There were thrills and spills on the banks of the River Great Ouse last weekend as the Bedford Regatta made a glorious return after a three-year break following the pandemic. This much-loved event in both the school’s and town’s rowing calendar provides a wonderful day of racing as well as a joyous social occasion.
This year, thousands descended on the picturesque river banks to watch crews from across the country compete. And what an action-packed day they had, with a mix of tense and exciting races taking place every two minutes, starting at 8.30am right through to 7.30pm.
The Bedford School Community was out in full force and, as always, the Friends of Bedford School Boat Club did a marvellous job filling the warm spring air with delicious wafts of barbequed burgers and hotdogs and serving ice cold drinks for guests in the enclosure to enjoy. It was wonderful see so many old faces from our community come together for the 156th Bedford Regatta.
Also soaking up the ambiance, many for the first time, were a team of Prep School boys who took on a vital role on the Stake Boats. Their job was to lie on a floating pontoon and hold the racing boats steady so that they could get straight and ready for the umpire to start the race. This was no mean feat as the wind picked up during the morning! The boys did a fabulous job, and were commended for their efficiency. They all appeared to enjoy the task, seeing lots of boats off on their way. At the same time, they got their first taste of the regatta, which puts them in a great position for when they start racing themselves next year.
Y8 Prep Boys in the Stake Boats
The Bedford School Boat Club had 14 crews racing and faced stiff competition from the major rowing schools, who were all in attendance. The boys worked hard with some hard-earned, but hugely satisfying, wins including the J18 coxed four who beat Eton College in the final!
- The 1st eight produced its best performance of the year, losing to a fast Hampton crew by a canvas.
- Half the 1st eight crew: James Deardon, Sebastian Iles, Harry Tongue, Nat Lord and Jacob Bailey then switched to a coxed four and won the J18 fours convincingly, beating Norwich and then Eton College in the final.
- Colts A crew beat Hampton and Abingdon but lost to Latymer in the final of J16 eights.
- Colts B were unlucky to draw South African schools rowing association in both the eight and four.
- The J15 A crew lost a close race with Norwich by 1/3 length. The J15 B crew beat Latymer before losing to Abingdon in the semi-final.
- The J14s, unfortunately, did not win any races. The J14 A crew had a good race against Shiplake, losing by 1/2 length.
J18 Coxed Four who beat Eton College in the final.
A full set of results can be found here.
A great moment for the school community was watching the Phoenix Boat Club quite literally rise from the ashes when they were heralded the fastest crew of the regatta. The Phoenix are a group of Old Bedfordians from 2017, 2018 and 2019 who recently re-established themselves and had a great run beating Oriel College, Oxford – a crew which contained a member of the winning Oxford boat race crew and an Olympian from Tokyo.
The Phoenix Boat Club
Hugh Maltby, Director of the Bedford School Association and Honorary Regatta Secretary, commented, “The Phoenix were up against the much-fancied Oriel College, Oxford, winners of the 2022 Torpids included Olympian and recent Boat Race winner Liam Corrigan. Off the start, Phoenix took an immediate lead, which they continued to build upon down the course despite a spirited charge by Oriel towards the finish line. The verdict, a one length victory to Phoenix in three minutes 23 seconds, the fastest time of the day.”
Hugh delighted in presenting the crew with the Bedford Grand Challenge Cup, and also ensured their tankards were filled with Bedford’s finest beer! The crew celebrated late into the night while contemplating their next event.
Photo credit (first 15 photos): Lower Sixth Former, Frank Wang
