Canoe report as submitted to the Banbury Guardian
WATERSIDE “A”
There were mixed results for Banbury paddlers in the second of the winter classics, the Waterside “A” race from Great Bedwyn to Newbury. The 12 mile race always attracts a high quality field and there were plenty of internationals on show at the sharp end of proceedings.

 Matthew McLean put in the best individual performance of the day, placing 9^th in a very competitive Junior K1 race, but it was a bittersweet experience as he was rammed by a K2 boat at one of the portages, causing him to capsize, and badly damaging his boat. The incident cost him at least five minutes. As it was, his time of 2:13:00 would have been good enough for 25^th in the senior men’s race!

 Julian Stone and partner Jenny Illinesi (Elmbridge) fell foul of the race rules and were disqualified from the Mixed K2 category for not wearing buoyancy aids.

 There were good performances in the Junior/Veteran K2 race, with Michael Punter and Katie Wood placing an excellent 11^th  in2:16:34, followed home by Graham Warland and Alice Murphy, 13^th in a cracking 2:23:30 and Chris Jones and Kathryn Stone 15^th in 2:40:45.

 Megan Wood, partnering Leighton Buzzar’s Chloe Sillitoe, entered the Ladies’ K2 category, although still a junior, and they placed a creditable 12^th in 2:29:16, two places ahead of Kelly Sapsford and Cathy Johnson who finished in 2:37:26. Catherine Caton and Sharon Firmin just squeezed undr the three hour barrier, finishing 25^th in 2:59:15.

Grey skies, wind and rain did not daunt Banbury and District Canoe Club’s paddlers at the weekend: the team proved itself at its home race, bringing in fantastic results. The choppy conditions and pouring rain did nothing to defer the Banbury paddlers, and with over 50 racers - the largest number Banbury has ever put out for a qualifying race -the club demonstrated why it has risen to become one of the best in the country.

Arguably, the performance of the day came from Matthew McLean and Sophie Rooney, who, even after having their race combined with boats from the highest divisions in marathon racing as well as their own, stormed through to take 3^rd place in an amazing time of 65 minutes in the Division 4/5/6 K2. More brilliant results came from the higher divisions for Banbury, with Julian Stone making a comeback for the season to be placed 3^rd in Division 5 K1, closely followed by team mate Laura Ferguson who came 5^th. Also, in his first Division 6 race since promotion, Iain Weir left the competition far behind as he brought home 4^th position in his wobbly C1.

In Division 8 K1 David Stanton put in an amazing performance, coming home in first position, and with a time of 39.07, he looks likely to be promoted. He was closely followed by Callum Chapman, who came 5^th, an excellent achievement, as the choppy conditions were not easy for canoe (C1) paddlers: the high kneeling position giving no advantages for stability. However, the C1 paddlers defied the conditions as Callum was followed home by Tony Gonzalez, who took 8^th place, although he had to work for it, as 12 year old Rebecca Seika chased him to finish in 9^th position.

A strong performance also came from the Division 9 K1 where Julie Wood powered ahead to take first position with apparent ease; however, she was pursued all the way by team mate Mike Palfrey, who, competing for the first time since completing the 100mile Cheshire Ring race last year, came home in 2^nd position. Just missing out on winning positions due to the split starts were Peter Button and Paul Lynes who came 5^th and 6th.  A surprise paddler racing in Division 9 was Neville Simmons, who, at 75 years old, and in his first race for 3 years, since recovering from serious illness, raced superbly to 12^th place, and was awarded a Banbury Marathon t-shirt for his devotion to the club. At the other end of the age range, 14 year old Neil Buzzard made his racing debut, coming home in 28^th place, a promising start for the future.

The good results didn’t stop there for the K1 team, as Roger Weir placed 4^th in Division 7, also racing in a C1. Francois Plantier, Megan Wood and Dom Murphy brought home 6^th, 7^th and 9^th positions, proving that being in one of the biggest divisions of the day was no challenge for them. Steve Flynn made the decision to race his own, much wobblier boat and although he tested the canal water by having a swim, he managed to recover to bring home a respectable 15^th place.

The K2 performances for the lower divisions were also astounding, with Mick Rowlinson and Catherine Caton finishing in a brilliant 2^nd place in Division 9 K2, backed up by Rachel Murphy and Natasha McLean, who, after having a collision at the start, managed to pull their way back to achieve 7^th place. The good results continued in Division 8 K2 with the team of Lucy Ryan and Debbie Anderson racing home in an amazing time of 36.30 to finish in 3^rd place. They were followed by Seb Raby and Gary Harper who finished in 4^th position after only having paddled together a few times previously. Also backing up the solid performance in this division was the father/daughter team of Vicky and Chris Hills, who finished in 5^th position. In Division 7 K2, Banbury also had excellent results with Alice Murphy and Katie Wood coming home in 4^th position, ahead of other Banbury crews Phredd and Ian McLean who finished 9^th and Melanie Murphy and club chairman Ray Pearce who finished 10^th.

