The top club coastal rowers from around the world competed in the 2022 World Coastal Rowing Championships held at Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire, over the weekend of 7-9 October.
Aberdyfi Rowing club were proud to have two members – Tim Chesworth and Chloe Evans – qualifying and competing.
The Coastal Rowing Championships are held in the open sea or lake and it is one of the fastest growing disciplines in the sport of rowing. The championships take place annually in solos, double sculls and coxed quadruple sculls – an endurance race with a minimum distance of 4,000m.
Tim and Chloe have trained hard over several months to qualify for this event – Tim to compete in the Men’s Singles event and Tim and Chloe rowing a double scull to compete in the Mixed Doubles event.
A great achievement for both of them to be rowing against Olympians and River Rowing champions.
”We were both so excited to be competing in this challenging and prestigious event,” said Chloe.
“We took part in the heats on Saturday - Tim did his single heat and we also did our doubles heat. It was a great day for racing with very flat water meaning fast paced races.
“Tim did really well in his singles race qualifying for the singles B final to be held on the Sunday, and Tim and I qualified for the B final, narrowly missing out on the A final.”
“However Sunday – finals day – was a different story, with rough conditions and swells of six foot and more.
“Tim battled his way through the single final and on arriving back on dry land jumped straight in the double to go again. Unfortunately in the very challenging conditions some boats were having trouble steering. We were involved in a collision with another boat, resulting in damage to our boat and sadly we were forced to retire from the race.
“Despite that it was such a great experience to be rowing alongside Olympians and champions from the river rowing world. It was a truly amazing experience for me – and I can’t wait for next year!”
She added: “A huge thank you to our families for coming down to support us at Saundersfoot and also to Aberdyfi Rowing club members- some of whom also travelled to Saundersfoot to support us.
“Tim and I have only been rowing for a short time- Tim has been sculling for two years and I only started sculling one year ago. We would love to encourage others to do the same and engage in this amazing sport.”
Tim added: “ What a great weekend at our first ever World Rowing Coastal Championships. Thank you to every one for their support and messages “
“A huge thankyou to Alun Stedman for spending many hours coaching Chloe and me – without his help and spending hours of his time coaching us, we would never have qualified and got this far.
“Also many thanks must go to Buddug Llwyd, whose generous donation to Aberdyfi Rowing Club meant that we were able to purchase the single scull that I have been training in and raced today.
“We also want to extend our thanks to Carmarthen Rowing Club as they provided us with a training double which helped prepare us for the British and world championships, this double is soon to be returned to them. We were very grateful for their attendance and support at the championships.
“Chloe and I have had a fabulous time. Lots of lessons have been learnt this weekend and invaluable experience gained. We now have a winter ahead to continue training for next year’s event.”
Report: Doris O’Keefe