New Head Coach Appointment:
Ed Dean
We are over the moon to announce Ed Dean as our new performance head coach. He joins us on a long term contract beginning just in time for the start of the 2022/2023 season.
Working down at Henley Rowing Club, Ed gained a huge amount of experience to bring to the programme, coaching crews to Henley Women’s Regatta records, multiple national schools titles/records, medals at Four's Head, Women's Head, School's Head and wins on the international stage. Also, having won gold medals at BUCS as an athlete. Having taken St Paul’s Girls School to new heights, he now takes the step out of junior rowing to take on the new challenge of senior rowing.
We look forward to what Ed, and his experience, can bring to developing the programme in his new head coach role. Ed will work alongside the rest of our brilliant and supportive coaching team, who we can’t thank enough, in order to produce some exciting results this year.
University Rowing Aberdeen is a Scottish Rowing supported Performance Programme and we would like to thank both Universities and Scottish rowing for their continued support.
We are already thriving under Ed’s training programme, so if you’re interested in joining this promising programme, please contact Ed on [email protected]
Working down at Henley Rowing Club, Ed gained a huge amount of experience to bring to the programme, coaching crews to Henley Women’s Regatta records, multiple national schools titles/records, medals at Four's Head, Women's Head, School's Head and wins on the international stage. Also, having won gold medals at BUCS as an athlete. Having taken St Paul’s Girls School to new heights, he now takes the step out of junior rowing to take on the new challenge of senior rowing.
We look forward to what Ed, and his experience, can bring to developing the programme in his new head coach role. Ed will work alongside the rest of our brilliant and supportive coaching team, who we can’t thank enough, in order to produce some exciting results this year.
University Rowing Aberdeen is a Scottish Rowing supported Performance Programme and we would like to thank both Universities and Scottish rowing for their continued support.
We are already thriving under Ed’s training programme, so if you’re interested in joining this promising programme, please contact Ed on [email protected]
Home International Regatta 2022
Four of our athletes were selected to represent Scotland at the Home International Regatta at the London Docks.
Those selected included :
Those selected included :
- Andrew Dunse
- Emily Carruthers
- Morgan Nunez
- Brighde Watt
“Rowing at HIR has been a target of mine since I saw some of the seniors compete at the 2019 HIR at Strathclyde Park in my first year of University. Getting on the Scotland team this year was a great experience and one I would love to do again, and hopefully come away with a medal” - Emily Carruthers
Henley Women's Regatta 2022
This year, we entered our top Women's 4- into the Aspiration Academic category at HWR. The composite crew consisting of athletes from AUBC and RGUBC was as follows:
Unfortunately, after a close race against a strong Newcastle crew, they did not progress to the next round.
With all four girls learning to row at URA we are very proud of their achievements so far and hope to build on this performance in years to come.
- Kirstin McCallum (Bow),
- Sarah Gilhooley (2),
- Emily Carruthers (3) and
- Morgan Nunez (Stroke).
Unfortunately, after a close race against a strong Newcastle crew, they did not progress to the next round.
With all four girls learning to row at URA we are very proud of their achievements so far and hope to build on this performance in years to come.
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Scottish Championships 2022
On the 3rd of June URA travelled to Strathclyde Park for a weekend of racing.
Women's Squad:
Over the course of the weekend we had several women’s crews placing in their races. Both Senior Women's 4+ and 4- came 2nd in their respective races. The Women's Beginner 4+ also won silver beating Glasgow University beginners. The Women’s 2- completed their time trial on Friday and went on to race in the A final. The crew consisting of Emily Carruthers (bow) and Brighde Watt (stroke) went on to win the bronze medal.
Men's Squad:
The Senior mMen entered a boat consisting of Thomas Lloyd (stroke) and Andrew Dunse (bow) into the Champ 2- category which went on to qualify for the A final. Unfortunately they just missed out on placing, coming 4th. Jakub Zbikowski raced in the A final in his single and won beating boats from Glasgow University and Heriot Watt. There was also one beginners 4- and senior 4- entered. They quailed for their respective A and B finals. The senior men went on to win their race beating boats from Glasgow and St Andrews University. The beginners also raced well coming second only to Edinburgh University.
This event also acts as part of the selection process for the Home International Regatta. Three Senior Women, Emily Carruthers, Brighde Watt and Morgan Nunez, and one Senior Man Andrew Dunse were selected for the Scottish team this year. We wish them the best of luck!
Congratulations to all crews who gained valuable racing experience this weekend! We hope to be back next year to improve on our performances.
Women's Squad:
Over the course of the weekend we had several women’s crews placing in their races. Both Senior Women's 4+ and 4- came 2nd in their respective races. The Women's Beginner 4+ also won silver beating Glasgow University beginners. The Women’s 2- completed their time trial on Friday and went on to race in the A final. The crew consisting of Emily Carruthers (bow) and Brighde Watt (stroke) went on to win the bronze medal.
Men's Squad:
The Senior mMen entered a boat consisting of Thomas Lloyd (stroke) and Andrew Dunse (bow) into the Champ 2- category which went on to qualify for the A final. Unfortunately they just missed out on placing, coming 4th. Jakub Zbikowski raced in the A final in his single and won beating boats from Glasgow University and Heriot Watt. There was also one beginners 4- and senior 4- entered. They quailed for their respective A and B finals. The senior men went on to win their race beating boats from Glasgow and St Andrews University. The beginners also raced well coming second only to Edinburgh University.
This event also acts as part of the selection process for the Home International Regatta. Three Senior Women, Emily Carruthers, Brighde Watt and Morgan Nunez, and one Senior Man Andrew Dunse were selected for the Scottish team this year. We wish them the best of luck!
Congratulations to all crews who gained valuable racing experience this weekend! We hope to be back next year to improve on our performances.
“After only starting rowing this year I am so lucky to have been given the opportunity to race at scotlands main rowing event of the season. I really enjoyed racing and coming 2nd place in the mens beginners 1x” Hugo studd 
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BUCS Regatta 2022
This year URA travelled down to Nottingham to compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport Regatta. This is a major event in the season with universities from all over the country competing making it an invaluable experience for both seniors and beginners. It was a great way to place ourselves against some of the country's top rowing universities. Crews race in a time trial and are then ranked into finals.
The Women’s Intermediate 2- consisting of Brighde Watt (stroke) and Emily Carruthers (bow) qualified for the B final and came second. A second 2- made up of Morgan Nunez (stroke) and Kirstin McCallum (bow) qualified for C final. The Women’s Intermediate 4- consisting of Brighde Watt (stroke), Emily Carruthers (3), Morgan Nunez (2) and Kirstin McCallum (bow) also qualified for the C final and won, actually beating the times of boats in the B final. Sarah Gilhooley who learnt to row at URA qualified for the C final of the Women’s Beginner 1x after only training in her boat a week prior to the event!
Jakub Zbikowski and Dean Porter raced in the Men’s intermediate lightweight pair achieving 6th place in the A final. Hugo Studd who took part in our Learn to Row programme competed in the Men’s Beginners 1x and placed 3rd in the B final. The Men’s Intermediate 2-, Intermediate 4+, Beginner 4+ and Beginner 8+ all qualified for the D final in their respective races.
We hope to build on these results and are looking forward to coming back next year!
The Women’s Intermediate 2- consisting of Brighde Watt (stroke) and Emily Carruthers (bow) qualified for the B final and came second. A second 2- made up of Morgan Nunez (stroke) and Kirstin McCallum (bow) qualified for C final. The Women’s Intermediate 4- consisting of Brighde Watt (stroke), Emily Carruthers (3), Morgan Nunez (2) and Kirstin McCallum (bow) also qualified for the C final and won, actually beating the times of boats in the B final. Sarah Gilhooley who learnt to row at URA qualified for the C final of the Women’s Beginner 1x after only training in her boat a week prior to the event!
Jakub Zbikowski and Dean Porter raced in the Men’s intermediate lightweight pair achieving 6th place in the A final. Hugo Studd who took part in our Learn to Row programme competed in the Men’s Beginners 1x and placed 3rd in the B final. The Men’s Intermediate 2-, Intermediate 4+, Beginner 4+ and Beginner 8+ all qualified for the D final in their respective races.
We hope to build on these results and are looking forward to coming back next year!
"Rowing at BUCs was a fantastic opportunity to compete with rowers from all over the country. It was amazing being a part of crowds supporting my teammates when I wasn’t racing and hearing them do the same when I was, the energy at the event was incredible, definitely a highlight of the year for me.” - Ben Daniels (Men’s Beginner 1x)
BUCS Head 2022
Despite being a two day event, our athletes only raced on the Saturday, with everyone racing in the eights, and then select people rowing in the coxed four categories, a good day of racing was had by all. It was great to get back to BUCS head and race on the Tyne, as we were unable to get down to Rutherford Head this year. Racing on the Tyne is a great experience and really tests our athletes winter training being over a long distance.
However, all our athletes performed well, and had a good time racing.
Hugo Studd, one of our beginners who was brought along to race the eight has this to say;
"Its such a great experience getting to row and compete with the senior athletes, they really help you understand the race plan and push you on to perform to your best ability"
Another beginner, Katie McPhail, who was also brought up to race in the eight, said this;
"Racing with the seniors this Saturday has really inspired me to continue racing, everyone is very supportive of everyone and its exciting to get to race with people who have more experience as it shows what we will be able to do as beginners, its made me excited for the year to come"
Overall, this weekend was a great experience for all our athletes and our beginners look forward to racing Inverness Eights Head in a couple of weeks time, whereas our seniors look toward Boat Race preparation over the next couple of months.
Inverness Fours and Small Boats Head 2021
After a great weekend of racing last week on the home waters of Aberdeen, our senior, development, and selection of beginner athletes headed up North to Inverness for the return of Inverness Fours and Small Boats Head. This was our beginner squads first competition of the year. Despite the cold weather, Inverness stayed dry and we had some excellent racing across all squads.
Results from this weekend include;
1st R1 2- (Andrew Dunse and Adam Wilson)
1st R2 2- (Chris Bardas and Adam Wilson)
2nd R2 2- (Andrew Dunse and Dean Porter)
2nd WO2- (Emily Carruthers and Brighde Watt)
3rd R1 2- (Chris Bardas and Oscar Forbes)
3rd R2 2- (William Penny and Thomas Lloyd)
3rd R1 1x (Chris Bardas)
This course is a much longer head race than our athletes raced last weekend in Aberdeen, and it was great to see our training paying off and getting some really great results. This is our last race of 2021, and our athletes will be training hard over the next month and a bit to hit the New Year hard and get out competing again. Happy New Year when it comes!
Below: selection of images of our athletes from the weekend
Aberdeen Head of the River Nov 2021
Our first race of the season was this weekend, with the Aberdeen Head of the River. Our crews from both the senior squad took to the River Dee for 3km of hard racing.
There was a good turn out from away crews, as well as the home crews of Aberdeen, offering some tough competition in tougher conditions.
Our athletes came away with;
1st W4+ (Eleanor Black, Brighde Watt, Emily Carruthers, and Sophie Telfer)
2nd Nov4+ (Jamie Campbell, Ed Whithall, Sam MacDougal, Jackson Ratcliffe, and Alliott Irvine)
3rd O4- (William Penny, Adam Wilson, Sam MacDougal, and Thomas Lloyd)
We had both experienced senior athletes, and newer development athletes racing this weekend, building some solid foundations for the coming season.
There was a good turn out from away crews, as well as the home crews of Aberdeen, offering some tough competition in tougher conditions.
Our athletes came away with;
1st W4+ (Eleanor Black, Brighde Watt, Emily Carruthers, and Sophie Telfer)
2nd Nov4+ (Jamie Campbell, Ed Whithall, Sam MacDougal, Jackson Ratcliffe, and Alliott Irvine)
3rd O4- (William Penny, Adam Wilson, Sam MacDougal, and Thomas Lloyd)
We had both experienced senior athletes, and newer development athletes racing this weekend, building some solid foundations for the coming season.
Aberdeen Sprint Regatta 2021
Back on our home waters of the River Dee, some of our athletes returned to Aberdeen for the annual Aberdeen Sprint Regatta. Back after the cancelation of 2020, this 500m knock out racing saw some exciting competition and fun races for the club.
This is a great opportunity for some fun racing for our athletes, getting both the competitive seniors, plus members of the recreational squad involved. Being able to compete on the Dee is always a create a more relaxed and accessible racing environment for our recreational squad, which allows them to have some fun for those members who want.
