Nottingham Masters & Club Regatta 2026

Trafford sent 22 crews from across the junior, senior, and masters squads to Nottingham Masters and Club Regatta for a full day of racing on the 1k course on the lake. Conditions proved challenging all day, with a strong tailwind creating very choppy water; following the breezy conditions from the evening before. The lake was far from the usual conditions on the canal Trafford crews are used to, making for a tough but valuable day of racing. Despite the conditions, Trafford crews produced several wins along with many close and competitive finishes across all squads. 🖤💚

Junior Squads

A couple of standout wins from the junior squad at Nottingham: Tabby in the W J15 1x, continuing her strong momentum following Junior Sculling Regatta with another confident performance. Leo also brought home a dominant win in a composite Op J15 2x alongside with Arlo from Nottingham County Rowing Association. The pair sculled extremely well together and controlled the race impressively from start to finish. Well done to both crews 🥇

There were plenty of other strong junior performances throughout the day. Several younger athletes stepped up to race an age group above, with the Op J15 4x+ crew, usually racing as J14s, putting up a great fight against Nottingham County Rowing Association to finish 2nd in a highly competitive race. Similarly, Trafford’s J14 girls also raced up into the J15 category and produced a strong performance to finish 3rd against experienced opposition. Ben W, still only a J13, raced well in the J14 category and came away with 3rd place against a tough field, another promising performance from one of Trafford’s younger athletes. Francesca bravely raced in the W J12 1x and handled the conditions brilliantly, finishing 3rd against strong opposition in her first race in this boat class.

Men’s Squad

Justin started the day with a great win in the Op MasE 1x in Division B. It was a nail biting finish, with just 0.8 seconds separating 1st and 2nd place, making for one of the closest races of the day. Ollie followed this up with a dominant performance in the Op 1x, winning by an impressive 16 seconds. Well done both 🥇

Other notable performances included the Op MasC 4+, who battled through an 8 second handicap and produced a thrilling race to the line, narrowly missing out to Devil’s Elbow by just 0.6 seconds to finish 2nd. The Op MasD 4x- also produced a solid row in difficult conditions to secure 3rd place in their final.

Women’s Squad

Louise and Kim raced together for the first time in the W MasC 2x and delivered a strong performance to finish 3rd in their final. The W MasE 4x- of Mary, Alison H, Alison S, and Tania took on tough opposition and finished 4th after battling hard through the difficult water. The W MasC 4x- of Ania, Su, Jill and Jane H also raced strongly, battling closely with Nottingham and Union for 3rd place and handling the challenging conditions well throughout. A valuable experience for these crews, as a first race at Nottingham for some and will be looking to improve their position in upcoming races.

Overall, it was a really positive day for Trafford across all squads. Crews adapted well to difficult conditions, produced several good results, and continued to show strong progress and promise. A great effort from everyone involved. 💚🖤 Thank you to the Nottingham Regatta Committee for a great day 💙💛❤️🖤