The club’s youngest paddlers played their part, and the good results came in thick and fast, with Jonathon Hancox, following up his win at Windsor, to be placed 2^nd ahead of Harry Melling, who came 5^th in the Under 10 Boys race. Sister Emily Melling also did well to be placed 3^rd in the Under 10 Girls race. In the Under 12 Boys race, Harry Mafham, making his first appearance in racing, brought in 3^rd position in a time of 22.10, the same position achieved by Rebecca Warren in the Under 12 Girls’ race. She was followed by Charlotte Rowlinson who finished in 5^th place. In the fun race, Molly Brown and Abbie Taylor made their debut in K2, racing for the first time to finish 2^nd.

This is an outstanding performance for Banbury and District Canoe Club and shows their versatility and their fearlessness towards the unforgiving conditions of the day. With results like these coming in thick and fast at every race, Banbury looks very likely to maintain and improve its position as one of the top clubs in the country.

Sunny skies saw Banbury and District Canoe Club’s paddlers out in force for the Windsor Marathon this weekend, with over 30 boats on the water.

With Windsor Castle as a spectacular backdrop in the unexpected sunlight, Banbury lived up to the regal surroundings to bring in a whole string of fantastic results: Matt Cooknell and Callum Chapman won Division 7K2, after a gruelling battle with two other teams, their amazing sprint finish left the others far behind as they stormed ahead to take first place. Iain Weir followed this example to take second place in the Division 7K1 and achieving promotion to division six.

The results weren’t disappointing in the higher Divisions either, as Matthew McLean and Sophie Rooney took home second place in the division 4/5/6K2; the toughest race of the day. After having done hours of hard squad training the day before, the pair still managed to achieve top points for the club. Two was a lucky number for the McLeans, as dad, Ian also went on to be placed second in Division 8K1, closely followed by Seb Raby, who came fourth. After their outstanding performances, they achieved a promotion to division seven, the second promotion in a row in Seb’s case, as he had only been promoted to Division eight at the last race, and has now gone straight up to Division seven. Debbie and Keith Anderson were struck by lightning in Division 8K2, literally, as they collided with one of the under twelve lightning paddlers, fortunately they managed to recover to come home in fourth place, and the lightning escaped unscathed.

Division 9K1 brought in the positions thick and fast, with Paul Lynes finishing a remarkable fourth place, a season’s best, closely followed by Julie Wood and Vicky Hills in fifth and sixth place. Also bringing in a season’s best were Melanie Murphy and Graham Warland, finishing sixth in division 7K2.

For the younger paddlers of the club, the river cruisers proved no obstacle, with Jonathon Hancox winning the under ten  lightning boys race, and Rebecca Warren coming third in the under twelve lightning girls. This is certainly Banbury’s strongest performance in a while, paving the way for many more performances like this one and consolidating Banbury’s position as one of the top clubs.

National Inter-Club Finals
Fifth best in the country. That’s the proud boast of Banbury & District Canoe Club after a tremendous team performance brought them their highest ever placing in the national inter-club marathon finals, and the scalps of some of Britain’s biggest clubs to boot.

 The club put out it largest ever team, with over fifty paddlers taking part in the event, held on the Thames at Beale Park near Reading, and it was this strength in depth that lifted the club as paddler after paddler performed above expectations.

 Undoubtedly, the performance of the day came from Francois Plantier, who continued his meteoric rise through the divisions with a brilliant fifth place in Division 8. This division provided the club with four of its six K1 point scorers, as Steve Flynn (8^th), Keith Anderson (9^th) and Dom Murphy (10^th) all finished strongly, and, along with Francois, were rewarded with promotion to division 7.

 Dan Golder demonstrated what a quality athlete he is with a battling third place in Division 2, gaining the satisfaction of outsprintng the paddler who’d baulked him at the portage.

 High-kneeling canoe paddler Callum Chapman completed the scoring six, with a fine 10^th place in division 9, and must surely be looking for promotion next season.

 Among a plethora of other high-placing K1s were, in Division 5, Katie Wood, 11^th;  in Division 7: Alice Murphy, 12^th and Tony Gonzalez, 14^th; in division 9; Rebecca Seika, 13^th, and Vicky Hills 15^th.

