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THE 16TH ENGLISH INDOOR ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS Held on Sunday 27th January 2013
The 16th annual English Indoor Rowing Championships took place on Sunday at the Manchester Velodrome. The event is run by Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club with help from Concept 2 the ergo rowing machine manufacturer.
Once again people had travelled from far and wide to compete at the event. From Bideford in Devon, Edinburgh and a large contingent from Richmond-on-Thames Rowing Club. Some competitors had been racing in Berlin the day before and had flown to Manchester to make sure they did not miss out. As normal we had a small international contingent, one from Abu Dhabi, three from Spain and one from Jersey.
This year saw a record entry of 661 competitors from aged 9 yrs through to an 81 yr old competing in 64 different age, weight and sex categories . There were 431 male entries of which 190 were boys under 18, 230 female with 135 being girls under 18. After the conclusion of the individual racing there were 10 team relay races of 4 competitors per team which always provides an exciting conclusion to the days racing. There were 81 teams entered in these events, so a busy program of racing was the order of the day.
The racing floor is filled with 40 machines in two banks of 20 all connected to a big screen which shows the position of each machine in the race. Racing started at 9:30 and the final race was held at 4:15 with a race every 15 minutes. Under the well disciplined running of Rebecca Caygill and her team of helpers from the Rowing Club the event ran smoothly and to time.
The racing produced some seriously close battles. The difference between Gold and Bronze medals in more than a third of the races was less then 5 seconds, the closest race being between Jamie Evans and Patrick Hanratty in the men's J18 event who were separated by only 0.4 of a second. The fastest man was Mark Roberts in M Open hwt at 6:05.8 and the fastest lady was Anna Lewis Wm Open hwt in a time of 7:14.5.
Two new records were set at the event. A world record of 7:21.1 was set by Gill Prescott of Durham Rowing Club in Womens 50-59 hwt category and Marjorie Roome of Sub 7 IRC set a new British Record of 7:45.8 in Wm 60 -69 hwt category.
Recovering Cancer patient Anne Yates was racing to raise money for the Cancer Research Charity. She and a number of friends were entered all having raised money from sponsorship for the event. Rebecca Caygill presented her with a cheque as a contribution from Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club towards their efforts.
The home Club had it's share of success with a number of wins across the board.
Reece Handley, gold and George Kershaw silver in Men's Open Lwt. Penny Price a silver in Wm 50-59 Hwt. Megan Greenwood, gold in Wm J16. Katie Hargreaves, bronze Wm J 15. Grace Lewis, silver Wm J 12 and Hannah Lowe won a bronze in Wm J12.
Many thanks to the Hollingworth members who helped the event to run smoothly and on time, also thank you to the support from Concept who make the event special and to the ever youthful Nigel Mayglothling for his interesting race commentaries. A big thank you to all the competitors for coming an entering, without you we would not have an event and we look forward to seeing you next year.
The results can be seen on the Concept 2 website via the link from the Links menu on this page.
THE 2013 ENGLISH INDOOR ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS
WILL BE HELD AT THE MANCHESTER VELODROME ON SUNDAY 27TH JANUARY 2013.
ENTRY FORMS FOR THE 2013 EVENT ARE AVAILABLE BY CLICKING BELOW.
THE 2013 INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS WILL BE HELD ON
SUNDAY January 27th 2013
E.I.R.C. 2011 Championship Photograph's. Click Here.
THE ENGLISH INDOOR ROWING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011
This years event took place on the 30th January 2011 at the Manchester Velodrome, the National Cycling Centre. Although a rowing event it does not take place on the water but on dry land using Concept II rowing machines, 40 of them to be precise all whizzing away at the same time and connected to a big screen showing how the competitors are progressing in their 2,000 metre races. 24 races covering all age categories starting at 9.30 in the morning and running through to 4.30 in the afternoon. Athletes aged from 10 years old through to 76 competed for medals, titles and records.
The event attracts athletes from all over the country and even further afield. 641 athletes took part in the racing. From Devon and Newquay in Cornwall,from Ireland and Russia (Eugeney Trofimov and Sergey Suvrov making a return visit after enjoying the event so much last year) They were both successful in taking home a Gold and a Silver medal each from the two events that they had entered.
