durham
regatta
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Durham
The Role
Regatta
T
his year is set to be the 183rd Durham Regatta as the event
continues to go from strength to strength. We caught up with
their Secretary James Lamb to find out more about the event.
Involvement
He told us, “I have been involved in Durham Regatta since
2007, when the role of Honorary Secretary became vacant. I
had previous involvement in organising inter-collegiate rowing
events at Durham University, and was asked if I would be
interested in organising Durham Regatta.
Since 2007, I have held various roles on the organising
committee, due to working commitments; these include secretary,
treasurer and also sitting on the Safety Committee. Today, my
roles include Secretary, where I am responsible for the day-today behind the scenes organisational work, and also running the
event on the weekend itself. I am also currently undertaking the
Treasurer’s work.”
IMAGE courtesy of alan sharp
16 Issue 07
“The most challenging aspect of the role is finding
a sufficient number of volunteers to help run
the event over the weekend. We require several
hundred volunteers, working on a shift system,
to ensure the event runs smoothly. These include
marshalling boats, umpiring races, manning
event control, recording and distributing results,
timing races, manning entry gates, stewarding,
liaising with traders, etc. etc!
As you can see, there is an extensive list, and
all positions are undertaken on a voluntary
basis! The most rewarding aspect is seeing the
event run smoothly over the weekend itself,
when hundreds of hours of hard work pay off,
and seeing the thousands of competitors and
spectators on the river banks!”
Success
“The key to Durham Regatta’s success is the hard work that
goes on behind the scenes, to make the regatta what it is. We
have a number of committed volunteers who are interested in
taking things forward, using new technology where necessary,
and trying hard to make things run smoothly, so we attract good
competition at the event, which makes it so special for other
crews to compete against.”
This Year
“Preparations are well underway for this year’s event, which
will also include some celebration races to commemorate