The warm spring sunshine provided the perfect backdrop for the 157th Bedford Regatta, which took place on the River Great Ouse on Sunday 7 May. This joyous regatta, one of the oldest sporting events in the town, was for the first time in its history held on a Sunday to avoid a clash with the King’s Coronation. On a day when the nation came together to enjoy street parties and picnics to celebrate the Coronation, this quintessentially British occasion fitted in perfectly, bringing not only the school community but the people of the town together to enjoy a day packed to the brim with rowing.
Despite the change of day, all our eligible current crews raced and were amongst the 1,500 competitors taking part from boat clubs, universities, Oxbridge colleges and leading schools from around the country.
Bedford School Colts A Eight who won the J18 2nd Eights.
Every year, the regatta attracts high quality opposition, especially at the lower age groups, and this year was no exception. This gave our all our boys some tough competition, but, despite this, there was a double triumph for the school community this year when both our 1st Eight and our Old Bedfordian Eight (Phoenix Boat Club) won their finals with the fastest times of the day. Although, unlike last year, our current 1st Eight ensured the Old Bedfordian Eight did not get the bragging rights for being the fastest crew!
You can read more about The Phoenix’s success here.
The Phoenix Boat Club’s 1st Eight who won their finals.
Here is a quick round-up of all our results:
- The J14 group had a hard day, with all four crews losing their first-round races. It was a similar story for the J15 B and C crews. However, the C crew loss came with a silver lining when they narrowed the gap with St Paul’s C by 13 seconds (from 15 seconds to two seconds).
- The J15 A crew showed real determination. Last year, they too got knocked out in the first round, but this year they made the final in the eight, the coxed four and the coxed quad. Although they lost all three finals, they were proud of the progress they have made.
- The Colts B and the 2nd Eight also lost their first-round races.
- The Colts A lost a close race to Latymer in the first round of J16 A, but beat Abingdon and Latymer to win J18 2nd Eights.
- The 1st Eight lost to Hampton by six feet earlier in the day but, in the final race of the day for the school, they reversed the result to beat Hampton by ¾ length in the fastest race of the day.
A special mention must also go to all the staff and parents in the Friends of Bedford School Boat Club who helped with marshalling and ran the regatta barbecue all day, from 8.00am to 7.00pm. The barbecue has grown to become a big part of the success of the regatta and helps ensure everyone is kept refreshed and fed, all while raising money for the Boat Club. Thanks to Anna Pascall and Hannah Tongue, who organised the Friends of the Boat Club this year, and to Caroline Northey, who is in the process of taking over for next year.
Director of the Bedford School Association Hugh Maltby is Secretary of the Regatta and, with his father, has led on organising the event since 1973, a continuous involvement of 50 years. Once again, Hugh and his wife Rachel, with their meticulous planning, put on an event that will go down in history.
Hugh told us, “A superb day was had by all with some seriously high-quality racing on display but, of course, the icing on the cake was the double win from both the school and our Old Bedfordians. The regatta is a real social event for the school community. Not only did parents host the barbecue and drinks in the enclosure, but they also helped with marshalling. We have several Old Bedfordians who are on the Regatta Organising Committee, making the whole event a very Bedford School-led event. I must also say a huge ‘thank-you’ to our Prep Boys, who took on the vital role of steadying the racing boats on the stake boats at the start line. Although the regatta is a town event, it was helped enormously by the Bedford School community pulling together.”