Durham Small Boats Head
Bill Parker boat naming article in The Northern Echo
Peter Barron of Barron Media was at the Bill Parker boat naming ceremony on January 4th and has published an excellent article in The Northern Echo here. The ceremony was well attended and was a fitting tribute to Bill, his commitment and success in the sport. The article includes several photos of Bill.
Durham Small Boats Head February 1st 2025
The poster for Durham Small Boats Head on Saturday, February 1st, 2025 is now available here. Entries will open on Friday, January 10th and close at 7pm on Friday, January 24th but may be suspended earlier if the safety limit of 400 is reached.
New coxless quad/four named Bill Parker
Members and friends gathered on Saturday, January 4th at the invitation of Club Captain Anna as the club’s new Stampfli coxless quad/four was named in honour of former coach and oarsman Bill Parker who died in 2021. Many who had rowed with Bill or been coached by him over many years came together to celebrate[…]
2024 in review
Like its predecessor 2024 was a year in which competitions were interrupted significantly by the weather, although the North got off lightly compared with some other regions. It has been an eventful year. The following is a monthly synopsis. January The year started in exciting fashion with the launch of George Clooney’s film version of[…]
Opening hours over the festive period
The coffee shop & bar will be closed on Tuesday, December 24th and will re-open on Friday, January 3rd 2025. Thank you to our members and customers. The staff would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2025!
Pilates class donations boost club funds
Lunchtime Yoga and Pilates classes, now in their 8th year, continue in popularity, bringing in additional social members, and have boosted coffers through the donation of excess class funds to the club. Donations during 2024 have amounted to £858. The hour long classes which take place each Monday and Thursday are organised by Dave Green[…]
Members and friends invited to boat naming on January 4th
Members and friends are invited to a boat naming ceremony on January 4th at which the Club’s new Stampfli coxless quad will be named after former inspirational coach and oarsman Bill Parker who died in June 2021. All are welcome to attend the club at 1pm on Saturday, January 4th as members of Bill’s family[…]
British Rowing Indoor Championships double success
Octogenarian oarsman Roger Stainforth celebrated double success at the 2024 British Rowing Indoor Championships (BRIC) on December 7th with victory in the 80-84 age group Open 2000 metres and 500 metres events. The Championships staged for the second year at Birmingham NEC as part of Fitfest 2024, the UK’s leading functional fitness competition, attracted over[…]
Small Grant brings SkiErg World Record
Roger Stainforth’s final preparations for the British Rowing Indoor Championships (BRIC) this weekend included an attempt last Friday on the 80-84 age group World Record for 2000 metres on the Concept2 SkiErg. Durham ARC acquired a new SkiErg machine and two BikeErgs in October thanks to a successful funding application through the Culture & Sport[…]
Rutherford Head takes plaudits
Rutherford Head went ahead in surprisingly mild and bright conditions on November 30th with a full entry of 287 taking on the 4.5km time trial over the Championship course on the River Tyne. Starting the first division at low tide allowed both divisions to be rowed with the flood tide and resulted in some fast[…]
York Small Boats Head
York Small Boats Head took place on Sunday, November 17th. For once the head which fills the gap between the end of the Long Distance Sculling Series and Rutherford Head met with a spell of settled weather and was able to go ahead on the scheduled date. In recent years the River Ouse has been[…]
Records for Roger at 80
While the attention of the Rowing community in the North of England was focused on Durham Long Distance Sculls (LDS) and Autumn Small Boats Head (ASBH) last Saturday, November 2nd, Roger Stainforth was otherwise occupied representing Durham ARC at the North East Indoor Rowing Championships (NEIRC), organised by Durham University Boat Club (DUBC) and held[…]
Durham LDS and Autumn Small Boats Head enjoy fine conditions
Durham ARC hosted the final round of the 2024 Northern Rowing Long Distance Sculling Series (LDS) on the morning of Saturday, November 2nd, followed by Durham Autumn Small Boats Head (ASBH) in the afternoon. The drizzle that greeted competitors arriving for the LDS race soon dispersed to allow both competitions to enjoy very pleasant conditions.[…]
Durham LDS and Autumn SBH results
Results are available for the 2024 Durham Long Distance Sculls and Durham Autumn Small Boats Head that took place on November 2nd. For additional reports see the Long Distance Sculling Series and Durham Autumn Small Boats Head pages and Oar-online.
