The 73rd Men's Head of the River Race was held on the London Tideway in glorious spring conditions, over the Boat Race course but in the opposite direction.

The weekend is a busy one for oarsmen as the Head of the River Race is followed by the 23rd Vesta International Veterans Head of the River Race for Eights on the Sunday competed for in a range of categories for men and women over the same course as on Saturday.

After a tense winter period of testing and preparation, two Senior Tees eights were selected and both were awarded a starting position in the entry list, an indication of the growing strength of the Tees club on the national scene.

In a twist of fate, the second eight, which was drawn from combined talents of the Tees veteran squad and four novice rowers event, started at position 288.

This crew produced a spirited performance and completed the course in 21 minutes 37.43 seconds. The crew was Stephen McLaren, Brian Ventress, Graham Tooth, Richard Harrison, Richard Harandon, Dick Willkinson, Bob Bainbridge, Lupa Everell (str) and Melanie Tweddle (cox).

Tees 1st eight started at position 388 leaving them to contend with the slowest tide conditions and passing competitors en route on the winding Thames.

Near collisions and unpredictable wash from competing eights combined to make their race a challenging one. Nevertheless, they were one of the highest movers of the day, finishing in a time of 20 mins 38.68 secs, improving on their starting position by a remarkable 144 places to finish 242nd overall and 52nd out of the 90 eights competing in their category. This result ensures that the Tees club is guaranteed at least one entry starting in the top 250 in the 2006 race.

The crew was: Chris Blackwood, Ian Ringer, Kevin Robinson, Steven Leigh, Rob Cree, Paul Lofts, Graham Hollins, Andy Pickering (str) and Angela Warburton (cox). Chris Blackwood, a novice, is a former Acklam Grange School student.

The senior members of the Tees squad now enter the next phase of their programme which takes in local and national regattas and will culminate with Henley Royal Regatta and the National Championships in July. The Junior members of the squad are now focussing on preparation for the National Junior Inter - Regional Championships when they will compete as a coxless four.

160 crews lined up at 11 am on Sunday following the main Saturday event for the International Veterans Head of the River.

Tees Women's Veteran C crew (over 43) were third in their category in a time of 24 minutes 8.66 seconds, only three seconds behind the impressive Tideway Scullers combination. The crew was Deborah Ashurst, Pauline Park, Christine Meikle, Liz Leigh, Wendy Capes, Janet Wilkinson, Ester Takacs, Angela Warburton (str) and Ruth Wilkinson (cox).

The Tees Veteran D (over 50) men's crew was Richard Harandon, Lupa Everall, Chris Kenyon, Dick Wilkinson, John Green, Dilwyn Jones, Bob Bainbridge, Tony Stocking (str) and Sarah Stocking (cox). At the last minute Chris Kenyon of Bideford Reds jumped into the three seat of this crew in place of Tor Taverner who was incapacitated.

Starting in position 84, Tees improved this when finishing in 21minutes, 27.88 seconds, forty seconds behind the first placed Tideway Scullers crew, sixth in their category out of 27 crews, and 46th overall from a total entry of 420 crews.

Tees overtook four crews down the course, leaving several others from the continent in their wake. Sarah Stocking contributed to the excellent Tees result when, as a relatively inexperienced cox, she steered and drove her crew superbly.

As with the senior members of the Tees Club, Tees Veterans are now in preparation for sprint events for local regattas, for the national championships and for the World Masters Championships at Strathclyde in September.