2022 Season Round Up

All images courtesy of Anne Curnow Care

2022 Season Round Up

The 3 Rivers Race hosted by Caradon Gig Club, is always a welcome start to the season where friends are reunited after club-based winter training. After the pandemic fuelled disruption of the previous two years, there were even more smiles than usual in Saltash, with over 143 crews enjoying the opportunity to catch up and, of course, compete. An early marker was laid down by River Fowey Women’s A crew in Q and a victory for Coverack Men’s A crew promised an exciting season ahead. 

A new format was rolled out at the World Pilot Gig Championships on the Isles of Scilly this year. As well as restricting the number of boats attending to 120, the WPGC Committee introduced Nut Rock finals for each of the veteran and super veteran categories. River Fowey Women’s A and Looe Men’s A became the reigning world champions 2023. St Mary’s Women and Caradon Men triumphed in the veterans category and the super vets winners were Mounts Bay Women and Caradon Men. Extraordinary scenes of celebration were captured by our GigRower StreamTeam, as winning crews crossed the line. Competitors were supported remotely by huge online audiences, spectators on the island and the rest of the fleet, who provided some truly deafening cheering. 

Isles of Scilly

Despite some frustrating fixture cancellations through the season, many of the planned club run events benefited from remarkably consistent sunshine during the summer months. The efforts of the GigRower StreamTeam to create drone coverage at Mounts Bay Regatta and the Mixed Championships were both thwarted by wind and rain.

Nevertheless, the attendance figures at Mount’s Bay regatta marked it out as perhaps the largest non-championship event on the circuit, with 37 clubs competing this year.

Mount’s Bay

The Mixed Championships hosted by Caradon Gig Club saw 95 crews battling it out across 5 categories. The event was dominated by Caradon, who prevailed in the U18’s, Vet’s and Super Vet’s. Rame took the top spot in the U15’s and Coverack became the open champions after an eventful final and lengthy umpire meeting.

Brixham Gig Rowing Club lived up to their self-proclaimed reputation as ‘the Mr Kipling of the gig rowing world’ by hosting an ‘exceedingly good’ Vets championship in August. After some close competition and hotly contested plate races, Mounts Bay Women and Caradon Men came away with first place.

A change of format for the Newquay Ladies Championships meant twice around the course during the final for the first time for our female athletes. River Fowey Women’s A dominated over the weekend and crossed the line with a significant lead. Looe Men’s A secured their lead by the first mark and held their position in front of Coverack and Truro who fought it out for second place, making for some exciting GigRower StreamTeam coverage during the second lap of the course.

A race is underway at Coverack

Endurance rows including the Head of the River Race and the Tamar Challenge rounded off the season for many. Athletes from across the sport gathered at the Mount Batten Centre in Plymouth to represent their counties in the National County Championship. This year’s format saw the juniors take to the water on the Saturday and the adults compete on the Sunday. The event course finished directly outside the Mount Batten Centre providing excellent spectating for the crews and supporters who enjoyed celebrating the efforts of their county sides. Cornwall’s reign remains unbroken across all categories but other county sides declared their determination to change this in 2023.