Henley 2010 Captain`s Letter

Henley 2010
Captain’s Letter
I'm proud to list the following crews for the Royal Henley Regatta:
Wyfold 4-: Mackinney, Thompson, Hetherington, Wallace. These four were members of our 1st boat from the
spring, and are veterans of the gruelling Easter training camp in Agen. They have been competing in recent weeks
at the very sharp end, racing elite and senior coxless fours at the Dorney regattas. They have done well against the
very top crews in the country, and are now eager to race on the Henley course.
Coach: Phil Taylor
Britannia 4+: Lear, Watson, Cackett, Hutchinson; Guse. This crew won at Nottingham regatta - beating Tideway
Scullers in the semi and London in the final. Until a reconfiguration they were known on the circuit for having the
largest bowman ever seen - one coach I spoke to at Dorney described Pete Watson as a 'truck.' They have been
gaining pace over the recent weeks and are raring to go.
Coach: Keith Jackman
Prince of Wales 4x: Ellam (KRC), Nottidge (TSBC), Hannaford (TSBC), Hanson (HRC). This is a composite quad,
comprising lightweights at either end, a monster in the two-seat and a red-headed rhythm machine at three. They
recently won IM1quads at Marlow regatta.
Coach: Carol Cornell & Dave White
Thames Cup: Doe, Springall, Davies, Harris, Golding, Hunter, Borthwick, Bidmead; Lintag. This is a club
development boat, consisting of members of the second and third eights from the head. They were unlucky to lose
to Vesta at Reading Regatta, but have been quietly gaining speed and confidence in recent weeks.
Coach: Richard Nelson
The vagaries of Henley entries mean that the first three of these boats have to qualify, and as I write the crews are
rigging their boats and preparing to race. All being well you'll be able to see them all on the Wednesday and
Thursday of next week.
Lastly, some closing thoughts. It has been a tough year, and I
owe a huge amount of thanks to a huge number of people. It
has been really pleasing to see what we've achieved since
September: the crews that we've built the training camps, the
new equipment & boats. The coaching staff have been
excellent, and the depth of the squads we have now show how
good a job they've done. The crews are training hard, rowing
well and winning - and that goes for all the levels from novice
up to the HRR / HWR crews. In the background has been the
silent force of the committee, making sure the place keeps
ticking over and allowing us all to concentrate on our rowing.
Lastly, the athletes themselves deserve thanks - for sticking to
the training and maintaining the faith during the dark winter
months.
Now, the sun is blazing and it's time for me to go and watch
some racing. It's a tough life...
JP Salter
Henley Women’s Regatta
The coxed four (Doyle, Kennedy, Finnis, Hunt;
Ciulemba) had the toughest qualification run,
with 31 entries for 16 slots in their category.
They swung onto the start, collected their
breath, and powered off down the course.
Our unofficial, back-of-the-envelope timing
calculations put them eighth, and they were
duly drawn against Downing College
Cambridge. The girls went home and had a
hearty dinner, returning on the Saturday for an
early morning race. They had a slightly iffy
start, but then motored off down the course at
a solid 34. As the race unfolded they fought
back well, and were unlucky to lose by just
over a length in the end. The Downing boat which included a girl who was at least 7ft tall went on to make it to the semis.
The lightweight pair (Goddard, Dutreux) were
pre-qualified, and had drawn Oxford
University. In the briefing we agreed that the
race should be a suicide run - they should go as
hard as they could off the start and see if they
could scare their opposition. They took this a
little too literally and nearly steered straight
into the Dark Blues, but after some drastic
steering they were back on course and back on
their rhythm. Oxford went on to make the
final, and lost to Neptune RC.
Last but not least, we come to Mel - our
lightweight single sculler. She had an excellent
qualifying race, and the timing of her event
meant she had to race again that afternoon.
She duly despatched her opponent - a girl from
Cardiff City - and progressed through into the
next round on Saturday. This time she drew a
beast of a girl from Llandaff Rowing Club, and
put up a strong fight.
