At the Inverness HOR ASRA took a large contingent of athletes up to race in one of the most competitive junior events in the Scottish calendar in a long time - 26 entries into OJ18 1x alone! The huge entry was in large part due to the reinstating of the Bob Neill Scottish Schools Rowing Event. The event returned as a series of races within three of the major Scottish Head of the River Races - Aberdeen HOR (which experienced a record entry of 88 crews in one division before being unfortunately cancelled due to the weather), Inverness Fours HOR and Inverness Winter HOR in March. The weather was, once again, not our friend and all racing was cancelled on Sunday due to thick fog on the course and safety concerns so only Saturday’s racing went ahead (ASRA’s first and only day of racing this season so far due to weather!). On Saturday the club came away with three Inverness 1st places and placed 2nd or 3rd in 6 out of 7 Bob Neill Scottish Schools Rowing events. Our star player of the day goes to J14 Ines DK who came away with two wins. 

Henley Royal Regatta (23 June – 2nd July)

Following in the footsteps of last year’s GB pair of Maisie and Zoe that raced in a composite in the Town Challenge Cup, ASRA took the leap into fielding its very first full ASRA Henley Royal Regatta crews. The club headed south with two crews pre-qualified from previous results: a Girls 8+ in the Prince Phillip Challenge Trophy and a Boys 4+ in the Britannia Challenge Cup. The four of Murray B, Magnus H, Harris Pe, Sam D, and coxed by Samuel C, entered into a senior club event at the regatta, did a fantastic job just to get to the final 16 allowed to race in the regatta. The boys came up against a very experienced crew from Thames, a crew with multiple Henley Royal Regatta appearances under their belt, and unfortunately went out in the first round to them. The boys fought hard against the experienced crew from Thames but ultimately the nerves on the day of racing on the world-famous Henley course for the first time got the better of them and they were put out of the competition by the official verdict of 3 ½ lengths. The girls eight of Freya H, Penny I, Maggie S, Tamara B, Sophie S, Anna D, Charlotte A, and Ella B, coxed by Lily A raced for the first time on the Wednesday, a day later than the boys, and drew Lady Eleanor Holles in the first round. The girls put on a dominant display of rowing against the English schoolgirls and stormed through to the next round by two lengths, becoming the first ever ASRA athletes to make a round at Henley Royal Regatta. The next round, however, against Surbiton proved to be a challenge too far for the girls against the National Schools silver medallists and the ASRA eight was knocked out by one and a half lengths, pushing the girls from Surbiton right to the line. ASRA also had great former pupil representation at the regatta with eight FPs racing in seven different events across the week, and even one event winner! Congratulations to FP Patrick Tawns on his win in the stroke seat of Thames ‘A’ in the Thames Challenge Cup!

Scot Champs (2- 4th June)

At the start of June ASRA travelled down to Glasgow with a total of 50 athletes to compete at the Scottish Championships, where the weekend took place with a rare show of fantastic hot weather, still water and sunshine at Strathclyde Park. Glasgow being the hottest place in the UK that weekend, clocking in at highs of 25 degrees: a temperature not often faced by the athletes in Aberdeen. Medals were won at all age groups with some very impressive and exciting racing across the two days. A highlight of the weekend included Lottie M and Ines DK winning gold in the WJ14 2x in a very impressive and dominant performance that only got stronger throughout the race and through each round. Another impressive performance came from our J18 girls who put a stamp on the WJ18 4- event, never giving their opposition from The Glasgow Academy the chance to catch them to win gold and the ‘B” four from ASRA also pushing the 4- from TGA from behind to come in bronze. On the boys side, our dominant J18 boys once again put in an impressive display, winning the J18 hat-trick - J18 pairs, coxed and coxless fours across the weekend. Murray and Magnus decided that that wasn’t quite enough for them though, putting in a big fight right to the line against one of our own ASRA FPs - Xander Beeson from Glasgow University - to also win Open Pairs. Overall, a fantastic weekend had by all, well done! Full list of medals below:

Gold Medals

• WJ14 2x (Lottie M, Ines DK)
• WJ18 4- (Freya H, Ella B, Maggie S, Tamara B)
• WNov 4+ (Gabs T, Emily J, Thea A, Marie G, Lily A (cox))
• WJ16 4+ (Gabs T, Jem A, Sophie J, Emily J, Abbie P (cox))
• W4- (Composite incl. Zoe B)
• W2- (Composite incl. Zoe B)
• ONov 4+ (John F, Finlay M, Nic D, Rory T, Lily A (cox))
• O2- (Murray B, Magnus H)
• OJ18 2- (Murray B, Magnus H)
• OJ18 4- (Harris Pe, Murray B, Magnus H, Sam D)
• OJ18 4+ (Harris Pe, Murray B, Magnus H, Sam D, Lily A (cox))

