The first Regatta of the season for Loughborough Boat Club started with a bang. A bright sunny April day on the river Soar in Leicestershiremade the atmosphere electric. LBC entered 6 crews:

(l-r) Lindsey Skinner, Heather, Zoe Taylor, Gill Hepworth

Womens Coxed Four – W.IM3.4+ included Gillian Hepworth, Hannah Evans, Lindsey Skinner, Zoe Taylor who were coxed by Shane Frear. The ladies had a superb start and kept up with the other crew for a good way into the race, unfortunately the other crew Peterborough City had more stamina on the day and LBC lost out to a tankard on this occasion.

Mens Coxed Four- IM3 4+ comprising of Nikola Stoilov, Richard Goodwin, Samuel Morris, Peter Van Hoof and coxed by Rachel Thorpe. The crew lost their heat and the opposition X-Press BC from Cambridge took a convincing win.

(l-r) Shane Freer, Andy Martin, Neil Martin, Jonny Day

Winning Mens Coxless Quad – IM3.4x- Neil Martin, Jonathan George Day, Shane Frear and Andrew Martin rowed to victory in their straight final against Champions of the Thames (Cambridge). Champions of the Thames took the lead on the start but slowly but surely the Loughborough crew inched their way back into the competition. At the final bridge the opposition made a slight steering error at the same time the Loughborough boys raised the game for a final push to the finish, this took them into the lead and they won by half a boats length. A fantastic result after a solid row at Bedford the previous week.

Winning Womens Coxless Quad – W.IM3.4x- included novices  Heather Nicol, Lindsey Skinner and Zoe Taylor with more experienced Gillian Hepworth at Bow steering the quad. In their first heat the ladies battled with the hosts Leicester RC, there was only half a boats length in it towards the end of the race, but LBC pushed to the finish line and continued the lead. A very close heat. They went on to race the final with Peterborough City and again it was a close race with Loughborough taking the lead and the ladies first win of the season. The three novices lost their novice status – very impressive as it was the first race of the season.

Mens Single Scull – IM3.1x – Thomas Scholefield (15) has shown much promise recently with impressive ergo scores and technique on the river. Tom and the opposition from Leicester RC were neck and neck the whole way down the course. Unfortunately Tom lost to Leicester RC (Orzel) by a foot, which is nothing in rowing terms, this should give him the confidence to go forward and prove himself at Chester Regatta.

Jonny Day, Tom Schofield

Winning Mens Double – IM3.2x Jonathan George Day (17) and Thomas Scholefield (15) had a tough battle ahead with heat, semi final and final race to win if they were to get a tankard. They cruised through the first heat against Burton Leander with a verdict of easy. The next race was against Lincoln RC who had a bye to the semi final, but even with fresher legs, the Loughborough boys won convincingly. The final was against Northampton RC who looked physically imposing against the Loughborough crew, but they proved that size isn’t everything and triumphantly took the lead and winners tankards.

Overall Loughborough Boat Club took 3 wins and a total of 10 tankards home. A superb start the the regatta season, the next regatta they are attending is Chester Regatta on the 8th May.

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