The senior four from Wrenfield Grammar won the county rowing championship on Saturday, holding their nerve through a tense final 200 metres to take the title on their home stretch of the Ackerbourne for the first time since 2017.

A crowd lined both banks from Miller’s Weir down to the finish below the road bridge, ringing bells and banging on the railings as the crews came into view. The Wrenfield boat led from the halfway mark but never by more than a length.

A season built on early mornings

The result caps a season the crew described as brutal in its preparation. They have trained before school through the dark half of the year, launching in temperatures that iced the riggers.

The wider club has had a strong summer across the board:

• The junior girls’ quad reached the regional semi-finals
• Two novice crews recorded their first competitive wins
• Membership at the boathouse is at its highest in a decade

Club officials say the challenge now is water itself, with the low river forcing training to shift downstream to the deeper reach below the weir.

For one afternoon, though, none of that mattered. The town had a county title, and it was won on the Ackerbourne.

Related: Schools & Sport news · the Ackerbourne's falling water

Further reading: The sport of rowing

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The Wrenfield Post