sophie Evans, Poppy Baines, Meg Nuttall (cox) in the coxed quad event.
Some 72 crews competed in difficult conditions with Stratford drawn in the outside lane and were forced to race into a crosswind of 23mph.
The girls bravely battled against the full brunt of the strong gusts to finish a commendable 25th overall in a strong performance.
Colin Bell, J15 Coach, said: “On this occasion, the results did not reflect the effort.”
Lastly, the club’s WJ16 coxless quad of Ez Elfwood (stroke), ‘V’ Vondrak, Scarlett Richardson and Aimee Appleton (bow) competed in a field of 51 crews.
The quad settled into a strong and steady rhythm early on as Appleton dealt well with the crosswinds to steer a straight line and were faster over the second leg to finish 13th overall in a very competitive class.