Silver Medals

• WJ14 4x+ (Sabi B, Lottie M, Mackenzie P, Natalia T, Iona D (cox))
• W8+ (Freya H, Penny I, Maggie S, Tamara B, Sophie S, Anna D, Charlotte A, Ella B, Lily A (cox)
• OJ14 4x+ (Luke R, Iain P, Luke M, Gavin P, Iona D (cox))
• OJ15 4x+ (John F, Finlay M, Hugo L, Nic D, Rory T (cox))
• ONov 4x+ (Henrik G, John F, Finlay M, Ella B, Ella J (cox))
• OJ16 1x (Callum S)

Bronze Medals

• WJ18 4- (Charlotte A, Anna D, Sophie S, Penny I)
• WJ18 2- (Ella B, Freya H)

This year (26-28th May) ASRA headed to the National Schools Regatta - the biggest junior event in the UK - with 38 athletes across 8 crews at all age groups from J14 - 18.

The Friday kicked off with our WJ14 Quad, OJ14 Quad and OJ15 Four all racing and encountering no shortage of competition and challenging conditions. A fierce cross wind and 25 entries in the boys J15 four, 39 in the boys quad, and a staggering 53 entries in the girls quad proved to be quite the challenge for our rowers, most of whom are new to rowing in the last 9 months. Our newly formed J14 girls quad of Lottie M, Sabi B, Mackenzie P, Natalia T and coxed by Iona D did a fantastic job to place 19th out of 53 in the time trial and proceeded into the D Final of lane racing later in the day where they placed 3rd in their final. Our J15 boys four - John F, Finlay M, Nic D, Rory T, coxed by Hugo L - were unfortunately the victims of the many timing issues on the day and found themselves in the C Final after the time trial, but not before the time trial results left everyone waiting until less than an hour until race time to be finalised and changed order several times in that time. The ASRA boys, however, were not to be put off or distracted and showed impressive resilience, winning their final convincingly against the other crews and putting forward a time competitive with the B Final crews. Our J14 boys quad raced a brilliantly level-headed time trial for a crew so new to rowing and placed third overall, putting them firmly in the A Final and in the race for medals later in the day. The medal, however, was not meant to be and the boys placed 5th in a fiercely competitive final.

On Saturday the opportunity for medals arrived for the WJ16 4+ and Ch 4+. The WJ16 4+ of Gabrielle T, Jem A, Sophie J, Emily J, coxed by Abbie P placed a brilliant 3rd of 19 in the time trial, putting themselves straight into the A Final and in the race for medals. In the end, inexperience at lane racing won out and the girls came fourth against some very impressive crews from England. The girls showed great potential, especially for half of the crew being J15s and three of four of the rowers and the cox being new to rowing this year - they are ones to watch in the future! ASRA’s big victory of the weekend, however, belongs to our Championship Boys Coxed Four of Harris Pe, Murray B, Magnus H, and Sam D, coxed by Samuel C racing on the Saturday. They took to the water up against tough competition from Hampton and Eniskillen and took the fight right to the line in what was arguably the most exciting race of the day. The boys came through from third to first with a famous ASRA finish in the last 500m to win by just 0.57 seconds. A big win for the boys and for the club in ASRA’s first ever Boys Championship gold medal outside of the pair!

Both of our Championship Girls Pair and Championship Boys Pair raced on the Sunday along with the A Final for ASRA’s first ever Championship Girls Eight. Both pairs put forward solid time trial performances putting the boys in the A Final and the girls into the B Final. The girls pair of Ella J and Isla P raced out the the B Final into a punishing headwind for such a light crew to place third behind Newark RC and fellow Scots from Strathclyde Park. The boys pair of Callum S and Henrik G, although young for the event, pushed their way into the A Final alongside some very accomplished rowers from Emanuel, Reading Blue Coat and Hinksey. The boys placed 6th in the A Final, gaining valuable experience of racing in a Championship event for a young crew of two returners to Champ events next year. The penultimate event of the day was the A Final of the Championship Girls 8+ and having qualified straight from the Heat the day before the girls were in a good central lane surrounded by competition from some of the top junior rowing programmes in the country, and veterans of the JW 8+ at the National Schools. The girls put in their best fight against some extremely impressive eights from Headington School, Henley Rowing Club and Surbiton but were unfortunately not able to break past the might of the Thames valley in this event and came up one short of a medal in 4th place.

At the North East Coronation Regatta 2023 ASRA once again dominated the event, winning the Championship of the Dee over the competition from Aberdeen and St Andrews University. The athletes won an impressive 14 events on both Saturday and Sunday, a fantastic 28 out of the available 56 events over the weekend.

