Doubles Marathon 2011

After all the hard work throughout the season & the ebb & flow of our Club's success in chasing after the Ormiston Trophy, it all came down to the final race of the season - The SRA Doubles Marathon hosted at TVSC. We had seen our lead over DSPC dwindle to 5 points leaving it too close to call on who would become he ultimate victors. It's fair to say that a lot of sleepless nights were suffered in the lead up to the race by those taking part as well as for myself. Had the right combination of crews been selected across the categories? Only time would tell.

Everyone was totally committed to producing their best performance on the day & you could sense how tense everyone was before the start. It was already clear from the draw that DSPC had an uncontested win in the Ladies Seniors & it was hoped that TVSC would secure the Gents Seniors but beyond that there were still 6 more points to be earned, from which we had to secure 2 to win the trophy.

Keith Shore with David Hudson from Valley, coxed by Hilary Shore, led our crews from the Gents Veterans Open class, together with Roger Hughes, Michael Westropp & cox Lilli Burridge-Payne. Keith, David & Hilary came a very creditable second & hope now lay with seeing Caroline Matthews, Lesley Russell & cox Toni Weekes cross the line for our first potential Ormiston Point in Division 1. Sandwiched between 2 strong DSPC crews, our Ladies Junior Senior crew were always going to have a fight on their hand & despite giving every last ounce of effort, their opposition proved slightly better on the day.

So the pressure intensified on our 5 crews in Division 2 to start the ball rolling. Henry Roffey, Alex Farrell, coxed Lesley Russell fought valiantly in the Gents Junior Senior category & were one of many crews to step out of the boat with bleeding blisters showing true grit in overcoming the pain to perform at their highest level. Robin Potter, Sim Wishlade, coxed Lilli Burridge-Payne & Stephen Russell in a composite crew with WSPC were just as determined not to let the prize slip away. In the end it was the old hands of Tom Millest, incredibly keen to build on his win last year at this event, partnered by the steady stroke of Martin Roche & coxed by Jessica Goldstein, whose names will be written into next year's almanac as the winners. We were on the board at last.

Our next Division 2 hopefuls were Amanda Leach, Sangeetha Iengar, coxed Hilary Shore in the Ladies Junior class going head-to-head against a DSPC crew. It's fair to say that neither of our skiffers were at their peak physical condition, Amanda still getting over a recent back injury & Sangeetha having been buried with work & not near a gym let alone a skiff for the past month. The mental tenacity however was never in doubt & there was as much screaming to get over the line first from within the boat as there was from the TVSC balcony to will them across. Was this the second point we needed? We counted the seconds between the two crews & it certainly looked like more than the 20 second gap given to crews at the start but you can never be sure. And it seemed that not even the race officials were sure, as to all our amazement they initially awarded the win to the DSPC crew at the ceremony. Scrutiny of the posted times eventually clarified the fact that our fair ladies had in fact won by a 10 second margin.

So whilst racing continued into Division 3 we weren't counting our chickens & we really needed to secure one more unofficial win to feel comfortable about our position. Gents Novice we knew was going to be hard fought, especially with last week's outstanding Gents Novice Restricted singles winner entered with a more senior DSPC crew mate. We had four equally cunningly matched crews in the form of:

Martin Black, Christopher Coveney, coxed Nicky Painter

Dave Strassburg, Russell Kesley, coxed Amanda Leach

Brind Waldron, Dave Wright, coxed Jessica Goldstein

Nick Mattey, Kim Mollett, coxed John Previte

Bill Clee, Markus Widmer, coxed Sangeetha Iengar

Unfortunately the race went true to form to DSPC but our crews held nothing back & all put in outstanding performances of which they can be proud.

Our ladies however were to finish the day in another gutsy performance in the Ladies Novice category. Clare Officer, Kim Burridge,& for her third time around the course, cox Lilli Burridge-Payne really squeezed every inch out of their strokes to pull off what was surely the clincher for the day & the season.

We all had to wait patiently, very patiently for the white smoke to rise & the final decision to be given that we had indeed won 3 events giving us a 4 point clear margin at the top of the Ormiston Trophy league, 99 points in total, just missing out on that illusive 100.

It's taken since 1979, 32 years, for The Skiff Club to become the outright winners of the Ormiston Trophy & I was exceptionally proud to have the honour of accepting it on behalf of our competitors, coxes, coaches & supporters that have given up so much of their time to achieve this. When you consider the size of our club, the fact that we haven't a wealth of senior status racers & that many of our winners only started to skiff this year, it surely puts into perspective how exceptional this achievement is.

Underpinning our success was the inspirational 'Most Improved Sculler of the Year', Caroline Matthews.

It’s important to note that Caroline only stepped into a boat for the first time on 5th February 2011. Before this, she had no experience whatsoever of rowing or sculling. Since that date she worked incredibly hard in all categories to reach Junior Senior status across the board in Singles, Ladies Doubles & Mixed Doubles.

Caroline entered all marathon & regatta events this year with the exception of Chertsey, plus produced our only win at the Inter Clubs, despite having taken part in the Great River Race the day before, setting the 3rd fastest Thames Racing Skiff time with her crew.

In addition to her individual success in notching up Ormiston point wins in her singles events, Caroline was always the first to pair up in any combination that offered the best possibility of a win for the Club. She'd jump in a boat to substitute at the last minute to fill in for those unable to make it on the day, irrespective of how many other races that she was in. What’s more she'd do this with a beaming smile & a determination to win. The Skiff Champs was a case in point, which resulted in her winning all four events that she competed in.

In short, Caroline has proven herself an extremely competent oarswoman, a faultless team player & a delight to have within the sport. Whilst there were other worthy candidates this year, not least from within our own club, Caroline epitomises what this award is all about both in racing success, attitude & an inspiration to others joining the sport on what can be achieved in just one season. Caroline notched up no less than 23 Ormiston points this season.

Oh and of course with all this racing she’s contributed the most to the regatta cake funds in fuel that she’s demolished!

What a fantastic year it has turned out to be after such a sad beginning. It was mentioned to me after the passing of Gordon Dear by an old friend of his that the best way that The Skiff Club could mark this was to win the Ormiston Trophy. I thought that to be unattainable, how wrong I was. So it was fitting that I was able to toast his boat with champagne that flowed from the trophy at the celebrations that followed on Sunday.

Where to next for The Skiff Club? Onwards & upwards of course, there's a trophy to defend.

Cheers

Roger