News - 2012 Season
03 May - Funeral Service for Rolls Pollard
Memorial Fund Established
The funeral service for Rolls Pollard will be held on Wednesday 9th May at 2.30pm at Peterborough Crematorium. All members and friends will be welcome to attend.
After the funeral service there will be a wake at the club for family, members and friends. Food and drink will be available. All are welcome.
The club Trustees and the Executors have agreed to establish a Memorial Fund with the purpose of creating a permanent memorial to Rolls Pollard. Gift aid envelopes will be available after the service and at the club for those who may wish to make a donation.
26 Apr - Rolls Pollard. R.I.P.
Full obituary of the man who led the club for 37 years.
Rolls Pollard died after a short illness on 22nd April 2012, soon after his 82nd birthday.
Rowland Harry Pollard invariably known as Rolls committed most of his life to the sport of rowing and to Peterborough City Rowing Club. He was also a successful florist and ran his own business for many years.
He joined Peterborough City Rowing Club as a young man in 1952 following his older brother Jim who was already involved. He won his maidens (novices) in a four at Derby Regatta in 1954. In the following year he stroked an eight to win at Peterborough Regatta. Rolls became Captain in the autumn of 1957 and remained in the role for two years even though he stopped rowing himself due to the commitments of running his own business. He subsequently served on the club committee and worked tirelessly supporting the management of the club which was in its infancy. It was based in a large wooden shed with no amenities at all in the early years. Rolls played a big part in raising money through a local football pools which enabled a proper boathouse to be built in 1961.
Rolls was by this time Vice Chairman of the club and in 1968 he was elected Chairman in succession to Freddie Addison, the club’s founding Chairman who had been in post for 20 years. In 1968 Rolls saw the need for new leadership of the club and at the time this change of leadership was something of a revolution by the younger members against the “old guard”.
Rolls subsequently headed the club committee for 37 years through a period that saw great changes in the club and notably the move in 1983 from the river to the purpose-built rowing course where it is now based. Through his term as Chairman there was also a big expansion in the number of members, most particularly in the number of juniors in recent years through membership of Project Oarsome.
The move of the club in 1983 came about at the end of a 10 year period when the threat of compulsory purchase for a new road hung over the club. A very difficult decision had to be taken by the club – stay located by the river in a new boathouse close to the old one or move to the proposed purpose-built rowing course which the club would have to manage and maintain. With the benefit of hindsight it should have been a “no brainer” but at the time no other rowing club in the country managed its own rowing course. Could the club cope with the responsibility and cost? There was no example to follow. However Rolls believed that this was the way forward and led a committee that in the main supported the move away from the river but which included some who doubted the wisdom of such a move. A general meeting followed and the membership was persuaded; 29 years on all the benefits are obvious and indeed taken for granted by the younger members.
During his Chairmanship Rolls ensured that the club was run on a business-like basis chairing several sub-committees as well as the main committee. He showed total commitment to the club and virtually never missed a meeting. At the same time he found time to be an umpire for many years playing a part in the formation of the National Umpires Commission and for a period was Chairman of the Eastern Umpires Commission. He was also for a period Chairman of the Eastern Region Rowing Council. His work for the sport in general was recognised in 1989 when he was presented with the A.R.A. Medal of Honour by Neil Thomas, the President of the A.R.A. More locally he won other awards including the Evening Telegraph “Unsung Hero” Award in 2001.
On retirement from the Chairmanship in 2006 Rolls became President and remained active particularly in the 100 Club continuing to help with fundraising. At the same time he was made a Life Member of the club.
Whilst Rolls worked hard to ensure that the club was managed to the best standards, he very much enjoyed the social aspects of the club. From his younger days there are stories of loading up his work van with rowers to go to regattas, of stops at pubs on the way home in the days before the breathalyser and other adventures. He was a keen cook and for many years the highlight for the organisers of Peterborough Regatta was working on the draw at his house – they were exceptionally well fed and alcohol was involved! His speciality was whole salmon poached in cider which he took delight in arranging on the plate with all the artistry that you would expect from a florist.
