Dover Rowing Club held their annual Dinner & Dance, which included the end of season awards, at the Holiday Inn Dover.

Talented junior rower Ella Cook was awarded the Most Improved Junior and the Best Performance of the Year awards. This season Cook progressed into the adult squad performing well as a novice. Cook’s first race saw her win with a Novice Four crew for which she won the Best Performance Award.

The Club Rower’s Rower, voted for by the membership, was Will Coleman the club’s new captain for his performance during the season and support for the development of the members.

The Most Improved Rowers awards went to Emily Harvey for taking her first CARA win in the Novice category as well as her excellent progression with her sculling, for which she received the light hearted ‘Tears to Cheers’ award. Chris Wong received the men’s award for his continuous improvement in training.

Damion Napier received the Club Person of the Year award. Damion has been involved in dealing with some challenging work as part of the Club committee and supported members over the season.

Freya Emmerson won Coxswain of the Year for her coxing and coaching during training.

Janice Bradford received the Role Model of the Year Award for endless enthusiasm and encouragement for all those around her.

Cameron Mackintosh was awarded Novice Sculler of the Year. Mackintosh progressed from Novice to Junior during the season through his determined effort to improve after a series of second place results.

Tom Stothart received the Teamwork award for his organisation of the Learn to Row course and open days, and his coaching through the season.

Outgoing Captain Maria West-Burrows gave the Captain’s award to her partner Tony Burrows.

Further light hearted awards were issued to Holly Hannington for the ‘Most Epic Crab’ when racing at Southampton, Nikki Leggatt the ‘Better Late Than Never Award’, Kira Roberts for ‘Best Cheerer of the Year’, Mackintosh, Eddie Briggs, Napier and Wong the ‘Most Likely to Need a Life Jacket’, ‘Best Choir’ was presented to Hollie and Rhiannon Castree, Holly Young, Erin and Orla Sanders, and Anna Gordon received the ‘Best Dressed Rower’.

Thanks go to Emily Harvey for organising the event, Jacky Silk for preparing the awards, Damion Napier for providing equipment and the staff at the Holiday Inn for a lovely evening.

Dover Rowing Club held their end of season prize giving, following a successful season. Dover members this season have won titles at the South Coast Championships and the British Offshore Championships, with others competing at Henley Royal Regatta. The Woman’s Novice Four winners, Emily Harvey, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington, Janice Bradford coxed by Will Colman, were formally presented with their South Coast Championship trophy which was absent at the event itself. The Junior Senior Men’s Four winners Will Colman, Jasper Mallett, Sebastian Steele, Cameron Macintosh coxed by Ella Cook were also in attendance to receive their individual awards.

Captain Maria West-Burrows thanked Club Secretary Jacky Silk for all the fantastic work she does for the club, Tony Burrows trailer towing and along with Steve Woods, Will Coleman and Nick Bailey for their work on boat maintenance and David Newman for press reports.

Club awards went to Zara White and Janice Bradford as joint winners of the Most Improved Female Rower. White received the award for her continued improvement, whilst Bradford, who joined during the season, brought an abundance of enthusiasm and a competitive attitude to help propel her crew to the South Coast Championship title. Duncan Taylor was awarded the Men’s Most Improved Rower for his continuous improvement and hard work. The Most Improved Junior went to Josh Grassby, from what is a strong group of younger rowers at the club. Coxswain of the year and the ‘Rowers Rower’ awards both went to Will Coleman for his hard work within the club and the willingness to cox whenever available. Jacky Silk was the easy choice for Club Person of the Year for all the behind the scenes work she carries out to keep the club progressing forward. The final Captain’s Award went to Oliver White, Sonny Hart, Henry Cox and Artie Everington-Nee who make up the club’s J14 crew, which West-Burrows has enjoyed coaching and coxing throughout the season.

Dover Rowing Club were in winning action in the 66th South Coast Championships held at Folkestone Rowing Club over a straight 2km course running from Princes Parade car park to Sandgate Castle. The event is the coming together of three divisions of coastal rowing, featuring 38 clubs from Kent to Cornwall. Conditions were generally good, with sections of the course becoming rough through the day.

The Men’s Open Junior / Senior Four crew of Cameron Mackintosh, Will Coleman, Sebastian Steele, Jasper Mallet was coxed by Ella Cook. The nature of the race timings had meant that Dover needed to deploy more coxes than normal and this was her first time coxing a race. Dover had a great start and were half a length up on Herne Bay within a few hundred metres. With Herne Bay’s bowman level with Mallet in the stroke seat, the crews charged down the course. As they passed the Club House, Herne Bay moved up the side of Dover’s boat but Dover reacted and regained their half a length lead. This effectively broke Herne Bay and allowed Dover to secure the win at the line.
In the Women’s Invitation Novice Fours, Dover’s crew of Janice Bradford, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington, Emily Harvey coxed by Coleman had a strong start and were in the mix with the leading crews. The race developed into a battle between Dover and Eastbourne with Dover taking the lead through the middle 1000m. From the shore it appeared a tight race coming past the club house with Dover a little up. As the last 20 strokes were laid down Dover pulled clear by over a length.

