National Schools Regatta 2026

Trafford sent 3 crews to Dorney Lake for the final time this season to compete at National Schools Regatta. Some varied conditions throughout the weekend. with the wind picking up throughout the day on the Friday and the first heatwave of the year gracing our Sunday crew. Off the back of a silver and bronze medal at Junior Sculling Regatta just 3 weeks before, it was looking to be an exciting day of racing for each crew. 💚🖤

Friday 22nd May

The Op J14 4x+ of Leo, Ben, James, Joseph, with Rory coxing, had a fantastic day of racing. An impressive 05:45.1 in the time trial placed them joint first in the time trial with St Joseph College🥇 The conditions later in the day led to the course being shortened to 1500m for the A final, where it was an extremely tight race between Gorse, Trentham, St Joseph and Trafford for the podium. After a nail biting race, the boys just missed out on a medal by 0.9 seconds, and only 1.3 seconds separated the top 4 spots. Whilst they haven't brought home a medal this time, the win in the time trial out of 55 crews shows how competitive they are in this field. The club is exceptionally proud of them all - Well done boys!

The W J14 4x+ of Jemima, Holly, Isobel, Charlotte and Jai coxing gave another solid performance at this level. They placed 26th of 56 crews in the time trial - missing out on a final by just 2 seconds. They fought hard throughout, and produced a confident race where coach Martin commented it was the best he had seen them scull all season. Thank you to super sub Charlotte who joined the crew after only learning to row in September, and racing at her first national event (and on her birthday!) Great performance girls- well done 💚

Sunday 24th May

Tabby and Ellen raced in the W J16 2x - a newly formed crew and their first time competing together. They produced a impressive time trial time of 7:44.4, just 0.8 seconds behind Rob Roy in 3rd position. The conditions on the Sunday were extremely hot and the girls did everything they could between the time trial and the A final to keep cool. After a conservative start, they held 6th position, but previous races have shown these girls always have a fight in the tank at the end. They produced a solid rhythm in the middle section, overtaking NCRA by the 1500m marker and gave everything they had to the last 500m to place 4th on the finish line. An exceptional effort and always an exciting race in the W J16 2x! Well done both 🖤💚

Overall, a really great weekend for Trafford's juniors. Our crews showed impressive determination and resilience throughout their races, showing great potential. Thank you to the National Schools Regatta organising committee for an excellent weekend of racing 💙❤️🤍