Recreational captain (2021-22 season) Anna Sutherland had this to say;
"Its great being able to race on our doorstep if we want to, here in rec we offer a much more relaxed training environment, and do not often compete, but being able to race at the Sprint Regatta was great for our more competitive rec members who don't have the time to train with the competitive squad all year round"
Over the day we had several different boats racing, and some of our athletes took home some medals as well.
Well done to our winners;
1st place ONov1x (Rees Donaldson, RGUBC)
1st place OR2 2x (Andrew Dunse, AUBC, and Graham Dunse, Nithsdale Amatuer Rowing Club)
1st place O1x (Jakub Zbikowski)
Andrew Dunse had this to say on the event;
"It was great to be out doing some quick sprint races on the Dee, and nice to be able to row with my brother for old times sake!"
As we now look ahead to pre-season we are excited for all our current and new senior, beginner and recreational members to return to the river for training and to see what we can achieve this coming season.
This is a great opportunity for some fun racing for our athletes, getting both the competitive seniors, plus members of the recreational squad involved. Being able to compete on the Dee is always a create a more relaxed and accessible racing environment for our recreational squad, which allows them to have some fun for those members who want.
Recreational captain (2021-22 season) Anna Sutherland had this to say;
"Its great being able to race on our doorstep if we want to, here in rec we offer a much more relaxed training environment, and do not often compete, but being able to race at the Sprint Regatta was great for our more competitive rec members who don't have the time to train with the competitive squad all year round"
Over the day we had several different boats racing, and some of our athletes took home some medals as well.
Well done to our winners;
1st place ONov1x (Rees Donaldson, RGUBC)
1st place OR2 2x (Andrew Dunse, AUBC, and Graham Dunse, Nithsdale Amatuer Rowing Club)
1st place O1x (Jakub Zbikowski)
Andrew Dunse had this to say on the event;
"It was great to be out doing some quick sprint races on the Dee, and nice to be able to row with my brother for old times sake!"
As we now look ahead to pre-season we are excited for all our current and new senior, beginner and recreational members to return to the river for training and to see what we can achieve this coming season.
Henley Royal Regatta 2021
This years Henley Royal Regatta marked a new milestone within URA through having three different crews qualify. This is the most crews the club have ever had qualify and we are so proud of all our athletes who worked hard throughout the season to get to this position. It was great to be back down in Henley, racing this world famous course against some of the best rowers in the country.
First up we had our AUBC Prince Albert 4+ consisting of Dean Porter (bow), Adam Wilson (2), Jakub Zbikowski (3), Thomas Lloyd (stroke) and Alliott Irvine (cox) who pre-qualified for this event through a strong performance at BUCS Regatta earlier in the season. The PA 4+ raced on the Wednesday against Oxford Brookes University B crew. Our boys raced hard and put up a brilliant fight against the Brookes crew, but unfortunately missed out on progressing to the next round of the Regatta. The boys were the first full Aberdeen University crew to qualify for Henley since 2003, making this a great achievement for both the boys, and the club as a whole!
Next up we had our AUBC, RGUBC, ASRA composite racing in the Town Challenge Cup, which is women's coxless fours. This crew consisted of Maisie Aspinall (ASRA) in bow, Brighde Watt(AUBC) in 2, Abigail Topp (RGUBC) in 3, and Zoe Beeson (ASRA) in stroke. The girls raced on the Friday against a strong composite crew from Nottingham Rowing Club and Leander Club. The girls raced very well and narrowly missed out on progressing to the next round of the Regatta, by less than 2 lengths.
Last, but not least, we had an RGUBC entry into the Silver Goblets and Nickalls' Challenge Cup (men's coxless pairs). This crew was made up of Michael Troy and Chris Bardas who had a tough few days of racing, having to race at the Henley Qualifiers in Dorney, and then going on to race a strong Vesta Rowing Club crew on the Friday night, unfortunately missing out on progressing by four lengths. This is the first time in the clubs history that a full RGUBC boat qualified for Henley Regatta which is a massive achievement for the boys, and another milestone for the club as a whole.
This Henley Regatta saw new achievements for the club, as well as being a great experience for our athletes. Qualifying for Henley Royal Regatta is a challenge, so to have three boats qualify is a great achievement and we are so proud of all our athletes, and cannot wait to see what next season brings for the club.
Images below from left to right: Troy and Bardas, PA 4+, TCC 4-
Lochdown Regatta 2021
The Lochdown Regatta saw many of our senior athletes competing over the two day event down at Strathclyde Country Park. This fun weekend of racing offered the last racing of the season for some of our athletes, while offering some solid race practice against other crews for those going onto race at Henley Royal Regatta later this month. We had a total of 17 boats entered over the weekend, with representation from both AUBC and RGUBC.
The sun was shinning and it was great to be back at the park after COVID, and our athletes performed well against some tough competition, taking home many medals and achieving great results from everyone.
Saturdays notable results included;
1st place WClub2- (Isla Sutherland and Morgan Nunez)
2nd place WNov1x (Isla Sutherland)
2nd place OClub 2- (Dean Porter and Adam Wilson)
As well as many of our boats just missing out on the medal podium.
Sundays notable results included:
1st place W4- (Brighde Watt, Abigail Topp and ASRA composite)
1st place W2- (Brighde Watt and Abigail Topp)
3rd place SnrClub2x (Rees Donaldson and Jamie Campbell)
3rd place WClub1x (Isla Sutherland)
Isla Sutherland, in her last season of rowing with us had this to say on the regatta;
"I really enjoyed the Lochdown Regatta, and it was a great end to not only the season, but my time at URA, and I wish everyone the best for the future"
We'd like to extend a massive well done to all our own athletes, as well as all the other clubs competing this weekend. We are very proud of our athletes for putting on such a strong performance, and it is great to see everyone back at the park for some exciting racing.
We will continue to build on these results for the remainder of the season as our crews prepare for Henley Royal Regatta in a few weeks time.
The sun was shinning and it was great to be back at the park after COVID, and our athletes performed well against some tough competition, taking home many medals and achieving great results from everyone.
Saturdays notable results included;
1st place WClub2- (Isla Sutherland and Morgan Nunez)
2nd place WNov1x (Isla Sutherland)
2nd place OClub 2- (Dean Porter and Adam Wilson)
As well as many of our boats just missing out on the medal podium.
Sundays notable results included:
1st place W4- (Brighde Watt, Abigail Topp and ASRA composite)
1st place W2- (Brighde Watt and Abigail Topp)
3rd place SnrClub2x (Rees Donaldson and Jamie Campbell)
3rd place WClub1x (Isla Sutherland)
Isla Sutherland, in her last season of rowing with us had this to say on the regatta;
"I really enjoyed the Lochdown Regatta, and it was a great end to not only the season, but my time at URA, and I wish everyone the best for the future"
We'd like to extend a massive well done to all our own athletes, as well as all the other clubs competing this weekend. We are very proud of our athletes for putting on such a strong performance, and it is great to see everyone back at the park for some exciting racing.
We will continue to build on these results for the remainder of the season as our crews prepare for Henley Royal Regatta in a few weeks time.
From left to right: Brighde Watt, Abigail Topp, and Isla Sutherland showing off their medals from Lochdown Regatta
Henley Women's Regatta 2021
Following their success at BUCS, the URA senior women travelled down to and competed at Henley Women’s Regatta between 2nd and 4th July. The women had two boats looking to qualify for racing. These crews were:
Aspirational Academic 4- : Sophie Telfer (RGU), Isla Sutherland (AU), Sarah Cameron (RGU) and Eleanor Black (AU)
Development 4+ : Lena Kraft (AU), Morgan Nunez (AU), Emily Carruthers (AU), Brighde Watt (AU) and coxed by Alliott Irvine (AU)
Both crews had time trials on Friday in order to try and qualify for side by side racing on the Saturday and Sunday. First up was the 4-, the composite crew came together well and were able to qualify in the top 7 crews to make it through to Saturday’s racing. The 4+ had their time trial shortly after and they raced very well and were able to place within the top 16 crews so again qualified for Saturday’s side by side racing.
On Saturday, our 4+ were able to easily win their first side by side race by 4 lengths in order to qualify for the quarter final in their event later that day! The 4- raced a very good London Uni BC boat in their race and sadly missed out on qualifying for the next round. The composite crew were happy with how they performed and look forward to using this experience moving forward.
Isla Sutherland had this to say about their time at HWR:
“I feel like we really came together as a crew and we’re proud of what we were able to achieve”
Aspirational Academic 4- : Sophie Telfer (RGU), Isla Sutherland (AU), Sarah Cameron (RGU) and Eleanor Black (AU)
Development 4+ : Lena Kraft (AU), Morgan Nunez (AU), Emily Carruthers (AU), Brighde Watt (AU) and coxed by Alliott Irvine (AU)
Both crews had time trials on Friday in order to try and qualify for side by side racing on the Saturday and Sunday. First up was the 4-, the composite crew came together well and were able to qualify in the top 7 crews to make it through to Saturday’s racing. The 4+ had their time trial shortly after and they raced very well and were able to place within the top 16 crews so again qualified for Saturday’s side by side racing.
On Saturday, our 4+ were able to easily win their first side by side race by 4 lengths in order to qualify for the quarter final in their event later that day! The 4- raced a very good London Uni BC boat in their race and sadly missed out on qualifying for the next round. The composite crew were happy with how they performed and look forward to using this experience moving forward.
Isla Sutherland had this to say about their time at HWR:
“I feel like we really came together as a crew and we’re proud of what we were able to achieve”
Photo by Al Craigie
The development 4+ raced their quarter final later the same day and again put in a great performance and comfortably won against NUI Galway BC. This meant the girls moved on to the semi final on the Sunday morning!
On Sunday morning the girls came up against a good Oxford Uni BC crew but the girls pulled off their race plan and in a close race, earned their place in the final! This was an incredible moment in AU history as it is only the second time that a crew has made a HWR final since the Lightweight 4- victory in 2003.
The girls raced their final on Sunday afternoon and came up against a very strong Agecroft BC crew. Sadly, the girls just missed out on winning after a very close battle down the entire course. We are all very proud of the girls and their amazing performance over the last 3 days and are very excited to see how the returning members use this momentum moving on to next season!
Morgan Nunez, in her first season as a senior rower, had this to say about their HWR races:
“HWR was such a great experience, especially this year following the uniquely challenging season we’ve had. I spent the weekend racing alongside my amazing crew who made my first HWR event a perfect learning opportunity!”
On Sunday morning the girls came up against a good Oxford Uni BC crew but the girls pulled off their race plan and in a close race, earned their place in the final! This was an incredible moment in AU history as it is only the second time that a crew has made a HWR final since the Lightweight 4- victory in 2003.
The girls raced their final on Sunday afternoon and came up against a very strong Agecroft BC crew. Sadly, the girls just missed out on winning after a very close battle down the entire course. We are all very proud of the girls and their amazing performance over the last 3 days and are very excited to see how the returning members use this momentum moving on to next season!
Morgan Nunez, in her first season as a senior rower, had this to say about their HWR races:
“HWR was such a great experience, especially this year following the uniquely challenging season we’ve had. I spent the weekend racing alongside my amazing crew who made my first HWR event a perfect learning opportunity!”
Photo by Al Craigie
Morgan also had this to say about the wider experience and opportunity HWR gives:
“I had the chance to meet senior GB athlete, Kyra Edwards, which was super special because she represents the importance of diversity in the rowing community and demonstrates that people of colour belong at the highest levels of sport.”
We would like to give a special shout out to our URA coaches, in particular Lewis McCue, who have put an incredible amount of time, effort and support into teaching, 6 out of the 8 girls who competed, to row on our Learn to Row Programme. This show of talent is a great representation and testimony to our fantastically strong and highly effective Learn to Row Programme!
“I had the chance to meet senior GB athlete, Kyra Edwards, which was super special because she represents the importance of diversity in the rowing community and demonstrates that people of colour belong at the highest levels of sport.”
We would like to give a special shout out to our URA coaches, in particular Lewis McCue, who have put an incredible amount of time, effort and support into teaching, 6 out of the 8 girls who competed, to row on our Learn to Row Programme. This show of talent is a great representation and testimony to our fantastically strong and highly effective Learn to Row Programme!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Aberdeen Boat Race 2021
On Wednesday 26th May, the 26th annual Aberdeen Boat Race took place. It was great to still be able to hold this iconic event during COVID-19, even if it was reduced in size. This year only the 1st VIII race went ahead and there were no spectators allowed due to COVID-19 safety measures. All athletes taking part in the race were also subject to numerous COVID-19 tests prior to the race, in order to ensure that the race was as safe as possible.