This years event also saw twice Olympic silver medalist and World Champion rower on the water Debbie Flood claiming the fastest woman on the day in her 2K race with a time of 6 min 59 seconds. Mathew Vanstone took the title of the fastest man in a time of 6 min 12 seconds. A new British record was set by Carol Woodward in the Women's 50+ category with a time of 7 mins 39.9 seconds.
The host's, Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club came away with a haul of 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze medals achieved collectively by junior athletes Jess Leyden,Megan Greenwood, Katie Hargreaves, Ashleigh Thornton,Jess Smith, Chloe Farrar and senior athletes Stuert Sykes, Liz Moore and Penny Price.
A star of the day deserving special mention was our youngest competitor 10 years old Darcie Willis, who inspite of having her foot in plaster was determined to compete and finish her event which she did.
Event organiser Rebecca Caygill made the following statement:-
"This is the 13th year I have organised the Indoor Championships with the support of the members of HLRC and rowing machine manufacturers Concept II without whom it would be impossible and I think this year has been the best so far. The Velodrome is such a great venue to hold the Championships in Manchester and it was fantastic to have Olympic oars woman Debbie Flood supporting the event. She was great chatting to the juniors about their ambitions and achievements.
As a member of HLRC I am very proud of what the Club has achieved over the years, running this event and building it up to the second largest event after the British. As a local Sports Club we want to encourage and support people of all ages to enter the sport of Rowing both out door and indoor and this event is a true reflection of what can be achieved from a local level to the national arena by voluntary club members working together as a team."
A full list of results is available on the link to the Concept 2 in our Links Menu.
So what is the English Indoor Rowing Championship and where did it come from?
History:
The English Indoor Rowing Championship started life as the North of England Indoor Rowing Championship. It was devised by Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club as a means of hosting an event that wasn’t on the water after several regattas had had to be cancelled due to terrible weather. The first event was held in 1998, when there weren’t that many indoor rowing competitions, and it was a success almost straight away.
The first NEIRC was staged at the club house with 10 begged and borrowed rowing machines. About 100 people from various local clubs competed and, despite the rather cramped conditions, there was a fantastic friendly atmosphere and a great time was had by all. Times and things have changed considerably since then. The event is now in the National Cycling Centre (NCC) in Manchester and over 700 people from across the whole country entered the last event in January 2007. However, the friendly atmosphere that made the first event such a success has become the hallmark of the English Indoor Rowing Championship and competitors continue to have a great time.
In 2006, Steve Redgrave brought his squad of Liverpool 8 novices who were being filmed for a television programme following complete beginners from one of the country’s more deprived areas in their attempt to qualify for Henley Royal Regatta.
People travel the most amazing distances and we are aware of some people who have changed their air-travel arrangements because the event clashed with their annual skiing holiday.
We have also helped to launch some stars onto the circuit. The Armley Indoor Rowing team started at our event, and some have gone on to become British and World Champions. Also Royce Banks and his team of power lifters who challenged and lost to the all-star Leander team at Great Marlow School in the 100,000 metre challenge, and then famously beat them at the return bout at a ballroom just outside Wigan on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon. To see these 18-stone guys taking part in the popular ergo breaking races (500 metre dash) – bending, stretching and tying the machines in knots – is great fun, as long as you can stand well back.
Another sight worth watching (and hearing) is our regular commentator, Nigel Mayglothling, who arrives with 2 minutes to go before the first race and spends 8 hours endlessly talking, cajoling, screaming, encouraging, laughing, bullying, providing background information on competitors, helping people to relax and making it an enjoyable experience. He is worth his weight in gold and Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club is very grateful to Nigel for his support and input to the event.
Championship records
As an event we are lucky enough to play host to some of Indoor Rowing’s biggest names, and we have Championship records broken every year. Competitors have also broken British and World Records at the event – a lot of this is down to its slot in the calendar, shortly before the World Indoor Rowing Championships – so it is ideally placed as a ‘last throw of the dice’ for those athletes who are heading off to Boston, Mass. to the Crash B’s – representing Great Britain.
Events on offer
We offer events to Men, Women, Lightweight and not so Lightweight with categories from 11 years old to 70+.
For teams and individuals 2000m, 500m, Junior timed events, 3000m for Teams of 4. There’s something for everyone!!.
Location
Manchester Velodrome National Cycling Centre, Stuart St
Manchester, M11 4DQ
Next event
Sunday 12th February 2012
ENTRY FORMS
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English IRC
