Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club

At a glittering awards ceremony in the magnificent City Chambers and in the company of the great and the good of Scottish sport, Gordon Simpson won the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Hosted by Bryan Burnett, Gordon collected his award from friend of the club and Executive Member for Glasgow 2014, Councillor Archie Graham – in front of the Lord Provost, the Leader of the Council, the Scottish Minister for Sport, the Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014 and Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray’s mum, Judy Murray.

Further information will be available shortly on the Glasgow Sport website.

After a week of worrying weather, we were delighted to be able to run the Fours and Eights Head on Saturday, over the long course.  This presented challenging river conditions, particularly at the railway bridge and marshalling at the start, but all crews handled the conditions admirably.

There were some close results which indicates some good racing down the course.  The faster conditions in the second division caused several time penalties to be applied as crews struggled to make it to the start.

Congratulations to the Glasgow Schools/Glasgow Academy/Loch Lomond MO8+ composite crew in winning the first division by 3 seconds over Clydesdale, and to Glasgow University MR28+ on winning the second division by 16 seconds over Strathclyde University, with the fastest time of the day (11 minutes, 53 seconds).  Glasgow University’s MR2 crew was the fastest four in the first division, with the Glasgow Schools/Glasgow Academy/Loch Lomond MJ18 composite crew the fastest in division two.

We have identified an error in the allocation of time penalties for crews 42 and 47 in the 2nd division which resulted in the wrong crew being awarded the pennants for winning J18 4+.  The results have been amended and we will ensure the winning crew receives their pennants.  We apologise to both crews involved.

Our thanks go to the Glasgow Humane Society for safety cover, Glasgow Rowing Club for their safety launch and driver, GUBC’s Andy Barton for driving our safety launch, Strathclyde University Boat Club for a boat loan, the Scottish Rowing Umpires (led by John McKinney), the volunteer marshals, time keepers and tea bar organisers.

The updated results from Saturday’s event are now available on the 4′s and 8′s Head page.

A nice time-lapse video of the 1st division at the start is available here, courtesy of local photographer Andrew Lynch.

Olympic Champion Dr Katherine Grainger CBE was joined by members of the GB Start Group at Clydesdale today for a photo-shoot to launch the ‘Going for Gold’ fundraising dinner for Aberlour Child Care Trust.  The charity will host a black-tie dinner on Thursday 5th June at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Katherine will be the guest speaker.

Katherine, who is an ambassador for the charity, said:  ”This promises to be a fabulous evening in aid of a great cause, and I’m really pleased to be able to take part.  I’ve worked with Aberlour for a number of years, I’ve seen the vital work which they undertake and it means a lot to me that I can help them in this way”.

More details about Aberlour Child Care Trust and their fundraising activities can be found here.

Clydesdale is pleased to support today’s photo-shoot and will look into ways of working with the charity again in the future.

Katherine Grainger, Aberlour CCT Ambassador, with members of the GB Start Squad at Clydesdale ARC.
Photo: Sandy Young Photography.

The Scullers Head ran today in good conditions.  In the end, 58 single scullers completed the course, with 31 doubles following in the 2nd division.  Results on the event page here.

Congratulations to Kieran Brown of Edinburgh University Boat Club for winning the 2013 Scullers Head, in a fine time of 14.38.  Kieran was closely followed by Gavin Horsburgh of Glasgow Schools, just 3 seconds behind.  Ross Marchbank retained the Tankard Trophy for winning Res2 Singles.

Emma McDonald of Glasgow University had a commanding victory in the Woman’s event with a time of 15.56 to win the Life Members Cup, with Gillian Connal of Strathclyde Park and Liz Creighton of Edinburgh University 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Ross Marchbank with the Tankard Trophy (M Res2), Kieran Brown with the Peter Grieve Quaich (Head of River) and Emma McDonald with the Life Members Cup (Fastest Woman).

To the Doubles Event, where Gavin Horsburgh and Josh Armstrong of Glasgow Academy won with a 20 second margin over the Clydesdale J18 double of Euan Malone and Giacomo Galano, with SUBC 3rd.