Int A4+ The Cathy Cruickshank Trophy
Doyle, Kennedy, Finnis, Hunt; Ciulemba
Elite Lightweight 2- The Parkside Trophy
Goddard, Dutreux
Overall it was a valuable experience: all the
crews raced well and were happy with their
performances. Commiserations go to the
junior girls eight, who suffered a last-minute
injury and had to withdraw - they will be back
in force next year.
JP Salter
Lwt Senior 1x The Fiona Dennis Trophy
Court-Smith
KUBC Squad at BUCS Regatta
The British Universities & Colleges Sport Regatta - the pinnacle of the student rowing season - was held at the
beginning of May at Nottingham water sports centre. This event provides the opportunity for our freshers to
experience multi-lane racing early on in the season. This year saw an increase of entries across all events,
ranging from beginner to championship level. As expected, the weather at Holme Peirpoint was unpredictable
and proved to change dramatically over the weekend!
Our freshers squad comprised of Men’s beginner 4+ and 8, as well as a Women’s intermediate 2x. The 8 faced
stiff competition and missed qualification, the 4+ of Ben Hunter, Joe Harris, Vincent Harden-Chaters, Luke Doe
and cox Dani Marin along with the 2x of Harriet Cartwright and Sophie Wetherell, were both a position from
advancing to the semi-finals.
A large senior entry stemmed from training camp, where work began on various crews, with a total of six events
entered. The three single entries saw Chris Ellam in Championship Lwt advance through to the repechage. Will
Hetherington, in one of his three events, raced at intermediate level against more experienced scullers, qualified
mid table and continued to the heats. Simone Detreux, despite her lack of experience in a single, entered
Intermediate Lwt 1x, performing exceptionally well and resulting in 5th place in the final. The Men’s Intermediate
4+ of Leon Hutchinson, Will Hetherington, Alex Bidmead, Chris Ellam with cox Sophie Guse, narrowly missed the
final by one place. A Women’s Championship 4+ of Olivia Salt, Chloe Hunt, Charlie Kennedy, Emma Doyle and
cox Bina Ciulemba faced a competitive heat, and a closely fought race left them just outside the semi finals.
Finally, much to the disappointment of both rowers, our Men’s Intermediate 2- of Will Hetherington and Leon
Hutchinson casually made their way through the competition resulting in a 5th place semi final, giving Will a total
of nine races over the three days!
Once again KUBC showed their strength against the larger universities and continue to prove a dominance
compared to similarly matched universities. This Regatta was a fantastic end to the student season, leaving us
hopeful for similar results over the summer and next season.
Charlie Kennedy
KRC Novice News - ‘The Racing Season’ – June 2010
My last update arrived not long before our KRC Novice Easter training camp, this year we boated at home
rather than travel to Henley. With a full squad turnout over the three days it was great to squeeze in some
serious intensive rowing and coaching. With support from Chris Warburton, Derek O’Sulivan, Keith
Hackman and Ian Wylie it meant we could boat many different combinations, introduce the squad to
rowing in fours and most importantly give them their first taste of racing starts!
As ever training camp gave us the solid foundation we needed to
prepare for our first regatta of the season, Thames Ditton Regatta.
Here the squad got a real taste of pre race nerves and importance of
getting to the start with time to spare. Hungry to win and keen to see
them succeed the next four weeks saw 6am morning outings and 7pm
evening outings day in day out, each outing building upon the last.
Soon followed, Walton & Weighbridge Regatta and the experience of
travelling slightly further a field and having to rerigg the boat. Both
the men’s and women’s eights and fours built upon Thames Ditton
Regatta and came even closer to that all important first win.
W Nov 8 at Thames Ditton Regatta
Back on local water the novice crews paddled
down to Twickenham Regatta in convoy with
various other KRC Crews and enjoyed the
experience of travelling through Teddington lock
in a rowing boat.
With disappointing results in the men’s eight,
men’s four and women’s four the expectations
of the day lay on the shoulders of the novice
women’s eight. Through to the finals they were
up against Lea Rowing Club, a win would mean
KRC at Twickenham Regatta
the first points of their rowing career and of
course a shiny pewter pot.After a crew talk with myself, Derek and Chris they all knew they had nothing to
loose. Would they control that first stroke? would they tidy up their finishes? and most importantly would
they dig deep when the cox demanded another push?