 The club’s youngest paddlers played their part, with Jonny Hancox 7^th and Harry Melling 16^th in Under 10 boys; Mickey White 12^th in Under 12 boys; Billie White 6^th, Amelia Earle 8^th and Emily Melling 10^th in Under 10 girls, Becca Warren 6^th and Charlotte Rowlinson 17^th in Under 12 girls all showing that the future of the club is in safe hands.

 It was the club’s doubles teams which provided the lion’s share of the points: Debbie Anderson and Lucy Ryan’s gutsy paddle earned them an excellent third place in Division 9, with Phredd McLean and Julie Wood close behind in 5^th and Mick Rowlinson and Catherine Caton 7^th; whilst brothers Roger and Iain Weir steered their high-kneeling canoe brilliantly to take 3^rd in division 7/8, and Laura Ferguson & Matthew McLean, who’d only ever paddled together once before, ripped through the fied to take 5^th in Division 5/6.

September Sprints Report to the Banbury guardian

Banbury and District canoe club entered a small but strong team at the Flat-water Sprints National inter- club regatta.  The were many promising individual results placing Banbury 6^th overall.

Rachel Murphy proved how adaptable she can be when twice at the last minute made up a seat in crew boats, partnering Matt Cooknell finishing a remarkable 3^rd in boys D 500m and then immediately paddling with Natasha Maclean in girls D.

Sister Alice Murphy put in a solid performance to take 2^nd in K1 1000 and 4^th 500m then partnered Kathryn Stone to take 3rd

Megan Wood and Lydia Oxtoby from Leighton Buzzard came 3^rd girls C K2 1000m. Laura Ferguson continued her excellent form to take 3^rd in Girls B final one 500m 1000m. Sophie Rooney was 5^th in final two.  Sophie teamed up with Katie Wood finishing creditable 9th.in girls B K2

Julian Stone put in a solid performance to take 1^st and 2^nd in the boys B K4 and 5^th in K1 1000m. Matthew Mclean reached final two in boys B

Two new paddlers to the event Will Zanelli and Francoise Plantier proved they could be strong contestants in the experienced me’ns division both producing personal bests.  Ian Warren put in a solid performance in the masters and 12 year old Rebecca Warren proved she is ready to move up from the lightnings to Girls D next year.

In the ‘C’ boats event Iain and Roger Weir prove they are at the top of their field taking 1^st and 2^nd in C2 and C4 . Iain was 1^st in the 500 confirming his position of most improved ‘C’ paddler of the year and winning the Adjutants Cup.  Roger Weir was 3^rd followed closely behind by Callum Chapman 

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.Report as submitted to Banbury Guardian
Laura Ferguson confirmed her status as one of the rising stars of British canoeing by winning the Under 16 Girls’ National Marathon Championship in emphatic fashion. Tucking in at the back of the lead group from the start, Laura allowed the others to make the pace before blasting away over the last lap. In an event where races are usually won by a few seconds, Laura was nearly a minute clear of the second girl by the finish.

Laura was backed up brilliantly by Sophie Rooney who placed seventh, and Elsa Magniny who was eighth.
Laura also claimed a bronze medal in the K2 championship, partnering Steph Holmes from Worcester.
Katie Wood, partnering Leighton Buzzard’s Charlotte Creamer, was a fine second in Under 18 Girls’ K2, over a tough 12 mile course, whilst Julian Stone and Matthew McLean were 17^th and 18^th in the Under 16 Boys’ championship, and Kathryn Stone was 14^th in Under 14 Girls.There were some strong performances in the divisional races: Alice Murphy had the race of her life to place 6^th in division 8, backed up by Steve Flynn, 8^th, and Dom Murphy, 9^th, whilst Iain Weir was 11^th in Division 7. Phredd McLean and Lucy Ryan were 5^th in division 9 K2, closely followed by Will Zanelli and Catherine Caton in 6^th.Matthew McLean portaged well to claim 5^th in Divison 5, whilst Matthew McLean, Megan Wood and Roger Weir all put in good performances in a strong division 6 field.

Report as submitted to Banbury Guardian
SOUTHAMPTON MARATHON
Having already qualified for the National Inter-Club finals, Banbury & District Canoe Club sent only a small team of nineteen paddlers to the last qualifying event, the Southampton Marathon, but still managed to place third on the day, thanks to some fine individual performances.

The race is unusual as it is held on salt water, but the wide expanses of the estuary held no fear for the club’s youngest paddlers, as Harry Melling took a fine second place in under 10 boys, with sister, Emily, fourth in under 10 girls.

