The National Water Sports Centre is the host of the National Schools Regatta in May every year. It is also used for GB trials,  and the InterRegional Regatta in early May.

Websites:  National Water Sports Centre
                  National Schools Regatta
                  Inter-Regional Regatta

Map:  Larger Version

Accomodation:

Nottingham Tourist Information Centre – 0115 915 5330

West Bridgeford Tourist Information Centre – 0115 977 3558

Both the above provide excellent booklets on both accommodation and attractions in Nottingham.

Cotgrave - Jerico Farm- 01949 81733   (£21-£40)

                 Marl Pitt Cottage- 0115 989 4805  (£20)

Holme Pierrepont - Holm Grange Cottage- 0115 981 0413  (£17-£38)

Nether Broughton, Melton Mowbray - Cherry Trees Farmhouse- 01664 822 491

Langar - Badger Cottage- 01949 860333  (£20)

Shelford - Fox Cottage- 0115 933 5741  (£20-£45)

Tollerton - Cherry Trees- 0115 937 5076  (£16)

All prices quoted are approximate B/B per person.

Information:

This is a 2000 metre 6 lane International rowingcourse and is the present national venue for major rowing events.

The National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierrepoint is a man made reservoir, set in the Country Park. It is well adapted to good viewing of the events, as the surrounding area slopes down towards the water's edge. An Entrance Fee is charged per person for admission to the Park, with a further fee for you to park your car around the course.

At the National Schools’ Regatta KCSBCSA pitch two marquees for their supporters and the boys to congregate at on the opposite side of the course from the Centre (see map). The parking in the area where we pitch the KCS marquee is on grass and on a fairly steep slope, so unless you have a four-wheel drive you are advised to park with care to avoid getting stuck on wet days! In our marquee all attending parents provide a superb buffet lunch and tea on Saturday and full cooked breakfast on Sunday jointly. This regatta is a wonderful two-day social event, so bring your own tables, chairs, rugs, eating and drinking ‘equipment’, wine and soft drinks and join in the fun. Parking close to the marquee saves having to walk far with your food, chairs etc and gives your son a quiet and warm retreat to rest in between races. However, you will have to insist to the parking marshal that you need to park close to the marquee as you are carrying food for the competitors. You will otherwise be directed to the boat enclosure end of the course, and will have to walk further than if you had saved the parking fee by parking outside!

The countryside around this venue is very open, which means it can be extremely windy and therefore freezing even on the sunniest of days, so several layers of clothing and full waterproofs are essential. Good binoculars are also useful to identify the racing crews.

The events are run from the Watersports Centre itself in which there are to be found Cafeteria, Bar and Loos. Porta-Loos can also be found at various strategically placed locations (see map). However there are never enough so plan the time of your visit if you want to avoid a queue!

Programmes can be purchased from marshals at the entrance, in front of the Centre or at the marshal’s hut at the finish end of the lake. These are not re-printed overnight; therefore you need to keep your Saturday one for both days and update it from the results boards situated in the boating enclosure and near the finish in front of the open-air grandstand. Several stalls selling rowing gear are also here. Be prepared to purchase a Schools’ Regatta T-shirt (approx. £20) for your son as these have every entrant’s name printed on them. As the larger sizes always sell out, I would suggest you do your shopping on Saturday morning. The annual Rowing Almanac can also be purchased from here and is a vital record of last year’s results, and everything to do with rowing.

For those who like to follow the race but are not up to sprinting the 2000 metres in approx. 7 minutes, there is a spectator’s bus. This can be caught on the Grandstand side of the course either at the finish, if you want to do the round trip, or at the start for those who have walked down the course on the opposite side. NB. You are not allowed to walk down the course on the same side as the bus, as the rowing marshals drive along here too. The bus is a superb way to see the rowing, but one thing to be pointed out is that the bus stops just short of the finish, so if it’s a close race, be prepared for a 100-metre sprint dodging between other spectators! Unfortunately due to the large numbers of spectators, rowing coaches are the only ones allowed bicycles.