THE renaissance of the Tees Regatta continued at the weekend when 237 crews travelled from across the country to take part in its races.

Organisers have hailed the return of the regatta as a major success story after races were abandoned on the River Tees for five years in the early 1990s.

In 1998 only 150 crews took part, but this year, racing teams travelled from as far south as Nottingham and from across the North-East.

The revival of the regatta has gathered pace since the Tees Barrage transformed a stretch of the river and enabled an 850m four-lane course to be created.

Several young teams took part, including Tees Rowing Club whose members Tina Stiller, 15, and Sarah Stocking, 16, won gold at the inter-regional competition last month.

The youngest rower was ten-year-old Connor Mark, from Cumbria, and the oldest was Milne Hunt, who started rowing at Durham University in 1943.

A spokesman for hosts, the Tees Rowing Club, said the turnout showed the prestige of the annual event was rising.

The first recorded regatta in Stockton was held in 1788.

It was held sporadically for many years, until the Tees amateur Boating Club was formed in 1864.

The regatta stopped in the Second World War and did not start again until 1957.

After a spell of being held at Yarm it returned to Stockton in 1978. It was suspended in 1990 but has gone from strength to strength since it was relaunched in 1995.