WYE rowers left their rivals oar-struck as they were crowned the nation’s best club at the British Rowing Masters Championships at the weekend.

Monmouth Rowing club’s veterans secured nine gold and two silver medals at Nottingham’s National Watersports Centre, repeating their success of 2010 by taking the Victor Ludorum from top London club Tideway Scullers, alongside a £1,000 prize.

Four of the golds came in Championship events, with club coach and Olympian Tim Male teaming up with former Australia squad member Mark Stewart-Woods to get the ball rolling on Saturday by taking the Masters D (over-50) double sculls by a length from Walton.

Later in the day, Mark – a seven-time gold medallist at last year’s World Rowing Masters Championships – was on the gold standard again, landing the Masters F (over-60) singles title by 2L from Irish powerhouse Denis Crowley in a faster time than the D over-50 and E over-55 finals (3.43).

There was also silver in the Championship E quadruple sculls as Stewart-Woods, James Allison, Alex Mitchell and Lenny Colling closed to within 1/2L of Notts and Union in the final stages of their 1km final.

Also on day one, Sarah Part, Toby Harding, Julian Shaw, Sue Smith and cox Bonita Birkett rowed down Maidstone to win the non-championship (NC) mixed D fours by a length.

Sunday saw Monmouth RC continue their run of success with two championship 8s titles, and five other medals.

First up, Liz Lewis, Shelagh Sawyer, Liz Newman, Helen Tilley, Maggie Hickland, Kate Hooton, Mary Miller, Louise Allison and cox Theresa McCarthy beat Putney Town by 2 1/2L to take the Women’s E 8s crown. And the men matched them in one of the last races of the day, James Allison, Paul Bezani, Andrew Barnett, Colin Lewis, Simon Lee, Lenny Colling, Nick Hooton, Tim Male and cox Melanie Brown holding off a fast-finishing Grosvenor outfit by just over a 1/4L.

There was also championship silver for the Mixed F 8 of Liz Lewis, Kate Hooton, Mary Miller, Louise Allison, James Allison, Paul Bezani, Nick Hooton, Colin Lewis and cox Bonita Birkett who missed out on gold by the same tight margin to Nottingham RC.

The mixed NC D-F quadruple scull of Scott and Ali Hazledine, Mel Brown and Julian Shaw added gold by 3/4L from a Greater London composite, while Brown and Theresa McCarthy overcame a handicap start to beat Greenbank Falmouth by 1.7 secs in the NC G (over-65) women’s doubles.

Alex Mitchell and Toby Harding won the NC open D doubles by 3/4L from Sudbury, and doubled up with Scott Hazledine and Julian Shaw to take the NC equivalent quad as well from club mates and Newark.

With gold only in NC events, and in championship events of less than four boats, there were some near misses on the medal front too among the club’s 33-boat fleet, with seconds in championship WF fours, WF quads and WH (over-70) double sculls (Frances Lester/Theresa McCarthy), plus NC WD coxed fours, plus seven third places.

More pictures: Page 18