YOUNG rowers did the Isle of Wight and the clubs they represent proud with their performances at the Itchen Junior Regatta on Sunday.

Run as part of the Hampshire and Dorset ARA Championship, rowers from Shanklin-Sandown and Ryde rowing clubs travelled to Southampton to compete, with plenty at stake.

The annual regatta, run by Itchen Imperial Rowing Club, saw SSRC and Ryde take several crews, ranging in age from 12 to 16.

For some, it was their first experience of racing. 

SSRC recorded four wins in the quad events, with the J15 girls quad of Evie Crew, Connie Batley-Smith, Rose Collier, Poppy Lawrence and Arlo Adds (cox), securing their win by the narrowest of margins.

There were further wins for the J13 girl’s double, the J16 girls' quad and the mixed J13 and J14 quads.

The regatta was preceded by a row-off for the Hants and Dorset Senior Ladies' Pairs Championship, which saw the club’s sisters, Daisy and Emily Faithfull, retain their title with a two-length win over Worthing.

A small group of Ryde juniors competed over the short 450m straight course on the River Itchen and came away with some successes.

Ryde's first triumph came in the boys' J14 river single, with Charlie Watts, who won his final comfortably.

Charlie was then paired up with Joe Bird in the boys' J14 double, which they also won at a canter. 

His hat-trick of successes came in the boys' J15 double with Isaac Gibson, where they finished second in the final.

Joe also competed in the boys' J12/13 single, coming third in the final.

In the row-off for the Hants and Dorset ARA Junior Ladies Pairs Championship, Ryde's Stella Baisley and Chloe Hughes finished second to Itchen Imperial.

  • SSRC rowers Louis Sheasby and Carter Horrix competed on the River Thames in the J16 double sculls at the Pairs Head Championships in London — just missing out on a podium spot by three seconds. The result saw them finish 37th overall from a field of more than 400 entries — a remarkable achievement for the young crew.
  • This weekend will see the club’s crews race on the Island in the Head of the Medina regatta.