RGU President, Lizzie Buchan, said this about the race:
“It was amazing to be able to hold the race this year even with the COVID-19 measures reducing the event. The race was a real positive thing for our athletes to look forward to and train for especially after more than 12 months of no racing. We are very appreciative of all the help and work each university's sports union put in to allow us to hold this race.”
RGU President, Lizzie Buchan, said this about the race:
“It was amazing to be able to hold the race this year even with the COVID-19 measures reducing the event. The race was a real positive thing for our athletes to look forward to and train for especially after more than 12 months of no racing. We are very appreciative of all the help and work each university's sports union put in to allow us to hold this race.”
Photo by Ron Wallace
Both crews trained together, as soon as Scottish Rowing guidelines allowed for non household crew boats. The athletes loved being able to get back out in bigger boats, especially the boat race VIII’s, as this is a highlight for most athletes at their time at URA.
It was a highly contested first 500m, until the RGU crew had some technical issues with their fin, heavily reducing their ability to steer at all. The AU crew used this to their advantage and pushed out ahead and continued to increase their lead, all the way to crossing the finish line, in a quick time. It was a fantastic win for the AU crew and a great showcase of talent!
AU President, Emily Carruthers, had this to say after the race:
“This closed event differed to previous years, however the athletes all raced well and I’m proud that AU were able to take home the main title for the third year running. Bring on next year when we will hopefully hold the boat race once again in full swing”
It was a highly contested first 500m, until the RGU crew had some technical issues with their fin, heavily reducing their ability to steer at all. The AU crew used this to their advantage and pushed out ahead and continued to increase their lead, all the way to crossing the finish line, in a quick time. It was a fantastic win for the AU crew and a great showcase of talent!
AU President, Emily Carruthers, had this to say after the race:
“This closed event differed to previous years, however the athletes all raced well and I’m proud that AU were able to take home the main title for the third year running. Bring on next year when we will hopefully hold the boat race once again in full swing”
Photo by Ron Wallace
University Rowing Aberdeen
Scottish Indoor Rowing Championships 2020
On Saturday 21st November, we had 6 senior athletes taking part in the Virtual Scottish Indoor Rowing Championships. Due to COVID-19, athletes took part remotely by using ergs within our Kings training facility that were connected to the Scottish Rowing system.
First up was RGU athlete, Michael Troy, who took part in the Lightweight Men’s Student 2km. In a very strong performance, Michael was able to win bronze in this event which was a great achievement! Following this, AU athlete Michael Gray and RGU athlete Chris Bardas raced in the Men’s Student 2km. Both boys rowed well and managed to attain great times in a highly contested and popular event. After the boys, it was time for the Women’s Student 2km. URA had two athletes competing in this event, AU athlete Lilli Laudener and RGU athlete, Abigail Topp. This event was again highly contested and both girls were pushed all the way to the line. Abigail Topp was able to achieve a gold medal in this event - a fantastic result! URA also had Coralie Arthur race in the Women’s 500m race. After a quick sprint and a strong row, she was able to place second in this event. This was a well fought for medal!
From these results, RGU were able to place 4th overall in the Victor Ludorum. This was an amazing achievement for the club with only 3 athletes from the club taking part!
This event was a great way to showcase our athletes hard work over lockdown and we’re very excited to see this work carry on into the summer racing period!
University Rowing Aberdeen
First up was RGU athlete, Michael Troy, who took part in the Lightweight Men’s Student 2km. In a very strong performance, Michael was able to win bronze in this event which was a great achievement! Following this, AU athlete Michael Gray and RGU athlete Chris Bardas raced in the Men’s Student 2km. Both boys rowed well and managed to attain great times in a highly contested and popular event. After the boys, it was time for the Women’s Student 2km. URA had two athletes competing in this event, AU athlete Lilli Laudener and RGU athlete, Abigail Topp. This event was again highly contested and both girls were pushed all the way to the line. Abigail Topp was able to achieve a gold medal in this event - a fantastic result! URA also had Coralie Arthur race in the Women’s 500m race. After a quick sprint and a strong row, she was able to place second in this event. This was a well fought for medal!
From these results, RGU were able to place 4th overall in the Victor Ludorum. This was an amazing achievement for the club with only 3 athletes from the club taking part!
This event was a great way to showcase our athletes hard work over lockdown and we’re very excited to see this work carry on into the summer racing period!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Lockdown Report
Holly Reid, Community Coach of the Year
We are very excited to announce that Volunteer Coach and Head Coach of the Beginner Programme, Holly Reid has been announced as Community Coach of the Year 2018-19 in the Scottish Rowing Awards.
Holly rowed as an RGU athlete for five years before transitioning into her role as volunteer coach and then taking the lead on the coaching of the beginner programme. She is a very dedicated and hard working individual who excels at teaching all athletes, especially those who are new to the sport.
Scottish Rowing quoted this as the reason she had won this award:
“Holly’s continuous reliability and positive attitude encourages many athletes to love the sport just as much as she does. Her love for rowing and her dedication to the sport is highly contagious as she continuously inspires and motivates athletes through her positive attitude and personal drive”
We are exceptionally proud of Holly and this award is a testimony to her many hours of hard work and dedication to coaching at URA!
Holly rowed as an RGU athlete for five years before transitioning into her role as volunteer coach and then taking the lead on the coaching of the beginner programme. She is a very dedicated and hard working individual who excels at teaching all athletes, especially those who are new to the sport.
Scottish Rowing quoted this as the reason she had won this award:
“Holly’s continuous reliability and positive attitude encourages many athletes to love the sport just as much as she does. Her love for rowing and her dedication to the sport is highly contagious as she continuously inspires and motivates athletes through her positive attitude and personal drive”
We are exceptionally proud of Holly and this award is a testimony to her many hours of hard work and dedication to coaching at URA!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Aberdeen Boat Race 2020
On Saturday 14th March, we held our annual Aberdeen Boat Race. This event comprises of 3 races between the two universities; 1st VIII, 2nd VIII and Alumni VIII. This year's event was particularly special as it was the 25th anniversary of the Boat Race - so the usual competitive buzz was at an all time high!
The first race of the day saw the 2nd VIII's take to the water. AU had won the last 24 of these races and the RGU crew were determined to not allow their winning streak to continue. In a very closely fought race all the way to the line, RGU managed to come out victorious and win the 2nd VIII race for the first time in Boat Race history!
Jamie Campbell, one of the RGU beginner men, had this to say about the win:
"Winning the race was a great achievement, especially as it was the first time RGU had won the second crew race. It was a full crew effort that was the result of months of hard work and dedication."
The first race of the day saw the 2nd VIII's take to the water. AU had won the last 24 of these races and the RGU crew were determined to not allow their winning streak to continue. In a very closely fought race all the way to the line, RGU managed to come out victorious and win the 2nd VIII race for the first time in Boat Race history!
Jamie Campbell, one of the RGU beginner men, had this to say about the win:
"Winning the race was a great achievement, especially as it was the first time RGU had won the second crew race. It was a full crew effort that was the result of months of hard work and dedication."
Following the 2nd VIII race, it was the Alumni VIII's turn. This race was even more exciting this year as alumni from all over the world had travelled to Aberdeen to take part in the historic 25th Boat Race. The Alumni VIII race is always a tightly fought race with the win switching between each university often. Both crews put in a great race and again after a close finish, RGU came out victorious. This was a fantastic achievement for the crew!
Photo by Ron Wallace
The final race of the day was the 1st VIII. Both crews had been training hard in order to be able to claim the historic win of the 25th Boat Race. After a competitive start to the race, the AU crew pulled out ahead and were able to maintain this lead to cross the finish line first and win the main race of the day. It was an incredible performance from the AU crew who especially wanted to win in the club's iconic 150th year!
AU President, Katie Sugden had this to say after the win:
"I’m thrilled that we retained the title in such an important year for the boat race. The crew has been training so hard for the last few months, and Robert Gordon University had a strong crew, so it was a well-deserved victory and I’m really proud of everything they’ve achieved."
AU President, Katie Sugden had this to say after the win:
"I’m thrilled that we retained the title in such an important year for the boat race. The crew has been training so hard for the last few months, and Robert Gordon University had a strong crew, so it was a well-deserved victory and I’m really proud of everything they’ve achieved."
As well as this being the 25th Boat Race, it was also the final year with our dedicated sponsor, Aberdeen Standard Investments. We would like to profusely thank them for their sponsorship over the many years and for allowing us to make the 25th Boat Race even more special for everyone involved!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Scottish Indoor Rowing Championships 2019
On Saturday the 23rd of November, our University Rowing Aberdeen development squads headed to Glasgow to compete in the Scottish Indoor Rowing Championships; their first indoor event.
Photo by Rebecca Elliot
It was an incredibly successful day for all involved, especially for our Beginner Women’s Squad who came away with some notable wins. Morgan Nenez won Gold in the Women’s Student Beginner event in a time of 3.33.9, which would currently place her 3rd on the BUCS indoor rankings. This gold was closely followed by another in the Women’s Beginner Relay (2000m) with a team of Morgan Nenez, Marta Weyer, Billie Benkel and Katie Ritchie taking home the win over Saints Rowing, with a huge margin of over 15 seconds! This marks the second year in a row the programme has taken home gold in both events, which shows great consistency in the programme and a great start for our new athletes. We are exceptionally proud of all athletes involved, many of whom completed their first erg test!
Head Coach Lewis McCue had this to say following the event:
Head Coach Lewis McCue had this to say following the event:
Photo by Rebecca Elliot
“It’s great to see our development athletes participate in their first indoor event. I am pleased with the results, which show our continued success with novices and look forward to seeing how we can step on from this.”
Head Coach, Lewis McCue
The day was also a success for our recreational squad who took home a bronze in the Mixed Open Relay with a team consisting of Rebecca Elliot, Marta Adler, Timothé Rouzé and Paul Shepherd. Overall it was great to see all athletes involved handling the pressure of a competitive environment so professionally, which bodes well for future racing.
Photo by Rebecca Elliot
Up next for the club will be Rutherford HOR in Newcastle upon Tyne!
University Rowing Aberdeen
University Rowing Aberdeen
Home International Regatta 2019
Photo by Erin Wyness
On Saturday the 27th of July, URA had 4 athletes and 2 coaches representing Scotland at the Home International Regatta at Strathclyde Park. The Home International Regatta is an exciting annual match between the four home nations of Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales in which they compete in a total of 34 events, split between both senior and junior squads. This year saw a total of 69 athletes selected for the Scottish team, 17 of which made up the Senior Women’s squad. Therefore, to have 4 of our own senior women competing was a huge achievement and the club is incredibly proud of our four girls for being selected.
The day proved to be one of incredible success for all athletes involved with results as follows:
The day proved to be one of incredible success for all athletes involved with results as follows:
W4+ GOLD – Christy Crook (AU), Catriona Scott (GUBC), Katie Sugden (AU), Natalie Tysoe (St. Andrews BC) and Holly Bartlett (Saints)
LwtW2x GOLD –Jenny McCormick (AU) and Rosie Payne (RGU)
W4x GOLD – Rosie Payne (RGU), Perri McCluskey (SPRC), Fiona Bell (Queen’s Belfast) and Robyn Hart-Winks (ULBC)
W8+ GOLD – Niamh McClure (GUBC), Catriona Scott (GUBC), Lydia Theos (Saints), Maia Hely (GUBC), Katie Sugden (AU), Kirstin Giddy (Saints), India Mattocks (EUBC), India Somerside (EUBC) and Dan Baillache (EUBC)
LwtW2x GOLD –Jenny McCormick (AU) and Rosie Payne (RGU)
W4x GOLD – Rosie Payne (RGU), Perri McCluskey (SPRC), Fiona Bell (Queen’s Belfast) and Robyn Hart-Winks (ULBC)
W8+ GOLD – Niamh McClure (GUBC), Catriona Scott (GUBC), Lydia Theos (Saints), Maia Hely (GUBC), Katie Sugden (AU), Kirstin Giddy (Saints), India Mattocks (EUBC), India Somerside (EUBC) and Dan Baillache (EUBC)
Photo by Rob Eyton-Jones
Regarding her first experience representing Scotland and the race, Christy had this to say:
“I had a great experience training with a group of such hard working girls. To get the win for Scotland was amazing and unreal. The opportunity has definitely inspired and motivated me. Training around people with so much experience is invaluable and so exciting to be able to learn from the way they approach training and all they have learnt throughout their rowing careers! I had an amazing day supporting team Scotland and loved every moment of the day.”
