News

Posted: 11 June 2026

An eventful weekend unfolded at Strathclyde Park with wild winds, teammate reunions, unicorn fun and some intense racing for the 2026 iteration of the Scottish Rowing Championships as 834 crews took to the water. 

Saturday’s racing opened with time trials in the Women’s Pairs and Open Single Sculls, with 30 W 2- crews and 74 O 1x scullers taking to the water in highly competitive fields. In the Women’s Pairs A Final, Penny Irvine and Madeleine Fatani of Edinburgh Univ. BC produced a strong second half to row through their teammates to claim the Jo Pinder Trophy. It was a standout result for the club, with Edinburgh Univ. BC locking out the podium for the W2-.

 
Image: Scottish Rowing. Winners of the W2- holding the Jo Pinder Trophy accompanied by Richard Phelps, Chair of Henley Royal Regatta.

Ben Parsonage of Clydesdale ARC added another chapter to the Parsonage legacy by winning the Walter Freer Cup in the Open Single Sculls, finishing ahead of New Zealand Olympian Phillip Wilson. Elsewhere in the A Final, the closest battle came between Harris Bisset of St Andrews Univ. BC and Ezra Ferguson of George Watsons Col. BC, who were separated by just 0.26 seconds at the line for the overall bronze medal.

Image: Scottish Rowing. Ben Parsonage holding the Walter Freer Cup with Father, George (right) and Boris Rankov, HRR Umpire (left).

Sunday brought more close racing as 69 athletes lined up in the Women’s Single Sculls. The A Final delivered another dramatic finish, with Hansine Marshall of Univ of St Andrews BC producing a late sprint to overtake Nazanin Malaei of Strathclyde Park RC and secure the Amanda Cobb Trophy. Fellow Strathclyde Park RC athlete Perri McCluskey completed the top three in an impressive result during her first full season back in competition.

Image: Scottish Rowing. Hansine Marshall holding the Amanda Cobb Trophy (W1x).

In the Open Pairs, the composite crew of Oscar Forbes of Aberdeen BC and Nathan Field of St Andrew BC, who raced together as the M2- at HIRR last year, built on their Spring Regatta win in April to take gold and the William Denny Cup. Two more St Andrew BC crews completed the podium, with Jack Lane and Joshua Thompson delivering one of the most impressive charges of the race as they moved up from seventh at halfway to row through the field and claim bronze.

Image: Katherine Brown. Winners, Oscar and Nathan, of the O2- with the William Denny Cup.

A new addition to the event this year was the Young People’s Panel Pennants for the fastest J17 athlete in the Women’s and Open J18 Single Scull events. Congratulations to Caitlin Warnock of Glasgow RC and Fraser Whitehead of Bewl Bridge RC for being the first to receive these pennants.

With 93 medal events taking place across the weekend, it is impossible to highlight every race. Even so, congratulations go to all of the medal winners and thank you to every competitor for delivering such exciting racing throughout the championships. 

Images: Scottish Rowing. Winners, Fraser Whitehead (left) and Caitlin Warnock (right), of the first ever YPP Pennants for OJ17 1x and WJ17 1x. 

One of the weekend’s standout moments was the celebration marking 40 years since rowing featured in the Commonwealth Games. Athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers came together for a ceremonial row past at Strathclyde Park before gathering on the event field to reconnect, reminisce and share stories from the 1986 Games. Members of the Scottish Rowing Young People’s Panel also interviewed former athletes, creating a meaningful link between past, present and future generations of the sport.

The celebrations continued into the evening with a special Scottish Rowing event featuring speeches from Michael Martin, President of Scottish Rowing, Kate O’Sullivan, President of the Commonwealth Rowing Association, and Councillor Bob Burgess, Deputy Lord Provost of North Lanarkshire. A discussion panel, hosted by Dominic McGrory, Director of the Young People’s Panel, brought together 1986 athletes Karen Barton and CD Riches, alongside Peter Morrison and current GB Beach Sprint athlete, Heather Gordon, to reflect on the legacy of the Games and look ahead to the future of rowing in Scotland.

Image: Katherine Brown. Athletes from the 1986 Commonwealth Games completing the ceremonial row past in a W4x and M4-.

Adding to the occasion was Finnie, the official mascot of the upcoming Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. The first female Commonwealth Games mascot proved a popular presence throughout the day, joining the row past, helping to hand out medals and even taking on the Firhill Youth Project’s 100m rowing challenge.

There were even more special guests in attendance as Richard Phelps, Chair of Henley Royal Regatta and Boris Rankov, Henley Royal Regatta Umpire came to oversee the action after the announcement that the Scottish Rowing Championships have been officially recognised by Henley as a qualification event. 

Image: Scottish Rowing. Commonwealth Games Mascot, Finnie (middle) with Henley Royal Regatta representatives Boris Rankov (left) and Richard Phelps (right).

Events like these simply would not happen without the hard work and dedication of volunteers. A huge thank you goes to the members of the Scottish Rowing Regatta Organising Committee for the hundreds of hours they put in before, during and after the championships. 

We are also grateful to everyone who gave up their time across the weekend to help behind the scenes, as well as the umpires who ensured fair racing throughout the event. Special mention goes to _____ Cadets for their support on the stake boats and with timing, we are so grateful for their continued help year after year. Thank you as well to the staff at North Lanarkshire Council for the many hours they spent preparing for the event, providing drivers for the umpire launches and supporting safety boat cover.

To all the competitors, coaches, supporters and spectators, thank you for helping to make the weekend such a success. We hope to see you back again next year! 

If you can spare a minute to complete our feedback form, we would be very grateful. Your feedback helps us continue to improve the event year after year – Feedback Form.

For full results from the weekend,click here.