Rowing: North of England Sprint Rowing Championships at Hollingworth Lake

Hundreds of competitors descended on Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club on Saturday (4 September) for the largest rowing regatta in the North – the North of England Sprint Rowing Championships.

More than 900 competitors from over 30 clubs took part in 215 three-lane races. Most categories were raced from junior 12 2x, through many senior and masters’ events in all boat classes.

The weather forecast had promised 6-8mph winds; however early morning saw much greater wind speeds, resulting in challenging conditions for crews at first.

Club members worked hard to make the event a success, laying the course and start, manning the boating areas, providing catering and generally keeping things moving through good race control and boat marshalling. The NW umpires group worked tirelessly to keep the event safe and on time.

 

 

Rochdale Mayor Councillor Aasim Rashid, Mayoress Rifit Rashid and Rochdale MP Sir Tony Lloyd all took time out of their busy schedules to visit the regatta, and were impressed with what they saw.

Event organiser Elaine Huskinson said: “It was fantastic to welcome so many clubs back to Hollingworth Lake after the year off because of Covid.

“We are fortunate to be able to host so many crews thanks to the support from our neighbours, Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club and the HOLWAC Activity Centre.

“The regatta allows us to highlight the beauty of Rochdale to our sister clubs from across the country, something that many do not associate with the borough.

“It was good to see the wind did not deter people from racing and I personally look forward to welcoming everyone again for our 150th celebrations next year.”

A ‘victor ludorum’ with a cash prize of £500 was won by Warrington Rowing Club for the seniors and Newark Rowing Club for the juniors.