Christy Crook
Christy Crook
Following their URA teammates success, athletes Rosie Payne and Jenny McCormick took to the water in the Women’s Lightweight Double. Having only been paired up since April, the duo has had an incredible season together, culminating in reaching the semi-final of Women’s Henley and being chosen as the Scottish Lightweight Double at this regatta. Having joined from Glasgow University, Jenny has continued to go from strength to strength as an athlete at URA, achieving her first Scotland representation under the programme. All whilst studying for her Masters in Medical Physics! Having joined from Strathclyde Park, Rosie has overcome a back injury that saw her unable to row for over a year prior to joining the URA programme. Her selection therefore represents the triumph of the strength and resilience she has displayed this last year and resulted in a strong, comfortable win for the duo in their race against the other home nations.
Jenny had this to say about the pair’s race and what the experience meant to her:
Jenny had this to say about the pair’s race and what the experience meant to her:
“It was a great to race in the crew we’ve trained all year and nail the race plan we’ve been trying to perfect!”
Jenny McCormick
Jenny McCormick
Photo by Sophie Telford
Following the success of the morning, Rosie then took to the water again as part of the Senior Women’s Quad, alongside former URA athlete Fiona Bell. The quad took home the win for Scotland by a comfortable margin; an impressive win considering Rosie had been substituted in only days previously due to an unfortunate injury of another athlete. This win marked the second medal for both Rosie and Fiona, the latter of which also winning the Senior Women’s Double earlier in the day. Rosie had this to say about her experience in the quad and at this year’s regatta:
“This quad had so much experience in it and it was an honour to be a part of. It will be something that I take with me forever, it was so exciting to have this incredible opportunity to row with some of my idols.”
Rosie Payne
Rosie Payne
Photo by Rob Eyton-Jones
Then to wrap up an already incredibly successful day for URA athletes, Katie was a part of the Senior Women’s Eight that in a stroke for stroke battle with an incredibly strong Welsh side, snatched the victory for Scotland. To summarise her experience, Katie had this to say:
“Although only rowing for two years, the eight was one of the toughest races I’ve competed in as we fought for the win right until the line. The Welsh crew were incredibly strong throughout the race, however, with huge determination and teamwork we managed to take them right at the end, which is so rewarding. Overall, it was such an amazing day and an experience I’ll never forget.”
Katie Sugden
Katie Sugden
Photo by Rob Eyton-Jones
URA was also represented by two of our own coaches in Head Coach, Lewis McCue and Assistant Coach Holly Reid. Having both represented Scotland at this regatta in previous years, the two brought an incredible depth of experience to an already well-founded coaching team. Lewis played an integral part in the training of the Scottish Senior Women’s Squad who celebrated an overall squad victory over the other home nations. The same can also be said for Holly who helped in the training of the Junior Men’s Squad who also achieved overall victory at the regatta. This is a tremendous achievement for both coaches, and we are extremely proud to have them as part of the ever-growing coaching team here at URA.
Talking about her experience, Holly had this to say:
Talking about her experience, Holly had this to say:
“Coaching the Junior Men’s Squad at HIR this year was really good fun and very rewarding. It was definitely a highlight of the year when the outcome of the Junior Men’s Trophy came down to the eights race at the end of the day and Scotland snagged it by one point over England. It was some of the most exciting racing I have ever been involved in.”
Holly Reid
Holly Reid
We would also like to provide an honourable mention to former RGU president, Erin Wyness who played a key part in the organisation and running of this event. Erin has done incredible work over the last few years for the club and we know this weekend was only the beginning for her. We cannot wait to see how she takes this incredible work-ethic and applies it into all she does next in the wider world!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Henley Royal Qualifiers 2019
On June 28th, University Rowing Aberdeen had two boats entered into the Henley Royal Regatta Qualifiers. Henley Royal Qualifiers is a huge event, involving many incredible elite crews from around the world, making qualification extremely challenging. This was a major event for both universities as the University Rowing Aberdeen programme has only ever had one crew race at Henley Royal before as part of the Visitors Challenge Cup coxless four event the previous year. The two crews entered this year were:
In the Town Cup Challenge - Lauren Amner, Christy Crook, Lizzie Buchan, Katie Sugden
In the Prince Albert Cup Challenge - Lachlan Cowie, Andrew Dunse, Cameron Grant, Adam Wilson and Alliot Irvine.
In the Prince Albert Cup Challenge - Lachlan Cowie, Andrew Dunse, Cameron Grant, Adam Wilson and Alliot Irvine.
With the qualifiers not taking place until the evening, both crews took to the Henley Royal Course for their final paddle that morning. After a solid outing from both crews, the boats were put back in the famous blue and white striped Henley Royal tents to sit until that evening.
First up were the girls crew in their Town Cup Challenge, the first ever female URA crew looking for Henley Royal Qualification. The girls were the first boat to start in their event. They looked to set a quick time and use the flat and clear water of the course to their advantage. While sat at the start line the girls were sure to focus on their own race without letting the calibre of crews sat around them, unsettle them. It was a strong race from the girls who gave the 2.2km their all and were happy with how they performed. Sadly the girls didn’t have a fast enough time on the day so didn’t qualify, but the experience and opportunity they had was invaluable and definitely one the girls will remember for years to come!
First up were the girls crew in their Town Cup Challenge, the first ever female URA crew looking for Henley Royal Qualification. The girls were the first boat to start in their event. They looked to set a quick time and use the flat and clear water of the course to their advantage. While sat at the start line the girls were sure to focus on their own race without letting the calibre of crews sat around them, unsettle them. It was a strong race from the girls who gave the 2.2km their all and were happy with how they performed. Sadly the girls didn’t have a fast enough time on the day so didn’t qualify, but the experience and opportunity they had was invaluable and definitely one the girls will remember for years to come!
Shortly after this the boys crew took to the course, looking to qualify for one the of four places available for the Prince Albert Challenge event. The boys started off well, with a nice fast speed established that was maintained throughout the whole race. The determination and desire to qualify was clear from the way the boys gave themselves to the race, especially their sprint finish. Unfortunately, the boys also failed to qualify, even after coming within the top half of the vast amount of crews also looking for qualification. Bowman Adam Wilson had this to say about his Henley Royal Qualifier experience:
“While ultimately we didn’t have enough on the day to qualify, I think all of the crew felt we gave it our all down the track in a very strong field. Qualifying was obviously the goal but failing to do so has just provided those of us who are returning with stronger motivation to push on next season”
Adam Wilson
Adam Wilson
It is without a doubt that this experience, amongst some very strong crews, has motivated all involved and set a goal for the URA squad moving forward into next season!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Henley Women's Regatta 2019
Photo by Erin Wyness
A target event in the racing calendar for our Women’s Squads is the historic Henley Women’s Regatta. The event was held on the 21st - 23rd June this year at Henley-on-Thames, the world renowned course featuring knock out side by side racing over the course of the 3 day regatta.This year, University Rowing Aberdeen had a record breaking 5 crews competing at the event, a culmination of 3 years of hard work from our Head Coach Lewis McCue.
Our crews at the 2019 event were:
Our crews at the 2019 event were:
AUBC/RGUBC Aspirational 2x - Rosie Payne and Jenny McCormick
AUBC/RGUBC Aspirational Academic 4- ‘A’ - Lauren Amner, Ruth Grant, Christy Crook and Katie Sugden
AUBC/RGUBC Aspirational Academic 4- ‘B’ - Isla Sutherland, Faye Walker, Shannon Rae and Lena Kraft
RGUBC Development 4+ - Emily Carruthers, Sarah Cameron, Lizzie Buchan, Sophie Telfer and Hannah Watson
AUBC Development 4+ - Bridghe Watt, Lucy Kerr, Coralie Arthur, India Dodd and Grace Walker
AUBC/RGUBC Aspirational Academic 4- ‘A’ - Lauren Amner, Ruth Grant, Christy Crook and Katie Sugden
AUBC/RGUBC Aspirational Academic 4- ‘B’ - Isla Sutherland, Faye Walker, Shannon Rae and Lena Kraft
RGUBC Development 4+ - Emily Carruthers, Sarah Cameron, Lizzie Buchan, Sophie Telfer and Hannah Watson
AUBC Development 4+ - Bridghe Watt, Lucy Kerr, Coralie Arthur, India Dodd and Grace Walker
Out of the 5 crews entered, 3 qualified into the side by side racing with the AUBC Development 4+ missing out marginally by a mere 0.4 seconds into the afternoons racing - a phenomenal achievement for four beginners who took their first stroke in September in a stacked Development event for the 2019 race! Despite a strong performance during time trials, the Aspirational Academic ‘B’ crew also missed out on side by side racing. In regards to her crew’s performance in their time trial, Lena Kraft had this to say:
“After a tough week of training, we managed to come together as a crew and perform well on the day. We had a lot of fun racing and gained a lot of experience that we are looking forward to take into the next season.”
Lena Kraft
Lena Kraft
Our Senior Womens 4- of Katie, Ruth, Lauren and Christy then came up against a strong crew from Imperial College Boat Club in their side by side race. They gave an admirable performance, carrying out their race plan well and giving everything they had with each stroke. Unfortunately, they did not progress to the next round and were knocked out by the Imperial crew. The RGU Development 4+ was up next in side by racing, against an American Vesta crew. Evenly matched in speed, the race was incredibly close from beginning to end, with the crews no less than a boat length apart throughout. In the end however, the Vesta girls fought it out with a stronger finish that the RGU girls just couldn’t match. Upon reflecting on her first experience of side by side racing, Development athlete Emily Carruthers, had this to say about her HWR experience:
“Rowing in the development 4+ at Henley women’s was an amazing experience and being able to qualify was a great achievement for my first year of rowing. It was hard work but we trained hard and worked together to ensure we were the best we could be. Being part of that boat, with two seniors, was a great opportunity which definitely brought on my rowing ability a lot- a great end to the season!”
Emily Carruthers
Emily Carruthers
Finally, we had the Aspirational Double of Jenny and Rosie. In the first round of side by side racing, the pair dominated over a strong crew from Northampton Rowing Club; leading from the start and continuing throughout the race to build their lead and win by several boat lengths of clear water. After some well deserved rest and recovery, the girls then took to the water again in their quarter final race, against a York University and York City Club composite. Once again, the girls displayed a feisty, strong start, leading from the get-go. They continued to maintain their early lead throughout the race, qualifying for the semi-final by 1 and ¾ lengths. The semi-final the next morning saw them against a very impressive composite of Shiplake College and Leicester Rowing Club; both of whom had recently won medals for the GB Junior Rowing Team in Munich. Whilst an extremely difficult race, the girls gave an incredibly gutsy performance and were unfortunate not to overcome and catch the early lead the other crew obtained.
However, despite not making the final, the whole of URA is incredibly proud of both Rosie and Jenny. They gave one exceptional performance after the next and they can be immensely proud of themselves, and all they have achieved over the last few days. Incredible job girls!
In regards to the performance of URA at this year’s regatta, Head Coach Lewis McCue had this to say:
In regards to the performance of URA at this year’s regatta, Head Coach Lewis McCue had this to say:
“It was great to have a large contingent from both our beginner and senior programme competing at HWR this year, we showed significant progress at the 2019 event with out results speaking for themselves”
Lewis McCue
Lewis McCue
Overall, it was an incredible opportunity for all URA athletes involved to race at such a large, prestigious event against so many experienced and fast crews from all over the country and beyond. For the majority of the athletes, this regatta marks the end of their season for the summer. They can all be proud of all they have achieved this season and it will be exciting to see how they utilise this experience and apply it into the 2019/2020 season!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Reading Amateur Regatta 2019
Our Development Women’s crews raced at the Reading Amateur Regatta on Saturday 15th June in preparation for their first experience of one-on-one racing at Henley Women’s Regatta! The club has not attended this event since the creation of URA and it was a fantastic experience for all athletes involved.