Sculling Series continues at Tyne, Wansbeck and South Hylton
The 2024 Long Distance Sculling Series has visited three more northern rivers in as many weeks, at Tyne LDS and Tyne United (TURC) Small Boats Head (SBH) on October 12th, Wansbeck LDS and SBH on October 19th and South Hylton LDS on October 26th. Four of the six rounds in the series are complemented by[…]
October scratch regatta thwarted
Following the success of the scratch regatta in August the daytime members planned to stage an internal scratch eights event with a social slant on Thursday, October 17th but the onset of autumnal weather and a fast flowing river meant the abandonment of the rowing part of the plan. Around 25 rowers and friends did[…]
Durham Sunday League 2024
On October 6th Durham ARC played host to the final round of the 2024 Northern Rowing Sunday League. In the best attended round of the season 16 crews representing 10 clubs from the northern region enjoyed a series of races over a 350 metre course in glorious autumnal conditions. The league is organized by the[…]
Autumn Sculling Series goes to Berwick and Tees
The 2024 Long Distance Sculling Series started on September 28th at Berwick where Durham ARC was represented by Masters single scullers Paolo Fortis and Gill Gilbert among a field of 46 in the time trial which took place in near ideal conditions over 4700 metres on the River Tweed. Berwick ARC was the most successful[…]
Fireworks by the River – November 3rd 2024
One of the biggest nights in our events calendar sees the return of the annual fireworks display on Sunday, November 3rd, Durham’s ONLY City Centre display on the banks of the river! Tickets are now on sale. Gates: 5pm Display: 7pm We advise early arrival Ticket information With the huge growth of the event over[…]
Durham to stage October Sunday League finale
Durham ARC will host the climax of the 2024 Sunday League season on October 6th by staging the sixth and final event of the popular monthly series aimed primarily at novice and recreational rowers. This years league, organised by the Northern Rowing Council, would have commenced at Berwick in April had it not been cancelled[…]
Durham Long Distance Sculling and Autumn Small Boats Head – November 2nd 2024
Durham ARC will host the final round of the 2024 Northern Rowing Long Distance Sculling (LDS) Series and its own Autumn Small Boats Head (ASBH) on Saturday, November 2nd. The poster for both of the above is here. Further information will be added to the ASBH and LDS Series pages when available. The LDS race[…]
Chairman’s Scratch Regatta 2024
The Chairman’s Scratch Regatta for eights and quads on Sunday, September 22nd took advantage of the blank weekend left by the disaffiliation of the Autumn Sprint from the racing calendar to provide a fabulous morning and afternoon of of fun racing for members from all sections of the Club. Around 70 members drawn from junior,[…]
World Rowing Masters Regatta 2024
Masters enjoyed an excellent trip to Brandenburg in Germany for the 2024 World Rowing Masters Regatta which took place over 5 days between September 11th and 15th. Celebrating the 50th anniversary this year’s Regatta attracted 4843 entries from 721 clubs around the world to the Beetzsee to contest 148 events and around 680 races over[…]
Senior squad recruitment 2024/25
Durham ARC’s growing Senior Men’s and Women’s squads are looking for experienced new faces to join them for the 2024/25 season. Perhaps you’re a student who can’t quite commit to university training or you’re a returning rower from a few years out of the sport? Both sculling and sweep opportunities are available in a range[…]
Durham Regatta on Matt Baker TV show
Durham Regatta was the title feature of Episode 2 in Series 3 of the TV travel series Matt Baker:Travels with Mum & Dad shown on More 4 on September 9th. In the series Matt Baker and his parents Janice and Mike travel around the North East in a caravan, seeing the unique sights of the[…]
Tour of the Upper Thames
Members of Durham ARC joined over 80 participants for the 30th anniversary British Rowing Tour between August 29th and September 1st, rowing along the upper reaches of the River Thames from Bablock Hythe to Mapledurham in a repeat of the 2018 tour, covering 71 kilometres in 3 days and passing through 14 locks along the[…]
Squads look forward to head racing
The successes of Team GB at the Paris Olympics and the World Rowing Championships in Canada has left crews eager to build in preparation for winter time trials ahead. With the Paralympics about to start September marks the transition from the side by side regattas of summer towards the longer distance head racing season ahead.[…]
Members enjoy summer scratch regatta
On the morning of Thursday, August 15th around 60 members and invited guests from Tees and Hexham Rowing Clubs took part in a scratch regatta for eights and coxed quads organised by DARC’s daytime rowers which involved crews being drawn at random from the three clubs. After a series of races over a 400 metre[…]
Rowing tour of Portugal
Rowers from Durham ARC and colleagues from Hexham Rowing Club took part in British Rowing’s 2024 European Tour of the River Douro in Portugal, covering a distance of around 115km over 4 days, joining the final group to undertake the same route this year, between July 12th and 15th. The popularity of the tour which[…]
British Rowing Junior and Senior Championships
The Junior squad was well represented at the inaugural British Rowing Junior and Senior Championships held between Friday, July 19th and Monday, July 22nd and produced some impressive results over the four days of racing at Holme Pierrepont. This year is the first in which Junior and Senior Championships have been combined and the first[…]