For those of you that missed
this race I can tell you it didn’t
disappoint! Brilliantly coxed by
novice
cox
Kerry-Anne
Wingham the race was neck
and neck until the final 500
metres, then Kerry called for a
push and Kingston crept in
front, another push and we
had half a length on the oppo.
With the cries of “come on
Kingston” the brave girls took
the victory with power,
control and confidence and
beat Lea Rowing Club by 3 and
half lengths.
Winning Novice crew and coaches at Twickenham Regatta
Back with the novice men, we headed to Reading Regatta and after being beaten by an Elite Junior crew in
the eight the lads are more determined than ever to win. They travel through Teddington locks again on
Back with the novice men, we headed to
Reading Regatta and after being beaten
by an Elite Junior crew in the eight the
lads are more determined than ever to
win. They travel through Teddington
locks again on Saturday the 26th June and
hope to bring home a KRC win from
Richmond Regatta.
Head hunted for Henley: There are two
major crew changes to the Novice Mens
eight; Jonathan ‘Devito’ Springall and
Jonny ‘Arnie’ Davies have been selected
to row in the IM3 KRC Henley Eight. They
have been replaced in the novice eight
by Steve the Pirate and Vince HardenCharter. On behalf of all the novice
squad and volunteer coaches I want to
congratulate both Jonny and Jonathan
and wish them the best of look at Henley
this year.
What next? Well the Novice Men’s
Squad have regrouped and relished
some early morning sessions and some
additional coaching from Steve Molloy
and JP in their reformed eight. The stern
four from the women’s eight (formally
novice) are training and racing in their
own IM3 Womens four. Under the
careful eye of Anna O’Rawe the same
four have joined forces with last year’s
novices women (also now IM3) to create
a new KRC IM3 Womens’ eight. There
first race is planned for Kingston Regatta
on the 10th July 2010.
Jonathan ‘Devito’ Springall (st) and Jonny ‘Arnie’ Davies (7)
Early morning training for the Nov 8
Thanks: Continued thanks to JP and
Richard Nelson for extra coaching cover,
to Rob Thompson for keeping the boats
afloat, Helen Gladsen for entering all the
crews for each regatta and finally special
thanks to my fellow novice coaches
Steve Molloy, Chris Warburton and
everyone’s favourite Irishman Derek
O’Sulivan!
Adam White
KRC Novice Squad Coach
5.30am outing
KRC Junior Regatta Season
Following the appointment of Chris Griffiths to the position of Junior Head Coach the Junior Squad continues to
go from strength to strength.
After our wins during the Heads season (as reported in the last Scarlet Blade) we have notched up a further 13
wins at the following Regattas: Chiswick, the Ball Cup, Thames Ditton, Walton, Monmouth and Barnes &
Mortlake, with Richmond and Kingston still to go.
At National Schools we had a finalist (J142x) and a semi finalist (WJ15 2x) and most recently, and very
disappointingly, had to withdraw an excellent Peabody Cup WJ 8+ entry from Women's Henley due to injury.
We are currently running our second post Christmas 'learn to row' course to ready another 12 junior athletes for
the start of next season and hence are now nearing our maximum junior membership capacity.
However with a great set of juniors and a committed junior coaching team, complimented recently by the very
welcome arrival of Jonathan Steel, the KRC Junior Squad is looking to a great 2010-11 season.
