Last updated 13:13, Friday, 06 June 2008

TOMORROW’S Hexham Regatta has broken another record – before a single race been rowed.

A whopping 404 crews have entered, which means Hexham is running the largest single-day rowing regatta in the whole of the UK.

Hexham Regatta has now smashed its own record for three consecutive years.

Around 360 crews entered the 2007 Hexham Regatta, which was 100 more crews than the previous year which had been the previous record.

Last year the only three larger regattas in the UK were all held in the South East of England, on much bigger rivers and organised by much larger rowing clubs.

“We’re delighted with another record entry,” said Hexham Rowing Club captain George Doody.

“Hexham really punches above its weight with the success of the Hexham Regatta.

“We now run the biggest regatta from one of the smallest clubs in the country – and, of course, one of the friendliest!”

Hexham Rowing Club currently has around 60 members, while clubs who stage the next biggest regattas have memberships running into the hundreds.

This means that Hexham’s rowers have to work even harder off the water than when they are racing.

Tomorrow, following months of preparation, Hexham Rowing Club members will be doing everything from umpiring races and providing race commentary, to cutting cakes and selling raffle tickets to the several thousand people expected on Tyne Green throughout the day.

Even the new junior members of the club have been trained up to man the stake canoes.

These are the two canoes that are stationed at the top of the 700m course, upstream from Hexham Bridge.

Before the start of each race, crews must manoeuvre their boats so that the stern of their boat is ‘attached’ to the stake canoe.

This ‘attachment’ is a junior member of Hexham Rowing Club leaning out from the stake canoe and literally holding on to the stern of the racing boat, letting go when the start marshal cries ‘Go!’.

Because of the unprecedented number of entries, a race is scheduled to start every two minutes on Saturday, from 8.30am to 7pm, with around a one hour lunch break, between 1.30pm and 2.30pm.

In order to accommodate all 289 races, each race must start before the previous race has finished.

Racing officials have had to give special permission for this to happen.

“We get more entries now from bigger boats and crews of a higher rowing status,” said women’s captain Shona McCreedy.

“This means we can watch really good, experienced oarsmen in fours and eights rowing right here at Hexham.”

Crews are coming to Hexham from as far away as Dumfries & Galloway, Littleborough (Lancashire), Maidstone, Berwick and Sunderland, with plenty of local rivals too, including from Durham, Tyne, Talkin Tarn, Tees and Chester-le-Street.

Races are across all junior and adult categories, for both rowing (for which each crew member has one oar) and sculling (done with two oars, also known as blades).

Rowing races comprise two, four or eight competitors per crew. Sculling races are for single scullers and for crews of two or four.

Each event has its own drama, from the pluck of novice single scullers seeking to avoid falling in, to the graceful power and rhythm of elite rowing eights.

One of the secrets of Hexham Regatta’s popularity is Tyne Green itself.

Hexham has one of the most picturesque rowing courses in the country. Spectators can see the whole of the 700 metre race course from most points on the bank, not to mention the bridge for those who like an aerial view.

Tyne Green provides plenty of room for visitors, picnics and the many additional entertainments and stalls that are set up for the day.

There will be more traders’ stalls than in previous years, alongside the usual bouncy castle, bar, BBQ, cakes and sandwiches on offer.

The Regatta Raffle has also beaten all previous standards, with an outstanding first prize this year of a seven night stay in a villa in SW France, kindly donated men’s captain, Stuart Mullan, alongside other prizes worth £400 donated by local and national businesses.

“We’re hoping for some more Hexham wins on the water too,” says George Doody.

“Crews from Hexham Rowing Club will compete in both the morning and afternoon divisions.”

The first race involving a HRC crew should be at around 11.14am, although spectators are kindly advised that a ten-hour racing schedule with races timed at two minute intervals will almost certainly not be adhered to strictly throughout the day!

Some races may take place slightly earlier or later than scheduled.

One of Hexham’s newest crews will be the first HRC crew to race.

Rowan Jackson, Glenda Peadon, Kirsty McDowell and Lucy Clarke all joined the club in 2007 and this will be their first competitive race, in the novice coxed quad sculls event.

They will compete in the first heat against a composite crew from Sunderland and Tynemouth.

The Hexham ladies are looking very strong and little is known of their opposition, so it should be an interesting race.

The next HRC crew to race will be Jane Upstill-Goddard’s crew, who are scheduled to race just two minutes later in the same event, against a crew from Tees.

If both of these Hexham women’s crews win their heats, then it could be Hexham versus Hexham in the final of this event.

Even more excitingly, this is a qualifying event, which means that whoever wins the event overall will lose their novice status and become Senior 4 scullers.

One of Hexham’s veteran men’s crews will also race in the morning division, at around 11.38am.

This is the men’s veteran crew of David Brown, Andrew Corder, Neil Wilkinson and Paul Jaconelli.

They are up against a good crew from Tyne Rowing Club in a straight semi-final in the veteran coxed quad sculls event, which should again be a close fought race.

Jane Upstill-Goddard’s crew will also row in the afternoon division as a novice coxed four, swapping their two sculling blades for one rowing oar each.

This versatile crew comprises Jane, her daughters Rosie and Ellie and Diane Rodgers.

They are up against stiff competition in the first heat of the novice coxed four, from St. Mary’s College, in an event that looks likely to be dominated by the Durham colleges.

Hexham’s first heat is scheduled for 2.44pm, with subsequent races in this event at 3.32pm, 5.16pm and the final at 6.44pm.

Hexham’s Senior 4 women’s scullers meet arch rivals Talkin Tarn in the afternoon, in the first heat of this coxless Senior 4 women’s sculls event, which is a straight semi-final, scheduled for 5:08pm.

This is the crew who lost their novice status at Hexham Regatta last year: Linsley Charlton, Kate Wilkinson, Mandy Pearson and Gillian Orrell.

Should this Hexham crew finally manage to beat their Talkin Tarn nemesis, they will meet a crew from either Tees or Berwick in the final, just after 6pm.

Many crews from Queen Elizabeth High School will be competing throughout the day.

QEHS Rowing Club has had considerable success on their home stretch at previous Hexham Regattas and are always in contention to win one of the Victor Ludorum trophies, as well as individual medals.

The Victor Ludorum (Latin for ‘winner of the games’) is the trophy awarded to the most successful club overall.

Queen Elizabeth High School won it in 2004 and again in 2005, and this could be the year that they put their name back on this trophy.

With four QEHS crews racing in the morning division and a massive 18 in the afternoon division, they should be in with a good chance of success.

QEHS crews have races fairly evenly spaced throughout the day, from around 9.26am to 6.56pm. So spectators arriving at any time during the day should be able to find a home crew to cheer on, either from Queen Elizabeth High School or Hexham Rowing Club itself.

The 2008 Hexham Regatta will conclude with a grand prize-giving ceremony near the boathouses on Tyne Green at the end of the afternoon.

Amongst the trophies to be awarded is a new trophy provided by Northern Rail for the women’s novice eights event and in honour of Hexham Rowing Club’s 130th anniversary.