A four-year absence caused by the construction of a new by-pass road ended 23 August 2008, when Gloucester Regatta successfully returned to the Sharpness
canal.
The camping field has been converted to a new Hempsted Meadows
Market and Car Boot Site with parking for 400. When it opened mid- July, all
199 car boot pitches were occupied.
Gloucester Council plan to
re-locate the Rowing Club on the site, with continued
camping facilities for rowing club events.
2006 & 2007 Gloucester
Regattas were at Ross-on-Wye.
Cambridge City beat Northampton and Cambridge 99 in the Novice Eights
over the
1,000 metre course at Peterborough Summer Regatta on 9 August in the
fastest time since 1995.
Victories in Elite, Senior 1 and Womens Senior 2 Eights earned Henley RC the Peter Sutherland Trophy for best performance at the Henley Town & Visitors Regatta, 2 August.
The club also won Senior 1 Single Sculls and Veteran F Doubles, but the eights victories carry extra weighting in performance calculations. The prize included a cheque for £750.
Henley Standard:"What makes Town and Visitors'
Regatta so special"
England overtake Scotland in Home Internationals
Scotland opened their Home International challenge in Cardiff Bay on 26
July
with three successive victories in Mens
and Womens Junior Coxless Fours and Womens Lightweight Pairs.
But although Scotland went on to win the Junior Men's event, England
pulled
back Mens, Womens and Junior Womens events to head the results below.
Leander Club won nine finals of eleven entered at the National Rowing
Championships, Sunday 26 July.
The two exceptions were Open Lightweight Single Sculls, where R Hunter was
second to R Burdett of Thames, and Womens Coxless Pairs, second to Worcester.
Below: Prizegiving by Lord Colin Moynihan, Silver Medallist at the
Moscow
Olympics, Chairman, British Olympics Association. (see Channel views for individual events)
Henley Qualifiers
With club & university events massively oversubscribed, 270 crews competed
in time trials on Friday 27 June for 84 first round places the following week.
Despite a failure rate of 2:1, the Henley Qualifiers are the peak of many
club & university rowing careers.
Times were published for those who failed. Times were withheld for competitive reasons for those
who achieved a place in the first round.
567 crews, mostly men's elite and senior, competed on
Saturday 21 June at Dorney Lake. Started last year, a separate Sunday
event gives more opportunities for Womens and Juniors events.
Saturday races 57 to 115, includes all finals
The three-day Henley Womens Regatta started Friday 20 June
with time trials for 43 Intermediate Eights crews, 53 Intermediate
Coxed Fours and 21 Senior Coxed Fours ... all competing for a place in
first round races later.
The
system is fairer than Henley Royal Regatta's qualifying system, it is
said, because there is no pre-selection. All entrants - no
matter how distinguished their racing record - are required to enter
time trials for the classes over-subscribed.
A late addition to the rowing calendar to provide racing for as many events as possible for which
races were cancelled through bad weather at the National Schools’ Regatta 2008
Three wins Saturday and five Sunday earned Durham University second place in the
Dogget Cobb Trophy for most successful club over the weekend.
They trailed mighty Leander whose 7 club victories were enhanced by composite
successes. Durham U led third place London RC (4), who also had a strong composite
presence.
Durham U also scored five second places. MAA had three wins and six seconds. Furnival
SC ... another big composite contributor ... were placed fourth.
Heavy rains, strong stream and high following winds made conditions
very fast
for Monmouth Sprint Regatta, held over 750 metres on
Saturday 24 May.
Sunday conditions deteriorated, but 1000 competitors launched 373 boats.
They represented 42 clubs, two from Belfast and a strong Maidstone contingent,
as well as clubs from Wales, the South West, Midlands and Thames
Valley.
With the National Schools Regatta abandoned, Monmouth schools did well
"There may have been more races at Thames Ditton Regatta years
ago when
it started Friday evening", said commentator Stan
Collingwood, "but 233 in one
day is the most I can remember."
Unlike many other regattas, Thames Ditton is unconnected with any particular rowing club. The buoys along the 1000 metre course, ending at Hampton Court Palace, are laid out by the Dittons Skiff and Punting Club, who also provide a meeting room for the TDR
organising committee.
Kingston led the senior events, with four victories, but lost the Senior 1 Eights to Christ Church, Oxford, who completed a notable double winning the College Eights too.
Eton took the junior crown with seven victories. But Radley, with only three, had the satisfaction of winning the top Junior Eights and Junior Fours.
Balliol won Senior 3 and Womens Senior 4 Eights, and Haberdashers Monmouth excelled at Womens J14 Octuples for both first and second crews
Osiris, Oxford University women, won five events at the 56th Wallingford Regatta, taking the senior 2 & 3 eights, the senior 2 & 3 coxless fours and the senior 3 coxed four.
Coach Andy Green recently joined from Headington School.
The event was at Dorney Lake, location for last year's world championships and venue for London's Olympic regatta in 2012.
More than 2,000 athletes and 600 crews took part: a further 300 crews had to be turned away.
Overseas entries included 21 crews from two Irish clubs, newcomers Muckross and
Killorglin. Marine Technical University, St. Petersburg, Russia also
competed.
The Regatta's instant phone-in results service
shows
Molesey BC had 45 entries - one, the winning Elite Coxless Four, with two
Olympians!
Heavy rains cast doubts over Saturday's Evesham Regatta,
which only cleared Friday lunchtime when the go-ahead was given.
With one eye on the weather, the organisers replaced the 1000 metre
upstream course with the Sunday Sprint format of 500 metres downstream.
Events had been split into morning and afternoon sessions to enable
athletes to compete in more than one event, and with no
further rain the regatta ran to time in ideal rowing conditions.
One of the most beautiful regatta settings, Evesham is on the Avon halfway
between Stratford and Tewkesbury, where the river joins the Severn.
