The Sunbury Amateur Regatta is a

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

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 ...

with a rare visitors' boats lights display and fireworks event. It is for mainly traditional wooden types of boats with a few events for small sculling boats since its instigation in 1877 (today known as racing shells) taking place by convention on a Saturday in early to mid August. The following day hosts the Edith Topsfield Junior Regatta.

Location

This regatta's many land activities takes place at

Rivermead Island Rivermead Island is a flat grassy island in the River Thames on the reach above Molesey Lock at Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England which is owned mostly by Spelthorne and as to a small part by Elmbridge Borough Council. Geography The island ...

. Racing takes place on the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

alongside from morning through to mid-and afternoon on the 'Sunbury and Hampton Reach' also known as 'Molesey Reach'.

Races

Races include

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representin ...

-conforming club events as follows, all of which require the competitors to vouch for a greater than 50m in full clothes swimming ability as a precondition of entry: The sculling course culminates downstream at

Sunbury Court Island Sunbury Court Island is a long, pedestrianised residential island of houses and bungalows in the River Thames in England on the 'Sunbury and Hampton' or 'Molesey' reach, above Molesey Lock in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England. __NOTOC__ Attrib ...

Land events

A lively atmosphere on the island includes stalls, children's entertainment, live music, tug of war competition and refreshments.

Lights display

The regattas have long been among the last regattas in the rowing year due accommodating its firework finale at sunset and procession of illuminated boats including old small merchant vessels with masts and luxury motor cruisers.

History

The regatta was inaugurated in 1877 with events for sweep-oar pairs, sculls (as racing shells), punts, canoes and swimming — for the first fifty years Sunbury hosted a parallel Tradesmen's or Town regatta for professional watermen. The original course was downstream from the very end of the Sunbury Reach beside

Sunbury Lock Sunbury Lock is a lock complex of the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey, the third lowest of forty four on the non-tidal reaches. The complex adjoins the right, southern bank about downstream of the Weir Ho ...

. For some years at the end of the 19th century the regatta hosted the

Thames Punting Club The Thames Punting Club (TPC) is the governing body in England for the sport of punt racing. History and constitution Punting as a means of water travel has a long history in the United Kingdom and is now practiced recreationally on a number o ...

championships at that sport.G. Dear ''One Hundred Years of Skiff Racing'' British Rowing Almanack 2001 The event is followed on the Sunday by the Edith Topsfield Junior Regatta (ages 7 to 16), which was founded in 1932 and former winners of this regatta have gone on to become Olympic medalists.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Sunbury Amateur Regatta website

Event history
1877 establishments in England Regattas on the River Thames Sport in Surrey Sunbury-on-Thames