Shortlists revealed for 2024 Club and Crew of the Year awards
British Rowing is excited to announce the shortlists for the Club of the Year and the Club, University and School/Junior Crew of the Year 2024 Awards
Club of the Year shortlist
Derby Rowing Club
This club has achieved continued success in competitive rowing and has also opened up opportunities for more adaptive athletes in Derby, working alongside British Rowing and the Derby Institute of Sport.
Infinity Boat Club
This is an impressive club that is changing the lives of young people for the better by helping develop respect, resilience and raising their self-esteem.
London Otters Rowing Club
This inspirational club combines inclusion, competitive and recreational rowing and has shown impressive growth.
Lymington Amateur Rowing Club
The panel liked this club’s ethos of inclusion, noting that there is a real energy and buzz around the club. Lymington has shown impressive growth and the panel applauds their goal of continuing to expand while fostering an environment where everyone feels welcome, inspired and proud to belong.
Mersey Rowing Club
The panel felt that Mersey RC exemplified the values of British Rowing through its dedication to inclusivity, community engagement and progressive leadership by providing opportunities for all, and were particularly impressed with the club’s STEM for girls initiative.
Club Crew of the Year shortlist
City of Cambridge Rowing Club – Chris and Kate Ware
Chris and Kate met at the club over 20 years ago. One or both of them has won a medal at every British Masters Championships since 2018, and in 2024 they won another British Rowing Masters Championship together in 2024, taking the Mixed MasD double sculls.
Coastal Rowing Academy – Women’s Coastal Quad
This MasD-age crew was formed in 2021, when three of them learned to row. After continuously developing their skills and knowledge, and upping their training, Jo, Rowena, Sophie and Liz started achieving regular wins in 2024. These included a gold medal at the Welsh Open in challenging waters in a remarkable time. A highlight of their season was qualifying for the final at the World Rowing Coastal Championships in Genoa, Italy, where they raced against performance crews from around the world.
Derby Rowing Club – Henley Royal Regatta Thames Challenge Cup Crew
This eight’s achievements over the past year began with finishing as the top East Midlands club crew at the Head of the River Race, and notching up the club’s first Tideway win – at Quintin Head – since the turn of the century. The crew went on to have a fantastic summer of racing, pre-qualifying for Henley Royal Regatta (the only provincial crew to do so), and then winning their first round race. At the British Rowing Junior and Senior Club Championships, they won three gold and one silver medal, playing a major role in lifting Derby RC to the podium of the Senior Victor Ludorum rankings.
Hexham Rowing Club – Women’s Masters B Quad
Catherine Bowman, Elizabeth Waterman, Shor Renyard, Helena Nettleton formed the first women’s Hexham crew to aim for Henley Masters. In preparation, they competed at Scottish Spring Regatta, local regattas, British Masters Championship, all with winning performances. Winning at Henley Masters by a small margin in a hotly contested event, this crew made history for the club.
Royal Chester Rowing Club – Senior Men’s Coxed Four
Coached by Jamie Leighton and Wilf LeBrocq, the crew of Harry McGarva, Peter Dean, Alex Bain, Chris Sim and cox Sarah Armstrong had a phenomenal 2023/24 season. They were selected for the Britannia Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, where they became the first Royals to compete in a Henley final in 74 years. The quintet were subsequently selected for the English Rowing team and with rowers from London RC rowers formed an eight that won at the Home International Rowing Regatta in Strathclyde, taking the overall team trophy. Earlier in the season the five Royals members formed the core of an eight that won the Jackson Trophy at the Head of the River for the second consecutive year.
University Crew of the Year shortlist
University of Bristol Boat Club – Senior Women’s Eight
This crew made history by qualifying for the Island Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta – an achievement the club has been chasing for years. They went on to win their first race. They’ve set a new standard for the club to aspire to, raising the bar and inspiring future crews.
Exeter University Boat Club – Novice Men’s Eight
This crew was formed at the start of 2024 to improve on Exeter’s novice men’s results from previous years. They crew showed huge initiative, training in the public university gym when the erg room was not available to ensure they hit their goals. Their most notable wins included at BUCS Head, at the Head of the River Race (overtaking a large number of crews to take the Academic Beginner Trophy by 58 seconds), and at BUCS Regatta.
Newcastle University Boat Club – Women’s 1st Eight
This crew had a remarkable season, becoming the first women’s Henley Royal Regatta finalists from Newcastle University Boat Club and also the first Newcastle eight to race a Henley final. Their achievement in the Island Challenge Trophy was all the greater as they had not been seeded.
University of Surrey Boat Club – Lightweight Women’s Double Sculls: Leonie and Sacha Kennedy
Alongside serving as the club’s President and Lead captain, twins Leonie and Sacha won bronze at BUCS Regatta in the W Ch Lwt double sculls, securing their third medal in this category together. This also gained them selection for the European Universities Games and Championships (EUSA) in Croatia, where they won the silver medal, beating a crew who had been 18 seconds faster than them at BUCS Regatta.
University of Warwick – Novice Men’s Eight
The University of Warwick Novice Men’s Eight had an excellent season in 2024, marking what is probably the most successful year for a beginner crew at Warwick since the club’s founding in 1967. They recorded club records for both course time and position in their category at the Head of the River Race, before finishing fourth in the A final at BUCS Regatta, setting another groundbreaking all-time club record, surpassing the previous record set in 2012, and halving the number of boats in front of them from BUCS head. Their success has inspired all eight to continue rowing in the senior squad, with one crew member even being selected to attend a GB Student Development Camp.
School/Junior Crew of the Year shortlist
Shanklin Sandown Rowing Club – Carter Horrix and Louis Sheasby, J16 2x
As well as having an unbeaten season both domestically (JIRR, Junior Sculling Regatta and National Schools) and internationally (GB France Match), these two young athletes have been great ambassadors for the sport, frequently appearing in the local press and on local radio, and supporting and mentoring younger crews.
Windsor Boys School Boat Club – Atticus Chute, Joe Wellington, Ruben Taylor, Jimmy Harlow, J18 4x-
This crew had a phenomenal year, culminating in winning the Fawley Cup at Henley, and going on to secure GB representation. Their other achievements include winning at the Head of the Charles Boston USA in the Men’s Youth Quads, winning at Poplar Regatta in a time under 6 minutes, and winning Championship Boys Quads at National Schools Regatta. On top of their outstanding results they have also been immensely influential and brilliant role models to the younger athletes in the years below them.
Wycliffe College Boat Cub – Lily Martin, Violet Holbrow-Brooksbank, Mia Lowes and Eloise Etherington, WJ18 4x-
This extraordinary crew set new standards in schoolgirl sculling this season, in which they were unbeaten, and set new course records along the way at the Schools Head of the River and National Schools Regatta. They achieved the very rare ‘quadruple’ of Schools Head of the River, Henley Women’s Regatta, National Schools Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta wins.
The winners of all of the 2024 British Rowing Awards will be announced next Friday, 20 December 2024. Winners of Coaching Awards will be presented with their awards at the British Rowing Coaching Conference in January and winners of the other awards will receive theirs at a lunch in Henley in February.
