YOUNGSTERS from Hexham’s Queen Elizabeth Rowing Club enjoyed success at the Talkin Tarn Regatta.

The club’s members headed to Cumbria with no fewer than 56 rowers, and returned home with an outstanding return of nine wins in various categories.

Year 13 pupils Tom Archer and Tom Smith won medals across three different divisions and categories.

In the first division, they were joined by Abe Parkin and Tom Mawson with cox Andrew Smith in the open senior coxed four event, and defeated Tyne ARC in the semi-finals, and Sunderland in the final.

The second division saw them joined by Dan Jones and Harry Andersen in the open senior coxless quad event. They beat Sunderland and Durham in the first of three semi-finals, and in a three boat final, they won by half a canvas from a second place Durham crew.

Archer and Smith, who were a national silver medal winning pair last year, beat Chester-le-Street in the first of three semi-finals, and then defeated Lakeland and Nithsdale in the final to make it three medals apiece for the day. Andersen rounded off his rowing career with QEHS with a win in the championship senior single sculls. He won through the three rounds to defeat Morris from Durham, and fellow QEHS rower Ben Wilkinson in the final.

In the J18 coxless quad, Tom Ludman and Ollie Dixon teamed up with Abe Parkin and Tom Mawson to secure a win in the final against St Leonards and Tyne ARC.

After showing much promise this season, Christian Ryan excelled in the J14x, gaining victory over Sunderland in the semi-finals and Tyne ARC in the final, to record his first single sculls win.

QEHS entered one crew of Year 9 boys (J14) in championship quad sculls, and the other in foundation quad sculls. The championship crew of Christian Ryan, Will Dyer, Robert Collen, and Ben Archer, coxed by Egil Rogstad, were first to record a final win over St Leonard’s School.

This was followed by the foundation crew of Nathan Muse, Daniel Curtis, Ivor Evans, and Joseph Taylor, coxed by Ben Ryrie who defeated Nithsdale and St Leonard’s in their final, despite Curtis’ blade popping out of the gate, which meant they went over the finish line with just three boys rowing.

It is very unusual for QEHS girls not to be among the many medal winners and it was left to Jessie Stith and Rebecca Read to ensure the girls were represented on the medal podium. They were entered in the Foundation J15 double sculls event, and beat Tyne United in their semi-final, and then a Tyne United crew in the final.