RACE REPORT: - ADLINGTON: - 03\09\2004
It was a typical sunny September day as nineteen MADCC members made the journey north to Adlington, Lancashire for the first race of the 2005 Hasler season. Could the yellow army continue it’s success from the previous season or had they lost the edge? Was their new team leader up to the challenge? With ten singles, four doubles and our Lightning man in attendance, the team should score well. The race is held on the narrow Leeds and Liverpool, which suits MADCC, as this is the kind of water we are used to!
As ever the higher divisions start first, so an amalgamated Div. 3, 5 & 6 K1 race went first. Chris has obviously put in some secret training as he pulled away to a convincing victory, well done. John chased valiantly to secure his bronze medal while Mark, in his first eight-mile race following promotion produced a fine paddle to take 4th place. Next away was the combined Div. 5\6 & 7\8 K2 race. MADCC entered four out of the five boats in this event, so club points were a plenty, as was the rivalry between members! Adrian and Sarah, in her first ever race, went off like a rocket and no one saw them again until they took MADCC’s second gold medal of the day! Andrew and Michelle fought really hard against the higher ranked pair to claim their silver medal, pushing Neil and Simon (who learnt that under estimating the enemy can be costly) into 3rd place. Cathryn and Tom chased all the way but had to settle for 4th place. The combined Div 7 & 8 K1 race was awash with yellow vests, six out of seven entries! Although quickest over the course both Sarah and Paul fell foul of the time penalty taking 2nd and 3rd respectively, hard luck you two. Mark battled away to secure 4th place just ahead of Margaret. Neil wasn’t at his best and had to settle for 6th spot with Pat just behind. Stephen took Div. 9 by storm, winning by over two minutes and gaining promotion, a job well done! The last race of the day was the Lightning where once again Simon performed well to take yet another gold medal, brilliant stuff that lad!
As MADCC accounted for two thirds of the entry, we were always going to come out on top of both tables for points. A good start to the new season, with some very promising results. MADCC went home with four gold, two silver and three bronze medals, from just five races! If some good winter training is undertaken, MADCC will continue to be at the top for the foreseeable future. Well done to all those who participated and once more took MADCC to the top!