Four members of Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club’s masters squad travelled to Nottingham last weekend to compete against some of the country’s most experienced athletes at the British Rowing Masters Championships.
Held at the National Watersports Centre, the competition saw several of the Island rowers experience a multi-lane course and stakeboats for the first time, with encouraging performances recorded across the weekend.
Saturday’s racing took place in difficult conditions, with strong winds testing competitors throughout the day.
Simon Nevitt opened proceedings in the Open C Sculls event, finishing 5th in his heat. Gary Burch and Paul Gamble then joined forces in the Open E double sculls, placing 4th in their heat and narrowly missing out on a place in the final.
Gary later returned to compete in his single scull, improving on his time from last year’s championships by 5 seconds. Paul then partnered Stella Gamble in the Mixed F double sculls, with the pair finishing 5th in a competitive field.
The day concluded with Simon racing as part of a composite mixed 4 alongside rowers from Lymington Rowing Club. The crew finished runners-up in their final, missing out on victory by just 0.23 seconds.
Conditions improved on Sunday, with calm water providing a more favourable racing environment.
Simon teamed up with Will Gillo of Lymington Rowing Club in the Open Intermediate 36+ double sculls event, securing an impressive bronze medal despite having rowed together only once previously.
Paul and Stella Gamble returned to the water in the Mixed Intermediate 50+ double sculls, recording a 4th-place finish.
Garry Walters, Club Captain at Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club, has said:
“It was great to have double the number of athletes competing at this year’s event.
“We competed last year for the first time, and it’s been great to see development across all crews this year. Everyone enjoyed the experience, and we now look forward to returning to this event next year.”
