RECORDS were smashed in the All England Stone Skimming Championships on Windermere at the weekend.

Unknown quantity Gareth Twamley broke the previous men’s record, held by two-time winner Kevin Waltham, by a full two metres, with a huge skim of 88 metres.

Kevin Waltham, looking on from the bank, had no answers when he came to skim, whilst Ron Long, who has won the All England Stone Skimming Championships on many occasions, threw 84 metres for second place.

Women really stepped up to the mark and responded to the call put out by organisers, South Cumbria Rivers’ Trust, to prove that ‘This Girl Can’ – the motto of Sport England. Barbara Maher, who came third in 2015, skimmed a new women’s record distance of 50 metres – an 18-metre improvement on her 2015 skim, which left others trailing in her wake.

Second place in the women’s competition went to Charlotte Greenway (40 metres), who came to Windermere having impressed greatly when skimming at the recent Shropshire championships, where she won the womens’ contest.

The 11-16s boys’ category also saw a championship record set by Gregg Heynes, with a massive 72-metres skim, which would, in some years, have been in contention in the men’s contest. This broke the previous record skim in this category by a whopping 14 metres. Second place went to Cameron Hunter, who threw 53 metres, whilst there was a three-way tie for third, with Sam Michaud, Nécholas Dykes and Patrick Frost all throwing 51 metres.

In the 11-16s girls’ category, top spot went to Charlotte Hopper (38 metres), with Freya Richards hot-on-her heels with a 36-metre throw in second and Faye Kruger taking third place with 25 metres.

Yet another record was set in the under-11s boys’ category which produced the skim of the tournament.

Jude Dobinson drew gasps from the crowds with a 49-metre super-skim, which beat the previous record by a full 10 metres. The second-placed skim of Nico Gilchrist was also spectacular at 43 metres, with a very decent skim of 33-metres by Ben Matheou, taking third.

It was impossible to separate Isobel Doel and Briony White in the under-11s girls’ competition, with both skimming 15 metres, to share the honours. Third place was also shared, as Chloe Roche and Inola Hull celebrated skimming 13 metres.

“We’ve had a fabulous day of skimming here today and attracted hundreds of entrants," said South Cumbria Rivers’ Trust spokesperson and trustess Julius Barratt. "We haven’t yet counted the money taken, but we could also have made a record amount, on a day of hugely impressive records.

"If so, it will be great news for South Lakes conservation, as this event is organised as a fundraiser for vital conservation work in the South Lakes.”