Matt Cooknell put in a brilliant paddle in Division 7 K1, taking second place in a time good enough to see him promoted to division 6. Dom Murphy was second in Division 8 K1 whilst new recruit, Steve Flynn, made an excellent debut in 6^th.

Alice Murphy and Sophie Rooney, normally K1 paddlers, teamed up to very good effect, taking third place in a highly competitive division 7/8K2 race. They were well backed up by Ray Pearce and Chris Hills in 8^th.

The club dominated division 9 K1 with an incredible eight paddlers in the top fourteen. Pride of place went to Francois Plantier, 4^th in only his second race, and David Stanton, 5^th. Both paddlers were promoted to division 8. Wild water specialist Vicky Hills was a fine 6^th, and was chased home by Lucy Ryan (9^th), Kathryn Stone (11^th), Kelly Sapsford (12^th) and Gary Harper (14^th). Unluckiest racer of the day was Paul Lynes, who was comfortably in 4^th place heading out, but missed the turn and found himself right at the back of the field. He battled back gamely, overtaking paddler after paddler to finish in a very creditable 13^th.

If you are coming from the Oxford direction, or from M40 Junction 7, pick up the A4074. As you come into Reading, this is called Woodcote Road, St Peter's Hill and finally Church Road. Eventually it comes to a junction. At the junction, turn right, crossing the Thames over Caversham Bridge. (If you glance to your right as you cross the bridge, you'll be looking at the venue).

The venue should be signposted from here, but if it's not, take the first right after the bridge, Richfield Avenue. Now, the area used for parking tends to vary, but pretty soon, you should see signs directing you to turn right again, into the car park.

Come off the A34 Oxford Ring Road at the Hinksey interchange. Turn left, and keep going until the next major junction. Now turn left into the A4144 Abingdon Road.  Soon you'll see traffic lights ahead of you, with the Fox and Hounds pub on your right. Keep in the right hand lane and turn right at the lights, into Weirs Lane, which soon becomes the B4495, Donnington Bridge Road. Come over the bridge (you'll see the Thames), then take the first left (very small road) into Meadow Lane. About 200 metres along there is a car park on your left, with a high barrier at the entrance. Park in here. You might want to get there early though, as there is a car boot sale taking place next door, so parking will be tight. We're going to get there about 9.00am, just in case.

When you are parked, walk through the woods and you'll arrive at the riverbank and Falcon's boathouse. There will be plenty of people in Banbury shirts!

CANOE REPORT 06.05.07. As submitted to the Banbury Guardian.

Basingstoke Canal Marathon.

Despite only having a small team, through some paddlers being unavailable and others electing to compete in non-scoring events elsewhere, Banbury & District Canoe Club put up some strong performances in the Basingstoke Canal Marathon - the firt Southern Region Hasler race of the Spring. As is usual for Basingstoke there were huge fields in every race, and the narrow canal made for very testing conditions.

 No-one coped better with the chop  than young  Matthew McLean. In his first scoring Division 6 race since promotion, he made up for a slow start by working through the field to sit with the lead pack and claim an excellent third place and instant promotion to Division 5.

Dan Golder used all of his experience to manipulate the Division 3 field, and finished a strong second to gain promotion to division 2, whilst Ian McLean and Chris Hills won division 9 K2 and look sure to be promoted. They were well backed up by Mick Rowlinson and Catherine Caton in seventh.

Sisters Katie and Megan Wood had a fine paddle in their first Division 5/6 K2 race, finishing strongly to claim 5^th place, whilst Julain Stone was 6^th in Division 5 K1.

11 year old Rebecca Seika put in a brilliant performance to take 4^th in Division 9, just missing promotion, whilst just behind her, Phredd McLean finished strongly to take 7^th. Keith Stone was 38th.

The biggest field of the day was Division 7/8 K2, and Banbury did outstandingly well to have two boats up near the front, with Melani Murphy and Graham Warland 6^th and husband and wife team Keith and Debbie Anderson 12^th.

Alice Murphy continues her return to fitness with ninth place in Division 8, whilst 11 year old Kathryn Stone and veteran, Peter Button had a sprint finish for 15^th place, with beauty just holding off age. Poor Julie Wood was knocked in by another boat at the start, but bravely got back in and continued.

Julie wasn’t the only victim. Dom Murphy and Ian Warren both had their boats hit from behind at the start, losing valuable time, but still managed to place 9^th and 11^th respectively in Division 8, whilst Rachel Murphy, paddling with Tasha McLean actually had her paddles knocked from her hand. The girls recovered well to finish 12^th in Division 9 K2.

Rebecca Warren continued her recent good run of form by taking third place in the under 12 girls' race in a time good enough for second in the boys' race.