Away from the rowing club Rolls was a florist originally working for Peach but setting up his own business in the late 1950’s which he ran successfully for many years until his retirement. He was a leading light in the Interflora organisation and was Chairman of the local region for many years. In 1975 he was awarded with the Interflora “Gavel” Award in recognition of the high standards that he maintained.
Rolls has left a club immeasurably stronger and better for his involvement. He will be greatly missed.
22 Apr - Success for the juniors at Leicester Regatta
At the first regatta of the new season there was success for several juniors who travelled to Leicester. It was also valuable racing experience for many others.
For Thomas Marshall it was the first win of his rowing career when he won the J12 singles event and hopefully it will be the first of many. Bradley Buchnell added to his collection of prizes when he won J14 singles beating has fellow member Josh Smith in the final and then winning J14 doubles teamed with a Nottingham sculler.
Paige Phillips triumphed in J18 singles and there was a novice win for Dan Richardson and Chris Defreitas in doubles.
Rather older members Ian Davis and Pete Dolby raced well to reach the final of Masters D pairs but were not able to cross the line first. Sadly the clubs highly successful Masters D four had to withdraw after Colin Roberts injured his back in training.
15 Apr - Bedford Small Boats Head
6 wins and other strong performances
Over 45 members raced at Bedford at the last head race of the season and achieved 6 wins and several worthy second places. It was a good day for the veterans but there were also competitive performances from junior members and others.
The Masters four of Steve Fox, Colin Roberts, Glyn Reed and Keith Blackman coxed by Tracey Rushton-Thorpe were most succesful winning both the C and D categories. Not to be outdone by the men Hayley Marsters, Jo Canton, Sarah Smith and Rachel Vardy coxed by Serena Ward won Womens Masters A fours and came second in the B category.
There were also wins for Ian Davis and Pete Dolby in Masters D pairs, Joan Heath and Jo Canton in Womens Masters D/E doubles and for Ian Palmer in Masters C singles.
In IM3 singles James Plumb came 2nd in a strong field and the J16 crew of Dan Richardson, Tim Halliday, Bradley Brown and Lewis Bucknell also came 2nd in J16 quad sculls with Dan and Bradley achieving a further 2nd place(out of 11) when the raced in J16 doubles.
For Ian Palmer and Steve Cranfield it was a case of so near but so far. They came 2nd in Senior doubles by just 1 second and then 2nd again in IM1 doubles by 3 seconds.
The mens novice four raced for the first time this year and were pleased to put up a competitive performance in a large field. They finished 6th out of 14 and showed potential for the future.
25 Mar - British Indoor Rowing Championships
More success for club members
The club has a strong tradition of success at the British Indoor Rowing Championships over the last decade. The change of date of the event did not suit some but the there was nevertheless a contingent from the club taking part and medals were won.
Steve Cranfield won Gold in the lighweight 30-34 age category and Glyn Reed won a Bronze medal in the 55-59 category.
Megan Lawless also won a Bronze medal in her event for J18 girls and Aimee Parker won a Silver in the J14 girls event.
The Peterborough School took a contingent, some being club members, and achieved much success in the younger age groups.
Good performances were also achieved by Josh Smith who came 6th in a large field of J14 boys and Jim Burt who came 5th in the 50-54 category but notably was the top rower only beaten by indoor rowing specialists.
24 Mar - Peterborough's Re-scheduled Head Cancelled
Insufficient entries received
Unfortunately the attempt to re-schedule the Head Race after the freeze-up in February did not work out as the new date did not attract enough entries to make a viable event. The organising committee reluctantly took the decision after assessing the entries that had been received.
The race in 2013 will still be held on its normal date at the beginning of February and we must hope that the weather jinx in recent years does not strike again.
The club's regatta committee is now turning its attention to the running of the first regattas on 26th & 27th May.
18 Mar - Tideway Weekend
Mixed results in London for the mens squad and the veterans
The annual Tideway Head and Veteran 8's Head took place on 17th and 18th March over the Boat Race course in reverse and the club was well represented.