The two crews racing were the Development Squad athletes of:
The two crews racing were the Development Squad athletes of:
W4+ - Bridghe Watt, Lucy Kerr, Coralie Arthur, India Dodd and Grace Walker
W4- - Isla Sutherland, Faye Walker, Shannon Rae and Lena Kraft
W4- - Isla Sutherland, Faye Walker, Shannon Rae and Lena Kraft
First up were the W4-, who whilst giving a strong performance, unfortunately lost out to a place in the next round of the knockout to a fast crew from Curlew RC. Next up were the W4+ who just missed out on a place in the next stages, after giving a tough stroke for stroke battle against the eventual overall winning crew from University of Dublin Ladies College. It was a great experience for the novice crews and it will be exciting to see how they utilise and learn from it in the run up to Henley Women’s Regatta in the next two weeks!
Following their morning of racing, the two development crews were then joined by the two senior women’s crews in a training session that saw all four crews row the 21km from Reading to Henley-upon-Thames. The row between the historic towns covers a great stretch of the River Thames. The row saw the athletes entering and exiting over 5 lock bridges as a group. Despite the four hour journey to bring the boats to the regatta site, the spirit and camaraderie of both women’s squads remained high and it was wonderful to see such great displays of enthusiasm for the sport.
Following their morning of racing, the two development crews were then joined by the two senior women’s crews in a training session that saw all four crews row the 21km from Reading to Henley-upon-Thames. The row between the historic towns covers a great stretch of the River Thames. The row saw the athletes entering and exiting over 5 lock bridges as a group. Despite the four hour journey to bring the boats to the regatta site, the spirit and camaraderie of both women’s squads remained high and it was wonderful to see such great displays of enthusiasm for the sport.
Photo by Erin Wyness
Next up ... Henley Women's Regatta!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Henley Royal Regatta URA & Deeside Scullers BBQ
We are delighted to announce that we are hosting a second Henley Royal Regatta BBQ on Saturday 6th July, 12pm onwards at the Henley Cricket Pitch!
We would love for you to join us to celebrate the successes of the past year at the Henley Cricket Pitch, and toast to the season ahead! Tickets are £10 per person, cash on the day. We look forward to seeing you all there! Please email any enquiries to [email protected]
We would love for you to join us to celebrate the successes of the past year at the Henley Cricket Pitch, and toast to the season ahead! Tickets are £10 per person, cash on the day. We look forward to seeing you all there! Please email any enquiries to [email protected]
University Rowing Aberdeen
Scottish Rowing Championships 2019
Photo by Rob Eyton-Jones
Scottish Rowing hosted their ‘new and improved’ version of the Championships this past weekend which featured a full on 3 days of very right racing over all events!
University Rowing Aberdeen travelled with a record breaking group to the event with over 32 athletes competing across a wide range of events! The Scottish Championships also pairs up as the ‘selection event’ for the Home International Regatta, held this year in Scotland at Strathclyde Country Park on Saturday 27th July. Our senior athletes seeking selection raced in pairs and singles with both their time trial and semi finals being held on the first day of the weekend.
The results of the small boats testing from our Women’s Squad were as follows:
4th in Women’s Championship 1x A Final (Rosie Payne)
5th in Women’s Championship 2- A Final (Ruth Grant, Katie Sugden
6th in Women’s Championship 2- A Final (Christy Crook, Lauren Amner)
12th in Women's Championship 2- B Final (Lizzie Buchan, Sarah Cameron)
19th in Women's Championship 2- C Final (Sophie Telfer, Jenny McCormick)
In comparison to last year with only one women’s crew reaching the B Final, this is a fantastic set of results showing the strength of our women’s programme in Aberdeen with 2 A-Final pairs, one B-Final and one C-Final!
Head Coach, Lewis McCue added:
University Rowing Aberdeen travelled with a record breaking group to the event with over 32 athletes competing across a wide range of events! The Scottish Championships also pairs up as the ‘selection event’ for the Home International Regatta, held this year in Scotland at Strathclyde Country Park on Saturday 27th July. Our senior athletes seeking selection raced in pairs and singles with both their time trial and semi finals being held on the first day of the weekend.
The results of the small boats testing from our Women’s Squad were as follows:
4th in Women’s Championship 1x A Final (Rosie Payne)
5th in Women’s Championship 2- A Final (Ruth Grant, Katie Sugden
6th in Women’s Championship 2- A Final (Christy Crook, Lauren Amner)
12th in Women's Championship 2- B Final (Lizzie Buchan, Sarah Cameron)
19th in Women's Championship 2- C Final (Sophie Telfer, Jenny McCormick)
In comparison to last year with only one women’s crew reaching the B Final, this is a fantastic set of results showing the strength of our women’s programme in Aberdeen with 2 A-Final pairs, one B-Final and one C-Final!
Head Coach, Lewis McCue added:
“The Scottish Championships was a great event as always which tested the speed of all our crews against other Scottish programmes. I am pleased with the weekends results and look forward to building on from this past racing weekend into the next events in the following weeks.”
Lewis McCue
Lewis McCue
For the Senior Men’s Squad, a challenging weekend saw the results as follows:
8th in Men’s Championship 2- (Gregor Pittendreigh & Adam Wilson)
12th in Men’s Championship 2- (Lachlan Cowie, Cameron Grant)
18th in Men’s Championship 2- (Alex Zabala, Ingus Lismanis)
8th in Men’s Championship 2- (Gregor Pittendreigh & Adam Wilson)
12th in Men’s Championship 2- (Lachlan Cowie, Cameron Grant)
18th in Men’s Championship 2- (Alex Zabala, Ingus Lismanis)
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Photos by Rob Eyton-Jones
However, Michael Gray in the Non Championship 1x won GOLD for the student category of the event which was a fantastic addition for the 18-year-old who began rowing in October!
The weekend gave opportunity to run out in the Henley Women’s Regatta crews and Henley Royal Regatta crew against tough opposition from other top University rowing programmes in Scotland.
Our Development Women’s Programme saw a good race with Edinburgh University Boat Club in the Non Championship Coxed Four on Sunday placing 2nd behind their competitors, which bodes well for Reading Amateur Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta over the next two weekends!
A huge thank you to Scottish Rowing for hosting another fantastic event and a thank you to all of the brilliant volunteers who make events like these possible for our student-athletes!
For full results visit: http://rowresults.co.uk/srch19
Next stop... Reading Amateur Regatta on Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th June!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Our Development Women’s Programme saw a good race with Edinburgh University Boat Club in the Non Championship Coxed Four on Sunday placing 2nd behind their competitors, which bodes well for Reading Amateur Regatta and Henley Women’s Regatta over the next two weekends!
A huge thank you to Scottish Rowing for hosting another fantastic event and a thank you to all of the brilliant volunteers who make events like these possible for our student-athletes!
For full results visit: http://rowresults.co.uk/srch19
Next stop... Reading Amateur Regatta on Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th June!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Castle Semple Regatta 2019
University Rowing Aberdeen sent 8 of our beginner development women to the 2019 Castle Semple Regatta held at Lochwinnoch, Scotland on Saturday 18th May for the fantastic annual CSARC event.
In the Novice Womens Coxed Four event our crew of Brighde Watt, Lucy Kerr, India Dodd and Coralie Arthur coxed by Hannah Watson had a good row over the 1km to take the gold medal win in the event, losing their novice status in the process!
In the WR2 8+ the girls were up against a strong senior Glasgow Uni BC crew and a senior Dundee Uni BC crew. However the beginners held their own being only one length down on Dundee Uni BC, a good achievement for the squad!
Coach Holly Reid added;
In the Novice Womens Coxed Four event our crew of Brighde Watt, Lucy Kerr, India Dodd and Coralie Arthur coxed by Hannah Watson had a good row over the 1km to take the gold medal win in the event, losing their novice status in the process!
In the WR2 8+ the girls were up against a strong senior Glasgow Uni BC crew and a senior Dundee Uni BC crew. However the beginners held their own being only one length down on Dundee Uni BC, a good achievement for the squad!
Coach Holly Reid added;
“Castle Semple was a fantastic experience for all of the Development Women at URA. It provided good quality, fun racing with a great opportunity to practice starts in lanes leading into the summer racing season.”
Another brilliant event held by CSARC on their home water. Thank you to all volunteers who make events like this happen.
We would like to again thank Aberdeen Boat Club for towing our boats to this event whilst the Senior Squads travelled to Loch Oich on the west coast of Scotland to begin their May training camp ahead of the Scottish Championships, Henley Womens Regatta, the British Championships and Henley Royal Regatta Qualifiers.
Next stop.. Scot Champs!
University Rowing Aberdeen
We would like to again thank Aberdeen Boat Club for towing our boats to this event whilst the Senior Squads travelled to Loch Oich on the west coast of Scotland to begin their May training camp ahead of the Scottish Championships, Henley Womens Regatta, the British Championships and Henley Royal Regatta Qualifiers.
Next stop.. Scot Champs!
University Rowing Aberdeen
BUCS Regatta 2019
On the 4th - 7th May University Rowing Aberdeen competed at the British Universities and Colleges Sport Regatta at the Holme Pierrepoint Watersports Centre in Nottingham, England. The event is one of the biggest in the country for multi lane racing and houses the most amazing close finishes, of which we were a part of across the 3 day event!
As it is a BUCS event the two Universities competed strictly in single-club crews, one of the only times in the year we do this, and go up against the best student rowing programmes in the UK.
Day 1 - Saturday:
MIntLwt 1x - (AUBC Andrew Dunse)
WChamp 2- (AUBC Katie Sugden, Ruth Grant)
WInt 2- (RGUBC Sophie Telfer, Lauren Amner)
WInt 2- (RGUBC Lizzie Buchan, Sarah Cameron)
MInt 1x (AUBC Alex Zabala)
WB 1x (AUBC Brighde Watt)
WB 1x (AUBC Lucy Kerr)
The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the standout performance of Andrew Dunse winning a gold medal in the Men’s Intermediate Lightweight Single. A phenomenally huge achievement for both Andrew and the programme, a testament to his hard work and faith in the URA programme. Andrew made the transition from a junior athlete to a senior athlete and has stepped on considerably in the sport since moving to Aberdeen to study.
Andrew Dunse added: “After an uncomfortable semi final, I wasn't too confident of what will happen in the final, however, the coaching team was really supportive and set a mindset of I have nothing to lose."
As it is a BUCS event the two Universities competed strictly in single-club crews, one of the only times in the year we do this, and go up against the best student rowing programmes in the UK.
Day 1 - Saturday:
MIntLwt 1x - (AUBC Andrew Dunse)
WChamp 2- (AUBC Katie Sugden, Ruth Grant)
WInt 2- (RGUBC Sophie Telfer, Lauren Amner)
WInt 2- (RGUBC Lizzie Buchan, Sarah Cameron)
MInt 1x (AUBC Alex Zabala)
WB 1x (AUBC Brighde Watt)
WB 1x (AUBC Lucy Kerr)
The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the standout performance of Andrew Dunse winning a gold medal in the Men’s Intermediate Lightweight Single. A phenomenally huge achievement for both Andrew and the programme, a testament to his hard work and faith in the URA programme. Andrew made the transition from a junior athlete to a senior athlete and has stepped on considerably in the sport since moving to Aberdeen to study.
Andrew Dunse added: “After an uncomfortable semi final, I wasn't too confident of what will happen in the final, however, the coaching team was really supportive and set a mindset of I have nothing to lose."
Photo by BUCS
Katie and Ruth narrowly missed out on the A final of the Women’s Championship Pairs event in a hotly contested rep with Imperial College Boat Club for the final place. A fantastic feat for our two senior women fresh out of their beginner year after starting rowing in September 2017!
After tight and tough racing the RGUBC scratch crew in the Women’s Intermediate Pair of Lauren Amner and Sophie Telfer narrowly missed out on the A Final of the event. Sophie is a beginner having started rowing in September at the URA programme, a phenomenal effort from the two of them.
Following on from this in the same event, Lizzie Buchan and Sarah Cameron won the B Final by a big margin showing their true speed in their third race of the day. A valiant effort from both crews!
Day 2 - Sunday
WChampLwt 1x - (RGUBC Rosie Payne)
WInt 1x (AUBC Jenny McCormick)
WBeg 4+ (AUBC Brighde Watt, Emily Carruthers, Lucy Kerr, India Dodd)
MInt 4+ (AUBC Cameron Grant, Lachlan Cowie, Adam Wilson, Andrew Dunse, Cox - Alliot Irvine)
MInt 2x (AUBC Daniel Hesp, Alex Zabala)
Another brilliant day in the aftermath of Andrew Dunses gold medal. Sunday saw the programme compete in a wide variety of events, however the most notable performance was that of the Women’s Beginner Coxed Four placing 4th in their time trial, 4th going through to the final and 4th in the final itself behind very quick Edinburgh, Durham and Bristol crews! It was then a quick drive to the airport to drop off India Dodd from the beginner women’s four who had a flight to catch from Birmingham Airport for an exam the next morning!
