The Sunbury Amateur Regatta is a regatta on the River Thames at Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England 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 Edith Topsfield Junior Regatta takes place the following day.
This regatta's many land activities takes place at Rivermead Island. Racing takes place on the Thames alongside from morning through to mid-and afternoon on the 'Sunbury and Hampton Reach' also known as 'Molesey Reach'.
Races include British Rowing-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:
| Boat class | Number of competitors | Wind and stream conditions | Whether requires a safety-regulated club/British Rowing membership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punting | 1 | Reasonably good | yes |
| Dongola racing | Six people in a kneeling posture (including at least two ladies) | Reasonably good [1] | no - helmsman and ability to swim required |
| Canoeing | 1 & 2 | To severe | no - case-by-case evidenced achievement-based |
| Sculling | 1 & 2 | To severe (category dependent) | yes |
The sculling course culminates downstream at Sunbury Court Island.
A lively atmosphere on the island includes stalls, children's entertainment, live music, tug of war competition and refreshments.
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.
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. For some years at the end of the 19th century the regatta hosted the Thames Punting Club championships at that sport. [2]
The event is followed on the Sunday by the Edith Topsfield Junior Regatta, founded in 1932 for children aged 7 to 16. [3]
Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars—one in each hand, while in sweep rowing each rower holds one oar with both hands. There are several boat classes in which athletes may compete, ranging from single sculls, occupied by one person, to shells with eight rowers and a coxswain, called eights. There are a wide variety of course types and formats of racing, but most elite and championship level racing is conducted on calm water courses 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long with several lanes marked using buoys.
Henley Women's Regatta, often abbreviated to "HWR" or "Women's Henley", is a rowing regatta held at Henley-on-Thames, England. Chris Aistrop and Rosemary Mayglothling were jointly responsible for setting up the Regatta in June 1988 and Aistrop was the first chairman.
Kingston Rowing Club (KRC) is a rowing club in England founded in 1858 and a member club of British Rowing.
Weybridge Rowing Club, founded in 1881, is a rowing club by the Thames in England, on the Surrey bank. The club organises head races, notably the Weybridge Silver Sculls which has had Olympian winners and co-organises a May/June regatta. It consists of a wide range of members: juniors, novices, seniors, masters (veterans) – these include many past and present champions.
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 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) downstream of the Weir Hotel.
Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing a Thames skiff. The skiff is a traditional hand built clinker-built wooden craft of a design which has been seen on the River Thames and other waterways in England and other countries since the 19th century. Sculling is the act of propelling the boat with a pair of oars, as opposed to rowing which requires both hands on a single oar.
The Thames is one of the main rowing rivers in Europe. Several annual competitions are held along its course, including the Henley Royal Regatta, the The Boat Race and other long-distance events, called Head of the River races (Heads).
The Skiff Club is the oldest skiff and punting club in existence, having been founded in 1895. It is based on the River Thames in London, on the Middlesex bank between Teddington Lock and Kingston upon Thames.
Thames Valley Skiff Club is an English skiff and punting club, which was founded in 1923. It is based on the River Thames in England, on the Surrey bank between Sunbury Lock and Walton on Thames.
Egham Regatta is a rowing regatta on the River Thames in England which takes place at the end of June on the reach above Bell Weir Lock near Egham, Surrey. The regatta is run from Wraysbury Skiff and Punting Club and the Runnymede Pleasure Grounds on the outskirts of Egham.
The Skiff Racing Association (SRA) is the governing body in the United Kingdom for the sport of skiff racing. The SRA is affiliated to British Rowing. The objectives of the SRA are
Wraysbury Skiff and Punting Club (WSPC) is an English skiff and punting club founded in 1931 based on the River Thames at the start of the Surrey section of the right bank – between the rest of Runnymede and Bell Weir Lock.
The Skiff Championships Regatta is the premier skiff racing regatta on the River Thames in England. It is held annually at Henley on the Sunday of August Bank Holiday weekend.
Dittons Skiff and Punting Club (DSPC or Dittons) is an English skiff and punting club, which was founded in 1923. It is based on the River Thames with a club and boat house at Thames Ditton on the reach above Teddington Lock. As well as taking part in regular skiff and punt racing competitions, crews from the club have established several rowing world records.
Hampton Court and Dittons Regatta is a regatta on the River Thames in England which takes place at Thames Ditton, Surrey beside Hampton Court Palace.
Molesey Regatta is a rowing regatta that is held on the River Thames in England. It takes place at Molesey in the County of Surrey on the reach above Molesey Lock, with the finish line between Hurst Park which hosts all of its stalls and marquees and the wharf for a passenger ferry, which is cancelled during its divisions.
Reading Amateur Regatta is a rowing regatta, on the River Thames in England which takes place at Reading, Berkshire on the reach above Caversham Lock.
City of Cambridge Rowing Club (CCRC) is the oldest 'town' rowing and sculling club in Cambridge, UK, and with about 300 members, it has one of the largest active rowing memberships in the region. The club's colours are dark blue, with a band of claret sandwiched between two bands of 'old gold'.
Abingdon Rowing Club is a rowing club on the River Thames based on Wilsham Road in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.