South Coast Championships 2024 – Review

Saturday saw the 67th annual South Coast Championships held at Netley, Southampton. The athletes were tried against tough conditions as the win produced a side-on-rolling series of waves, resulting in the audience being treated to coastal racing at its highest form. Exciting races weren’t in short supply as tight margins saw dramatic sprints to the line. The excitement didn’t stop there as prize-giving hosted Olympic bronze medallist Matthew Aldridge, who went on to comment “the regatta has gone well with some great racing, and has been a great culmination of the coastal season. Everyone has had a great day.” It’s clear the regatta has been successful, so how did the championship races stack up by the end of the day?

Championship Senior Men

JRN Prediction: Deal

Actual Result: Deal

Perhaps the most tense race of all, the senior men’s championship gave us exactly what we wanted. Being the big event of the day, The Bowl race was the last event of the day, before the junior regatta started. Rolling waves saw a slightly slower start than maybe expected given it was the fastest crews coming down the track. At the 500m down mark, Deal, Lymington and Coalporters were neck and neck. Nobody could call it as all three crews had nothing between them. A well-placed push saw Deal take a half-length lead, with the other two still neck and neck. At the 1k, all three crews made another step on, in an attempt to capitalise over their opposition during this gruelling stage of the race. By the end of the pushes, Deal held their half-length lead, with Lymington a canvas up on Coalporters. Another push saw Deal move out to clear water, and Coalporters push through Lymington. The final 500m of the race it was all guns blazing in a series of pushes, with Deal in the lead further increasing the gap as the line approached. Lymington responded to Coalporters push to overtake and get clear, with Deal reacting with an increase in rate to hold on to their first place position. Across the line it was Deal to take the win by a canvas of clear water. After a tight race, Deal’s Tyler Amos said “it was very challenging waters, we were being thrown around the place… we had a good start and built very very well into the finish”. Reece Mullaney also from Deal added “we challenged every challenge they put towards us, we were just answering their questions”.

Championship Senior Women

JRN Prediction: BTC

Actual Result: BTC

Off the start, BTC was the crew to lead the pack, but hungry for the win Shoreham made a very early push to try and take the first-place position. It would fall short as at the 500m down mark, BTC held a one-length lead over Shoreham. With moves and responses all throughout the race, the gap stayed roughly the same into the final stages of the race, where supporters cheered with all their might to try and get their crew to win. The race almost felt dictated by the chants as they waged a war on who could cheer the loudest, and both crews clearly wanted it. BTC held their one-length lead, but when Shoreham took their rate up it led BTC needing to respond. Through tiring efforts, the gap was still one length at 100m to go, but as the constant pushes began to show there effects on a now evidently tiring Shoreham, BTC managed to extend their lead to win by two lengths of clear water.

Championship Junior-Senior Men

JRN Prediction: Shoreham

Actual Result: Southampton

With a good show across many events, Hants & Dorset showed the calibre of rowers across their organisation. The crosswind made the starts tough, and with racing sitting well behind schedule the rowers would have been on edge, only adding to the challenging conditions set. A clean but slow start saw the crews set off racing while another race was still going, to help make up for lost time. At the 750m, Southampton led, with Itchen, Bideford Reds and Shoreham behind. By halfway, Southampton led a two-length lead over Itchen, slowly extending it to four lengths by the 500m to go mark. Chants from the supporters could be heard everywhere, as the crews all near the finish line and they all sprinted for the line. Itchen made a move but Southampton were too far ahead and they took second and first respectively. Not far behind, Bideford Reds led Shoreham, but a well-timed and well-executed sprint saw Shoreham overtake Bideford Reds merely lengths before the line.

Championship Junior Men

JRN Prediction: Folkestone

Actual Result: Shanklin Sandown

The junior men set off to a clean start with the nicer conditions of the day allowing for a more enjoyable start compared to their fellow competitors racing later on as conditions worsened. Shanklin took the lead of the pack, being chased down by Itchen. While these crews didn’t change places throughout the race, it was a real heat for third. Folkestone were leading the race for third, having come off of winning the CARA championship, with a sense of confidence. Bexhill, however, were coming in with vengeance in mind as they knew they could call it a success beating Folkestone. Bideford were the final crew pushing the other two to take the third place, no crew ever being too far behind Itchen. Shanklin crossed the line a few lengths up of Itchen, who were a few lengths up from the pack. The race for third was tight, no one crew holding a position for more than a few strokes, and as the crews pushed the rate up high into the 40s, the finish line saw Bexhill take third, with Bideford then Folkestone behind.

Championship Junior Women

JRN Prediction: Shoreham

Actual Result: Itchen Imperial

A big crosswind hit during this race, making the conditions more challenging for the competitors. After a clean start, the pack moved out, and an early move allowed Itchen to take a two-length lead. By the 500m, Itchen maintained their two-length lead over Lymington who held a good lead over Shoreham. Into the 1k marker, Shoreham had made a massive move to overtake Lymington and claim the second-place position, while Itchen pushed to extend their lead to three lengths. In the race’s closing stages, Lymington had a push to take what they could, closing in on Shoreham. However, it was a case of too little too late as Shoreham claimed second, with Lymington coming just shy in third. Itchen stayed uncontested through the whole race as the first-placed winner.

Championship Masters 40+

JRN Prediction: BTC

Actual Result: BTC

Perhaps the most drama-filled of all the races of the day, during the midst of the tough conditions saw a collision between Eastbourne and Deal off the start. After a stop to the race, and a quick chat with the officials, the race could be rerowed. At the 500m, BTC had a commanding lead over Lymington, who themselves had a few lengths over Eastbourne, with Shoreham close behind. By halfway, Lymington extended their lead over Eastbourne but had clear water from BTC who felt no pressure from the opposition. With no real contest, BTC crossed the line with a seven-length lead, with Lymington behind, who themselves had a seven-length lead ahead of Eastbourne. A race of impressive margins to say the least.

Overview

The regatta saw many races and many crews taking wins. The conditions were challenging, but it was run well, and with a great location, it left all the crews feeling happy with their experience at the regatta. The coastal rowing community is intimate, with friends across clubs, not just in your crew, so mutual respect saw the wins allowed to be celebrated by everyone, not just from within clubs. The defining factor that made winning tough on this occasion was the separation between lanes, making it hard to spot your opposition, making it all the more challenging but exciting races developed out of thirst for glory. The evening saw many smiles, trophies and a sense of good racing. Overall, the 67th South Coast Championships was nothing shy of a success for the winning crews and all those involved.

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