Stratford Boat Club's 2020 President's Sculls men's trophy finally awarded

TIM Lunel got the better of Rory Nicol in a closely-fought race to win the men’s final of Stratford Boat Club’s 2020 President’s Sculls competition.

With recurring lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions, it has taken until May 2021 to find a winner of the 2020 event.

The original trophy was initially presented by then captain Ian Cartwright to Derek Eardley in 2004 during his tenure as president of the club to mark his many years of service, and was to be raced for annually in coxed fours.

Over the years, the competition faded from the annual calendar and was reinstated comparatively recently as an annual sculling competition in three categories: women, men and juniors.

President Paul Stanton said: “We hope that the President’s Sculls award will continue to inspire all members to continue with sculling at a high level and further contribute to all sections of the club mixing and communicating with each other.

“Our congratulations go to Tim, who won the men’s final in a closely-fought race with Rory. Our thanks go to all those who supervised this final by marshalling and safety spotting on the bank.

“We are now looking forward to running the junior heats for the competition very shortly.”