The Boys U14 Quad Sculls featuring Oliver White, Henry Cox, Sonny Hart, Artie Everington-Nee and coxed by Maria West-Burrows, raced over a 1km course. There was a tight start with all crews starting well. Dover moved into second as the race progressed but were unable to close down the leaders, finishing as runners up in the event. The result showed the hard work that the young boys have been putting in.
Ella Cook was a late call up to row with Plymouth in the Girls U16 Quad Sculls and adjusting to a new crew was challenging. They came home second in the heat and fifth in the final.
The Boys U16 Quad Sculls of Josh Grassby, Ben Fagg, Bo Corby, Beau Everington-Nee coxed by Mallet raced in heat 1. The crew unfortunately ‘caught a crab’ which damaged the rigger during the race. Despite the impact of this damage they battled on and came home an impressive fifth. In heat 2, Dover’s Tom Gold rowed with a Southsea crew who just missed out on the final coming home in fourth.
In the Women’s Open Junior Fours heat 1, Freya Emmerson, Leggatt, Hannington, Harvey coxed by first time cox Beau Everington-Nee got a good start and moved into a qualifying place through the mid section of the race. As they passed the club house, they were comfortably second securing a finals place.
In heat 2, Marie Cockerell, Emma Mansell, West-Burrows, Emmeline McArdle coxed by Sara Scrivens struggled to break into the qualifying places. Mansell had been a late replacement due to illness in the regular crew. Despite fighting hard the crew came home in fifth.

The Woman’s Junior final came straight after the Novice win with Leggatt, Hannington and Harvey coming to shore to swap Emmerson into the boat before rowing to the start, with Coleman coxing. Although the less than ideal timing led to a greater challenge for the crew, they pushed hard through the first half of the race. They were unable to challenge at the finish, coming home sixth.
The Masters Open 40+ Fours of Jon Cook, Bradford, Heather Corby, Nick Bailey coxed by Coleman found their final challenging. Off the pace they had fallen to sixth place at the halfway point and could not improve their position at the line.
Dover’s excellent performance left them second in the regatta’s overall aggregate behind Southampton Coalporters.

The Club would like to thank Dover’s Jacky Silk, the Event Secretary, who had many late nights helping to organise the event with Folkestone RC and the SCC event committee and all the umpires and officials that made the event possible.

Dover Rowing Club had two rowers involved in the British Offshore Championships held at Exmouth, Devon. Experienced offshore rower Maria West-Burrows was in a new partnership with Saffron Walmsley-Preece in the women’s doubles event.

The offshores differ from Dover’s normal CARA competitions which hug the coastline over 2 km course. The race featured a 6 km course starting from the beach and moving directly out to sea with 9 turns to negotiate.

The Dover crew were in lane 3 and were third off the start. Coming to the crucial first turn Dover had the racing line but were hit by Carrick’s crew who came in too shallow and hit the buoy stopping both crews. As the boats separated there was frustration as other crews passed them. Moving to the second buoy Dover avoided a second crash as Carrick again steered into another crew. Now clear, the two rowers started hunting down the crews ahead of them, overhauling Jersey between turns 3 and 4. Through turns 5 to 7 the rough conditions saw a lot of pulling on the rower’s left side to maintain their course as they battled the wind and waves. This made it challenging to close on the leading crews. As Dover’s crew turned for the run home, they were unable to improve on the fifth place, finishing in a time of 41 minutes 2.1 seconds
Better luck at the first turn would have delivered a higher finish and West-Burrows and Walmsley-Preece can console themselves that they made the qualifying standard for the World Offshore Championship should they wish to enter.

Dover Rowing Club had a successful regatta at Deal. Dover’s first win came in the J16 Men’s Quad Sculls which featured two crews. Josh Grassby, Bo Corby, Ben Fagg, Beau Everington-Nee coxed by Jasper Mallet raced against club mates Oliver White, Henry Cox, Sonny Hart, Artie Everington-Nee coxed by Freya Emmerson. Mallet’s crew got the better start on the outside of the course and were able to push out to a lead gradually moving ahead of the field, taking the win with a length at the finish. Emmerson’s’s crew of younger rowers worked hard through the race coming home fifth.
Novice Men’s Sculls had Cameron Mackintosh seeking his first win after coming in second previously. A good start had Mackintosh in the leading group through the first turn starting to gain separation through the second turn. He was able to gain on the chasing scullers and secured his first novice win.

