News

Posted: 27 August 2026

Sunshine, lively sea conditions and racing decided by the narrowest of margins made the 2026 Scottish Rowing Beach Sprint and Offshore Championships a memorable weekend in St Andrews.

Now in its third year and forming part of the Four Nations series, the event attracted competitors from 22 clubs across Scotland, England, Wales, Jersey, Czechia and Estonia. Across two days, athletes took on the speed and intensity of the beach sprints events, alongside the navigation and endurance of the offshore programme.

The closeness of the competition was clear from Saturday’s opening mixed doubles time trial. Gordon/Cox and Marshall/Mitchell both recorded exactly 2:41.7, while only 7.5 seconds separated the five fastest crews. Gordon and Cox went on to win the senior title, with Jamison/Buchan taking silver and McKenzie/Scrimgeour bronze.

The lively conditions played their part throughout the day, demanding quick decisions and skilful boat handling as crews negotiated the waves and raced back towards the beach. In one particularly dramatic side-by-side race, both crews were caught by a wave and turned almost 180 degrees before recovering, turning back through the waves and completing the sprint to the finish.

One of the weekend’s closest contests came in the women’s single scull. Laura McKenzie and Natacha Searson were almost inseparable throughout the A final, with  McKenzie winning in 2:29.1, just nine-tenths of a second ahead of Searson. Heather Gordon secured bronze after an equally close B final, finishing only one-tenth of a second ahead of Clare Jamison.

There was also plenty to celebrate across the junior and inclusion events. Colin Wallace and Kirsty McRobb won the inclusion mixed double, while McManus/Roxburgh took J16 mixed doubles gold. McManus and Roxburgh each added individual J16 single scull titles later in the programme. Nicholson/Dutton won the U19 mixed double before also claiming their respective U19 single scull titles.

Sunday brought a slight change of conditions but continued the pattern of close racing. The day started with the coastal quads taking on the final beach sprint events, followed by some exciting offshore endurance racing. Megan Hewison won the offshore women’s single, ahead of McKenna Simpson. Jon Osborn won the offshore open single before joining Till Andreesen to win the offshore open double, while Maya Matheson-Smith and Sefi Ormston took the offshore women’s doubles title.

The final block of the weekend produced another strong performance from Simpson, who partnered Hal Flowerdew to win the mixed double in 19:43.6. U19 winners E Nicholson and J Dutton recorded the second-fastest published time in the block, finishing only 8.4 seconds behind.

Scottish Rowing Chief Executive Lee Boucher said:

Scottish Rowing Event Manager Morag Kelman said:

Scottish Rowing would like to thank every competitor, organiser, volunteer, umpire, member of staff and safety team who contributed across the weekend. Thanks also go to Swift Racing, the Harbour Trust and Harbourmaster, St Andrews Sailing Club, Wormit Boating Club, and St Andrews Leisure Centre for their support in delivering the championships.

Our final thanks goes to the University of St Andrews - their coaching team, Estates team, accommodation and catering team and Saints Sports staff, who all went out of their way to support the planning and delivery of the event. 

View the full results from the weekend.