Jenny McCormick in the Women’s Lightweight Intermediate Single finished 4th in the B final and Rosie with a hot field of the Women’s Championship Lightweight Single placed 4th in the rep after placing 7th in the time trial, a monumental achievement for our single sculler who is still going through her long rehab journey back to full health and fitness. Watch this space...
Day 3 - Monday
MInt 2- (AUBC Cameron Grant, Lachlan Cowie)
MInt 2- (AUBC Alex Zabala, Daniel Hesp)
MChamp 2- (AUBC Adam Wilson, Andrew Dunse)
WInt 4+ (RGUBC Lizzie Buchan, Sarah Cameron, Lauren Amner, Sophie Telfer, Hannah Watson)
WInt 4+ (AUBC Ruth Grant, Katie Sugden, Jenny McCormick, Brighde Watt, Alliot Irvine)
After tight and tough racing the RGUBC scratch crew in the Women’s Intermediate Pair of Lauren Amner and Sophie Telfer narrowly missed out on the A Final of the event. Sophie is a beginner having started rowing in September at the URA programme, a phenomenal effort from the two of them.
Following on from this in the same event, Lizzie Buchan and Sarah Cameron won the B Final by a big margin showing their true speed in their third race of the day. A valiant effort from both crews!
Day 2 - Sunday
WChampLwt 1x - (RGUBC Rosie Payne)
WInt 1x (AUBC Jenny McCormick)
WBeg 4+ (AUBC Brighde Watt, Emily Carruthers, Lucy Kerr, India Dodd)
MInt 4+ (AUBC Cameron Grant, Lachlan Cowie, Adam Wilson, Andrew Dunse, Cox - Alliot Irvine)
MInt 2x (AUBC Daniel Hesp, Alex Zabala)
Another brilliant day in the aftermath of Andrew Dunses gold medal. Sunday saw the programme compete in a wide variety of events, however the most notable performance was that of the Women’s Beginner Coxed Four placing 4th in their time trial, 4th going through to the final and 4th in the final itself behind very quick Edinburgh, Durham and Bristol crews! It was then a quick drive to the airport to drop off India Dodd from the beginner women’s four who had a flight to catch from Birmingham Airport for an exam the next morning!
Jenny McCormick in the Women’s Lightweight Intermediate Single finished 4th in the B final and Rosie with a hot field of the Women’s Championship Lightweight Single placed 4th in the rep after placing 7th in the time trial, a monumental achievement for our single sculler who is still going through her long rehab journey back to full health and fitness. Watch this space...
Day 3 - Monday
MInt 2- (AUBC Cameron Grant, Lachlan Cowie)
MInt 2- (AUBC Alex Zabala, Daniel Hesp)
MChamp 2- (AUBC Adam Wilson, Andrew Dunse)
WInt 4+ (RGUBC Lizzie Buchan, Sarah Cameron, Lauren Amner, Sophie Telfer, Hannah Watson)
WInt 4+ (AUBC Ruth Grant, Katie Sugden, Jenny McCormick, Brighde Watt, Alliot Irvine)
Monday provided more excitement for both the athletes and coaching team, with our AUBC Women’s Intermediate Coxed Four placing 5th in the A Final! Brighde is a beginner who started rowing in October 2018 and was subbed in last minute in the morning of race day due to injury of Emily Carruthers, another beginner woman in the Development Programme. Brighde was so unprepared to do that so she didn’t bring enough contact lenses, and raced in her glasses instead! A huge step up from a fantastic result the day previously stroking the Women’s Beginner Coxed Four.
Head Coach Lewis McCue said;
“BUCS provided a very exciting weekend of racing for all of our crews. It was great to see some of our URA lineups get on the right side of some tight margins. The focus now is to get back to some hard training and testing in preparation for the summer period which is fast approaching. A big thanks to all who make the event happen and to those who give up their time to volunteer for our students to race at this professionalised event.”
Our next trip is to our May Camp on Saturday 18th May to Loch Oich where the focus will be on crews for Henley Women’s Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. Next stop.... summer racing!
University Rowing Aberdeen
University Rowing Aberdeen
Lewis McCue, Scottish Rowing Coach of the Year
University Rowing Aberdeen’s Head Coach, Lewis McCue, has been awarded the Scottish Rowing Coach of the Year 2017/18 award by Scottish Rowing on Saturday 27th April 2019.
Photo by Rob Eyton-Jones
The award was presented by Lee Boucher, Scottish Rowing Head of Performance Pathway at the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta on Saturday during a busy day of tight racing at the event.
Lewis was appointed as the full-time Head Coach of Univerisity Rowing Aberdeen in July 2018 after two years of working tirelessly on developing and reinventing the pre-existing partnership programme. Read more about his appointment in this fantastic article by Rob Eyton-Jones here: https://www.scottish-rowing.org.uk/index.php/news/730-lewis-mccue-head-coach-ura.
Lewis was appointed to a coaching role at URA in 2016 after his retirement from the U23 GB Rowing Team, where he competed 4 times at the U23 World Championships whilst studying at Robert Gordon University, and previously at the Junior World Rowing Championships. In the short space of time since, the boat fleet has increased and improved dramatically with the purchase of over 18 boats within the last 32 months, including the Filippi 4- Hootenanny, two Hudson 2-, two Filippi 4+, and a number of Wintech 1x and 2x/-.
Lewis has endeavoured to work closely with the student clubs and committees involved in the partnership with a student-athlete centred approach at the core value of his overall vision for the programme.
Lewis is extremely innovative and proactive in his coaching and approach to creating a better, progressive environment for the student-athletes at the joint Universities’ programme in the city. In 2018, Lewis developed an ‘Athlete Portal’ website and a database which provides extensive data analysis and feedback to athletes on the programme, alongside providing a more effective communication channel between the coaching team and the athletes.
Alongside this, the 24 year old worked closely with the Universities to deliver the ‘Breakfast Club’ to all athletes of the Development and Senior Squads with the aim of “making their lives easier, to allow them to focus on their studies alongside getting the right fuel in after morning sessions”. Check out our Instagram for an insight into the URA Breakfast Club here: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTkxNTg5MDcyMjA3Njcy/?utm_source=ig_story_highlights_share&igshid=ee4h3ovn486y
The coaching team at University Rowing Aberdeen has had both structure and substance in the 2018/19 season, one of Lewis’ aims for the year, with the fantastic addition of Calum McRoberts, Henley Royal Regatta Winner from Newcastle Uni BC, Myles Cannings, Holly Reid and Erin Wyness. To meet and find out more about our highly experienced coaching team, click here: https://www.universityrowingaberdeen.com/coaching.html. Lewis added “Receiving the Scottish Rowing Coach of the Year award pays homage to not only my efforts but also the huge efforts and committment of the whole volunteer Coaching Team at URA. This is recognition for their hard work also.”
Lewis also added:
Lewis was appointed as the full-time Head Coach of Univerisity Rowing Aberdeen in July 2018 after two years of working tirelessly on developing and reinventing the pre-existing partnership programme. Read more about his appointment in this fantastic article by Rob Eyton-Jones here: https://www.scottish-rowing.org.uk/index.php/news/730-lewis-mccue-head-coach-ura.
Lewis was appointed to a coaching role at URA in 2016 after his retirement from the U23 GB Rowing Team, where he competed 4 times at the U23 World Championships whilst studying at Robert Gordon University, and previously at the Junior World Rowing Championships. In the short space of time since, the boat fleet has increased and improved dramatically with the purchase of over 18 boats within the last 32 months, including the Filippi 4- Hootenanny, two Hudson 2-, two Filippi 4+, and a number of Wintech 1x and 2x/-.
Lewis has endeavoured to work closely with the student clubs and committees involved in the partnership with a student-athlete centred approach at the core value of his overall vision for the programme.
Lewis is extremely innovative and proactive in his coaching and approach to creating a better, progressive environment for the student-athletes at the joint Universities’ programme in the city. In 2018, Lewis developed an ‘Athlete Portal’ website and a database which provides extensive data analysis and feedback to athletes on the programme, alongside providing a more effective communication channel between the coaching team and the athletes.
Alongside this, the 24 year old worked closely with the Universities to deliver the ‘Breakfast Club’ to all athletes of the Development and Senior Squads with the aim of “making their lives easier, to allow them to focus on their studies alongside getting the right fuel in after morning sessions”. Check out our Instagram for an insight into the URA Breakfast Club here: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTkxNTg5MDcyMjA3Njcy/?utm_source=ig_story_highlights_share&igshid=ee4h3ovn486y
The coaching team at University Rowing Aberdeen has had both structure and substance in the 2018/19 season, one of Lewis’ aims for the year, with the fantastic addition of Calum McRoberts, Henley Royal Regatta Winner from Newcastle Uni BC, Myles Cannings, Holly Reid and Erin Wyness. To meet and find out more about our highly experienced coaching team, click here: https://www.universityrowingaberdeen.com/coaching.html. Lewis added “Receiving the Scottish Rowing Coach of the Year award pays homage to not only my efforts but also the huge efforts and committment of the whole volunteer Coaching Team at URA. This is recognition for their hard work also.”
Lewis also added:
“I am delighted to have received this award on Saturday from Scottish Rowing. My transition from performance athlete to Head Coach of URA wouldn’t have been possible without the support and backing of the student clubs & committees, Lee Boucher of Scottish Rowing, Hannah Leslie of RGU:Sport and Fraser Lovie of UoA. I would like to thank them for their continuing support of both myself and the University Rowing Aberdeen programme.”
To see the Press & Journal article written by Neil Drysdale on this award, click here: https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/sport/1737157/aberdeen-rowing-coach-lewis-mccue-wins-national-award/amp/
If you’re interested in rowing at University Rowing Aberdeen, or you have already been accepted to attend either Robert Gordon University or Aberdeen University, please contact Lewis directly at either [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.
University Rowing Aberdeen
If you’re interested in rowing at University Rowing Aberdeen, or you have already been accepted to attend either Robert Gordon University or Aberdeen University, please contact Lewis directly at either [email protected] or [email protected] for more information.
University Rowing Aberdeen
Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta/SSS Championships
Photos by Rob Eyton-Jones
On the 27th & 28th April University Rowing Aberdeen attended the Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta and SSS Championships at Strathclyde Country Park. Crews from Durham and Tyne were also in attendance which made for some high quality racing across the board over the two day event.
Our notable results were as follows;
GOLD: WR2 2-, WR1 4+, WR1 2x
SILVER: WO 2-, MO 4+, WO 2x, WR1 4+, WNov 4+, WNov 8+, WR2 2-
Our notable results were as follows;
GOLD: WR2 2-, WR1 4+, WR1 2x
SILVER: WO 2-, MO 4+, WO 2x, WR1 4+, WNov 4+, WNov 8+, WR2 2-
Photos by Rob Eyton-Jones
A fantastic weekend for our Senior and Development Women’s Squads who put in good performances throughout their busy racing schedule across the weekend. It was the first ever regatta for our Development Women who came away with solid silvers in the Women’s Novice 4+ and 8+ behind strong Durham beginners!
A highlight of the weekend was the Women’s R1 4+ race with our two fours racing placing 1st and 2nd ahead of two Durham University BC crews, with our RGUBC crew rowing through Durham in the final 300m of the race!
For full results check out the following link: http://rowresults.co.uk/srsr19
A highlight of the weekend was the Women’s R1 4+ race with our two fours racing placing 1st and 2nd ahead of two Durham University BC crews, with our RGUBC crew rowing through Durham in the final 300m of the race!
For full results check out the following link: http://rowresults.co.uk/srsr19
Photos by Rob Eyton-Jones
Our Head Coach, Lewis McCue added;
“The Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta was our first regatta of the season, and despite exams beginning earlier in the week the programme was able to take a large cohort down to race. Throughout the weekend we produced some very solid results which bode well for BUCS this coming weekend.”
A huge thank you to all at Scottish Rowing, all volunteers and Scottish Student Sport for hosting a fantastic event with some very tight racing!
Our next event is on 4th - 6th May at BUCS Regatta. Wish us luck and watch this space for crew lists and results to follow!