The Novice Ladies crew have been steadily improving this season coming second at Herne Bay. The crew of Janice Bradford, Lee-Anne Finnis, Holly Hannington, Nikki Leggatt coxed by Will Coleman moved well off the start and were pushing for the lead. Through the turns they established a lead and continued to work well through to the second buoy, which they exited in first place. A strong charge to the line secured the victory. The two novice victories also secured the overall Novice Aggregate Trophy.
The mixed J14 Quad Sculls had White, Cox, Ella Cook, A Everington-Nee coxed by Freya Emmerson chasing Herne Bay down the course coming home in second.
The Men’s Junior-Senior crew of Mackintosh, Coleman, Sebastian Steele, Mallet coxed by Emmerson had a good start slotting into second place but were unable to close down the leading crew through the first turn. The crew would secure their second place at the line.
Women’s Masters 40+ Four featuring Bradford, Finnis, Natalie Harvey King, Leggatt coxed by Emmerson had a good race in this new event. A slower start saw the crew chase the field as they headed for the turns. Turning in fourth the crew pushed hard but were unable to improve their position at the line.
Senior Men’s crew of Jon Cook, Nick Bailey, Mackintosh, Mallet with Emmerson at cox had a good race coming home with points in fourth place.
Junior Sculls saw Mallet came home in fifth. Bradford, Leggatt, Hannington, Emmerson coxed by Coleman finished 6th in the Junior Women’s Fours.

Dover Rowing Club were in action in the rain and rough water at Herne Bay regatta at the weekend.
The Novice Womens Four saw two crews competing. Janice Bradford, Nikki Leggatt, Holly Hannington, Emily Harvey coxed by Will Coleman raced against Amanda Punton, Kaz Morrison, Izzy Balwin. Canelle Ulyatt coxed by Freya Emmerson. The Coleman crew got the better start seeing them in a three way battle for the lead with Southsea and Herne Bay. Through the turns Coleman’s crew was in second place. They secured second place at the line with Emmerson’s crew coming in eighth.

The J14 Quad race had Henry Cox, Ella Cook, Sonny Hart and Southsea’s T Stearne coxed by Maria West-Burrows. In the straight 1000m race the young Dover crew got a slower start and had to move through the field. Moving into third they found the Herne Bay crew moving across their bow. Good coxing avoided a collision as the faster moving Dover crew came inside and moved through Herne Bay into second. Dover’s crew could now no longer catch the leading crew taking second place at the line. The J16 Quad featured the Dover J14 contingent with Tom Gold making the crew up. Their race didn’t go to plan with one of the young rowers getting injured leaving the crew to come home sixth.

In the Open Masters 40+ West-Burrows, Marie Cockerell, Nick Bailey, Jon Cook were coxed by Tony Burrows. The veterans got a good start and were pushing the leading crews. Out of the turns the crew were in third which they held at the line.
The Woman’s Junior Four had heats to qualify for the final. Dover had two crews and in heat one Emmerson, Leggatt, Hannington, Harvey coxed by Coleman rowed well to qualify for the final. In heat two Cockerell, Emmaline McArdle, West-Burrows, Ella Day coxed by Burrows eased through to the final in third place. The final had rougher conditions with the Burrows crew in the more difficult outer lane. Burrows moved in shore after the turns but was unable to improve beyond fifth. Coleman’s crew, with Hannington replaced by Bradford due to injury, come home ninth.
The Men’s Senior Four had Cook, Colman, Chris Hall, Tom Stothart coxed by Emmerson battling the fastest crews on the coast. A good start saw the crew in contention on the outward leg but they found the going tough on the return leg coming home in fifth.

Stothart competed in Senior Sculls where he started well but soon found himself rowing for points coming home sixth.
The Men’s Junior Four Mike Simmons, Duncan Taylor, Kevin Ulyatt, Brendon Ulyatt with a cox provided by Folkestone, had a great start but were slowly overhauled by the other crews as the race progressed. Dover’s crew would narrowly miss out on points coming home seventh.

Henley Royal Regatta saw Dover Rowing Club represented by Chris Hall and Max Arkell. Henley is the largest annual rowing event in the UK, with crews from all over the world competing.
Chris Hall, a long term DRC member, had the misfortune when captaining Southampton University in 2021, of qualifying but being unable to compete due to injury. Hall has joined a small Dover cohort this season at Vesta Rowing Club and qualified for Henley as part of Vesta B M8 in the Thames Challenge Club, rowing in the four seat.
Vesta B were drawn against Cambridge 99. The start was the key to 2112m race with Cambridge getting the better, by Fawley, Vesta were down by a little over a length. With both crews pushing hard Vesta were closing at the enclosures where they were cheered on by Dover’s travelling support Tom Stothart, Jasper Mallet and David Newman. Hall’s crew gained an overlap and closed hard on Cambridge but were short at the line.

Max Arkell, who was part of the 2022 Dover Squad, was competing in the coxed four Brittania Cup against Royal Chester. Vesta had the best of the start and were leading through Fawley, pushing for a length lead. As the two crews hit the enclosures the Chester crew were pushing and Arkell’s boat was under pressure, by Stewards Chester had moved ahead taking a tough win.