Junior members of Ross Rowing Club took part in the last Head race of the season recently. Heads are held from September to March and are effectively time-trials, i.e. one boat at a time races along a specified course and each crew is ranked according to how quickly they complete the distance.

The Abingdon Spring Head provided a challenging 1850m upstream course on the River Thames, with multiple bends, currents and obstacles for rowers to contend with.  There were strong performances from all Ross crews which bodes well and provided the perfect warm up for the regatta (side by side racing) season ahead. 

The girls’ doubles of Heidi Brodholt and Ellie Lown in the aged 16 category plus Emily Hermon and Ella Bardsley-Taylor in the aged 15 category both won gold, holding off crews from clubs such as Henley, City of Oxford and Abingdon.  There were further wins in all the single scull events in the age 16, 15 and 14 categories from Ellie Lown, Ellie Humphryes and Yasmin Howe respectively, making evident Ross juniors’ particular forte in smaller boats.   

Yasmin, at just 14 years old, was the fastest female junior sculler over the whole day and was awarded the R F Wilson Trophy – she is certainly one to watch for the future.

Please contact [email protected] if your child would like to learn to row.See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.