Rowing: Celebration time for historic regatta

May 16 2008 by Alec Doyle, Chester Chronicle

CHESTER Regatta celebrates its 275th anniversary tomorrow with a bumper entry list and a number of planned commemorations.

There will be a 1733 fun race, the second this year, with rowers dressed in the costume of the time to mark the first ever regatta on the Dee.

The regatta has received more entries than last year, something regatta secretary Jan Chillery says may be because of the occasion.

“We have a lot of very special prizes available and it is a unique occasion,” she said. “I think that has been a big draw.

“We have a couple of clubs from Cambridge coming and York Rowing Club will be making an appearance.”

There will be specially engraved pewter quart pots – larger than the usual pint pots – as prizes in the elite and S2 sculls, open and women’s events.

Other winners will get engraved pewter pint pots and the junior winners will get engraved glass tumblers, all unique to the 275th regatta.

Despite its two-and-three-quarter century heritage, the regatta is still pushing the boundaries. This year it has introduced for the first time a novice veteran category for some races, something very few regattas currently offer.

Chillery added: “This is a category for older people who have come to the sport late but are still technically beginners.

“It means that they can compete against rowers of similar physical and technical abilities.”

For more on the regatta’s 275th anniversary celebrations, see Nostalgia on pages 38-39.