SIX months of hard training paid off for York City Rowing Club's senior women's eight in London.

The first crew were second in the provincial club category at the Women's Head of The River on the Tideway.

Ruth Easterbrook, Emily Hulley, Becky Raines, Anne Homa, Esther Williams, Rachel Furnell, Karen Williams, Liz Chaytor and cox Lorreta Williams came 19th overall out of 279 crews from Great Britain and overseas.

The second women's eight of Mags Felter, Becky Gibson, Sarah Ives, Marcia Mackey, Emma Levine, Louisa Carr, Louise Calver, Tash Kefford and cox Mary Slingo were 129th.

Back home in York, the Yorkshire Head of The River regatta on the Ouse saw a reunion of a York City women's quad crew who won the Restricted Division of Women's Head of the River 36 years ago.

YCRC had five wins on a bitterly cold day on the Ouse over the 5km course.

The Men's S2 8+ crew of Andy Wilkinson, Steve Lawrence, Garret Mathiason, Vincent Caudrelier, Dan Beaumont, Will Todd, Joel Lancaster, Tom Ransley and cox Helena Smallman-Smith won their event.

The same crew were only two seconds away from winning S2 8+ at Reading University's Head of the River last weekend against crews from Leander, Kingston and Henley RC.

The Women's Junior Under 18 quadruple scull of Zoe Ditch, Leah Ward, Dawn Richmond-Gordon and stroke Sarah Chase turned the tables on Yarm School, who had beaten them earlier in the season.

On home waters, steersperson Ditch made use of her knowledge of the river to bring the home crew victory by a second.

The girls U16 quad of Katherine Fowler, Lauren Hennessey, Louisa Hood and stroke Iona Harrap, fresh from winning the South Yorkshire Head, won with some ease.

The first Junior U15 quad of Chris Wright, Robert McKenzie, James Reeder and Owen Harrison, coxed by Alice Hood, won their five-boat event by over a minute with the club's second quad finishing third.

This first J15 crew go on to the North of England Head at Chester next weekend where they are hoping for another good showing.

Updated: 09:58 Friday, March 17, 2006