Marcus Hoskins
Junior wins to date:
TSBH
WJ15 2x : Rosie Talbot, Emily Mayer
KSBH
WJ15 2x : Rosie Talbot, Emily Mayer
MJ14 2X : Christie / Georgiou
Kingston
Head
WJ15 4x+ : Rosie Talbot, Emily Mayer, Deryn Ester-Huyse , Isobel Johns and cox Elle
Chiswick
Regatta
WJ15 4x+ : Rosie Talbot, Emily Mayer, Deryn Ester-Huyse , Isobel Johns and cox Ed Hayes
Ball Cup
GOLD: MJ18 2x : W Hayes, J Hoskin,
GOLD: MJ13 x+ : Harry Christie, Matt Georgiou, Daniel Clark, Tom Sankey and cox Ed Hayes
SILVER: WJ15 4x+ : Rosie Talbot, Emily Mayer, Christine Axson Johnson , Isobel Johns and cox Ed Hayes,
BRONZE: WJ 14 1x : Deryn Ester-Huyse
Thames
Ditton
MJ14 1x : Georgiou
Walton
IM3.8+: Stuart, Stringer, Roberts, Mansfield, Warner, Franke, Palmer, Bott and cox Markey.
J14.2x : Christie, Georgiou
Nat Schools
Finalists: J14.2x Christie, Georgiou,
Semi Finalists: WJ15 2x Deryn Ester-Huyse, Emily Mayer
Monmouth
WJ18.4+; Lorna Stuart, Megan Mansfield, Isobel Palmer, Imogen Stringer and cox Sarah Markey,
WJ18.4x-; Ellie Warner, Ellie Roberts, Esther Franke, Lucy Bott
Barnes &
Mortlake
WJ15.2x Mayer, Esther-Huyse,
J14.2x Christie, Georgiou,
J14.1x Georgiou,
Harry Christie was co-opted into a Tiffin School Quad and they also won
Mayer & Esther-Huyse , Georgiou &
Christie at,Barnes and Mortlake
Harry Christie, Matt Georgiou, Daniel
Clark, Tom Sankey and cox Ed Hayes
Ball Cup
W Hayes & J Hoskin – Ball Cup
Georgiou -Thames Ditton
Stuart, Stringer, Roberts, Mansfield, Warner, Franke, Palmer, Bott, cox Markey - Walton
Rosie Talbot, Emily Mayer, Deryn Ester-Huyse , Isobel Johns,
cox Ed Hayes Chiswick
Jack Petchey Award Winners
Lorna Stuart, Megan Mansfield, Isobel Palmer,
Imogen Stringer and cox Sarah Markey, Ellie
Warner, Ellie Roberts, Esther Franke, Lucy Bott Monmouth
Congratulations to Lucy Rose, Sanjay Shah, Charlie Worthington and Annabelle Wieland, all of whom have
become recipients of the Jack Petchey Achievement Award. All receive a framed certificate, pin badge and, later in
the year at an annual ceremony, a boxed medallion.
Recipients do not have to be the best at sport, work or anything else, but they must have contributed to the club
in a significant way. Equally, Achievement Award Winners can be recognised for personal developments and
positive personality traits.
Boat Naming Ceremony
On the 12 June Ian South, a long standing
member and previous coach and Director of
Rowing at KRC, joined the ranks of the most
successful, influential and committed club
Gallery
members to be honoured by having a boat from
the KRC fleet named after him.
During his time as a coach at Kingston, Ian was
particularly associated with Women’s rowing and
was the Director of Rowing in 2009 when the
Women’s 4+ won at Henley Women’s Regatta. It
seemed fitting that the newest addition to the
women’s fleet – a Stampfli VIII – was named after
someone who contributed so much to women’s
rowing during his time at the club.
After speeches by Club Captain JP and by Ian, the
boat was officially names and taken on its
inaugural outing by the Junior Women’s Eight.
Boat naming Ceremony
Junior Women’s 8 take the boat on its inaugural outing
Ian names the new Women’s VIII
Women’s 4+ at Henley 2009
Senior Training Camp, Agen, April 2010
With the last two years training camps involving some pretty inclement weather, we packed for Outer Mongolia.
Igor and JP had set off with a fully loaded trailer. If it could float, it was on. The boats arrived mostly unscathed
despite being stuck under a bridge causing the entire circulation of Agen to come to a standstill, and we believe
they also circumnavigated the Cathedral square having a close look at some very pretty arboreal arrangements.
However, our hosts, Aviron Agenais had very kindly cleared their boat house so we could get the entire fleet
inside. Maybe just as well as the club is situated next to the French version of the Cambridge Estate. A mad rigging
session ensued and we were sent for a steady state, just up to the lock and back. 20 Km later we had seen the
industrial area, the marina, been through the rather narrow aqueduct and several VERY solid stone bridges, turned
at a pretty little lock and arrived back with sore hands.