Emma McDonald was joined by Rebecca Lightfoot in the Fastest Women’s Double with a time of 15:12 – about 6 seconds ahead of the Strathclyde Park double of Natalie Irvine and Gillian Connal in 2nd.

Huge thanks to all those assisted: including the Scottish Rowing Umpires, the Clydesdale Marshalls and timing teams, the Glasgow Humane Society for safety boat cover and also Glasgow Rowing Club for their safety boats, launch and driver.  Thanks to Clyde Gateway and Stampfli for programme sponsorship.

Particular thanks to the tea bar team, led by Nadia Sterlini and Mary Snape, for keeping us warm and well fed all day.  Lastly, many thanks to event organiser Michele Foran who pulled it all together.

We are fortunate to have so many great people in our club and we are delighted that two of our members have been recognised with Sports Council for Glasgow Awards.

Amy Walton and Gordon Simpson

Amy Walton was nominated for the Volunteer of the Year Award:

“Amy leads by example and is always willing to provide support to the less-experienced members needing help carrying boats out to the river and setting off from the steps safely. Her position as Flag Captain and her in-depth knowledge of the club mean that she is constantly in demand from the club members for help and information. However she is able to maintain a friendly and welcoming outlook throughout, despite frequently stressful situations.  Amy maintains her sense of humour at stressful times.  She also inspires other to also go that extra mile – a great motivator.”

Amy was highly commended in the Volunteer of the Year Award.

Gordon with Hilary Atkinson, daughter of Colin Atkinson

Gordon Simpson was nominated for the Service to Sport Award:

“Rowers around the world will know Gordon for his tireless work supporting visiting nations to the 1986 Commonwealth Games, through to the 2007 World Under 23 Championships.  International teams recognise Gordon practically as host of Scottish Rowing as he arranged boats, logistics and on-site repairs for visiting teams. Rowers in Scotland will know of Gordon has the man who introduced Katherine Grainger to our sport, before her rowing career took off in Edinburgh.  His ‘can-do’ attitude remains as strong as ever whilst his renowned delegation skills become ever more effective.  Everyone has been “Gordoned” into assisting in some task such is the subtle persuasion of Gordon, he explains the value of the job in hand and has you volunteering before he has to ask. Gordon’s motivation is his love of the sport and the people in it.  That he has contributed everything over such a long time is testament to his dedication to our sport.”

Gordon was also nominated by Glasgow Schools Rowing Club:

“It is difficult to do justice to the contribution of this remarkable man.  It has been massive, sustained and given with no motive other than his deep love of his sport. We estimate he spends 30-40 hours/week working between our club and Clydesdale.  No other person has come close to his influence and contribution and we doubt whether any other club in Scotland could present his equal.  It is no exaggeration to state that without Gordon Simpson, there would be no Glasgow Schools Rowing Club as we know it.”

Gordon was presented as overall Winner of the Colin Atkinson Award for Service to Sport.

The Scullers Head Draw and Information for Competitors is now available on the Scullers Head page.

Please note the revised start times, bringing both divisions forward 1 hour to avoid visiting crews boat loading in the dark, with the singles at 11 am and the doubles at 1.30pm.

It is anticipated that conditions will allow the race to proceed. Competitors are advised to wrap up warm!

We were joined on Sunday by Olympic Champion Katherine Grainger and GB Sculler Imogen Walsh to help launch our new Junior Development Programme. The programme seeks to capitalise on the surge of interest in rowing following Katherine’s performance at the 2012 Olympics.

Katherine took her first rowing strokes on the Clyde and it was fitting that she made a touching presentation to Gordon Simpson, who first got her in a boat, on the occasion of his retirement from the role of Clubmaster – a role he first started in 1961.

Katherine Grainger and Gordon Simpson

The formal proceedings of the day included the launch of our Direct Club Investment from sportscotland, which will fund junior development coaching at the club during periods which the existing volunteers cant support.  The funding of £33,739 over four years will enable the club to expand its activity and increase its capacity over the long term.