Saturday Winners

• WNov 8+ - Lily A, Grace W, Abbie P, Marie G, Emily J, Sophie J, Jem A, Gabs T, coxed by Logan K
• OR2 4+ - Murray B, Sam D, Magnus H, Harris Pe, coxed by Samuel C
• ONov 4+ - Rory T, Nic D, Finlay M, John F, coxed by Hugo L
• WR2 4+ - Ella B, Sophie S, Tamara B, Freya H, coxed by Samuel C
• OJ15 4x+ - Gavin P, Luke M, Iain P, Luke R, coxed by Harris Pa
• OJ14 4x+ - Gavin P, Luke M, Iain P, Luke R, coxed by Iona D
• OJ13 4x+ - Harris Pa, Sandy B, Iona D, Jenn E, coxed by Luke R
• WJ15 4x+ - Gabs T, Grace W, Marie G, Emily J, coxed by Luke M
• WJ14 4x+ - Natalia T, Sabi B, Mackenzie P, Lottie M, coxed by Euan S
• O2- - Murray B, Magnus H
• OJ18 2- - Henrik G, Callum S
• WJ18 2- - Freya H, Ella B
• WNov 2x - Isla P, Ella J
• OJ16 2x - John F, Finlay M

Sunday Winners

• WR1 8+ - Ella B, Charlotte A, Anna D, Sophie S, Tamara B, Maggie S, Penny I, Freya H, coxed by Lily A
• WNov 4+ - Emily J, Sophie J, Jem A, Gabs T, coxed by Abbie P
• OR2 2- - Henrik G, Callum S
• WO 2- - Ella B, Charlotte A
• ONov 2x - Hugo L, Finlay M
• OJ14 2x - Luke M, Iain P
• OJ13 2x - Harris Pa, Euan S
• WJ15 2x - Gabs T, Emily J
• WJ14 2x - Mackenzie P, Lottie M
• WJ13 2x - Ines D, Jenn E
• WNov 1x - Gabs T
• OJ15 1x - John F
• OJ14 1x - Iain P
• WJ14 1x - Ines D

The whole weekend was a feat of organisation and boat swapping so a massive thank you to all of the parents who came to help pass wellies, boat crews and wrangle the troops in general as well as a huge well done to all of the kids for being so well organised and keeping a very busy day running on time.

The Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta took place at Strathclyde Park, Motherwell on the 22nd & 23rd April 2023. With the club’s senior athletes either participating at GB trials, or cramming for upcoming exams, it was left to the J14 & J15 crews to represent ASRA. A total of 20 athletes, consisting of 13 boys and 7 girls headed south for their first multi lane racing of the season.

On the Saturday morning, a brisk cross wind created what could only be described as challenging conditions. This proved too much for the W Nov 2x of Anna Taylor and Grace Watt, who capsized in their first race of the day. Undeterred, the girls dried themselves down and joined up with Jennifer Ellis and Katherine Taylor to compete in the W Nov 4x+ where they made it into the B Final. The W J14 2x of Sabina Bird and Mackenzie Park came 4th in their final before combining with Jennifer Ellis and Katherine Taylor to put in a spirited performance in the W J14 4x+.

With the wind increasing by the minute, the O J14 singles of Iain Petty, Luke McMorris, Luke Renwick, and Gavin Pedrog took to the water for their time trial. Iain P and Luke M dealt admirably with the conditions to set the two fastest times in a large field of 17 scullers. Iain then went on to take a well deserved gold in the A Final, with Luke following closely behind for silver. The O J15 singles of John Forbes, Rory Trythall, Hugo Lefort, Finlay Morrision and Nicholas Davies found the conditions trickier, with only Rory making it to the A Final, before having to pull out due to injury.

Sunday morning brought slightly calmer water, however the conditions remained difficult throughout the day. First up was the OJ 15 4x+ of John Forbes, Finlay Morrison, Rory Trythall and Nicholas Davies, who could not quite keep pace with an excellent crew from George Watsons to finish a good 2nd. The boys then formed doubles to race in OJ 15 2x. Joined by another ASRA double of Hugo Lefort and Logan Kinch, the boys placed 3rd, 5th, and 7th.

Next to race were the O J14 2x combinations of Iain Petty & Luke Renwick, Gavin Pedrog & Luke McMorris, Peter Temple & Sandy Bain, Cara Freeman & Harris Parke. In an extremely close final, Ian & Luke R picked up silver, with Gavin & Luke M taking Bronze. These crews then combined to form two OJ 14 coxed quads. The combination of Iain P, Luke R, Gavin P & Luke M topped off a successful weekend by finishing with a silver medal in the eight boat final.

In the absence of the more senior athletes, the youngsters represented ASRA brilliantly both on and off the water. In a weekend which saw difficult conditions, and a record number of capsizes, the kids showed great resilience and character, which will surely hold them in good stead for the remainder of the season.

Well done to everyone, especially Iain Petty & Luke McMorris who each came home with three medals.

ASRA had 30 athletes racing in 5 different boats at 3 different events across the weekend in London.

At the Schools Head of the River on Friday 17th March our J18 and J16 girls eights raced amongst a starting field of 329 crews. The J18s placed an impressive 6th out of 17 and the J16s beat another crew to come 6th out of 7, which is even more admirable when 6 of the 8 girls only started rowing within the last 6 months.