That lock is a VERY long way up the canal, as we found every day, when the first outing was; lock and back. Then
there was the 3 x 10 min outings, bungee outings, 1hour technical outings, and the odd timed race pieces. Lots of
work in singles, crews and mixed boats, which is why Mr Golding is now known as Danielle.
By day 3 the blister situation was pretty bad as the rain had been pretty determined to soak us for the first few
days. Various remedies from reindeer fat (Phil), Iodine surgical scrub (Birgith) and vast rolls of zinc Oxide tape
(Helen) were applied to across many palms and mostly the situation ameliorated. Leah did have a bit of a torrid
time but received scant sympathy. We all had some significant sore bits here and there. But by day three we
arrived in the morning to a mirror of a canal. The mist just lifting and a lone duck paddling up with attitude, the
mood lifted and the kit dried. We did mile after mile on the most beautiful turquoise light canal water and the
overall improvement in technique, fitness and persistence was measurable. The coaches Phil, Anna and JP cycled
up and down the towpath with pearls of wisdom and a whip. Lunch had been organised at the club and I am not
sure I ever want so look a French Stick in the face again. Phil determinedly purchased bags and bags of apples and
oranges and by the middle of the week we jolly well all ate them. Subtle but effective.
Phil and Leon’s birthdays were celebrated with lovely cake in the sunshine (Thanks Anna) and 10 of us had a small
sortie in the evening to Condom to a Michelin starred establishment for complete pampering of the belly. Long
way in a taxi, Condom is. Even longer back, according to the meter, but a lovely evening - on the food front if not
on the bank statement.
One of the highlights was Phil making Chloe and Emma fall out of the pair in attempt to get over the fear of it. The
entire squad were obviously very supportive of this move. Took some doing though with Emma in the end having
to throw away her blade followed by her body weight. Great applause!
The last Saturday was full of ‘fun races’ in whatever boat you could think up. The uni girls in pairs (well done for
surviving Chimp and Chump) and singles. Dan and Birgith in a coxless pair. (Dan has no fear!!) Jon Mac backing
down his single the whole way in an attempt to get the fastest time. You get the picture. Boats were derigged and
loaded and the odd beer was had at a barbeque on the lawn followed by a foray into town. The local hostelries did
well on turnover that night. Any gossip can be found on various facebook pages. I did get an interesting text on the
way back from Helen though, asking me to quiz the captain about his conduct, but he assured me (and I believe
him, more fool me) that he conducted himself like a gentleman.
Return journey with the trailer was fairly uneventful (well apart from JP looking tense every time we went round a
roundabout) including twice circling the town centre on a Saturday night in Caen only to eventually realise that the
port is 10 Km away. We got through morning rush hour in Kingston without a scratch only to clip the last rear tyre
on the trailer turning round Ham Common. It is a very loud bang when a tyre explodes. Fortunately the trailer is
double wheeled at the rear so the fleet returned to the club as planned.
Would I go again next year? Bring it on!
Birgith Sims
Masters Training Camp, Prague, May 2010
In contrast to the club camp, masters training has a subtle tone of luxury to it. You fly in to Prague to be collected
by your host. You are given your own en suite bedroom after being greeted by champagne and Caviar (Zdena’s
husband trades extensively in Russia. Thank the Lord!) Zdena does not row before 9 am, so breakfast is on the table
at 8.30 with abundance of local produce, breads, cakes, meats, cereals, cheeses, juice etc. We the drive to Slavia
Praha where the boat and oars are all prepared. Well we did have to move the stretcher, but that was the
seriousness of the adjustments needed. The river Vlatava, which flows in through Prague city is beautiful and wide.
It has several rowing and canoe clubs scattered upstream from the city and churches on rocky hills lining the banks.
The water is usually good except when the odd enormous tourist river cruiser mows past or when the local jack the
lads churn up the water in vast speed boats trawling for totti.
