Cranleigh entered this competition (on November 16th) at Dreadnought Reach on the Thames for the first time ever, guided through the event by Linda Baily. The morning competitions involved a series of 500m and 200m sprints in K2 boats – always a lively affair owing to the ‘knock-out’ system of progression through the events. All of
the Cranleigh squad finished in the top half with some great performances amid the merry melee that ‘sudden death’ races always involve. Laurence Fortescue and Robert Harrison, on excellent form, won both the 500m and 200m competitions thus becoming 2014 National Schools’ Sprint Champions 2014: a really brilliant performance from the pair which truly merited the trophy.
After the brief lunch break, the afternoon involved competitors in a 15k marathon involving 3 laps of a 5km circuit – a heavy challenge after the morning’s events. All of the squad performed well with Cranleigh “Gold” team (J. York, J. Young, N. Frett, A. Frett, A. Steele, B. Strickland) coming in third and the Cranleigh “Blue” team (L. Fortescue, R. Harrison, C. Norton, A. Dahl, A.
Loedolff, D. Plewman) finishing in first place, becoming National School’s Kayaking Marathon Champions 2014 – another brilliant performance from all of the squad with congratulations deserved by everyone for a really super performance at this first major kayaking event of the year.
Thanks to Mr Leggitt for his support and admin, to Miss Coyle who has acted as “spare” during training, to Peter Morley and Roy Briggs of the Wey Kayak Club and various other club members who have given their time and expertise coaching the students and to the Wey Kayak Club for their on-going support and encouragement.
Linda Baily
Back to all news