CANOE REPORT 25.02.07

It’s been another busy week for Banbury & District Canoe Club. Fresh from being voted “Club of 

the Year” by the British Canoe Union, the club was visited by Times journalist Robert Crampton, 

who is writing a feature on Rivers Access. He was taken for a paddle on the River Cherwell by 

club members. The article will appear in the Times Magazine this Saturday (3rd March).

Paddlers put in some gritty performances on Sunday's 12 mile race from Aldermaston to Reading. Thameside 1, with its 13 portages, proved especially tough this year, with portages extended to avoid fallen trees and a really strong flow on the Thames for the last couple of miles upstream. Fastest performance of the day came from Julian Stone who completed the course in just under two hours to come in 8th in the junior men's K1. Veteran long distance pair Ray Pearce and Chris Hills came in just seconds over the two hours, followed minutes afterwards by Graham Warland and Melanie Murphy who claimed a pleasing fifth place in the mixed doubles. In their first long distance race Megan Wood and Matthew McLean came home in a time of just over 2 hours 18, while Katie Wood came in just behind them, to be placed second in the junior ladies K1. Veteran-Junior partnership Chris Jones and Kathryn Stone (at 11 years, the race's youngest competitor) came home in 2 hours 24 - knocking 18 minutes of their last year's performance.

 The club has more titles to add to its collection, after the final event in the Midlands duathlon series. Duathlon is a demanding event consisting of running and paddling and  Roger Weir has proved unbeatable this winter. He was first overall in the short course rankings, and alos picked up prizes as first junior, and first open canoe paddler. His younger brother Iain was third overall, an third open canoe paddler. Sophie Rooney was first junior lady. The club placed 6^th overall in the team competition; third ladies team; second junior team, and first open canoe team.

CANOE REPORT

Banbury Paddlers were out in force at the weekend, competing in both Wild Water and marathon races.

Rebecca Warren has made a remarkable start to the wild water season, winning the first four Under 12 races of the year, including two wins at the weekend, on the Rivers Goyt and Irwell in Manchester. Also on the Irwell, Vicky Hills won the Under 18 ladies category with ease, and Megan Wood placed second in Under 16 girls.

The marathon squad headed south, for the first classic of the season. Waterside “A” is a gruelling paddle from Great Bedwyn to Newbury, and includes 21 portages in its 14 miles. As usual, the race attracted a huge field, with international paddlers out in force.

 Roger Hiley  and Julian Stone  did exceptionally well to place third in the Veteran/Junior K2 category in 2.17.29, whilst teenager, Sophie Rooney, partnering a paddler from Leighton Buzzrad, was an excellent 8^th in Senior Ladies K2 in 2.25.26.

There was a remarkable performance from Catherine Caton, who, only four weeks after starting to paddle, completed the course in just under three hours, partnering the experienced Mick Rowlinson.

Ultra-distance specialists Ray Pearce and Chris Hills were 19^th in Veteran K2 in a solid 2.22.21, whilst 12 year old Kathryn Stone partnered by Chris Hills put up a fine 2.43.06 in Junior/Veteran K2.

Melanie Murphy and Graham Warland were 14^th in mixed K2 in 2.31.54 despite stopping to fix a broken rudder.

 Debbie Anderson put in a fine K1 performance to place 12^th in senior ladies in 2.55.02. Sprint specialist Carl Warland started brightly, and was well up the senior men’s field, but found the distance too much, dropping back to 23^rd in 2.37.08. Dom Murphy had a race to forget, springing a leak in his boat on the second portage, and limping home 33^rd in Veteran men’s K1.

Information for members

1.  I am required to place a notice on the first aid box with all those members who have an allergy, or medical condition.  If you would rather i didn't put the information on the outside, please let me know by the end of February.

2.  Those of you who have been attending circuit training, I am afraid it is payment time!  Please could you let me have your money when it is convenient - £10 for adults, £5 for children and £25 for a family.  If you are not sure if you have paid, bring your cheque book along and I shall tell you!!!

3.  I have been asked recently for more hoodies and cotton tee shirts.  I will be placing an order with the clothing company, but only for those items that are ordered - I don't have the space to store extra kit I am afraid.  Please can you contact me by the end of February if you would like one or two of the items.  The costs will probably be the almost the same as last year, which is:  Hoody - £14.50 and £16.00 and the tee shirts - £7 and £8.  Sizes come in various standard sizes.  Don't forget that I hold a stock of breathable tee shirts and also caps and hats.  If there is any other item of clothing that you would like me to investigate, please do not hesitate to contact me.

julie@hookiewood.freeserve.co.uk