Every year the club holds a unique Regatta at the water meadows in Streatley.
This year the Regatta is on the 20th July. It is a glorious mixture of events: a traditional Regatta, with serious, not so serious and some downright light-hearted, rowing; a country day out by the river, with craft stalls, country food, a really big beer tent, Pimms galore, live music from local musicians and gazebos by the river; and a funfair and entertainment for the kids, both big and small!
Many club members participate in the Regatta as do many more people who just want the challenge, entry lists of 50 crews are usual! Their families can cheer from the meadows and congratulate/commiserate/revive exhausted sportsmen afterwards.
As you can imagine, this event, which attracts upwards of 3,000 happy people each year, takes some organising and willing hands to put on and run. . There are two categories of volunteer we are looking for, Firstly, those who can help the regatta chairman, Brian Barnes, with a couple of hours each week between now and July 20th as we plan, organise, book facilities, attract advertisers for the programme, deal with the local authorities and generally prepare. Secondly, closer to the date, we will be looking for hands on volunteers to come down to the site for a couple of days beforehand and a single day afterwards, to help set up and dismantle our Regatta!
If you are interested in helping, we are holding a kick off meeting at the Elephant in Pangbourne at 7:30 next Thursday the 14th March. Here we will outline the tasks to be completed, direct our available talent in the appropriate direction and set out a draft timetable to the event. If you want to help but can’t come to the Elephant, please e-mail us (regattachairman@goringgapbc.org.uk) and let me know that you want to volunteer as soon as possible. Please also email us if you are coming, so we know how many to expect.