Tyne Head

Prior to 1950, the only Head of the River races were those held on the Thames at Putney, (the original event founded in 1926 by Steve Fairbairn) and at Chester, Reading, Shrewsbury and Nottingham. Thus, it was a bold step when in 1950, at the suggestion of Maurice Legg (Maurice later joined Thames and rowed in the England Eight and Coxed Four in the 1954 European Games in Vancouver), a member of King's College BC, the Northumberland County ARA decided to instigate a Head Race for fours on the River Tyne. The first race was organised by the late Peter Thompson, who was the Secretary of the Northumberland County A.R.A. The course chosen was Newburn to Scotswood, the Tyne ARC boathouse then being adjacent to Scotswood Bridge. The date selected (27th May) unfortunately clashed with Edinburgh University’s annual visit to Durham; nevertheless, 15 entries were received 5 in the fine division and 10 in the clinker division. The winners were Durham ARC, stroked by Peter Mills, who covered the course in 15 min. 12 secs., almost a minute ahead of their nearest rivals, Kings College. Tyne ARC won the clinker division.

In spite of the disappointing entry. the race was judged a success. Mr. J.B. Crabbe who was President of the Association. and who had acted as Starter, presented a Cup for the Fine Division, and a second cup was purchased for the Clinker division. In 1951, the race attracted 26 entries, and was rowed in the reverse direction, the winners being Durham University, in 16 min. 8 secs. Throughout the fifties, the race remained very popular, always attracting between 20 and 30 entries. At first, pennants had been awarded to the winning crews, but in 1953 tankards were introduced. Initially, the starting interval between crews was 30 seconds, the Starter stopping each crew on the line before saying go. This practice continued well into the sixties, although with a shorter interval. Throughout the years, the race was always the opening event of the season, generally taking place in early May.

In 1959, a Scottish crew competed for the first time. This was Clydesdale ARC who created a new record by covering the Scotswood to Newburn course in 14 min 48 secs. This record still stands. A new division for eights was introduced in 1961, the first winners being Durham Univ. The date was brought forward to Mid~March, and as a result, the race became more attractive to crews from outside the region. Nottingham Univ won both the eights and fine fours, the race being rowed downstream for only the second time. In 1963, DUBC won again, Berwick ARC taking the fours division, while in 1964 Newcastle recorded their first victory. In that year, the Guinness Sprints were introduced, being held on the Sunday morning following the Head. The first winners were Leeds UBC, winners of the Fours Division the previous day, who also won the Grand and City Plate at Durham later in the season; The Tyne Head was now firmly established and enjoyed good support throughout the sixties. DUBC won the Head three times in succession from 1965, setting up the downstream record of 12 min 26 secs in 1967. In that year, Clydesdale also recorded the fastest downstream time for a four 13 min 49 secs, and it is remarkable that both records should be held by the same club, and be of such long—standing.

In 1968, a new longer course from Scotswood to Ryton was introduced. Durham Univ. lst crew did not enter, and the race was won for the first time by Tyne ARC. Tyne won again in 1970, but apart from these two years, DUBC enjoyed an unbroken reign as ‘Head Crew‘ from 1965 to 1980. In l972, the long Ryton course was abandoned ~ it had never been very popular and the race reverted to its original distance. A record entry of 49 was received in 1974. consisting of 6 eights and 43 fours, but in 1976 there were only 29 crews. In an effort to increase appeal, sculls and women's fours were introduced in 1978, but this resulted in only a marginal improvement. The first winners of these divisions were St. Hild & St. Bede Coll, and N.N. Totman (Tyne ARC).

Heavy overnight snow on the day of the 1979 race forced it‘s postponement; The only crew to make it to Newburn was Edinburgh Univ. who could not be contacted by the Secretary. as they had already left on their journey. The race was re~arranged some 6 weeks later, on the 28th April, when 25 crews took part and thus prevented a major financial loss. Perhaps because of the reduced land water coming down the river, D.U.B.C. were able on that day to set the present eights record of 14 min 32.2 secs for the Scotswood to Newburn course. In 1980, pennants were re-introduced as prizes, In 1981, the DUBC first eight was unable to compete, and City of Newcastle RC, a new club founded only the previous year took advantage of their absence to record their first of three successive wins, beating DUBC II by eight seconds. The traditional Fine and Clinker (Restricted) divisions were abandoned this year, and all prizes were offered on a status basis.

The sprint eights which had been losing support, were not held on the traditional Sunday morning after the Head, and were instead combined with the Tyne Sprint Regatta later in the season. Another new course was tried in 1983. The attractions of the River above Ryton were well known to Tyne and NUBC oarsmen, and it was decided, after prolonged debate at the County AGM, to move the start up to Wylam and now a 3 mile downstream course to Stella could be utilised. This course proved to be very popular with both competitors and Officials, it's only drawback being the difficulty experienced by some Coaches of getting from the Start to the finish by road quickly enough to check their crews times. Fifty—five entries were received in 1984, when the winners were once again DUBC, and in 1985 the total was 66, of which 60 actually took part, Stirling ABSC. who had been placed lst and 2nd in the fours division in 1984, won the eights by 8 seconds from DUBC in this year.

In the early days, the race was timed by enthusiastic amateurs; in fact in 1958, the Association actually bought two stopwatches. However, no account of the Tyne Head would be complete without a tribute to Dr. Lewis Jamieson and Mr. Ken Hall, those two intrepid students of horology who have timed this race, and many others in the region, with unfailing accuracy and scrupulous disinterestedness, for over twenty years. Their skill and dedication and the marvellous modern equipment they use, have made the organisers' jobs immeasurably easier; Thanks are also due to Tyne ARC, who have hosted the event since it's inception, and to Newcastle Univ. BC who have likewise opened their doors (and landings) to many visiting crews. As the years have gone by, the organisation has improved in keeping with the times; today's oarsmen demand a well—run event, with accurate timekeeping and early publication of the results. In its time, the Northumberland County ARA with the support of it's member clubs did all it could to ensure the continued growth and popularity of the Tyne Head, the sixth oldest Head Race in the Country. Unfortunately, the County ARA no longer exists and it is Tyne Rowing Club who have taken up the mantle of organising the event in the current day and offer the primary head event in the north.

Results

Year	Course	Eights	Fine Fours	Restricted Fours	Entries
1950	N to S
Durham ARC	Tyne ARC	15
1951	S to N
Durham Univ	Kings College	26
1952	S to N
Durham ARC	Talkin Tarn	21