University Rowing Aberdeen
Our next event is on 4th - 6th May at BUCS Regatta. Wish us luck and watch this space for crew lists and results to follow!
University Rowing Aberdeen
April Training Camp - Loch Ken
On Saturday 31st March the squads travelled down to Castle Douglas to the Loch Ken Holiday Park to set up shop for a week of miles and development. After our successful training camp in January the squads were aiming to nail down over 250km of mileage during the week.
Loch Ken is located in Dumfries and Galloway. We first rowed here in April 2018 where we were blessed with over 12km rowing distance (24km loops!).
Loch Ken is located in Dumfries and Galloway. We first rowed here in April 2018 where we were blessed with over 12km rowing distance (24km loops!).
After settling in for a few days the squads began forming crews for the upcoming Scottish Rowing Spring Regatta held on 27/28th April and BUCS Regatta 4th-6th May.
We were joined halfway through the week by 3 aspiring GBRT potentials from the Queens Belfast performance programme, one of which being Fiona Bell the AUBC 2016-17 President. We wish the three of them all the best for their upcoming April Final Trials GBRT assessment in two weekends time.
We were joined halfway through the week by 3 aspiring GBRT potentials from the Queens Belfast performance programme, one of which being Fiona Bell the AUBC 2016-17 President. We wish the three of them all the best for their upcoming April Final Trials GBRT assessment in two weekends time.
Head Coach Lewis McCue added;
“Loch Ken is a fantastic stretch of water to row at. Mungo and his colleagues at the Loch Ken Holiday Park are extremely accommodating of our big trailer and boat fleet which we are thankful for. The squads made a good step on both technically and physiologically which is what we were looking for before the racing block begins.”
Our next event is this weekend (13th/14th April) where the Senior Women are heading down to Strathclyde Park Regatta to do some match racing with Glasgow Uni BC Women.
University Rowing Aberdeen
University Rowing Aberdeen
Aberdeen 8s HOR 2019
On Saturday 9th March URA raced at Aberdeen 8s Head of the River. Crews from all 3 squads; Senior, Development and Recreational were racing throughout the 2 divisions.
In the Division 1, both senior squads took to the water in scratch 8s and this is also the first time the seniors have been out in 8s since Rutherford HOR at the start of December. The women’s squad battled through some very tough conditions and big gusts of wind to perform well together. They managed to come away with a strong win in the WO8+, over a competitive Glasgow Uni crew.
The development women had a strong race in the first division and were able to come away with a very convincing win of almost 2 minutes in the Women’s Novice 8 event. This incredible performance from our Development Women, 6 of which are beginners from September, meant that they were also able to take the Glasgow Uni 2nd 8 over the course of the race which is an amazing achievement from our girls, all who learned to row only 5 months ago. The first division also saw the development girls race a time only 4+. The girls competed well throughout the time trial and were able to push themselves well even without any competition.
The Senior Men also took to the water in an 8 for the first time since Rutherford HOR, taking on a strong ASRA crew. They were able to work through the bad weather and managed to stay strong throughout the time trial. The men came a close second place to ASRA. They now look to improve and step on from this performance into the next block. The development men took to the water in a time only 4+. This was the crew’s first time competing together and they took this opportunity to gain experience and confidence within their rowing abilities.
Division 2 saw the senior squads race in their coxless and coxed 4s. The conditions still proved challenging but all boats were able to pull out some solid performances. The senior women had a composite time only 4- entered who had a strong race and executed their race plan well. The girls managed to stay fierce through the wind and pushed themselves far even with no competition to spur them on. The women also had a RGU time only 4+ racing this division. The crew consisted of two senior athletes, two development athletes and a novice cox. They were able to stay relentless and determined and pulled off a good result. The girls are hoping to use this race as a platform to improve from and push on with the hopes of some exciting races leading into the summer. Two of the senior women created a composite quad with two highly competitive girls from ASRA. The 4x pulled off a very quick race, placing fastest women’s crew of second division and 5th fastest crew of the whole division against some quick 8s from Glasgow Uni and Dundee Uni. The development women raced a different combination of 8 in the second division than the first with the girls looking to execute another great performance. After a tough race, the girls sadly just missed out and lost to the Glasgow Uni 2nd 8 but were still able to beat Glasgow Uni beginner 8 by over a minute.
In the second division the senior men raced in a time only composite 4- and a AU time only 4+. Both mens crews were happy with their performances and felt they executed their races well. The AU 4+ were able to hold a steady pace the whole race and then were able to execute a solid second half, which allowed them to produce the second fastest time in the whole division, achieving the fastest 4 result. The scratch 4- were able to pull together well and power through for a good performance to finish the day on.
Alex Zabala, AU men’s captain had this to say about his 4+ result;
“We rowed strongly and executed the race well. While the event was a time only, we were motivated to chase the best time of the day which we narrowly missed out on”.
University Rowing Aberdeen
Match Racing with Glasgow Uni BC Women's Squad
After a successful days racing on Saturday our women had the opportunity to move onto Sunday with a day of side by side work with two Glasgow 8+s from the previous days racing.
The wind from Saturday carried through to Sundays training, however despite this the squads had two sessions of hard side-by-side work with Glasgow Uni BC. Our 1st VIII was battling out with the GUBC 1st VIII over 10 x 2-3 min pieces whilst the beginners did the same work with the Glasgow 2nd VIII. Both crews felt solid leading into the session and afterwards into session 2 which consisted of a long battle paddle session. Our beginner women held their speed with the GUBC 2nd VIII which was very encouraging to see, alongside the encouraging speed work our first 8 was producing.
Head Coach Lewis McCue said;
The wind from Saturday carried through to Sundays training, however despite this the squads had two sessions of hard side-by-side work with Glasgow Uni BC. Our 1st VIII was battling out with the GUBC 1st VIII over 10 x 2-3 min pieces whilst the beginners did the same work with the Glasgow 2nd VIII. Both crews felt solid leading into the session and afterwards into session 2 which consisted of a long battle paddle session. Our beginner women held their speed with the GUBC 2nd VIII which was very encouraging to see, alongside the encouraging speed work our first 8 was producing.
Head Coach Lewis McCue said;
“It was great to work alongside the Glasgow programme on Sunday. It is invaluable having the ability to complete quality side-by-side work with another Scottish programme. The girls have taken a lot out of this racing experience early on in the season which should bode well for the summer events in one months time.”
We wish the GUBC Women the best of luck at WeHoRR this weekend in our absence!
University Rowing Aberdeen
University Rowing Aberdeen
Inverness Head of the River 2019
On Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th of February, University Rowing Aberdeen travelled up to Inverness to compete in the Inverness/SSS HOR.
Womens’ Squad Report
The Women’s Squad took to the water in the first division in two coxless fours and a LWT 2x. With this event being the first race since Rutherford HOR, the women’s squad looked to capitalise on ongoing speed discovery and lots of progression made since January Camp. There was a strong win for the WO4- of a composite crew of both RGU and AU students namely; Lauren Amner (RGU) Christy Crook (AU) Ruth Grant (AU) Katie Sugden (AU).
Our second WO4- also had a strong outing with the boat holding two Development Squad athletes, this being their first experience of competing alongside senior members. The W2x had a very successful race with not only winning their race but also obtaining fastest women’s open double over both days. Rosie Payne (RGU) was the only senior woman racing on Saturday division 2 in the WO1x. Rosie joined URA in September, after being out of the sport for over a year with a back injury, it was positive to not only watch Rosie complete her first single’s race for a while but she also achieved fastest WO1x of the whole head race weekend.
Womens’ Squad Report
The Women’s Squad took to the water in the first division in two coxless fours and a LWT 2x. With this event being the first race since Rutherford HOR, the women’s squad looked to capitalise on ongoing speed discovery and lots of progression made since January Camp. There was a strong win for the WO4- of a composite crew of both RGU and AU students namely; Lauren Amner (RGU) Christy Crook (AU) Ruth Grant (AU) Katie Sugden (AU).
Our second WO4- also had a strong outing with the boat holding two Development Squad athletes, this being their first experience of competing alongside senior members. The W2x had a very successful race with not only winning their race but also obtaining fastest women’s open double over both days. Rosie Payne (RGU) was the only senior woman racing on Saturday division 2 in the WO1x. Rosie joined URA in September, after being out of the sport for over a year with a back injury, it was positive to not only watch Rosie complete her first single’s race for a while but she also achieved fastest WO1x of the whole head race weekend.
Photography by Donald Cameron
On Sunday morning the girls took to the water in two coxed fours, an AU 4+ and an RGU 4+. With the 24th Aberdeen Boat Race fast approaching on March 23rd and this being the only race that URA was divided for the whole weekend, the outcome was greatly anticipated within the squads. The wind picked up a lot for this division and the RGU SSS4+ ended up being victorious in the battle of the two universities, however came very close second to a very quick Dundee Uni BC W4+. The senior women then had a quick turnaround and took to the water in four W2-’s. The wind had increased substantially and conditions had significantly decreased during the break between the two divisions however our women still managed to brave the cold, wet and windy conditions to come away with comfortable wins in WO2- and SSS W2- showing good percentages in both.
The Development Squad also had a very successful weekend racing in 8+’s and 4+’s over both Saturday and Sunday. The girls put in a solid first performance in a W8+ to start their Inverness weekend with their first combination in this crew however were beaten by a strong Edinburgh University beginner W8+. The girls used the feeling of disappointment to fuel their second race in the W8+ in the second division where they came away with the victory over the Edinburgh University crew by over 40 seconds. On the Sunday, the girls took to the water in 3 different W4+’s, all competing against each other and various other clubs and universities. The girls showed the confidence and ability they had obtained over January Camp, where they had the opportunity to work more in smaller boats. This confidence and determination allowed the girls to come away with a win in the WNov4+, a great achievement for our continually improving development programme.
The Development Squad also had a very successful weekend racing in 8+’s and 4+’s over both Saturday and Sunday. The girls put in a solid first performance in a W8+ to start their Inverness weekend with their first combination in this crew however were beaten by a strong Edinburgh University beginner W8+. The girls used the feeling of disappointment to fuel their second race in the W8+ in the second division where they came away with the victory over the Edinburgh University crew by over 40 seconds. On the Sunday, the girls took to the water in 3 different W4+’s, all competing against each other and various other clubs and universities. The girls showed the confidence and ability they had obtained over January Camp, where they had the opportunity to work more in smaller boats. This confidence and determination allowed the girls to come away with a win in the WNov4+, a great achievement for our continually improving development programme.
Photography by Donald Cameron
Mens’ Squad Report
Inverness Head was the first chance for our RGUBC and AUBC Senior Men to compete against other crews from across Scotland this year. The crews raced over both days in three divisions, including the 4-, 4+ and 2- events and comprising of seven senior men and one Development Squad member who took up the challenge of stepping up into senior crews. On Saturday, our two O4- placed 4th and 5th, a result which was slightly disappointing considering the percentages achieved in training.
However, the following day our athletes achieved much more positive results. From our four 2- racing, we came out victorious in both the O2- and R12- events, as well as taking the second place in the O2-, making our crews the three fastest 2- from a competitive field including crews from St. Andrew’s BC and Strathclyde University BC. On the second division on Sunday, our O4+ took the win and was the fastest 4+, producing the 7th best time of the division against competition from ASRA, Clydesdale ARC and Edinburgh University BC.
Inverness Head was the first chance for our RGUBC and AUBC Senior Men to compete against other crews from across Scotland this year. The crews raced over both days in three divisions, including the 4-, 4+ and 2- events and comprising of seven senior men and one Development Squad member who took up the challenge of stepping up into senior crews. On Saturday, our two O4- placed 4th and 5th, a result which was slightly disappointing considering the percentages achieved in training.
However, the following day our athletes achieved much more positive results. From our four 2- racing, we came out victorious in both the O2- and R12- events, as well as taking the second place in the O2-, making our crews the three fastest 2- from a competitive field including crews from St. Andrew’s BC and Strathclyde University BC. On the second division on Sunday, our O4+ took the win and was the fastest 4+, producing the 7th best time of the division against competition from ASRA, Clydesdale ARC and Edinburgh University BC.
Photography by Donald Cameron
Senior Captain Alex Zabala said “Overall, racing at Inverness allowed us to test our speed against a wide range of crews and demonstrated that our athletes continue to gain speed and are seeing benefits from the continued training throughout winter, including our training camp at Loch Oich in the first week of January. Moving forward we hope to learn from this experience to produce faster crews and be ready to race against a very competitive field in the summer racing season.”