Ch Girls 8+

• Bow: Ella B
• 2: Charlotte A
• 3: Anna D
• 4: Sophie S
• 5: Tamara B
• 6: Maggie S
• 7: Penny I
• Stroke: Freya H
• Cox: Lily A

Ch J16 Girls 8+

• Bow: Abbie P
• 2: Thea A
• 3: Marie G
• 4: Emily J
• 5: Georgia L
• 6: Sophie J
• 7: Jem A
• Stroke: Gabrielle T
• Cox: Isla P

At the Head of the River Race five rowers and two coxes from ASRA partook in two Scottish Argonauts boats. In a total field of 321 crews, the ‘A’ eight placed 5th out of twelve in their category and 81st overall, while the ‘B’ boat placed 10th of 12 in their category and 135th overall.

ASRA Scottish Argonauts ‘A’

• Stroke: Harris Pe
• 7: Sam D
• 6: Murray B
• Cox: Samuel C

Scottish Argonauts ‘B’

• 7: Henrik G
• 2: Callum S
• Cox: Ella J

The last event of the weekend came around on Monday at The Scullery Head where ASRA had one J14 boys quad representing the club. The boys placed a fantastic 12th out of a field of 49 crews in their first experience of racing outside of Scotland.

• Stroke: Iain P
• 3: Luke R
• 2: Luke M
• Bow: Gavin P
• schools head of the riverCox: Harris Pa

A huge well done too all athletes and coxes this weekend at all events and a massive thanks to all of the parents who drove cars and minibuses full of athletes and to those who came to spectate and lend their support - we’re endlessly grateful for you all!

At the Inverness 8s and Small Boats Head of the River on the weekend of the 4th and 5th March ASRA took a strong contingent of 44 athletes up the road to the Caledonian Canal to race in four divisions across the weekend. ASRA won a total of 10 events over the 4 divisions with some extremely close racing taking place. Some notably exciting races include the W Nov 4+ of Gabrielle T, Jem A, Emily J and Sophie T, coxed by Harris Pa who raced an extremely exciting push and pull race with The Glasgow Academy and narrowly lost out on victory by less than a second. Our two J18 Girls coxless fours also raced to the line with only 0.45 seconds separating the two fours across the 4.5km course.

Saturday Division 1

• WR2 8+: Freya H, Penny I, Maggie S, Tamara B, Sophie S, Anna D, Charlotte A, Ella B, Cox: Lily A
• OJ15 4x+: John F, Finlay M, Cailean M, Nic D, Cox: Cara F

Saturday Division 2

• OJ18 8+: Harris Pe, Magnus H, Murray B, Sam D, Callum S, Henrik G, Finlay M, John F, cox: Samuel C
• WJ18 4-: Freya H, Penny I, Maggie S, Ella B
• WNov 8+: Gabrielle T, Jem A, Sophie J, Emily J, Marie G, Lily A, Thea A, Abbie P, Cox: Lottie M
• OJ14 4x+: Iain P, Luke M, Luke R, Gavin, Cox: Ines D

Sunday Division 1

• ONov 4+: Henrik G, Callum S, John F, Finlay M, Cox: Luke M

Sunday Division 2

• OJ16 2-: Callum S, John F
• WJ18 2-: Freya H, Ella B
• OJ14 2x: Luke M, Iain P

On the 5th of February ASRA took part in Aberdeen 8s Head of the River at their home venue on the River Dee. Athletes got the chance to race in eights and octuples over the weekend and once again dominated the results table in both divisions. In Division 1 ASRA won all available medals in the division with our Mens R2 Eight and Womens Open Eight both winning their events over their counterparts racing from University Rowing Aberdeen as well as our Womens Novice Eight winning their event against competitors from Aberdeen Boat Club. Special mention goes to the girls J15 Octuple who raced really well despite having no competition to race against. In Division 2 the J18 girls once again won their event against the rowers from University Rowing Aberdeen while the boys won Mens Novice Eights against ABC and the boys J15 Octuple won their event against the girls J15 Octo, also from ASRA. Full list of winners below:

Division 1

• OR28+: Harris Pe, Magnus H, Murray B, Sam D, Henrik G, Callum S, John F, Rory T, Cox: Samuel C
• WO8+: Freya H, Penny I, Maggie S, Tamara B, Sophie S, Anna D, Charlotte A, Ella B, Cox: Lily
• WNov8+: Gabrielle T, Jem A, Sophie J, Emily J, Georgia L, Abbie P, Thea A, Marie G, Cox: Harris Pe

Division 2

• WR2 8+: Freya H, Penny I, Maggie S, Tamara B, Sophie S, Ella B, Ella J, Isla P, cox: Lily A
• OJ15 8x+: Iain P, Luke M, Luke R, Gavin P, Sandy B, Peter T, Eric R, Harris Pa, cox: Harris Pe
• ONov 8+: Callum S, John F, Finlay M, Hugo L, Rory T, Cailean M, Logan K, Nic D, cox: Charlotte A

