Lyme Regis: Atlantic rowers asked to lead 2012 Olympic Torch procession (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)
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Lyme Regis: Atlantic rowers asked to lead 2012 Olympic Torch procession
10:30am Wednesday 18th April 2012 in Local News
LYME’S Atlantic conquering heroes the Corinthians have been asked to lead the town’s Olympic torch procession on July 12.
And last week they had their world rowing records confirmed to the Guinness Book of Records by the Ocean Rowing Association.
So it’s official – Brian Fletcher, Chris Walters, Tony Short and Elliot Dale are the oldest team – by some 20,000 days – to row the Atlantic and Tony Short the oldest man.
The Corinthians’ team administrator Andrew Pocock said: “They are privately and quietly flattered to be asked to lead the procession.
“We hope all four lads will be here. They do have work commitments and sometimes they have to be away whether they like it or not but everybody will try to be here and we will make sure we have the boat.”
The proposal is the rowers will lead the parade with their boat in tow, flanked by six Lyme Regis Gig Club members with their oars.
The final details of how exactly the day’s celebrations will unfold are still being worked out but Mayor Sally Holman, pictured left, knows what she wants and has a team helping her make sure it happens, she said.
She said: “It is still very much at the planning stage but we are working on our logistics to make sure all the young people from all the local schools get a good chance to see the torch and we are going to do a procession of representatives from all of the sports clubs.
“That will go somewhere along the front and we are planning a celebration on the slipway and then we should be doing the unveiling of the plaque to the Corinthians in the Jubilee Pavilion.”
The next meeting procession group meeting is not until early May.
Coun Holman added: “We are still waiting for the guy from highways to come and visit us and walk the route with us. Once we know what he wants, we will know what kind of width of road they need, what space we have to put people and we will know more to plan in more detail.”
