Portora sent a large group of young rowers to Portadown last Saturday to compete in the annual Portadown Regatta. The regatta involved side by side two lane racing and most crews had at least two races before making a final and in what was a good day for the club, Portora won six categroies. The day started disappointingly when the junior 16 boys 8 were narrowly beaten by Bann RC in one of the closest races of the day. The boys knowing they should have won this race were determined to make amends when they raced Bann again in the J15 8 later in the day. Portora A crew met Portora B in the semi final of this race and then had to turn straight back round and race Bann who had a bye through to the final.

After a tight start the bigger more powerful Portora crew pulled to a length clear and extended this to two lengths by the finish. Josh Kennedy, Samuel Armstrong, Euan Gebler and Conor Keys also saw success in the J15 boys 4x in which they beat Bann RC and two crews from Dublin on their way to the win.

The boys team also had a great win in the J18 2x. Tom Mills and Alistair Crawford came through a very tough test in both the semi-final and final and thoroughly deserved to come away with the medal.

The girls J16 8 category had two entries from Portora BC.

The B crew were drawn against Neptune RC in the semi final and the girls showed the depth the club has at this level by winning this race by four clear lengths. They then met the A crew in the final and after a tight first 500m, the A crew broke clear to win by several lengths. This crew was also to have success in the novice 8 category where they beat Belfast RC and Portadown for the medal.

This feat was made all the more impressive as many of the opposition were adults and much larger than the under 16 athletes.

The final win of the day was in the Junior 15 girls 8 which had a final of Portora A against Portora B. Portora A broke clear and this event gave several of the girls their first rowing medal for Portora BC.

Despite missing several athletes to Irish trials in Cork, the club came home to Enniskillen with a great set of results.