On the 19th and 20th November, ASRA battled through wind, rain and flooding in Aberdeenshire to attend the Inverness Fours and Small Boats Head of the River Races on the Caledonian Canal. ASRA ventured north with a team of 40 athletes across all ages and abilities. With a record entry across the two days at the event ASRA put in an excellent performance across four divisions to win ten medals. Notable performances of the weekend include: Iain Petty and Luke McMorris stormed the short course in their OJ14 2x to win, not only their event, but come 5th overall; Henrik Gunderson came 3rd in Open Novice Singles in a field of 28 entries, while Gabrielle Topp won Women’s Novice Singles in a field of 23; Freya Hughson won Women’s R2 Singles out of an entry of 17 boats; and Murray Bone and Magnus Heidenreich won Open J18 Pairs by an impressive 38 seconds. Full list of winners below:

Saturday Division 1
Short Course
• OJ14 2x - Iain Petty, Luke McMorris
• WNov 2x - Gabrielle Topp, Jemima Aspinall
Long Course
• OJ18 4+ - Harris Pearce, Magnus Heidenreich, Murray Bone, Sam Docherty, coxed by Lily Arthur

Saturday Division 2
Short Course
• WNov 1x - Gabrielle Topp
• OJ14 1x - Iain Petty
Long Course
• WJ18 4+ - Freya Hughson, Penny Irvine, Ella Johnson, Tamara Brew, coxed by Lily A

Sunday Division 1
Short Course
• OJ14 4x+ - Iain Petty, Luke McMorris, Harris Parke, Gavin Pedrog, coxed by Ella Johnson
Long Course
• OJ18 2- - Murray Bone and Magnus Heidenreich
• WR2 1x - Freya Hughson

Sunday Division 2
Long Course
• WJ18 2- - Freya Hughson and Ella Brooks

On Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th November, ASRA competed in the annual Aberdeen Head of the River Races and had a fantastic 54 athletes compete across the four divisions and won an impressive haul of 16 medals over the two days.

The weather was kind on Saturday and while it was slightly drizzly all day, the wind was minimal and made for some nice racing conditions. Nine fours and quads competed in the first division and eight in the second. It was a successful first division for the women’s fours: Maggie Seward, Ella Brooks, Sophie Sinclair and Isla Petty, coxed by Luke McMorris won WJ18 4+ and Gabrielle Topp, Jemima Aspinall, Sophie Johnston and Georgia Leslie, coxed by Harris Pearce won Women’s Novice Fours. Lottie Meakins, Mackenzie Parke, Sabina Bird and Katherine Taylor, coxed by Thomas Curson won WJ14 Quads in a very exciting and close race by only one second over their in-club competition from ASRA.

On the boys’ side, the Open Novice Quad of John Forbes, Rory Trythall,, Hugo Lefort, Finlay McDougall, coxed by Eric R Renwick won their event by 40 seconds over the second placed opposition from Heriot Watt University. In Division 2 the Open J14 Quad, comprising Iain Petty, Luke McMorris, Luke Renwick and Gavin Pedrog, coxed by Jennifer Ellis won their event in an impressive manner over their opposition from within ASRA. The Women’s Novice Quad of Emily Johnston, Grace Watt, Gabrielle Topp and Lily Arthur, coxed by Ines De Kock won their event against their senior competition from Heriot Watt University and University Rowing Aberdeen.

On Sunday the weather took a turn and proved to be very challenging conditions for the small boats racing. In Division 1 Murray Bone raced to victory in the Open J18 Sculls, coming second overall in the division. Freya Hughson and Ella Brooks won Women’s J18 Pairs impressively by over a minute across the course. For the first time in a few years ASRA fielded two J15 Octuples to race each other at Aberdeen HOR and victory went to the octuple comprising Luke McMorris, Gavin Pedrog, Luke Renwick, Rory Trythall, Lottie Meakins, Grace Watt, Cara Freeman, and Jennifer Ellis, coxed by Lily Arthur. In Women’s Novice Doubles, Gabrielle Topp and Emily Johnson won their event over their in-club competition from ASRA. Honourable mention in Division 1 goes to Artur Tadjiev who raced his very first singles race into the tough headwind after only having been in a single a handful of times and finished the whole course. In Division 2 Murray Bone and Magnus Heidenreich won their J18 Pair, beating the first placed senior Open Pair from St Andrews University by an impressive 13 seconds. Women’s J18 Singles was similarly won by Freya Hughson, who also came up victorious over the winner of Women’s Open Singles from Aberdeen Boat Club. Open Novice Doubles was won by Henrik Gunderson and Samuel Cordiner in a very neat looking show of sculling. Women’s Novice Sculls was won by Gabrielle Topp, while Open J16 Single Sculls was won in style by J14 ASRA Sculler Iain Petty. To top the day off, Open J14 Double Sculls was won by Luke McMorris and Sandy Bain.

Well done to all the rowers who took part in the racing on both days!

