What a boatiful day for racing

THE 12th Henley Regatta for the Disabled featured demonstrations from Paralympians and new accessible activities for visitors.

The event, which was held at Phyllis Court Club on Saturday, was attended by about 600 people.

Spectators watched five teams compete against one another in bell boats.

The boats, two Canadian canoes linked together, had to race 300m from the court pavilion to the end of the pontoon in the private members’ club’s paddock.

Crews trained in advance for the races, which were friendly but competitive, and the winners cheered when they won.

For the first time, competitors were divided into able-bodied and disabled teams in response to feedback from previous years.

The Chiltern Centre, a Henley charity which supports young adults with learning disabilities, won the Carolyn Molyneux Cup. In second place were Meteor Mencap. 

The “most enthusiastic” team crew were the Bowley Boaters. Phyllis Court Club won the “wooden spoon”.  The other crew was Style Acre.

Winning crewman John Carr, of West Street, Henley, said: “I’ve been in and out helping at the Chiltern Centre for a long time.

“I come to this event every year. I like that disabled people can get involved. It’s good for people to join in.”

About 40 people from the charity attended, including family and friends.

Russell Morey, a team leader at the centre, said: “I love this event. It’s public awareness, which is always a great thing for people with disabilities.

“A lot of the young adults in our group are very fortunate in that they get to go out and do a lot of things in the community but that’s not always the case for people with disabilities.”

The Rivertime Boat Trust again offered boat rides in accessible cruisers, which can take five wheelchairs. Trips of about
20 minutes ran every half-hour.

There was a traditional Punch and Judy show, a climbing wall that was wheelchair accessible, archery with polystyrene arrows, music from No Strings Attached and circus games.

Millers Ark Animals brought pigs, sheep, Mediterranean mini donkeys and goats for people to pet and learn about.

Chairwoman Lucy Bowley, who co-founded the event, said: ““We have entertainers who are fluent in sign language.

“We also have Rural Pie, who have the most amazing pie shop in Twyford, doing the catering. They are a really inclusive company. My daughter has learning disabilities and they employ her.”

Mrs Bowley decided to help set up the event in 2011 after realising how inaccessible Henley Royal Regatta was to those with disabilities.

She said: “I went to the royal regatta with a colleague and we both realised that our children would never access an event like that and that it was quite elitist. We wanted to put on something much more family friendly but in a surrounding that was lovely.

“Phyllis Court Club has been super-generous and has always let us use their paddock.

“There are some river activities but quite a lot of inclusive activities on the land because not everyone wants to be on the river. Everything except food and drink is free after you’ve paid the £5 entry.

“At our peak we have had 700 attend but last year was our first year to come back after covid and it takes a little while for people to get comfortable again, especially when so many of our visitors are likely to be vulnerable.”

Mary Webb, who volunteers at the Rivertime Boat Trust, said: “We have two open top launches on loan from Hobbs which we load up and take on trips.

“We can take four wheelchairs at a time but people need carers.

“People seem to find a trip on the river relaxing and it’s not something they get to do very often. Some disabled people find the idea of getting on a boat on the water quite daunting but once they’ve done it, they feel a huge sense of achievement.

“They usually come off and book one for later and we don’t limit people, they can have as many trips as they like during the day.”

“Something like this really highlights that someone with a disability is perfectly capable of rowing on the river and having a good time. They can also go to the movies or stay up late.

“We tend to shelter and bubble too much and I think getting them out and doing things really enriches their lives, being able to be part of the community and do things everyone does.”

Shirley Robinson ran the beading stall. She said: “I started doing it some years ago with Carolyn Molyneux who unfortunately died last year. She was involved in the regatta quite a lot and always did beading and asked me to help out and now I’ve taken it over.

“It can be quite popular. It’s quite therapeutic because you can have parents and guardians being with the children or even making one for themselves.

“It helps with manual dexterity, putting the beads on, and you end up with something pretty to wear.”

Staff from Henley leisure centre held an ergo competition. Aaron Stevens, the assistant manager, said: “We received a donation from this event so we can promote disabled health and fitness at the centre to make it more inclusive for everyone.

“The ideas we have so far are putting on disabled-only swims and classes, activities in our main hall and creating vouchers we can hand out to people who have family or friends who are disabled and can use our centres free.”

At lunchtime, visitors were treated to a demonstration by a Paralympian and other rowers in adaptive rowing boats.

Kenyan Asiya Sururu, who competed in the Tokyo Olympics, Jordan Clark, Helen Cooper and Nick Steel raced against each other and showed how their boats adapt to cater to their individual disabilities.

Bruce Lyn, the adaptive rowing coach at Marlow Rowing Club, said: “The regatta has been using bell boats for a long time but I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have some conventional rowing like they have at the royal regatta?’

“Nick, the adaptive coach for Maidenhead, and I started helping them. We are competing in supported doubles. It’s a very popular format in adaptive racing because it enables the athlete to compete in a team.

“It started with visually impaired rowing and then got popular with learning disabled individuals because they row really well but they’re not the greatest at making decisions and steering so you need someone in the boat who can help. We have a number of one-armed rowers.”

Speaking after the regatta, Ms Bowley said: “The day was spectacular. Every year, we work really hard to move the event forward and implement changes following feedback. 

“To have some disabled elite rowing was really appreciated. Somebody said on our Facebook page: ‘Your event is the best event of the year because it’s so rare to feel part of an SEN community.’

“That makes me feel amazing because that’s what the whole event is about. This person is also quite involved in the disabled community so for them to feel that we are the best event is brilliant.”