Record interest in City regatta

The new two-day format of Oxford City Royal Regatta, with 1000m races on Saturday and 500m sprints on Sunday, attracted a record number of competitors, writes Mike Roswell.
   Saturday's programme was the largest ever at the regatta, founded in 1841.
   The new sprint event on Sunday, taking over the slot occupied by the Abingdon Sprint Regatta, received an entry twice as large as Abingdon in 2002.
   An extra pull was the prize of £750 for the most successful overall club. 
   A total of 35 events were won by local crews, City of Oxford and Wallingford bagging 10 apiece.
   But neither picked up the £750 Victor Ludorum prize, which went to Henley RC with 46 points, chased home by Wallingford with 43.
   Success in the eights tends to be crucial, and Wallingford managed three - the women's novice on Saturday, and the men's novice and the women's senior 4 on Sunday.
   Merton College finished third in the Victor Ludorum table with 42 points.
   Most of City of Oxford's wins came in smaller boats, notably single and double sculls.
   City's only eights win came on the Saturday in the prestigious women's senior 1 class. They finished fifth in the Ludorum table with 38 points.