Stockton Regatta

Stockton Regatta (also referred to as Tees Regatta) was first held in 1865. The poster for it now hangs in the bar at the River Tees Watersports Centre, where Tees Rowing Club (founded one year earlier in 1864) is based.

In 1957 the regatta was moved to Yarm for the first time. It was an interesting exercise because the river was tidal and half way through the regatta, the course was reversed and the Start became the Finish. One of the drawbacks was that the location was not the pretty riverside walk of today; there was an abattoir on the riverbank and competitors would change in spare rooms of the abattoir!