JUNIOR rower Becky Ansell from Wimbleball Rowing Club - recently selected to row for the Western Region squad - headed to Nottingham on Saturday April 23 to compete in the Junior Inter-Regional Regatta.

This saw rowers aged from 14 to 16 from 12 regions converge on the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont to race side by side over a 1,500-metre course.

Becky had hoped to compete in the women’s J15x2 but was unable to do so as her doubles partner Charlotte Enright was injured.

But she was able to join a composite crew of rowers from Paignton and Dartmouth Rowing Clubs to compete in the WJ15 4+, which involved sweep rowing - using one oar – rather than more usual sculling, in which two blades are used.

The young crew had had only one brief opportunity to row together at Paignton before heading to Nottingham, where they also had a training session.

Up against crews from far bigger clubs who were used to training and racing together, and rowing for only the third time together in an unfamiliar boat, the girls finished third in their heat, missing out on a place in the A final by only a couple of seconds.

Later in the day, they put in a powerful performance to come second in the B final, giving them eighth place overall.

Becky is pictured second from the left with team-mates Karrie Spencer, Alice Middleton and Emily Roberts. in their Western Region T-shirts.