The Freshwater Sprints at Loch Tummel started on Friday afternoon. Some clubs sent members a
day early to participate in the course laying training and/or the umpire training. The theory
and practice for the course laying was held on the Friday afternoon with the umpire theory
on the Friday night before being practiced on the Saturday.
On Saturday morning the freshwater sprints returned in its original format with crews
entering to form regional crews organised by a captain. 19 race categories were undertaken,
including two for the picnic class boats. Most races were a 500m sprint race with each boat
having its own buoy to turn around. Two longer races were set up which allowed the boats to
turn a single buoy. The picnic class races were held over a drag race of around 200m.
The umpires had some work to do with a few penalties being handed out for measurement
infringements, lane infringements and a clash of oars at the long-distance race turn.
The event was helped by the lovely autumnal weather, with a mild temperature and golden
leaves giving a great backdrop to view the racing.
Gourock and Loch Tay, both new clubs, brought their new skiffs and we kindly thank for bringing them along. Loch Tummel catered for us as efficiently as ever, from car parking assistance to coffee and cake and we thank them for their continued support over the years.
The picnic class this year was won by the Little Bustard, a wemyss skiff crewed by Tom
Young and Wendy Clements. The overall trophy was won by North+West who also won the
Junior event. Full race results are posted below. Pictures are from Stephen Hall (Catterline).
The AGM swiftly followed the prizegiving and was well attended. SCRA remains the biggest
rowing organisation in Scotland with over 71 member clubs and over 3000 active members.
We thank you all for your continued support to keep the sport going strong. A reminder to all
clubs that their subs for the next year are now due and remain at £60 per club and £40 for
concessions. Two green flags were given, one to Elie for beach cleaning sessions and one also to St Ayles for successfully and inventively recycling their old (some 12 years+) club t-shirts. A blue flag was awarded to Kinghorn RC for their initiative with Inverkeithing High School nurture group. This was to help children return post-covid giving them confidence through team building and communication skills in the skiff. The Cruising Log was awarded this year to Dunbar CRC for their Forth Canal trip and the excellent report they gave to highlight the challenging logistics involved. The reports of all the entries will be posted separately.
The new website is now live, a short demonstration was given at the AGM. If your club has
any news it wants to send us or events which are scheduled, please contact the appropriate
email: Events@… Or Publicity@…