Much as the peripherals are luxurious, the rowing is uncompromising. Being a longstanding crew (who row
together on average 4 times a year) the boat sits rock steady so allows for some serious work. Lunch involves local
restaurants and lovely Czech food and apple juice, which naturally is substituted with beer in the evening after the
second outing.
After the final outing we were delivered back to the airport in style, Els to go to Amsterdam and me to return to
Kingston for more miles on the Thames in preparation for Euromasters in Munich in July and the FISA masters in St.
Catherine’s in September.
Masters Nationals Nottingham, June 13th 2010
Could it really be true? Holme PIerrepont with flat water and sunshine for the second time this year? Yes, we were
greeted by a slight side /headwind and …..sunshine! Helen and Birgith had braved it up the M1 to put themselves
on the line at the veteran Champs.
The Championship Doubles was the first event to be tackled and after the routine warm up had gone well we were
off. The plan was to get out hard and then reassess the position after 40 strokes. With Birgith catching a monster
boat stopping crab by trapping the left scull under a buoy (I did say it was side/head) the command for change
came a little earlier and slightly different to planned; S**t, sorry, suspend!
Helen responded beautifully and we were soon back in the lead and sculled over the line in control with the
command ‘calm’ being the only words uttered the entire way. Lovely big medals in the bag, and we could have hit
the beers there and then, but, as we had dragged the singles up on top of the car, we did the brave thing and
turned up at the start. I had the E Championship entry and sat on the start in lane 3 and overheard Sooty say to one
of the other chaps on the starting tower; “well, she has just won the doubles, so she should win this”. Not much
pressure there then, Sooty!
Apparently the commentator’s words were; “Sims from Kingston has a commanding lead by 500m “. Certainly
enough in hand to take it fairly easy over the second part of the course to collect yet another lovely big medal.
Then it was Helen’s turn. She had somewhat underestimated herself after coming second in novice singles at
Nottingham City Regatta, not knowing then that the girl who beat her was a ‘world class start’ sculler, so she had
entered Vet.C Novice singles. To say she won with some ease is an understatement. She came paddling over the
line rating 20, barely able to see her opposition. Well done that bird! Championships singles for you next year!
We must also mention a very gutsy fight back from the Molesey/Walbrook/Kingston E4- in their championship
final. They looked out of serious contention with 300m to go but put in a spirited effort to pinch the bronze
position. That’s the way to do it!
We hope, next year that ‘the nearly dead’ and the IM3 girls will join us up the motorway as the regatta now does
novice and IM3 veteran classes as well as championship races. This is a very friendly and well run regatta well
worth a visit.
Needless to say though, the heavens opened as we were loading the singles onto the car and we were soaked, but
the lovely warm glow from the medals soon dried us out.
Birgith Sims
Interview With A KRC Member....... Farrell Mossop
Farrell Mossop has been a member of KRC for thirty years, captaining the club on two separate occasions and
representing KRC on the GB Rowing Squad between 1981 and 1983. Farrell has won seven different events at the
National Championships, a number of Henley Royal regatta events and the Home International Match twice.
What were your first experiences of rowing?
I started rowing in Nottingham in the late 1970's when I was a teenager. What lured me into rowing was the same
thing that lured most of the Nottingham teenagers into the sport at the time - the social side. There were three
Rowing Clubs that each had a mini-nightclub upstairs. Nottingham and Union was a disco that had staged bands
such as ACE, Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac. The Boat Club staged bands three nights a week ( including the likes
of Nazareth and Deep Purple) whilst the Britannia was a northern soul club that also had the odd famous name
such as Solomon Burke and one of the Ruffin brothers (I bet all the names mean a lot to people now)! The clubs
offered social membership where you paid a fee for joining and then an admission fee every time you went. After
becoming a social member with several friends I found out that if I joined one of the clubs as a rower I would get
free entry to each social event of each club. I therefore decided to pretend I wanted to row and joined the club
with the cheapest membership of the three - Nottingham Britannia. However, what I did not bank on at the time
was the welcome I would receive and the enthusiasm to bring me into a sport by a small group of volunteer
coaches. Suddenly I was part of something in a way that I had not previously experienced in any other kind of
sports club -from then on I started to want to row.