On the 8^th October, ASRA journeyed South to the River Tees in the North of England for the club’s first Head of the River Races of the season. A group of our more experienced athletes competed over a 5km stretch on a tricky winding course in both the Long Distance Sculls in the morning and Tees Head of the River in the afternoon.

In the Tees Long Distance Sculls,  the J17 and 18s competed in single sculls with several athletes coming away with the win in their categories. On the girls’ side Freya Hughson put in an impressive performance in her Band 2 WJ18 1x to take the gold, beating every single other junior and senior women’s sculler across the division.  Penny Irvine picked herself up a gold medal in the single in Band 2 WJ17 1x and Gabrielle Topp and Lily Arthur also brilliantly raced their way to gold in their WJ15 2x class. The boys were not to be outdone, however, and put in some equally impressive performances in the morning. Most notably, Magnus Heidenreich raced his way to winning Band 1 OJ17 1x, coming in as the quickest Junior sculler of the day and only 1.9 seconds behind the winning open Senior sculler. Sam Docherty and Harris Pearce also put in impressive rows to win gold medals in Band 1 OJ18 1x and Band 2 OJ17 1x respectively.

In the afternoon at the Tees Small Boats Head of the River, the boys once again pulled it out of the bag. Harris Pearce, Sam Docherty, Magnus Heidenreich and Murray Bone, coxed by Samuel Cordiner won the Open 4+, coming in quicker than every senior coxless four in the division as well as coxed. The older girls were also out in coxed fours, this time in matched fours in an all-ASRA event. Freya Hughson, Penny Irvine, Ella Johnson, and Anna Donald, coxed by Lily Arthur won WJ18 4+ ahead of the other two ASRA fours competing in the division. Notable mentions from Division 2 at the Small Boats Head are Lottie Meakins and Iain Petty who both raced the whole 5km in their J14 single sculls and unfortunately had no competition come out against either of them.  Well done to everyone who competed across the whole day, a really good showing from ASRA across all of the boats!

Congratulations to the composite schools team of Harris Pearce (Portlethen Academy), Emily Simpson (Hazlehead Academy), Gabrielle Topp (Kemnay Academy), Sophie Sinclair (Westhill Academy), and Team Captain Christy Probart (Banchory Academy), who won the Elliot Cup on Saturday 3rd September with an impressive undefeated run through the day to collect 18 points - a lead of 4 points over the second placed team from Aberdeen Grammar School.

Our exceptional beginner athletes made such good progress over summer this year that they mixed into our existing members’ school teams. The Inter Schools Trophy was won by the Aberdeen Grammar School with beginner Cara Freeman competing in the crew.

Well done to all of the athletes who came along and joined in, a great fun day had by all!

On Saturday 27 August the last of the 2021-22 season’s regattas played out on a sparkling River Dee – the Aberdeen Sprint Regatta.  A full day of side-by-side racing was enjoyed with plenty of close finishes and it was great to see junior athletes coming in from Inverness and Stirling for the event.

There were ASRA wins for the following:

• Open Junior 15 coxed quadruple sculls – Callum Sherwood, John Forbes, Ian Petty & Rory Trythall coxed by Sam Cordiner
• Open Junior 16 single sculls – Henrik Gundersen
• Women’s R2 coxed fours – Freya Hughson, Rosie Wilson, Gemma Collins & Ella Brooks coxed by Lily Arthur
• Women’s Junior 16 double sculls – Sophie Sinclair & Gabrielle Topp
• Women’s Novice single sculls – Gabrielle Topp
• Mixed coxed eights – Murray Bone, Sam Doherty, Freya Hughson, Rosie Wilson, Charlotte Arthur, Tamara Brew, Henrik Gundersen & Sophia Brew coxed by Sam Cordiner

ASRA were also the winners of the Victor Ludorum – largely due to the points awarded for being the winners and losing finalists in the Mixed Coxed Eights event.  This was a brilliant spectacle as both crews charged down the river with only a quarter of a length separating them at the line.

While the rest of the club were enjoying success at the British Championships and rowing for Scotland at the Home International Regatta, Maisie Aspinall and Zoe Beeson were at Caversham training for the U19 World Rowing Championships. The girls both trained and competed in the top selected junior women’s sweep boat on the GB team - the JW 4-. They were selected alongside Issie M from Headington School in Oxford, and fellow Scot Amy N from George Heriots School in Edinburgh. The four girls trained for 10 days, coached by ASRA Development Coach Holly Reid, at the home of GB Rowing in Caversham before flying out to Lake Varese in Northern Italy to race. The competition in the event at Varese proved to be fierce and the 4- found it a tough battle through the repechage to make it to the A-Final. The GB 4- finished 6th in the A Final, with all three medalling crews breaking the world’s best time in the blisteringly quick event. It was overall a fantastic experience that both Maisie and Zoe can take lots of lessons from as they head off to university and on to u23 and senior racing.

