Strathclyde Rowing Club enjoy success Scottish Championships

Jun 20 2012 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

STRATHCLYDE Rowing Club members enjoyed success last weekend at the Scottish Rowing Championships, the season’s showpiece event.

With places for the Home International Regatta in July also up for grabs, competition at Strathclyde Park was intense in a number of the key categories.

Local rower Jennifer Ord (13) produced an excellent performance in the Junior under-13 single sculls to become the youngest Scottish champion during the weekend.

There was also a healthy number of winners from Strathclyde at under-15, under-16 and under-18 level and the most senior member of the club, Tom Hewitt, won both the Veteran Pairs and Veteran Double Sculls events.

For the first time, the club were able to enter a crew from Dalziel High School in the Junior Men’s Quadruple Sculls and Double Sculls events.

Although not winners, they did their school proud as they competed for Scottish Schools medals.

Jan Meinicke was one of the most successful athletes from the club over the weekend as he claimed the Scottish Schools prize and Scottish Championship title in the Junior under-15 single sculls.

He also joined up with clubmate Fraser Kerr to win the Junior under-15 double sculls.

The pair then teamed up with two members of Clydesdale Rowing Club to win both the Junior under-15 coxed quads and the Junior under-16 coxless quads.

Meinicke also came second in the Junior under-16 single sculls, which was won by fellow Strathclyde member Calum Michael.

Michael was second in the Junior under-18 double sculls with partner John Dunse.

He also secured silver in the Junior under-16 double sculls with Fraser Kerr and a gold medal in the Junior under-18 quadruple sculls with Dunse, Graham Ord and Tom Claxton (Loch Lomond).

These results, coupled with the third places earned by Graham and Tom in the Junior 18 double sculls and coxless pairs, have earned them and Dunse provisional selection for Scotland’s Home International Regatta squad next month in Cardiff.

Also provisionally selected from the club’s senior ranks is captain Natalie Irvine after securing a superb win in the Women’s Double Sculls with Gillian Connal, and second place in the Women’s Coxless Pairs with Clydesdale’s Rosie Young.

Irvine also stroked Strathclyde’s winning quadruple scull (including Gillian Connal, Hazel Gaddis and Ailie Ord) to their third year of success in the event.

Connal and Ord were third in the Open Pairs which secured an invite to a further trial for places in the coxed four alongside Irvine, who has the only guaranteed seat.

The trial will take place later this month.

William McLean finished off a great season by winning the Scottish Championships Novice Single Sculls after battling through three rounds of racing.

McLean and Martin McGovern also came through three rounds to claim silver in the Novice Double Sculls.

Meanwhile, the club would like to thank Henley Stewards Charitable Trust Coach Jeff Roche, whose two-year funded term at Strathclyde comes to an end soon.

A spokeswoman said: “The Junior section has benefited hugely from his input, enthusiasm and technical skills over the last two years and we will miss him greatly, as indeed will Scottish Rowing, with whom he has been very much involved in many coaching activities during his time here.

“The club, however, have a great team of coaches for the younger members who will continue on with the good work Jeff has done.”

- Anyone interested in joining Strathclyde Park Rowing Club should go to www.sp-rc.co.uk for more information.