YOUNG stars from all over the UK flocked to Worcester for the Junior Regatta.

Worcester Rowing Club were forced to cancel their regular two-day regatta because of entries being down.

However, the invitation junior event certainly caught the eye with a number of outstanding performances from our county youngsters.

Rowers from Wallingford RC, Northwich RC, Birmingham RC, competed with Stourport Boat Club, Worcester Rowing Club and King's School, Worcester.

Altogether, 56 crews competed during four hours of close racing over a 500-metre sprint course upstream from the railway bridge on the River Severn.

Wallingford fielded some strong crews, showing great style in winning the Boys Junior 18 coxless quad event and, after a dead heat and a re-row during a heat against Worcester RC, the girls' J16 double sculls.

However, local crews also showed their strengths -- in the girl's J15 coxed quads -- crews from King's raced each other in the final having beaten Stourport and Northwich in the heats. The A crew (Lucy Clayton, Lizzie McBennett, Sarah Ingram, Rowena Illing and cox Zoe Monkley) beating the B crew by just over a length.

Stourport girls won several of the events, with Nicola Price and Rachel Saunders showing great style in the J15 double sculls.

Zoe Thompson, of Worcester RC, beat off strong contention from Wallingford and Stourport to win the girls' J15 single sculls, doing rather better than a Worcester 'boys' J15 quad (including two female scullers) whose high spirits rather got in the way of technique during their final against Stourport.

Despite some squally showers and a building southwest wind an enjoyable day's racing was had by all taking part, and Worcester RC plans to stage a full day's event next year on the second weekend in September.