There were also two ASRA FPs racing at the u23 World Championships; Abigail Topp in the U23 W8+ and Miles Beeson in the U23 M4-. Abigail was racing at the U23 level for the first time and won a fantastic silver medal sitting in the bow seat of the eight. Miles secured himself his second U23 Gold medal in a row, this time competing in the two seat of the 4- in an impressive A Final performance on the Saturday of racing.

A very successful international trip for all ASRA athletes, coaches and FPs!

On the 23rd July, competitors from Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales came together at a sunny Royal Albert Dock in London, to compete in the 54th Home International Rowing Regatta. A total of nine athletes from ASRA were selected as part of the junior men’s and women’s sweep teams. The ASRA athletes headed south full of enthusiasm and confidence, following their recent successes at the British Junior Rowing Championships.

The girls JW4- of Freya Hughson, Rosie Wilson, Gemma Collins & Ella Brooks were racing together for a final time, before Rosie and Gemma head off to university later this summer. They began the day with a strong performance, pushing the English crew all the way to the line, to finish a close second. They then joined forces with girls from 3 other Scottish clubs to compete in the JW8+. They fought hard over the 2000m course; however they were again just pipped to the line by an excellent English crew.

It was then time for the boys JM4+ of Harris Pearce, Magnus Heidenreich, Murray Bone, Samuel Doherty & cox Samuel Cordiner to take to the water. The boys raced hard to earn a third place ahead of the Welsh. Still a relatively young crew, they couldn’t quite keep in touch with the blistering pace set by the more experienced English and Irish crews. Great experience however for next year, where they will undoubtedly come back stronger, wiser and faster. They boys also paired up with other Scottish athletes to race in the JM8+ where they took another well-earned third place.

The day’s racing culminated in a series of new sprint races, introduced for the first time at this year’s event. Despite some initial reservations, this new race format provided some fast and furious racing in both eights and quads. This was thoroughly enjoyed by many spectators, including a significant ASRA contingent, who had lined the length of the course to scream on the crews. Both the Boys and Girls eights powered their way down the course to finish a very close second behind the English. A great way to end a brilliant day, where the ASRA athletes did their country, ASRA and themselves proud.

Bring on next session!

Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association joined the best of the UK’s junior rowers at The English National Watersports Centre (Nottingham) last weekend for the 2022 British Rowing Junior Championships. The hot weather and intense competition turned the 2000m lake to a cauldron as crews progressed from Time Trials to a series of closely fought, side-by-side finals, ranked on their times. The ASRA crews raced strongly and recorded the following results to make them the most successful Scottish club at this premier event.

Gold Medals

• Open Junior 16 Coxed Four – Harris Pearce, Magnus Heidenreich, Gregor MacLeod & Magnus Lawson, coxed by Lily Arthur.
• Women’s Junior 18 Coxless Four – Freya Hughson, Rosie Wilson, Gemma Collins & Ella Brooks

Bronze Medals

• Women’s Junior 14 Single Sculls – Gabrielle Topp
• Open Junior 18 Coxless Four – Murray Bone, Sam Doherty, William Lawson & Christy Probart

Other notable performances

• Open Junior 14 Single Sculls – John Forbes – 1st in the D Final
• Open Junior 15 Single Sculls – Callum Sherwood – 2nd in the B Final
• Women’s Junior 16 Quadruple Sculls – Charlotte Arthur, Emily Simpson, Sophie Sinclair & Ella Johnston – 3rd in the B final
• Women’s Junior 16 Coxed Four – Maggie Seward, Tamara Brew, Isla Petty & Anna Donald, coxed by Erin Gibson – 6th in the A final
• Open Junior 16 Double Sculls – Callum Sherwood & Henrik Gundersen – 3rd in the D Final
• Women’s Junior 18 Coxless Pair – Freya Cummine & Sophia Brew – 4th in the B final

On Thursday 7th July , after an enforced break since 2019, the GB Rowing Team selected a full- strength team to race at the Olympic venue of Vaires sur Marne for the 40th edition of the GB v France J16 Match and following their outstanding performance at the GB J16 selection trials at Nottingham on the 26. June, ASRA ‘s J16 girls – Maggie Seward, Charlotte Arthur, Tamara Brew & Emily Simpson – were selected to form the eight along with Andrea Isla-Pujoi, Phoebe Williams, Steffi Brewer and Leah Farquharson from Surbiton High School.

On the day, despite their best efforts, the French eight proved too strong for the British composite, but, as Peter Sheppard, Deputy Director of Olympic Highways said:

“The GB v France J16 Match is the first step on British Rowing’s Olympic Performance Pathway and gives athletes the opportunity to represent their country and experience a pre-competition camp, team travel and international competition”

Congratulations to the girls and the ASRA coaching team.

From the 17th to the 19th June, 3 crews from the Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association joined 2000 athletes from all over Britain and beyond to take part in the annual Henley Women’s Regatta, held on a 1500 metre course on the Thames from Temple Island to the Remenham Club.

