Teesside rowers have again excelled at events around the country. Tees Rowing Club's Paul Buckworth took part in the top-class Scullers Head event, raced on the four and a half miles Thames championship course from Mortlake to Putney. He competed in the Veteran B (age 36-43) event and finished 73 out of 460 entries overall and was 6th fastest in his category. Paul's time was equal to the time of the 2002 overall winner, giving an indication of the improving strength in depth of British sculling. Meanwhile, several Tees crews competed in the York Small Boats Head on the Ouse in York. The testing course is rowed upstream over 3000m and finishes at Marygate. Moored boats, buoys, bridges and over 330 competing crews mean the event demands much of scullers and oarsmen. Top Tees crew was Division 1 Tees Senior 3 coxed four of Steve Vaslet (bow), Dave Scarr, Graham Hollins, Andy Pickering (stroke) with Angela Warburton (cox). Their time of 12min 6.2sec placed them 44th overall and 6th in their category. Racing in Division 3, Andy Pickering stroked a different combination - John Harrison and Russell Mills replacing Steve Vaslet and Dave Scarr - in the Senior 4+ category. Their time of 12min 9sec was only three seconds slower than the Division 1 crew had achieved in the morning. Russell Mills stepped up to stroke Tees Senior 3 4+, which included John Harrison (bow) Steven Leigh, Kevin Robinson, with (cox) Zoe Rayson in Division 2 to a time of 12min 29.8sec and overall position of 73rd. The Tees club took the top three positions in the Veteran B-E category. Pride of place went to the improving Tees Veteran D crew of Richard Harandon (bow), Dick Wilkinson, Tor Taverner, Dilwyn Jones (stroke) and (cox) Mark Baldwin. The Tees crew was the fastest Veteran Four+ at the York Small Boats Head with a time of 12min 31.7sec. The Tees crew of Steve Vaslet (bow), Ian Smith, Dave Scarr, Paul Lofts (stroke) Lucy Ventress (cox), were second in a time of 12min 48.1sec, while the crew of Brian Baldwin (bow), Brian Ventress, Kevin Robinson and Steven Leigh (stroke) with Peter Hills (cox), were third in 13min 24.9sec. The Double Sculls combination of Bob Bainbridge and Paul Reevell, looking for stiffer competition outside of the North-east, found the going tough and were fourth in their category in a time of 12 minutes 49.1 seconds. Tees Novice 4+ of Steve Mclaren, Graham Tooth, Rob Cree and Paul Lofts, with Peter Hills coxing, finished in 13min 36.9sec and were 10th out of 19 in their category. Neil Hunter-Smith, competing in two divisions (14min 38.5sec in Div 1 and 14min 35.9sec in Div 2) was Tees' fastest sculler. Neil is a J16 sculler and in beating many older and more experienced scullers, including Rob Cree of Tees, is a fine prospect. The Tees Senior 3 4+ crew, stroked by Ruth Wilkinson, and the two Senior 4+ crews - stroked by Sarah Harker and Charlotte Cook respectively - gained valuable experience at last weekend's event. Fastest Tees women's double scullers were Zoe Rayson and Claire Fletcher in the Novice 2- event. The Tees pairings of John Green and Janet Wilkinson (Vet E), Laura Hunter-Smith and Miss Brown (S42+), produced good times on the day but were not among the winners. Finally, Deborah Ashurst of Tees, competing in her first York Small Boats Head of the River, won the women's Veteran B-C event single sculls. Tees Rowing Club are looking for coxes. Contact the club via the Tees Rowing Club website at: www.teesrc.co.uk Anyone interested in Watersports at the River Tees Watersports Centre can contact: John Whyte on 01642-628940 or log on to: www.riverteeswatersportscentre.co.uk | 