On the Saturday the 1st and 2nd 8's raced in good conditions. Whilst the 1st 8 raced well in the second half a weaker first half resulted in a disappointing slip down the rankings. The competition is so intense that a mere 30 seconds separated the crew from a respectable placing. The 2nd 8 on the other hand moved up 33 places and also produced a strong second half performance.
In the Veterans race on the Sunday the mens D crew did extremely well to finish 4th out of 51 boats in their category and be the 3rd fastest British crew. The Peterborough/Leicester/Cambridge womens B crew also came 4th but in a smaller field of 9 boats. The club also fielded a C crew of less experienced rowers who enjoyed the experience of taking part.
10 Mar - Cambridge Jnuior Sculling Head
A good number of the clubs junior members raced in Cambridge and came away with 5 wins. It was a good day for the Plumb family with sisters Camilla and Zara winning J16 doubles and Camilla winning J15 singles. Not to be outdone younger brother Forbes won in J13 doubles. In J16 doubles PCRC crews filled the top three places and four of the boys combined to win J18 quad sculls as well.
There were also strong performances from Josh Smith in J15 singles, in girls J14 doubles and quads. Valuable racing experience was gained by all.
03 Mar - Womens 8's Head
In the annual Womens 8's Head on the Thames the clubs IM2 crew put in a good performance overtaking 5 crews in this four and a quarter mile race over the Boat Race course. They finished 116th out of 287 boats and improved on last years position by some 27 places.
Also representing Peterborough in a composite crew with Cambridge were the clubs veteran women. They also had a good day finishing 2nd in their age category beaten by an overseas entry.
22 Feb - Peterborough Head re-scheduled
After consultations with British Rowing and discussions within the club it has been decided to re-schedule Peterborough Head of the Nene to Saturday 24th March, following the unfortunate cancellation due to ice. Whilst this is after the Tideway Head it is the first available date but to cater for the later date the event is being adapted to fit pre-season training.
The re-scheduled event will offer more events for small boats and cater for more doubling up. More events for womens masters and for juniors will be offered. All 3 divisions will be run over 2500 metres so as to be more relevant to pre regatta season training.
A revised event poster will be circulated to clubs shortly.
11 Feb - A Successful Fundraising Day
The club's junior members, helped by parents, spent the day at Sainsburys bag packing to raise much needed funds to refurbish and replace boats and equipment. The club's fleet of junior boats is getting older and is heavily used so a number of fundraising days have been held over the last 6 months.
Todays bag packing has raised just over £1,000 so a very worthwhile day and a great effort by the juniors.
The day was organised by Elizabeth Plumb supported by a number of parents and coaches.
03 Feb - Peterborough Head Cancelled - River Frozen
Sadly the River Nene has frozen over and will not be rowable for the clubs Head of the River race.
Club officials are looking at alternative dates to re-run the event and more news on this will follow.
21 Jan - Boston Head of the River
More success for the veterans
Boston Head was another happy hunting ground for the club's veterans with 4 wins. The Masters D four of Steve Fox, Colin Roberts, Glyn Reed and Keith Blackman coxed by Tracey Rushton-Thorpe continued ther winning streak but also won Masters D/E 8's by teaming up with Graham Barks, Pete Essex, Jim Burt and Dave Truss.
Other Masters wins were achieved by Ian Davis and Peter Dolby in the pair and by Tim Ellis, Joan Heath, Anita Carter and Steve Tuck in Masters quads.
Also racing were two mens 8's, a womens 8 and another masters quad. Whilst wins were not recorded the mens 1st 8 was the fastest in their division but had no opposition in their category.
01 Jan - New Years Day Race
This race for members which started in the early 1970's was held on New Years Day continuing the long tradition. Eight boats of varying sizes turned out and two eights taking part featured some guest rowers from Clare College, Cambridge.
The start is handicapped to allow the slower boats to get off first with the faster ones chasing. A classic race within the race developed between the veteran and junior quads. These two boats were the fastest on the water and finished first and second having overtaken most of the field. The young crew of James Marshall, James Plumb, Ziggi and Dan Boyle eventually crossed the line first to claim victory.
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