Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club Chester Long Distance Sculls

George Kershaw - Fastest Single Sculler

A team from Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club (HLRC) took part in the Chester Long Distance Sculls, racing 5000m on the River Dee, on Sunday 27 September. The morning race, starting at 10.00am had 131 boats, mostly singles, competing in the various categories. HLRC had 12 boats competing in a long, hard fought race.

George Kershaw, rowing in the Elite singles category, won his race by a very impressive 10 seconds. George, whose dedication and determination to the sport can be seen in the hours of training he puts in day after day, not only won his race, but also achieved the fastest time of all single scullers in the morning and afternoon divisions – 19 minutes, 22.9 seconds.

Another impressive win was Reece Handley in the IM1 category with a time of 20:09.5. Alex Barnett won the IM2 race, and Tim Booth the MasE category. Tim’s doubles partner, Keith Lawton, came second in the MasE race.

Paul Clay, in the MasF race, came second by just 3 seconds. Leanna Daniels put in an excellent time of 22:45.2 in the IM3 category. Dave Sykes in the MasD, Jason Hardman in the MasC, and Mike Smith in the MasF categories all put in excellent performances in warm and testing conditions.

Three juniors took part in the morning division. Tom Swithenbank, racing in the J16 singles, had his first experience of this competition and finished in an impressive time of 21:31.9, ahead of many older, more experienced competitors in singles and doubles categories.

In the Womens J16 doubles race, Lucy Lonergan and Amy Aspinall raced for the first time at this distance and finished in a very respectable 23:49.2.

The afternoon Division, over the same distance, saw Keith Lawton and Tim Booth win the Mas E/F doubles race in 19:48.7.

Leanna Daniels, in the Womens IM3 singles race came in second place by just .6 of a second.

A spokesman for the Club said: "A fine display by HLRC rowers who all did themselves and the Club proud. A popular competition, with many of the seniors returning year after year, resulted in several wins and a feeling of real achievement for all taking part."