University students race for gold at national indoor rowing competition
Students from across the UK raced in the University Indoor and Adaptive Rowing Series between 2-16 November 2024
Now in its 11th year, the 14-day University Indoor and Adaptive Rowing Series (UIARS) was hosted across 10 academic institutions. The competition allowed beginner and adaptive rowers to race over 1km, and senior rowers over 2km. In total, 908 students, including 537 beginner rowers, from 33 universities took part.
Nadine Smith, President of Portsmouth University Boat Club, said, “For the second year running, we hosted UIARS for the South Coast region. The event saw an impressive turnout, with 55 athletes competing and strong support from neighbouring universities, including Southampton, Solent, and Bournemouth. The beginners faced tough competition, with the 1km categories drawing the largest number of entries. Standout performances included first and econd place finishes in the Open category and a second place finish in the Women’s race.”
All event winners have won a free entry to the British Rowing Indoor Championships 2024, giving them the chance to show their talents on an even bigger stage!
Championship 2km
In the Open Championship 2km event, all of the top three rowers broke the six-minute barrier, with GB Rowing Team triallist and Oxford Brookes University rower Ben Newton winning gold in a time of 5:50.4. Costa Galatalis from the University of the West of England, who won the Open Beginner 1km event in 2023, came second in 05:56.8, followed by Dominiko Arnerich from Oxford Brookes University taking third place in 05:58.0.
Winning the Women’s Championship 2km event for a second year in a row, GB Rowing Team triallist Kathryn Mole clocked 06:47.8, representing the University of Birmingham. Katie Robertson from the University of Edinburgh secured second place with 06:50.5 following her success as 2023 winner of the Women’s Beginner 1km event. Oxford Brookes University rowers Lindsey Morrissett and Sierra Bishop tied for third place in 06:51.7.
Lightweight Championship 2km
The Open Lightweight Championship 2km event saw 2023 champion Ciaran Purdy from Queen’s University Belfast win again in 06:21.1, 10.7 seconds ahead of University of Loughborough rowers Patrick Ainsley and Tom Kiel, who both finished in 06:31.8 to tie in second place.
The University of Birmingham won a second women’s event as Darcy Smyth came first in the Women’s Lightweight Championship 2km event in 07:26.2. It was a close race for second and third, with Frances Sealy from the University of Surrey placing second in 07:33.3, followed by Erin Meredith from the University of Birmingham’s time of 07:34.5.
Beginner 1km
The beginner events gave new rowers a chance to experience indoor racing on the national stage for the first time. In the Open Beginner 1km, Queen’s University Belfast rower Michael Hewitt won in 2:51.8, followed by Michael Broderick from the University of Exeter (2:58.5) and Jack Morris from the University of Surrey (2:59.5).
The Women’s Beginner 1km was won by University of Edinburgh’s Lucy Lucas in 03:23.6, with Pip Jowett from the University of Nottingham finishing second in 03:28.1 and Ellie Harding from the University of Birmingham in third in 03:29.1.
Adaptive
Milda Ambra from the University of York BC won the Adaptive Women’s 1km in a time of 03:41.5.
