Cold and wet conditions on the first day of Durham City Regatta on May 9th failed to dampen the enthusiasm of a bumper entry of 315 crews from 28 clubs competing over the 700-metre course on Saturday. Thankfully a big improvement in the weather on Sunday meant much greater footfall on the riverbanks to enjoy a second day of thrilling racing, this time over 500 metres.
Durham ARC had 28 entries on Saturday and 22 on Sunday.
Saturday
In the first division on Saturday two J14 quads and Hunor Pinter in the J15 single sculls went out in the quarter finals, while the Novice coxed four, Nick Baird in the Open 1x and Sam Hancill in the J15 1x all went out in semi-finals.
The J15 double reached the final but was beaten by Lambton. The WMasD 2x and J14 girls octuple also lost in finals, against Talkin Tarn and Queen Elizabeth High School respectively.
In division 2 the J15 2x won through two rounds before losing to Chester-le-Street in the final.
The Women’s 2x in band 1 overcame Hexham before going out to Lambton in the semi-final. The Women’s 2x in band 2 lost against Chester-le-Street in the quarter final.
Matthew Wheeler in the J16 1x band 2 won through two rounds before losing against Durham School in the final.
Making their first regatta appearance the Women’s Novice 8+ won their semi-final against St John’s College by 3 feet before being defeated in the final by St Hild & Bede College.
Women’s Novice 8+
The Open J14 octuple overcame QEHS in their semi-final before losing to Leeds in the final.
The J15 girls coxed quad lost to Lambton in the band 1 semi-final, and there were defeats in finals for the Durham/Tyne composite MasE 4x- and the MasF 4x-.
The first victory of the day went to the Women’s Masters C 4x- who beat Lambton in the final to celebrate their first regatta success.
In division 3 the Open J15 4x+ won their semi-final against Infinity BC before going down to defeat against Leeds in the final. The J14 girls 4x+ lost to Chester-le-Street in the quarter final.
Joyce Collett in the WMasG 1x lost to Talkin Tarn F in the semi-final, and Deirdre Bruce in WMasE 1x lost to Talkin Tarn F in the final of the WMasEFG 1x.
Patrick Lakey lost against Durham School in the J18 1x band 1 semi-final.
The second win of the day went to the WJ18 4x- who overcame Durham School in the semi-final and Hexham in the final.
The third victory on Saturday went to John Lyons and Rob Coe who won against Talkin Tarn in the final of the MasF 2x.
Events for eights and octuples were only offered on Saturday, with Open Eights and Women’s Eights contested in 3 bands, the Open winners being Collingwood College (band 1), Leeds RC (band 2) and St Cuthbert’s (Novice), and the Women’s Eights winners being Collingwood College (band 1), Hild & Bede (band 2) and Hild & Bede (Novice). Leeds RC won the Open J14 Octuple, and Queen Elizabeth High School won the J14 girls Octuple.
Leeds Rowing Club came in numbers on Saturday and went away pleased with their haul of 9 wins from 32 entries.
Sunday
In division 1 on Sunday Joyce Collett and Aisling Dutton were in a WMasCDE 1x handicap and both went out in semi-finals against Hexham opposition.
The J13 2x lost to Durham School in the final.
The J14 4x+ won against Tyne ARC in the final after defeating Durham School in the semi.
In their first regatta Stephen Pill and Paolo Fortis in the MasD 2x went out against Talkin Tarn E in the semi-final.
Jenny Conroy secured the first success of the day by overcoming Hexham and Chester-le-Street.
Matthew Wheeler in a Durham School composite lost narrowly in the final of the J18 pair against Durham School opposition.
Another win went to the WJ18 2x when their opposition from Lambton/Talkin Tarn scratched from the final.
In division 2 the J15 girls coxed quad won through two rounds before losing in the final against a strong Berwick/Lambton crew.
The final of the J14 boys single sculls was an all Durham affair between Daniel McConway and Adrian de Lucas who won through two rounds before meeting in the final which was won by Daniel by 2 lengths.
J14 1x
Seren Williams lost in the final of the WJ18 1x by 0.75 length against Tyne ARC.
The DARC Women’s MasE and Women’s MasC coxless quads were in a CE handicap race along with stiff opposition from Hexham WMasC 4x who emerged as winners after beating Durham E in the semi and Durham C in the final.
The DARC MasB and MasD coxed fours raced one another in the final of the MasBD 4+ with the MasB crew taking victory by 1 length.
MasBD 4+
Another victory went to the J15 4x+ who overcame St Leonard’s in the semi and Cambois/Chester-le-Street in the final.
Jenny Conroy and Deirdre Bruce lost to Hexham by 6 inches in the semi-final of the WMasC 2x.
The MasH 4x- saw two DARC quads contesting the final which resulted in a first win for Chris Merchant, Ian Tidmarsh, Neil Malkin and John Carter by 0.75 length.
Izzy Maddison lost against Chester-le-Street in the final of the WJ18 1x band 1.
There were 10 wins for Durham ARC over the two days.
Event wins for DARC on Saturday went to –
- WMasC 4x- Caroline Fardoe, Leanne Rodgerson, Steph Billington, Sara Colclough
- MasF 2x John Lyons, Rob Coe
- WJ18 4x- Charlotte Foster, Izzy Maddison, Seren Williams, Iris Mitchell
Wins on Sunday went to –
- J14 4x+ James Westwood, Daniel McConway, Hamish Mitchell, Adrian de Lucas
- WMasB 1x Jenny Conroy
- WJ18 2x Charlotte Foster, Seren Williams
- J14 1x Daniel McConway
- MasB 4+ Andy Ranson, Steven Rodgerson, Tom Billington, Gerry Gralton + cox Matthew Harrison
- J15 4x+ Will Tew, Hunor Pinter, Sam Hancill, Luigi Fortis + cox Scarlett Nicholson
- MasH 4x- John Carter, Neil Malkin, Ian Tidmarsh, Chris Merchant
It was pleasing to see so many competitors gaining their first regatta experience and some being fortunate enough to secure their first success. Congratulations to all and thanks to the volunteers who made it possible to run the event.
Results from all races are available on Oar-online for Saturday and Sunday..
Nottingham and South Shields
On a busy weekend competitors from Durham ARC were also in action on Sunday at Nottingham Masters and Club Regatta with a Women’s 4+ and WMasB 4+ racing at the National Watersports Centre, while Emily Hughes took part in the Women’s single sculls at the inaugural Northern Beach Sprints Cup at South Shields – a new competition in the British Rowing Coastal sculling calendar.
Results from Nottingham are provided by Time Team, with DARC results shown here. Racing over 1000 metres the MasB 4+ was 3rd in 4.07.7 in their event and the Women’s 4+ 2nd in 4.22.7.
Emily reached the B final of the Northern Beach Sprints Cup. Results are here.
The regatta season continues at Tees Regatta on Saturday, May 16th.
The 2026 Durham Regatta takes place on June 13th and 14th.