DUDDON paddlers proved their worth on local waters with a raft of wins at the Brathay Wildwater Sprint Race.

The club hosted the event on the river near Ambleside and took six victories across the classes in fast-flowing waters.

Constant rain on the two days prior to racing saw the younger classes cancelled due to the state of the river, with the more experienced paddlers having a tough course to contend with.

With numerous routes down the rapids at the end of the race, entrants had to pick their line and stick to it.

Most of the paddlers reached the finishing line, however the safety cover were kept busy when the novices came down, with nearly all of them taking a swim.

Despite the setbacks, the youngsters were not put off and as soon as they were fished out of the river carried their boats back up to the start for another run before the race briefing.

Three open canoes turned up on the day to race, with Duddon’s Emily Longstaff the only entrant to complete the course as she took the win in the under-18s C1 class.

The more experienced paddlers revelled in the conditions and times were tight, with only three seconds separating the top four paddlers. Bragging rights went to Duddon’s Brandon Wilson – with the fastest time of 56 seconds enough to see him win the under-18s K1 class.

Other victories among the Duddon juniors went to Harvey Petcher, Victoria Longstaff, Ruth McKenny and Rhiann Taylor, who were all in K1 boats.

DUDDON RESULTS

Under-16s K1 Boys: 1. Harvey Petcher. Under-18s K1 Boys: 1. Brandon Wilson.

Under-14s K1 Girls: 1. Victoria Longstaff. Under-16s K1 Girls: 1. Ruth McKenny. Under-18s K1 Girls: 1. Rhiann Taylor. Under-18s C1 Girls: 1. Emily Longstaff.