Wearside rowing club's big successes after just a year

Just a year after forming, a Wearside rowing club has won two national medals and grown very quickly.

At its first Junior Inter-Regional Regatta in Northumberland, Lambton Rowing Club saw two of its crews qualify for April’s national championships at the National Water Sports Centre in Nottingham.

The club, based at the Lambton Estate, was formed in February 2023 and already regularly competes at regional and national events.

Starting with only a few members and little equipment, Lambton now has 78 junior athletes regularly competing at all levels and disciplines of rowing.

Within days of securing affiliation with British Rowing, the club entered four crews into the prestigious Durham Regatta last June with one crew sailing through as overall winners.

The following month saw representation at the first junior British Championships where the club entered women's and men’s single and double crews, securing four medals.

Eleanor Wesencraft and Jasmine Kane competed as a pair, finishing third in the time trials and powering through to third overall in the finals, winning Lambton their first ever national medal.

A string of other successes have followed.

The club benefits from access to the 1,000-acre Lambton Estate and trains on a 5km stretch of the River Wear. The club holds its first regatta on the estate this summer and other clubs will be invited to compete.

Matthew Cleugh, club chairman, said: “It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in the space of a year.

"To get the club up and running with all the boats, equipment, licenses, insurance and of course members has been challenging but we are very grateful to the Estates Team here at Lambton who allow us to access and train within the grounds of this fabulous estate."

Head coach Steven Thompson, said: “Our aim is to provide a fun, friendly and learning environment for all our members and we welcome youngsters and adults of all abilities.

“It’s a great sport to be involved in and we couldn’t have achieved what we have without the coaches, members and parents. We teach children from the age of 11 (Year 7). If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch.”

For more information, visit www.lambtonrowing.co.uk.