Katherine and some of the Clydesdale Juniors

The Sports Council for Glasgow, in conjunction with sportscotland, made the award of “Development Coach of the Year” to Maureen Malone, in recognition of her contribution to raising the standard of participation and competition in our sport over several years.  The Sports Council for Glasgow also awarded Clydesdale the “Club of the Month” Award.

Katie Oman (sportscotland), Imogen Walsh, Maureen Malone, Katherine Grainger and Moira Ord (Sports Council for Glasgow)

Archie Graham, Executive Member for Glasgow 2014, was present and pleased to see that the club was proudly displaying the 2014 Legacy branding in recognition of its contribution to the legacy of next year’s Commonwealth Games.

Proceedings moved downstairs where Mike and Stephen Abram of Henry Abram and Sons were joined by Katherine and Imogen to launch two new doubles, Glen Fyne and Glen Lochay.  The sponsorship of Henry Abram and Sons was matched by sportscotland through their sportsmatch programme and Mike Abram said:  ”Henry Abram and Sons Ltd are delighted to sponsor the new boats and are pleased to continue their support and share in the future success of the club and its members. The sportsmatch programme, which is run by sportscotland, makes sponsorship a particularly attractive investment for us – to have Katherine Grainger and Imogen Walsh on hand to assist with the launch of boats named by us is an honour and we are delighted to work with sportscotland to support the development of Clydesdale.”

Mike Abram and Stephen Abram

Katherine Grainger and Imogen Walsh name the “Glen Fyne” and “Glen Lochay”

Louise Martin CBE, Chair of sportscotland, said: “We are delighted that an ambitious club like Clydesdale Amateur Rowing Club is one of the first recipients to benefit from our Direct Club Investment programme, as well as receiving £4,992 through sportsmatch.  sportscotland is making significant progress in implementing a world-class sporting system at all levels, and this investment demonstrates our commitment to the growth of clubs throughout the country.  As excitement about next year’s Glasgow Games continues to grow, we are committed to supporting clubs to meet the increasing demand on capacity and help deliver a lasting sporting legacy for clubs.”

The Clydesdale members, friends and guests.

Thanks to Photographer David Nolan.  All images can be found here.

Thanks to Diana Worthy and Michael Lekakis for co-ordinating the refreshments and boathouse preparations.

Clydesdale is mentioned on the BBC News page today, as sportscotland officially launch their new Direct Club Investment programme.  We will be launching our project this Sunday from 12 noon at the West Boathouse, with Olympic Champion Katherine Grainger, GB Sculler Imogen Walsh and the Executive Member for Glasgow 2014 Archie Graham all present along with guests from sportscotland, Glasgow Life and Sports Council for Glasgow.  All welcome.

Our new committee was elected at the AGM.  Welcome to new committee members Amy Wood, Julie Dunlop, Chris Walton and Sophie Warburton.  Michael Foran proudly steps up to the role of Vice President and Ceri Sellers has taken on the role of Treasurer.  Michael Lekakis has big shoes to fill, following Gordon Simpson as Clubmaster.  Full details on the committee page.

Congratulations to all Clydesdale members past and present who competed at the British Championships last weekend.  Notable performances include:

Jack Burns winning the C Final of O 2x on Saturday in a composite with Aberdeen University and finishing 4th in the B Final of O 4x in a composite crew with athletes from Aberdeen on Sunday.

Claire McKeown and Hannah Stone winning the B Final of W4x, in a composite crew with Robert Gordon University on Sunday.

In what was a very competitive event where the standard of racing was the highest it has been in many years, these are some fantastic results – particularly for those less experienced crews who raced hard to make it to the C and D finals.

Elsewhere, former member Chris Rae won silver overall in O 8+, Samantha Fowler and Karen Bennett won bronze overall in the W4- , all three with Molesey BC.  Kieran Brown was 2nd in U23 Lwt 2x with EUBC.