Teenage rowers do Christchurch proud at Home Nations regatta

CHRISTCHURCH Rowing Club teenagers Solomon Hewitt and William Tate produced superb performances to grab silver medals while they represented England in a prestigious event.

The pair competed in the junior double sculls event at the Home International Regatta at Strathclyde Park, near Glasgow.

It is an annual rowing match between the Home Nations of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, with events for both men and women at junior and senior levels.

The race has been held since 1962 and each country takes it in turn to host the regatta. A team event, points gained from each event counted towards a final tally for each country in junior and senior categories.

Success at a keenly contested selection trial at London’s docklands handed the Christchurch Rowing Club youngsters the opportunity to represent their country and Solomon (17) and William (16) went to Scotland two days in advance to take part in a special training camp featuring the nation’s top rowing talent.

Following a week of record-breaking temperatures across the UK, the day of the regatta was thankfully cooler with little wind; perfect conditions for racing over the 2,000-metre international rowing course.

The junior double-sculls event is always one of the most competitive and this year was no exception with a class field assembled.

The race was close with all crews in contention throughout, but the Scottish crew took the honours. They were pushed hard all the way with England closing them down right up to the line.

The England team manager noted the entire squad was outstanding throughout the process and the Christchurch pair will draw on the experience to prepare them for further success when their racing season resumes in September.