With racing season upon us, the Chester Long Distance Sculling Regatta kicks off this Sunday, September 26th, as one of the earlier races. This race spans from Eccleston Ferry to Chester Groves, a total of 5 km. Chester LDS has been held since 1955 and attracts hundreds of sculling crews annually. The regatta has people of all ages, including some as young as fifteen. These are the events for the 15 and under Junior Boys category:
J15 Single Sculls (1x):
Of the three events, this one is the largest, with a total of four competitors. Three of these rowers are from Trentham BC, and one is from RCRC. Wright and Softley, who are racing in singles for Trentham, raced together at the British Junior Championships in a double. They made it to the semi-finals, pulling an impressive time of 7:25.05. They have also raced at the English Indoor Rowing Championships, where they both pulled under two-minute splits for the three-minute event on a Concept2 machine. Dutton, another Trentham rower, has also proven his physical strength on the erg. He holds the British record for four minutes and 500 meters on an indoor rowing machine. We’ll see if their proficiency on the erg translates to a fast time in long-distance sculling. Quaglierini is the only rower in this event not from the Trentham Boat Club. He will be racing against strong rowers, but his boat club, Royal Chester Rowing Club, has performed well at this regatta in previous years.
J15 Coxed Quads (4x+):
The J15 coxed quad event in this regatta has a total of 3 entries. In past years, entry numbers were similarly low, but the race was never unexciting. The crews competing here have put up great times and kept each other working hard all the way to the finish line. Of the three boat crews competing, one is from Trentham, and the other two are from Queen’s Park High School. In the past, Trentham BC has performed very well at this regatta, especially in the 4x+ category. In 2018, they came first in the event, with a time of 19:04.1, besting two other crews. They performed similarly well in the J14 4x+, earning the top spot and completing the course in 19 minutes and 21 seconds. That same year, the Queen’s Park High School rowing team struggled to put themselves on the board in the J14 and J15 events. However, in 2017, they came fourth in the J15 4x+ event, proving their potential for great performance. It will certainly be an interesting race to watch.
J15 Double Scull (2x):
For the J15 age category, there is only one boat rowing as a double. Freddie Allwood, one of the rowers in this boat, has valuable experience that will serve him well going into this regatta. He competed at the Warrington Regatta with Joe Datnow in July. They raced in the J14 section and put up a good time. The same two won a medal at Chester’s Deva Junior Regatta back in March, which was held as a result of Chester’s Regatta shutting down due to COVID. If past performance is any indicator, Saturday’s race will be a good one for this crew.
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