Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club hosted the Isle of Wight Rowing Forum’s Indoor Rowing Championships on Sunday (16th November), attracting strong junior and masters entries from across the Island.
The event featured races from school Year 7 through to Masters, with Shanklin, Ryde, Newport and other Island clubs fielding a broad spread of competitors.
One of the standout performances came in the Year 12–13 Boys race, where Ryde’s Charlie Watts won in a time of 6:36 over 2000m — the fastest 2k recorded at the championships. Shanklin’s Isaac King also impressed with a strong runner-up finish, while Lars Groothuis placed 3rd in 7:10.
Shanklin’s success continued elsewhere, with Simon Nevitt taking victory in his men’s Masters category, and a hard-fought 60+ race seeing Gary Burch narrowly edge clubmate Paul Gamble in the closest finish of the day.
Ryde athletes featured strongly across the programme. In the youngest races, Year 7 Girls saw Shanklin’s Taylor Speedie take the win ahead of Ryde’s Rosie Morris, who covered 443m to secure 2nd place. The Year 8 Boys event was won by Evan Back, while Ryde’s Harry Watts finished 2nd in the combined Year 8–9 race with 919m.
In the Year 11 categories, Ryde’s Cameron D’Arcy secured victory in the Girls and Boys event with 1685m in 6 minutes, followed by teammate Max Locke in 2nd with 1565m.
There was strong competition in the Year 12–13 Girls event, where Ryde’s Alexis Owen won over 2000m in 8:16, with clubmate Emily Kellerman taking 3rd in 8:28.
In the women’s Masters races, Ryde’s Fiona Owen produced a winning 2000m time of 7:51, while Newport’s Julie Clarke also claimed success in her category.
All Ryde competitors finished inside the medal positions, while Shanklin enjoyed multiple wins across junior and masters divisions, reflecting a competitive and well-supported championship for clubs across the Island.
