Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club Junior squad returned to the iconic Olympic Venue of Dorney Lake, for the annual Ball Cup South Regatta on Sunday, taking a record-breaking clutch of 4 gold and 3 silver medals.
Gold winning performances came from Connie Batley-Smith in both the J14 and J15 single sculls (1x) and with Olivia Mumberson in the 2x, crossing the line with impressive margins over the rest of the field. Also teaming up to claim Gold in a tight race were Josh Batchelor and Alex Collier in the J13 2x final, a particularly impressive achievement with Alex making his competitive debut at this event.
Silvers were won by Josh Batchelor in the J13 1x in the closest finish of the regatta, with Rose Collier teaming up with Annabelle Steward once again in the J15 2x and then Lottie Pettit in the J16 final, to finish close seconds in both.
Digby Ridgwell made his single sculling debut, winning his heat in superb style by a considerable margin. Frustratingly, his time wasn’t quite quick enough to get to the final. Teaming up, however, with Alex Collier in the J14 2x they enjoyed an excellent row to qualify for the final.
In the senior J16/18 events, Shanklin athletes faced stiff inland experienced athletes. Evie Crew and Theodora Travers competed in the 2x and Lottie Pettit in the 1x, producing strong performances in the heats but did not qualify for the final.
Club Captain Garry Walters was delighted with the squad and also received great feedback from the organisers on the quality and helpfulness of those SSRC Juniors who volunteered to help in the running of the regatta by running the starting stakeboats.
Shanklin Junior crews now focus on the Junior events staged at some Hants and Dorset regattas, alongside the British Championships in July.
