Regatta draws 156 boats for annual River Don head race

Doncaster Rowing Club staged its annual Head of the River Don regatta on Sunday 1st November 2026, with 156 boats tackling the River Don course from the club’s base in Hexthorpe Park.
The head race is run as a time trial over 4,000 metres, starting opposite Doncaster Prison and taking crews past Hexthorpe Boathouse, upstream beneath the A1(M) bridge, and on to Sprotbrough Lock. Boats set off at 20-second intervals and their elapsed times were recorded across the day’s three divisions.
A total of 307 competitors took part, with entries ranging from an 11-year-old from Doncaster to an 81-year-old from Tees Rowing Club. Junior rowing was especially prominent, with 110 junior crews among the field.
Doncaster Schools Rowing Association entered 28 juniors. Among the day’s winners were Henry Packham, Ted Pye, Tom Fleetwood, Tobiasz Zywicki and cox Rohan Bhobe, who won the Open Fours.
Helen Jones, M. Rock, Zoe Whitaker and Karen Ford won the 36 to 54 years Quads for Doncaster.
The fastest men’s and women’s crews were both from York City Rowing Club, with their 18-year-old men’s crew the only one to break 14 minutes.
The event brought together boats with one, two, four or eight rowers, competing in junior, men, women or mixed classes within age groups. The handicapping system is designed so older crews can race on equal terms with younger boats.
For rowers aged 13 to 15, and for less experienced competitors, the course was shortened to 2,000 metres, finishing at the boathouse in front of parents, spouses, grandparents, coaches and fellow rowers. Among those racing were the Leppard family, father and two sons aged 13 and 15, originally from Tickhill and competing for Henley Rowing Club in separate classes.
Doncaster Rowing Club was also chosen again to host the Under 19 years Benchmarking Trials for single men and women for selection to the British Rowing National Development Squad. Twenty-five young rowers from across England took part on the River Don.
D Gowler of Infinity Rowing Club, Stockton-on-Tees was the fastest U19 man, and A. Knight, of Notts County Rowing Association, was the fastest U19 woman. The club said many participants will have learnt to row at school, through Doncaster Schools Rowing Association, or on British Rowing’s summer Learn to Row courses run by volunteers at clubs around the UK.
The 23 clubs involved travelled from places including Berwick-on-Tweed, Henley-on-Thames, Shrewsbury, Tyneside, Teesside, Lancashire, Yorkshire and the East Midlands.
The club thanked local residents, boaters and fishermen for tolerating the annual disruption, and said it was grateful to the City of Doncaster Council for its ongoing support.