On Saturday the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepont hosted the 2022 Nottingham City Regatta.
For many years the event has been held in mid-May, but this year it was a week later than normal, making it only a week before the National Schools’ Regatta at Dorney.
Although this had an impact on the overall entry, it was still better than the last time it was held in 2019, so the process of growing participation in the regatta continues.
Certainly, after missing two years due to Covid the athletes were pleased to be racing again after. One other effect of Covid has been to reduce the number of volunteers willing to help, as they have discovered other hobbies during lockdown.
However, many replacements were found and they were able to contribute to the success of the event.
On Saturday the weather was kind, although with a stiff head wind. Clubs from as far afield as Bewl Bridge, Kingston, Bristol and Durham came to Nottingham to race, with the most successful being Leeds, who won 5 events.
St Edwards School won both Women’s and Men’s Open eights in the morning session.
The local clubs did well, with Nottinghamshire County Rowing Association picking up 5 wins and Byron Richards winning the Carl Smith trophy as the fastest male junior sculler.
Tia Lenihan of Hollingworth Lake was the fastest female junior sculler.
Nottingham Rowing Club won both the morning and afternoon coxless four events. Nottingham and Union won Women’s Junior 18 coxless pairs and their men’s junior coxed four raced for a time in Open Band 2 event and were the first to cross the line (their junior event had been cancelled due to three school crews withdrawing because of exam pressures).
The regatta was well run and finished on time, and the unique pottery tankards were well received.
Nottingham Masters and Club Regatta 22nd May 2020
The sixth Nottingham Masters and Club regatta, held over 1000m, took place at the National Water Sports Centre on Sunday – this event continues to grow and has become an important regatta in the Masters rowing calendar despite the date moving around.
As at Nottingham City, there were several crews who had travelled from outside the East Midlands, including from Tees, Exeter, Chester, Norwich and Guildford, showing the attraction of the regatta.
Conditions were similar to the previous day, again with a stiff head wind. Racing started at 8:30 am and finished at 5 pm, with a race every four minutes to give a total of 120 races, with each being a final.
The local clubs did well, with Nottingham & Union and Notts County winning seven apiece. Nottingham Rowing Club won four events.
The first race of the day was a Masters B singles event which was won by Sudbury with only 2 seconds covering the first 3 home. Close racing was a feature of the day.
The regatta was a success, with many of the winners on both days thanking us for putting on a good events.
Photos: Tony Lorrimer