IT was the day of the Downing family when York City Rowing Club competed at the Tees Regatta.

Sally Downing won her WJ16 single sculls and was quickly followed by sister Jess in the WJ18 sculls. Teaming up, they then won the WJ18 2x event, while other sister Lucy - racing in a WJ15 coxed quadruple scull with C Holford, S Hyde, E Turton and coxed by I Mc Laughlin - also celebrated victory.

Other winners were Tom Roberts and Alex Press in the J15 2x and the J13 2x of T Lordan and L Machado.

A contingent of 16 men and ten women represented the club at the British Masters Championships held at the National Water Sports Centre at Nottingham.

Martin Howe followed his British Masters gold medal of 2013 with further golden success in a double scull with Fernando de Souza Goulart.

Since winning their novice status in 2013, the pair have rowed very successfully at a number of events. In their gold medal race they led from the start and continued to pull away convincingly from their nearest rivals, Tyne United, to finish the 1,000 metre course several lengths ahead.

The mixed MasC eight of Karen Williams, Philippa Press, Liz Porte, Anne Homa, Phil Press, Paul Richardson, Dave Heffernan and Pat Evans, coxed by Rachel Cubitt, won gold.

In a very strong row, this crew lead from the start to win by five seconds in what was Heffernan's last race in York colours.

A member of York’s Henley winning crew in 2007 and an ex-member of the Irish national rowing squad, he is returning with his family to live in Ireland in July.

The Men's MasC4 coxless four of Mick Homa, Iain Edmondson, Dave Turley and club captain Pat Evans won a bronze medal. Bob Jones, the oldest York competitor at a youthful 75, gained a silver medal in MasI single sculls.

The women’s MasD coxed four were unable to repeat their gold successes of the last two years and just missed out on a medal. The men's masters squad had suffered from several major injuries to team members over the preceding week.

This meant last minute changes to the MasD8 crew but they still came extremely close to winning a bronze medal - missing out in the last few strokes to a Crabtree crew filled with ex-Oxford and Cambridge Boat race veterans.