24/08/2026
The North of England Sprint Rowing Championships 2026 were an absolute triumph! Blessed with light winds and wall-to-wall sunshine, Hollingworth Lake looked spectacular, and the racing ran safely and completely on time.
A vital part of ensuring this smooth running was the fantastic support from our neighbours, Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club and Hollingworth Lake Adventure & Water Activity Centre. They generously supplied both craft and personnel to man the safety boats. This essential help allowed us to ferry umpires, rotate volunteers, and ensure rapid, damage-free assistance in the event of a capsize. Keeping safety paramount is our priority, and we are incredibly grateful for their neighbourly support.
Our reputation clearly travels far, drawing clubs from across the country, including entries from Walton Rowing Club on the River Thames and Burway Rowing Club, based near Staines, who travelled just as far to compete.
Huge congratulations to the day’s big winners:
🏆 Junior Victor Ludorum: Warrington Rowing Club
🏆 Senior/Masters Victor Ludorum: City of Sheffield Rowing Club
A special shoutout to former elite rower Rodney Taylor for generously sponsoring these fiercely contested awards.
We were also honoured to welcome the Mayor of Rochdale, Councillor Faisal Rana, and Mayoress Iram Faisal , who spent several hours supporting the event. The Mayor and Mayoress even took to the water to experience the racecourse firsthand! To top it off, a representative from the British Rowing Board of Directors joined us and was blown away by the scale of the regatta, taking news of our thriving regional racing scene back to the national stage.
An event of this scale is only possible because of our wonderful sponsors. Whether long-standing or partnering with us for the first time, their generosity keeps our club afloat. A massive thank you to, Wallis' Hollingworth Lake, LWL Gym, The Olive and Pickle, and Graham Collier, a retired member of our club.
Because of you, we can continue providing the Rochdale community with facilities, free coaching, and inclusive access for juniors, older adults, and adaptive rowers.
And finally, a huge thank you to everyone who made the event possible
A special mention must go to all those who worked tirelessly both on and off the water:
Hollingworth Lake Activity Centre – Pred, Ben and the team
Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club – Rhiann, Richard and the team
St John Ambulance – Sam and the team
Our fantastic umpiring team, principally from the North West Region, but also with representatives from the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire regions. In particular, a huge thank you to Christopher Anton, who took on the role of Race Committee Chair.
Our incredible 62 Club volunteers – every single one of you played a vital part in making the day such a success.
Richard Mortimer from Durham Amateur Rowing Club and Durham Regatta, who provided huge assistance behind the scenes in providing and customising his race software, Oar-online, for us.
Paddy Ibbotson from Ancholme Rowing Club Brigg and Lincoln Rowing Club, who masterminded the draw.
An event of this scale takes an enormous team effort, and we are incredibly grateful to every person who contributed their time, expertise and enthusiasm.
Finally, thank you to our local neighbours and businesses for their patience with the temporary car park closure. We were delighted to reopen it ahead of schedule, just after 5 PM.
We should all be deeply proud of Hollingworth and what we have achieved together. Please join us in thanking and supporting all of our wonderful local sponsors, volunteers, helpers and supporters! 👏
We can’t wait to see you all again 4th September 2027❤️
📸 fantastic photography by Mark Sunderland