Why did you choose KRC and when did you join?
I was tricked into it in October 1980! After completing my degree in Nottingham I got a job at the Hirst Research
centre in North Wembley. I had been a member of the first Nottingham County crew to win at Henley (rowing
under the club name of Nottingham Boat Club) and on arriving in London had won the Fours Head in a National
Sculling Squad crew stroked by Steve Redgrave.
On my first morning at work all the phone lines were down, which was annoying my new boss as he was awaiting
an important call. When the phone eventually rang he leapt at it, and then turned to me to say “it’s for you”; my
first words to him being "but no one knows I'm here"! "Hello Farrell its Richard Ayling, I thought I would give
you a call because you didn't reply to my letter inviting you to join Kingston." After much discussion we
arranged to meet at Kingston, I say much discussion because he seemed to appear suddenly out of the blue
where ever I went - places like late night petrol stations - it was as if there was a greater force pushing us
together! Richard met me at Kingston, showed me his training plan and said why he thought I could fit in with
working in North Wembley. I liked the plan and with only two nights training during the week and was happy
that I could fit it in. I joined, thinking that there wouldn’t be much commitment , and Richard seemed such a
nice chap, my only reservation being that he might be a bit too nice, and would not push me!!! Four weeks into
the winter I discovered that the plan I saw was just the plan for needed to be combined with the water training
plan, the heavyweights training plan, the park runs and the circuits plan - 4 nights, 4 mornings and 4 weekend
outings "Oh sorry Glossop ,did I not
make that clear?" says Richard grinning
from ear to ear! ("Glossop" or "Gloz"
was the first of many nick names for me
with "Great Nottingham Git” being
one the first affectionate descriptions!) I
quickly lost the reservation about Richard
being too nice to push me and have to say
benefited enormously from his absolute
commitment to push us to the top of
British Rowing. A lasting memory for
me from the the time is Peter Hope (still a
student then) telling me in the bar how he
thought it was important when training to Blades commemorating Farrell’s wins at the 1981 World Championships
in a Coxless Pair and at Henley in 1983 in the Prince Philip Challenge Cup
fit in a mid day sleep!
– coached by Richard Ayling on both occasions
How was training with the GB team?
I never really rowed that much in the
formal GB squad; I just rowed in
some good crews at Kingston that got
selected as the GB crew. During the early
1980s club crews that beat a particular
time and were the fastest in the country
(including any squad crew in the event) at
particular
selection
regattas could
get selected in their own right. This suited
people like me who could not really afford
to move their lives into the GB squad
system.
However, in 1984 the GB selection system
changed to more of professional footing
and the days of club selected crews in Nat Champs & Home Counties winning 4+ Crew 1988. Peter Hope (st)
men’s heavyweight rowing were really
Shane O’Brian(3) Farrell Mossop (2) Chris Andrews (b, Carole Grant (cox)
over. It was the correct move for GB rowing as it was in 1984 when the GB Heavyweights won their first Gold
medal and as can be witnessed from the results the team has got progressively more professional and successful
ever since . I suppose one of the most significant memories I have of that 1983/1984 era is watching Steve
Redgrave training in the Gym and on the ergo and seeing someone who was just so much better than everyone
else. It was as if everyone had been working at a particular level , that I thought was International standard, then
he came along and I then realised what a true International Champion looked liked, the difference was huge.
National Rowing Championships Book of Winners. Farrell won competing for KRC in the coxless pairs in 1981 and Eights in 1983
You have won a number of events at Henley Royal Regatta - The Wyfolds, The Prince Philip, The Silver Goblets
and Nickalls Challenge cup. What was your experience of rowing at Henley and how does Henley compare to
other regattas?
When racing I saw it as just one of many good regattas that we had to do well in as part of having a good season.
We did not get obsessed about Henley, however I did love the atmosphere (the grassy smell at the start) and
looking back it is the most special Regatta of them all.
