Great start to 2016 for Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club

Tom Swithenbank - Winner J16 Single Scull

3 More Image(s) In Gallery

The team of juniors and seniors from Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club (HLRC) that competed in the South Yorkshire Head at Doncaster Rowing Club on Saturday (13 February) got 2016 off to a great start for the club with a number of excellent wins.

The 4000m course on the River Don starts alongside Doncaster Prison and finishes just beyond the A1 road bridge. The bitter cold did not hold back the 147 crews competing in 3 divisions, ranging from Elite Eights to Novice Singles.

Keith Lawton won the Masters E single sculls with a time of 17 minutes 30 seconds.

In the Masters E double sculls, Keith teamed up with Nigel Price to win in 15:43. It was a very close race, beating their nearest rivals from Tyne Amateur Rowing Club by just 10 seconds.

Another senior single sculler was Leanna Daniels who won the Womens IM3 race.

The biggest senior crew was a Womens Masters C eight. It was a mixture of experienced competitors and those racing for the first time in an eight. The crew – Penny Price, Kirsten Fussing, Janet Lowe, Jane Dickman, Ruth Archbold, Louise Bousfield, Denise John, Alison Watson and cox, Maurice Barber – were delighted with their second place. Their time beat two university novice eights, which was a great achievement for their first race together.

Tom Swithenbank, racing in the J16 single scull, won comfortably with a time of 17:48. This was faster than several elite rowers.

Maurice Barber and Harry Heywood had a good race in the J16 doubles, putting in a very respectable performance rowing up a year against strong opposition.

Sally Tisdall had a good race in the Women's Novice single scull against some older competition to achieve an excellent third place.

Hannah Lowe and Molly Archbold, both J15, rowed up in the Women's Novice double sculls, as did Lucy Lonergan and Harriet Jackson, both J16. In a strong field against some older competition the two crews came second and third respectively.

Sally Tisdall, Lucy Lonergan, Molly Archbold and Hannah Lowe, coxed by Harriet Jackson, had a great win in the Novice Coxed Quad race, their time of 18:56 beating many bigger and older crews.

Ian John, HLRC captain, said: “I am very pleased with the team performances and, despite being tired and cold, at the end of a long day everyone went home proud of their achievements.”