Next stop: pairs matrix in house...
University Rowing Aberdeen
Next stop: pairs matrix in house...
University Rowing Aberdeen
Rutherford Head of the River 1st December 2018
The URA Senior Women's Squad competed well at Rutherford HOR which is now one of the most competitive heads in the country with an impressive University turn out each year. The club travels each year to Newcastle upon Tyne to compete against some of the biggest clubs in University (& non University) rowing.
In the 1st Division the Women's Squad took to the water in 4’s, both coxed and coxless, racing against some very quick University crews from across the country. All boats raced well, with many of the crews placing within the top positions in their respective races. The club are particularly proud to name the W4- of Ruth Grant, Katie Sugden, Lauren Amner and Christy Crook who won the W4- B2 category in division 1 up against a tough field. The speed this crew had on Saturday is indicative of a tough last few months for the whole Competitive Squad, with a lot of speed still to come. Christy, Katie and Ruth all took their first strokes in October 2017 with this season being only their second ever, making this result into senior level even sweeter.
In the 1st Division the Women's Squad took to the water in 4’s, both coxed and coxless, racing against some very quick University crews from across the country. All boats raced well, with many of the crews placing within the top positions in their respective races. The club are particularly proud to name the W4- of Ruth Grant, Katie Sugden, Lauren Amner and Christy Crook who won the W4- B2 category in division 1 up against a tough field. The speed this crew had on Saturday is indicative of a tough last few months for the whole Competitive Squad, with a lot of speed still to come. Christy, Katie and Ruth all took their first strokes in October 2017 with this season being only their second ever, making this result into senior level even sweeter.
Photography by Al Johnston
In the 2nd Division the women encountered some trouble boating which meant a change in boat for the first VIII. This proved to act as a vital learning experience for them. The Development Women also had some good races, where many of them competed in their first major head race of the season. They also competed in 4-’s, 4+’s and 8+’s. This weekend again showed how strong our development squad are and how quickly they continue to learn and grow both on and off the water.
The Senior Men's Squad put in a strong performance in both the Coxed, and Coxless Four, coming 4th in their respective categories. Alex Zabala (AUBC Men’s Captain) reported: “The coxed four rowed through the start at a fast and steady pace, overtaking Hatfield College on the first bend, and continued to row strongly as they pulled away from Glasgow University and caught up with Newcastle University, to finally cross the finish line ahead of them, while rating 34-36 throughout”
Photography by Al Johnston
In addition to this success, the men’s eight put in an admirable performance ranking 7th in their category, despite only one session's practice prior to the event. Special mention to three members of the Development Squad who stepped up to become valuable members of the coxless four, and men’s eight crews - Brodie Barker, Campbell Tough, and Daniel Hessp. Special mention also to Alliott Irvine who coxed both the eight and the coxed four. His experience in this role was evident, steering perfectly tight lines on the demanding mudslide ridden course.
Head Coach Lewis McCue added “Rutherford Head is always a good event with a very high standard and I am pleased with the results from URA crews this year. The energy is high after this weekend of racing going into the exam period and I can see that the squad are ready to move into a hard winter block which will hopefully build on the form we have had over the early season.”
Our next event after our training camp on the first week of January is in February at the Aberdeen HOR.
University Rowing Aberdeen
Photography by Al Johnston
Scottish Indoors Race Report
On Saturday the 17th of November University Rowing Aberdeen headed to Glasgow to compete in the Scottish Indoor Rowing Championships with the beginner squads to compete in their first indoor event.
Our Women’s Beginner Squad had a very successful weekend at the SR Indoors with some notable results. Marie Bernards won the Womens’ Student Beginner 1km event in a time of 3:23.5, placing her 1st on the BUCS indoor rankings. Closely behind her is India Dodd with a time of 3:28.3, placing her 2nd on the BUCS league. Coralie Arthur won the Women’s Open Beginner event in 3:32.5, and the girls in the Women’s Beginner Relay with a the team of; India Dodd, Marie Bernards, Emma Brockway and Emily Carruthers won gold. There were also other medals won throughout the day, including, India Dodd placing second in the Women’s Student Beginner event in a tight side-by-side with a strong Edinburgh University contingent.
The weekend also saw our senior crews have a productive weekend training at Strathclyde Park in preparation for Rutherford HOR. Gregor Pittendreigh (RGUBC Mens Captain had the following to add “...the main focus of the weekend was to complete a lot of mileage in 4s and get some good side by side racing done. With the crews coming together these past few weeks and the speeds improving, preparation for Rutherford HOR is going strong.”
Our Women’s Beginner Squad had a very successful weekend at the SR Indoors with some notable results. Marie Bernards won the Womens’ Student Beginner 1km event in a time of 3:23.5, placing her 1st on the BUCS indoor rankings. Closely behind her is India Dodd with a time of 3:28.3, placing her 2nd on the BUCS league. Coralie Arthur won the Women’s Open Beginner event in 3:32.5, and the girls in the Women’s Beginner Relay with a the team of; India Dodd, Marie Bernards, Emma Brockway and Emily Carruthers won gold. There were also other medals won throughout the day, including, India Dodd placing second in the Women’s Student Beginner event in a tight side-by-side with a strong Edinburgh University contingent.
The weekend also saw our senior crews have a productive weekend training at Strathclyde Park in preparation for Rutherford HOR. Gregor Pittendreigh (RGUBC Mens Captain had the following to add “...the main focus of the weekend was to complete a lot of mileage in 4s and get some good side by side racing done. With the crews coming together these past few weeks and the speeds improving, preparation for Rutherford HOR is going strong.”
On Sunday morning, the women were given the opportunity to compete in a 4k time trial against a very competitive Edinburgh University squad. The 4k trial results showed as a good indicator of promise and ability to produce speed within the squad. Overall, it was a tough but valuable weekend of work.
URA Head Coach Lewis McCue added “It was great to introduce our Beginner Programme into a competitive racing environment at the weekend, including the BUCS Indoor league. I was pleased to see how well all of our athletes performed under what can be a high pressured environment which bodes well for future racing.”
The URA Recreational Squad also competed at the SR Indoors and took part in four events with good performances surpassing any expectations of the squad. The Mixed Relay put in a strong performance, winning the gold medal by a considerable amount. The last races for the day were the Open Mens’ Relay and Womens’ Student Relay. The womens’ team put in a good performance fighting off all the teams from Saints to get a second-place finish.
More photos from this event can be seen on the website gallery.
URA Head Coach Lewis McCue added “It was great to introduce our Beginner Programme into a competitive racing environment at the weekend, including the BUCS Indoor league. I was pleased to see how well all of our athletes performed under what can be a high pressured environment which bodes well for future racing.”
The URA Recreational Squad also competed at the SR Indoors and took part in four events with good performances surpassing any expectations of the squad. The Mixed Relay put in a strong performance, winning the gold medal by a considerable amount. The last races for the day were the Open Mens’ Relay and Womens’ Student Relay. The womens’ team put in a good performance fighting off all the teams from Saints to get a second-place finish.
More photos from this event can be seen on the website gallery.
Our next event for the competitive squads is on 1st December at Rutherford HOR, Newcastle upon Tyne.
University Rowing Aberdeen
URA Sponsored Row
Each year URA hosts a Christmas Fundraiser to raise money for vital equipment needed for the upcoming season. This year we will be rowing a sponsored row from 8am-7pm out M&S on Union Street in Aberdeen on Friday the 14th of December, come along and show your support!
With an ever-growing programme of competitive and recreational athletes we are raising money to provide equipment for the expansion on the club. Our fundraising goal is £3200, and we are well on our way to reach this thanks to prior fundraising efforts totalling £1200, but every little helps as we work hard to reach our goal! All money will be used to support athletes throughout the club, from rowing beginners to GB trialists.
To find out more and to donate follow the link below!
Any and all donations are hugely appreciated.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ura2018?fbclid=IwAR2nmF2FOoa7RCEjEy44Gf8_pLh0_w8-2qJOMq6V5V81pLgAnPBy5A4rEXk\
University Rowing Aberdeen
With an ever-growing programme of competitive and recreational athletes we are raising money to provide equipment for the expansion on the club. Our fundraising goal is £3200, and we are well on our way to reach this thanks to prior fundraising efforts totalling £1200, but every little helps as we work hard to reach our goal! All money will be used to support athletes throughout the club, from rowing beginners to GB trialists.
To find out more and to donate follow the link below!
Any and all donations are hugely appreciated.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ura2018?fbclid=IwAR2nmF2FOoa7RCEjEy44Gf8_pLh0_w8-2qJOMq6V5V81pLgAnPBy5A4rEXk\
University Rowing Aberdeen
Aberdeen Head of the River 2018
On 27th & 28th of October 2018 University Rowing Aberdeen raced in four divisions at the Aberdeen HOR on home water, welcoming competition from Scottish University boat clubs including St Andrews Uni BC, Glasgow Uni BC, Dundee Uni BC and Heriot Watt Uni BC.
The whole club was involved with 11 boats racing in each division between the Senior, Development and Recreational Squads. The first notable results were from the Development Women’s squad who had 17 athletes racing over the weekend rotating between 4 coxed fours across 3 divisions. This marks the first race for all of these girls with 8 different athletes taking wins across the weekend.
Not to be outdone by the women, the Development Men also raced across both days and were the winners in Beginner M4+ on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Senior Men’s squad produced solid performances on Saturday winning the Open Coxed fours event. On Sunday the Men finished the weekend off well with the top 3 pairs finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the division overall.
The Senior Women also achieved quality results, winning division 2 coxless fours on Saturday. On Sunday the squad fielded 6 pairs laying down a solid marker for the winter season ahead in the small boats, also winning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in open pairs.
Head Coach Lewis McCue had some thoughts after the weekend’s racing:
The whole club was involved with 11 boats racing in each division between the Senior, Development and Recreational Squads. The first notable results were from the Development Women’s squad who had 17 athletes racing over the weekend rotating between 4 coxed fours across 3 divisions. This marks the first race for all of these girls with 8 different athletes taking wins across the weekend.
Not to be outdone by the women, the Development Men also raced across both days and were the winners in Beginner M4+ on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Senior Men’s squad produced solid performances on Saturday winning the Open Coxed fours event. On Sunday the Men finished the weekend off well with the top 3 pairs finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the division overall.
The Senior Women also achieved quality results, winning division 2 coxless fours on Saturday. On Sunday the squad fielded 6 pairs laying down a solid marker for the winter season ahead in the small boats, also winning 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in open pairs.
Head Coach Lewis McCue had some thoughts after the weekend’s racing:
“Aberdeen HOR is the first race of the season this year for our URA crews. The event showed a good step forward from all squads with some strong progress across the weekend particularly from the Development athletes. Now we will move into the winter racing period with more purpose and direction.”
Our next training event is on 10th/11th November with Glasgow Uni BC coming up to Aberdeen for match racing between the senior and development squads.
University Rowing Aberdeen
University Rowing Aberdeen
Boat Naming Ceremony
At 12pm on Saturday 27th October 2018 University Rowing Aberdeen held their first naming ceremony of the season as a result of the summer-long fundraising project rolled out in early June.
Over the last four months University Rowing Aberdeen have worked hard to gain the support of members past and present to raise funds for our new boat, a 2018 Filippi 4-. The club fundraised a fantastic £9,200 toward the purchase of the boat, which the programme matched.
A £100 donation entered each individual into a raffle to have the privilege of naming the boat. Victoria Bridge Rowing Club, a URA alumni club, won the draw on Saturday 13th October which was selected by Alec (5) and Evie Wallace (3) out of the footwell of the boat itself!
Over the last four months University Rowing Aberdeen have worked hard to gain the support of members past and present to raise funds for our new boat, a 2018 Filippi 4-. The club fundraised a fantastic £9,200 toward the purchase of the boat, which the programme matched.
A £100 donation entered each individual into a raffle to have the privilege of naming the boat. Victoria Bridge Rowing Club, a URA alumni club, won the draw on Saturday 13th October which was selected by Alec (5) and Evie Wallace (3) out of the footwell of the boat itself!
We are delighted to announce the name of the boat to be “Hootenanny”, chosen by VBRC to celebrate the partnership between the two Universities, and we raise a glass to the future.
We would like to thank all of our donors once again and look forward to the boat’s first outing in a few weeks time!
University Rowing Aberdeen
University Rowing Aberdeen