LOCAL PADDLERS COMPETE ON RIVER DEE

Chester Sailing and Canoeing Club canoe section held the first of 3 marathon canoe races last week on the River Dee based out the Dinghy Park in Sandy Lane, Boughton.

Nearly 50 paddlers, most from the North West, competed in a national marathon canoe race over 3 different distances.

The Chester results were;-

Div 3/4/5 K1 combined – (8 miles)

1^st Jenny Swallow 1:02:47

2^nd Melvin Swallow 1:02:48

Div 6 K1 - (8 miles)

2^nd Bob Scholey 1:10:20

3^rd Graham Bulmer 1:11.37

Div 7 K1– (4 miles)

4^th Peter Bennett 39:57

7^th Bob Owen 41:21

9^th Andrew Parkinson 43:31

10^th Margaret Blakeborough 45:08

Div 8 K1– (4 miles)

1^st Dave Madeley 43:17

Div 9 K1- (4 miles)

4^th Struan Fishburn 44.00

6^th Phil Vokes 51:50

Under 12 boys Lightning (2 miles)

1^st Michael Gordon 22:21

2^nd James Roberts 24:05

3^rd Joe Corr 24:54

4^th Matty Davies 25:12

Under 12 Girls Lightning (2 miles)

1^st Bente Hollestelle 22:22

3^rd Emily Till 24:11

4^th Georgina Phillips 26:15

Division 6 Doubles (8 miles)

1^st Adele Blakeborough/Jean Ashley 1:05:47

Division 9 doubles (4 miles)

1^st David Hatton/Jake Oldfield-Connor 40:45

Chester Sailing and Canoeing Club Canoe Section have been awarded the running of the prestigious National Marathon Canoe Championships this summer. They will be held on the weekend 31 July/1 August on the River Dee. The whole event will be run from The Meadows based opposite the Dinghy Park. We are expecting between 300 and 400 competitors over the weekend ranging in age from 8 years old to over 70 years. They will compete in a variety of races over different distances from 3.5 kilometres to 26 kilometres run over a loop of about 6 kilometres. There will be a focus point called The Portage where paddlers have to get out and run with their canoes and then get back into the river and carry on paddling. There will also be a Come and Try it event for anyone who wants to try canoeing so there will be a lot going on.

Details can be found on the club website www.chestercanoenationals.org.uk

Some Chester paddlers are competing in the World Wild Water Racing Championships taking place in early June in Sort, Spain. Dave Bradburn and Colin Cartwright along with Matty Harrison and Simon Goulding have been selected for the Great Britain team and are competing in Canadian Doubles in this event where they won the bronze medal last year.