Wallingford Regatta is a
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically 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 wa ...
which takes place on
Dorney Lake
Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake and Meetings & Events Venue in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
near
Eton
Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.
Eton may also refer to:
Places
*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England
*Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States
*Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...
next to 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, s ...
in southern
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It attracts crews from schools, clubs and universities from around the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
The regatta was formerly "Wallingford
Skiff
A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats, usually propelled by sails or oars. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for work, leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-pers ...
Regatta" the only organised boating in 1949 on the
Wallingford stretch of the Thames above
Cleeve Lock
Cleeve Lock is a lock (water transport), lock on the River Thames, in Oxfordshire, England. It is located just upstream of Goring-on-Thames, Goring and Streatley, Berkshire, Streatley villages, on the eastern side of the river within the vi ...
. It had taken place every year in peacetime since the late 1890s and there is evidence that it existed as early as 1861. In 1949 the regatta committee founded
Wallingford Rowing Club
Wallingford Rowing Club is a rowing club on the River Thames by Thames Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
History
The club was formed in 1947 by the Wallingford Regatta committee. The club’s blade colours are scarlet with a light blue tip ...
which purchased some old boats and, with mostly novice rowers, started competing in other regattas. The regatta was developed as a conventional regatta although it still awards the Wallingford Skiff Regatta Cup.
The regatta was held on the same reach at Wallingford for most of its existence, but river conditions caused problems and there was pressure for larger facilities. In 2005 a local pub regatta on the same reach was gate-crashed by a BBC programme creating a remake of
Three Men in a Boat
''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous novel by English writer Jerome K. Jerome describing ...
.
Daily Telegraph ''Three men in a remake'' 28 December 2005
/ref> Wallingford Regatta itself had moved to its current course on Dorney Lake in 2001.
See also
* Rowing on the River Thames
The River Thames, Thames is one of the main Sport rowing, rowing rivers in Europe. Several annual competitions are held along its course, including the Henley Royal Regatta, The Boat Race and other long-distance events, called Head of the River ...
References
External links
Wallingford Regatta website
Regattas on the River Thames
Sport in Buckinghamshire
Sport in Oxfordshire
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