When Chris Jones and I won The Goblets, Princess Grace of Monaco (Grace Kelly the Movie icon!) presented the
medals. I do remember sniffing a lot due to hay fever and being concerned not to let it show in front of Princess
Grace. Good job too! What I did not realise until after the medals were presented was that in the crush before
going up the steps, Boysie had nicked my handkerchief f and put a bra in my pocket instead in the hope that I
would unwittingly wipe my nose with it whilst receiving the trophies from Princess Grace. Luckily I did not!
(The Victoria and Albert Museum currently has a Grace Kelly exhibition, sadly she died in a car crash a month after
presenting the medals at Henley, her Father was an Olympic Champion and her Brother had won the Diamonds.)
You have been Captain of Kingston Rowing Club twice – what was the club like when you were Captain?
I was Captain (and a coach) in 1988 to 1990 and then again in 2004. In the interim I did about six years of
coaching. 1988-90 was very exciting as the membership was booming and there were so many people who
helped and gave me absolute support in everything I wanted to do. We invested heavily in the Women’s part of
the club (women were only permitted to join the club from 1976) and Ian South very successfully coached many of
the junior girls and then later senior women. We also had some good up and coming men in training, many of
whom became top internationals. Kieran West, the Olympic gold medalist, was a young boy coxing novice women
at the time. However, what made it a really special place to be was the general membership across the board and
excellently managed social events. If there is one thing that I notice now on the occasions I have been to the KRC
is that the current club seems to have regained this spirit amongst the members.
When I became Captain again in 2004 the atmosphere was
very different, less people knew me well and some were
suspicious over what I was trying to achieve. As the year
moved on I think the atmosphere became more trusting
and we did do a lot in the year with setting up a larger
junior squad following the Project Oarsome grant from the
ARA. Dermod Sweeney together with the Junior
coordinators (Boysie, Martin Ellis and Marcus) drove
through the organisational and rule changes needed to gain
the Club Mark Accreditation whilst the Men managed to get
to the semi final in the Britannia Cup at Henley, which I
believe was the first time we had a Men’s Crew racing on
Farrell Mossop!
the Saturday since the 1989-90 seasons.
You’ve won numerous categories at the National Championships; Coxed Pairs, Coxless Pairs, Coxed Fours,
Eights, Quad Sculls, Double Sculls and Single Sculls – do you prefer to sweep or scull and did/do you have a
favourite boat or seat?
Sweep oar, any seat will do.
Do you still get out on the water regularly?
Unfortunately I do not. I work and live in Portsmouth during the week, but at the weekends I should really make
more effort to go sculling.
Kingston Head of the River 1986 – Farrell in 6
KRC AGM - Saturday, 31st July, 12 noon
The 2010 AGM will be held on Saturday, 31st July starting at 12 noon, with the
usual business. This is an opportunity to hear and talk about the current
situation of the Club, and plans for the coming year, as well as the occasion on
which a new Committee is elected. It is an important event in the Club’s
calendar, and Members are urged to attend.
Kingston Regatta, 10th June 2010
Kingston Regatta has been contested on the river at Kingston upon Thames since 1857 and the
Committee and Sponsors are pleased to continue this superb tradition
275 races
from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm each day
Highlights for 2010
Each day will have in two divisions.
No doubling in a division.
3 PINT TANKARDS
for Senior and IM1 8+ events
Winners of all other events will receive 1 PINT tankards with lids
Victor Ludorum Trophy
The most successful club on each day will receive a 3-pint tankard
Kingston Regatta Party At KRC, 10th June 2010
The next big event to watch out for is the KRC Summer Party on Saturday the 10th July as ever held on
the evening of Kingston Regatta. It’s £5 a ticket, these can be bought on the door and the bar is open
8pm ‘till late. This year’s theme is Hawaiian Night so dust off those Waikiki shirts and pop on your
bikini... It’s going to be one hula of a night!
I’m looking for volunteers to hand out fliers during the day, decorate the hall and bar, prepare and man
the BBQ, organise a raffle and donate prizes, work behind the bar and return on Sunday to help tidy up.
Interested and willing please mail me at [email protected]
DJ Adam White
KRC Party Organiser