All three crews emerged successfully from the time trials to take their place in the fierce side-by-side stages of the competition for the West End Amateur Rowing Association Trophy for Women’ Junior 16 Coxed Fours and the Groton School Challenge Cup for Women’s Junior 18 Coxed Fours.

Our Junior 16 girls – Teresa Brew, Emily Simpson, Charlotte Arthur and Maggie Seward, coxed by Sam Cordiner - were unfortunate to come up against one of the top seeded crews in the first round, but put up a tremendous fighting display against the girls of Headington School and only lost out to them in the end by a second in a photo finish.

Our Junior 18 Girls “B” crew- Sophia Brew, Ella Brooks, Freya Cummine , Gemma Collins, coxed by Rory Trythall - suffered a similar fate and were bettered in their first round by the very experienced local girls from Henley Rowing Club.

It was a rather different story however for our formidable Junior 18 “A” crew, where Rosie Wilson and Freya Hughson and cox Lily Arthur joined forces with our GB golden girls from Munich, Maisie Aspinall and Zoe Beeson. By virtue of their first place in the time trial they were awarded a bye into the quarter final, where they proved too strong for a feisty Clydesdale/ Molesey BC composite and in the semi-final they beat a strong four from Lady Eleanor Holles School by 2 ½ lengths to set up an all Scottish final against the National Rowing Academy select from Glasgow Academy, George Watson’s College, George Heriot’s School and St Andrew Boat Club. There they not only won by a handsome 4 ¾ lengths, but beat the course record for Junior Coxed Fours by two seconds to win in a time of 5 minutes and 20 seconds.

Aberdeen rowing cognoscenti will be aware this is in fact the second time that ASRA has won the prestigious Groton Challenge Cup. Back in the 2012 HWR final , Holly Reid – now ASRA’s Development Coach - crewed with Morven Shaw, Emily Geddes, Christie Duff and cox Charlotte Davie to beat the American girls from the Merion Mercy Academy to bring back the trophy to Aberdeen.

Another successful year at the 2022 Scottish Rowing Championships has come and gone for ASRA with plenty of gold and silver medals collected across the two days. ASRA won ten golds and nine silvers over the weekend with some outstanding performances across the board! One notable and particularly exciting event was the women’s pairs where ASRA athletes won gold and silver in Women’s Junior 18 Pairs, silver in Women’s Junior 16 pairs, and then also made it a double by winning gold in Women’s Open Pairs by just 0.03 seconds over Edinburgh University. Another notable performance was from Callum Sherwood in his OJ15 1x who has been taking every opportunity to get out in his single over study leave and his hard work paid off in gold. Victories come in all shapes and sizes, however, and a special mention has to go to Lottie Meekins and Grace Watt who raced some fantastic races in their singles, despite only having been out in a single once before!

Massive thank you to all the drivers and parent helpers that make sure that we can get to and from regattas, and keep kids (and coaches!) sun-creamed up, hydrated and fed! Well done to all the athletes that raced at the weekend, a lot of hard fought and well-deserved medals! Full list of medals below:

GOLD:

• WJ18 8+ (Sophia Brew, Ella Brooks, Freya Cummine, Gemma Collins, Rosie Wilson, Freya Hughson, Maisie Aspinall, Zoe Beeson, cox Lily Arthur
• OJ18 8+ (Christy Probart, Gregor Macleod, Harris Pearce, Magnus Heidenreich, Magnus Lawson, William Lawson, Sam Doherty, Murray Bone, cox Sam Cordiner)
• WJ18 4- (Rosie Wilson, Freya Hughson, Maisie Aspinall, Zoe Beeson)
• WJ18 4+ (Rosie Wilson, Freya Hughson, Maisie Aspinall, Zoe Beeson, cox Lily Arthur)
• WJ18 2- (Maisie Aspinall, Zoe Beeson)
• WO 2- (Maisie Aspinall, Zoe Beeson)
• WJ16 4- (Maggie Seward, Tamara Brew, Emily Simpson, Charlotte Arthur)
• OJ16 2- (Harris Pearce, Magnus Heidenreich)
• OJ15 1x (Callum Sherwood)
• WJ15 1x (Gabrielle Topp)

SILVER/SECOND:

• OJ15 2x (Callum Sherwood, Jack Winton)
• WJ18 2- (Rosie Wilson, Freya Hughson)
• WJ16 2- (Charlotte Arthur, Emily Simpson)
• WJ14 1x (Gabrielle Topp)
• OJ14 4x+ (John Forbes, Rory Trythall, Iain Petty, Luke McMorris, cox Ella Johnson)
• OJ15 4x+ (Callum Sherwood, Jack Winton, Mackenzie Reid, John Forbes, cox Rory Trythall)
• WJ16 4+ (Maggie Seward, Charlotte Arthur, Tamara Brew, Emily Simpson, cox Rory Trythall)
• OJ18 4- (Murray Bone, Sam Doherty, William Lawson, Christy Probart)