YORK City Rowing Club crews dominated events at Ancholme Head and Nottingham.

The winter Head season began slightly later this year due to flooding, but YCRC made up for lost time with success in their first two events.

Head races see crews compete in long-distance time trials, racing against the clock rather than each other.

Rowers compete in individual events, but there is also an overall leaderboard.

YCRC had 36 crews competing in the annual event on the River Ancholme with nine of those finishing in the top 14 overall times.

With two divisions of racing, there was the chance for York rowers to go for glory in two events, an opportunity they took full advantage of.

The club had winners in 18 events, 16 of those junior.

Several rowers also won their two events, notably 16-year-old Ed Etheridge, who was triumphant in both the junior double sculls and men’s intermediate single sculls.

Other winners included David Bruce, who won twice in the junior double sculls, and the women’s junior coxed quadruple sculls.

At the Nottingham Autumn Head, YCRC had more success in the team events, with wins for men’s, women’s and junior coxed and coxless fours. Cameron White was a solo champion, victorious in the junior single sculls.

The men’s coxed and coxless fours were both in sparkling form, posting the fastest two times by any fours at the event, and were separated by just four seconds.

But it was the junior quad, of David Bruce, Ethan McGowan, Kieran Longmore and Eddie Hunter who were the standout YCRC crew on the day, winning their event and coming third in the overall time trial standings.

John Sparrow, YCRC secretary, said: “This is an impressive achievement and even at this early stage promises that the junior squad, run by Phil Jones and his team of coaches, is full of potential for the 2013 season at a national level.

“The senior men, who did so well, will clearly have their work cut out to keep in touch with these youngsters.”

Sparrow also hailed the consistency of the YCRC crews, which saw them winners in two successive events.

He said: “We went to Ancholme with both junior and senior crews and won more events than anyone else.

“Nottingham was the same type of race, and we were hoping for similar success, which we got.”