The first chairwoman in York City Rowing Club's history is hoping to help foster team spirit during her year of office.

Caroline Sherlock, who was elected at the club's annual meeting last week, said that with patterns of living having changed there does not seem to be the sense of community there used to be and she would like to encourage the sense of being a team at the club.

She has been a member of the club for 18 years, mostly as a competitor but also having had administrative duties including being bar steward and a member of the committee.

Mrs Sherlock won a bronze medal in double sculls at the national championships at Nottingham 15 years ago, has been three times veteran British double sculls champion and once single sculls champion, and she won a gold medal at a veterans' international regatta at Strathclyde. She has also won the Head of the River on the Tideway a number of times.

Having been away from competitive rowing for some time she recently returned to rowing and for the past two years has been a keen cyclist with Velo Club York.

"The rowing strength at the club at present is not especially strong, but we do have a very strong junior section under the coaching guidance of Dave Wild," she said. "My duties as chairman will be to see things run smoothly in the club as a whole."

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