Calpe quadruple sculls crew

 

13 rowers, all juniors, made up this year’s contingent from Calpe Rowing Club to a weekend of international regattas in Ghent, Belgium. The group left Gibraltar on Thursday 9 April accompanied by coaches and some family members.

The club registered its rowers to participate in the 32nd Ghent International Spring Regatta on Saturday 11 April and the 19th International Belgian Championships for Juniors and the 9th International Flemish Championships for Seniors including Junior 18 on Sunday 12 April. Many of the group had already attended last year’s event but it did provide the first taste of international rowing to three of the rowers as well as providing a guide for possible participation in the National Rowing Championships of Great Britain in Nottingham, England later on this year. It proved to be a worthwhile, though tiring, 2 days of rowing. Races were over a 2000m course for junior 16s and above whilst the younger rowers rowed over a 1000m course. The participating rowers were the following:

Lauren Linares, Katie Dudley, Stephanie Charvetto, Julian Wahnon, Adam Massias, Frank Facio Beanland, Nicholas Castle, Dylan Tilbury, Mark Lett, Gareth Roman, Sean Grech, Paul Montero and Sam Vatvani.

Races were held each day from 8am until around 5pm with races running continuously during the day. Unlike last year the weather was pleasant even warm on occasions. On Saturday each event was rowed on a time trial basis in the 5 lane course. After Saturday’s results the races for Sunday were arranged so that the fastest crews rowed in the faster heats and this provided for more competitive racing. The course is located in the heart of Ghent in an area which is primarily earmarked for sporting activities housing the Sports Department of the University of Ghent as well as private gymnasiums, a velodrome and indoor swimming pool. Additionally the city’s three rowing clubs are located around the course which provides great facilities for the sport of rowing.

The rowers participated in a variety of events ranging from junior 14 to under 23 levels in sculling events. All local rowers competed to their potential and enjoyed two days of racing gaining experience which shall bode well for future regattas.

On Saturday we raced in the 32nd Ghent International Spring Regatta. Good results were achieved in the WJ16 Double Sculls with Lauren Linares and Katie Dudley (4th from 10) and in the MJ14 Single Sculls where Julian Wahnon and Adam Massias came a creditable 12th and 14th respectively out of a field of 29 young scullers. However pride of place goes to the MJ18 Quadruple Sculls crew of Paul Montero, Mark Lett, Gareth Roman and Sean Grech who came 2nd from a good field of 10 crews from Germany, Belgium, France and Great Britain. In a tight race they were able to obtain the silver medal with the 2nd and 5th positions being separated by a mere 5 seconds. All the other rowers performed admirably and to the best of their abilities but finished down the order.

On Sunday races were rowed for the 19th International Belgian Championships for Juniors and the 9th International Flemish Championships for Seniors including Junior 18. Here again several crews rowed very competitively. The same MJ18 Quadruple Scull crew came in 5th from 10, only 4 seconds away from the silver medal position. The MJ14 Double Sculls pairing of Adam Massias and Julian Wahnon came 7th out of 24 crews. These two rowers as well as Mark Lett in the Quadruple Sculls crew were participating in their first event abroad and have gained immense experience from the weekend. Another notable performance was the second 4th place finish of the weekend (from a field of 11) for the WJ14 Double Sculls crew of Linares and Dudley. All other crews again performed admirably considering the high standard opposition over the 2000 and 1000 meter courses. Therefore a very creditable performance all round considering opponents included crews from prominent rowing nations such as Germany, Holland, France, Belgium, Britain and Belarus amongst others The most notable participants in the event were Tim Maeyens, the Belgium sculler who cam fourth in the 2008 Olympic Games and Ekaterina Karsten of Belarus who is a four time medallist at the Olympic Games including two golds. This year the squad and families were based in Ghent city centre. The coaching team of Leslie Grech, Curro Morro and Anthony Dudley was justifiably proud of the young rowers for their attitude both on and off the water. They also wish to express their thanks to the parents who also made the trip and were a great help especially in assisting with the transportation of the rowers to and from the water sports centre as well as their vociferous support during the regatta. Special thanks to KRSG Ghent and Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association for the assistance providing boats and oars for our rowers. The club is also very grateful for assistance received through the Gibraltar Amateur Rowing Association towards their attendance at this regatta. Nevertheless further fundraising is still required in order to fund this participation as well as Calpe’s annual July pilgrimage to the Great Britain National Championships.

 

Calpe rowers with the coaches and parents