Durham Regatta is a rowing regatta held annually on the second weekend in June on the

River Wear The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through th ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, North East of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

; It is known as the Henley of the North, but began several years before the more prestigious

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

. Durham Regatta is the second-oldest rowing regatta in England, preceded only by Chester Regatta. The first regatta was held over 17–19 June 1834, opening with a six-oared race in 1834 won by ''Velocity'', owned by W. L. Wharton, High Sheriff of Durham, against the Durham University Original Club in ''Sylph''. The race has been held 182 times and, in recent years, the regatta has had competitors from all corners of the UK, as well as crews from as far afield as

Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia (the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus liv ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Almost all colleges will compete across a variety of boat types and standards, and it is usually the chance to determine which college has the strongest crews of the year.

Events

Events are competed over either the short (regatta) course, a stretch of river which provides an excellent view of racing from start to finish, or the long (championship) course. The long course of takes in a number of sweeping bends and

Elvet Bridge Elvet Bridge is a medieval masonry arch bridge across the River Wear in the city of Durham, in County Durham, England. It links the peninsula in central Durham and the Elvet area of the city, and is a Grade I listed building. Building Buildin ...

and ends near

Prebends Bridge Prebends Bridge, along with Framwellgate and Elvet bridges, is one of three stone-arch bridges in the centre of Durham, England, that cross the River Wear. History Prebends Bridge was designed by George Nicholson and built from 1772 to 1778. ...

Grand Challenge Cup

The blue riband event is the Grand Challenge Cup, which has been run since 1854. It has recently been dominated by

Durham University Boat Club Durham University Boat Club (DUBC) is the rowing club of Durham University. In recent years, DUBC has cemented itself as one of the strongest university boat clubs in Great Britain. Under the leaders ...

and

Newcastle University Boat Club Newcastle University Boat Club (NUBC) is the rowing club of Newcastle University, UK. Established in March 1911 as the boat club for Armstrong College, it celebrated its centenary in 2 ...

. This event is for Elite Men's Coxed Fours, and due to the introduction of the

Prince Albert Challenge Cup The Prince Albert Challenge Cup is an event at Henley Royal Regatta. It is contested by Men's Student Crews in Coxed fours. It has been held since 2004. Creation in 2004 The Britannia Challenge Cup was originally presented in 1969 as an event f ...

for Student Coxed Fours at Henley Royal Regatta, this event has proved to be useful practice for student crews from the University Boat Club and College Boat Clubs in the run up to the Royal Regatta.

Gallery

File:Prebends and weir.JPG, Prebends Bridge from downstream, the finish of the Long Course File:Durham Regatta womens coxed 4s.jpg, A Women's Coxed Four from Tees rowing club racing File:Elvet Bridge at the Durham Regatta.jpg, Competitors about to race through Elvet Bridge at the regatta as part of the Long Course (Newcastle University on the right) File:SMCBCMen.jpg, A Durham college Men's Coxed Four race (St. Mary's closest) File:River Wear, Durham, looking east - geograph.org.uk - 96832.jpg, Looking upstream, The Racecourse on the River Wear where the Short Course takes place

References

{{Reflist

External links

Durham Regatta

BBC News
Sport in Durham, England Durham University Rowing University rowing competitions in the United Kingdom Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom 1834 establishments in England June sporting events Recurring events established in 1834 Annual events in England

Events

Grand Challenge Cup

Gallery

See also

References

External links