Monmouth Rowing Club had an excellent time both on and off the water at the 2024 World Masters Regatta in Brandenburg, Germany last week.
Thirteen men and five women travelled to Germany to race over five days; along with four women from City of Bristol and three from Old Collegians. The club competed in a total of 57 races and the squad raced in all boat types from 1x up to 8+ and everyone put in a good account for themselves.
There were 2 gold medals won: Nick H & Ian T in E2- and Tim E & David B in F2x; both races executed brilliantly.
In addition, there were a good number of close 2nd & 3rd placings by many of the crews and in all races MRC were in the pack with the athletes definitely flying the club flag high on the international stage.
One of the standout moments was seeing Roland C complete not one but 2 races in his 1x. For him to do his first stake boat 1x race at such a prestigious event took much determination and courage and it was fantastic to hear the applause he received from the grandstand crossing the line on one of the windiest days we had.
Saturday saw some very choppy conditions and by early afternoon some small boat events were cancelled. Not to be deterred, the WC4x boated and paddled towards the start, only to be told that the event committee had decided to suspend all racing, so the crew had a challenging turn around before riding the waves down last 500m of the course - exhilarating!
On the final day we entered a number of mixed events and it was great to be able to field three mixed doubles, two mixed quads and four mixed 8's (C, D, E & F). This did lead to some quick & slick changeovers on the 'hot seat' pontoon - made all the easier thanks to the fantastic help of all club members.
Final overall results out of 721 competing clubs:
Men - Third Men's club in the world, fantastic achievement
Women - 35th overall
Club coach Tim Male was extremely pleased with all the squad's efforts, noting it was yet another great championship for Monmouth and as always the team spirit shone through throughout the week.
Our thanks go to:
Paul, Colin and Nick for taking on the road trip with the trailer, giving up 4 days to get there & back,
Richard for all the fantastic coxing of the majority of our crews - awesome effort,
Tim M for all his meticulous planning for each day, to ensure every crew was in the right place at the right time & had a solid race plan to execute . Also thanks to Sarah Cr for loaning her truck to tow the boats to Germany.
The whole squad for their camaraderie throughout the week. It was brilliant to be part of Monmouth RC.
Great effort all round!
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