Wingfield Sculls
| Wingfield Sculls | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Frequency | Annual |
| Location(s) | Championship Course, River Thames in London, England |
| Years active | 1830-Present |
| Inaugurated | 10 August 1830 |
| Previous event | 12 November 2015 |
| Website | |
| http://www.wingfieldsculls.com/ | |
The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the 4 1⁄4 miles (6.8 km) Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake.
The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the Scullers Head of the River Race which is the same race in reverse, attracts more international entries and is held in November every year. Due to tide changes on the Tideway, the race may therefore be in October or in November.
The race was founded on 10 August 1830, at the instigation of barrister Henry Colsell Wingfield. The idea for the race was suggested at a dinner after a sculling race and following this a subscription dinner was held at the Swan in Battersea, where money was raised to fund the event, the rules were decided and a date was set.
The initial conditions were that the race should be run on the half tide from Westminster to Putney against all challengers, annually on 10 August forever (10 August being Wingfield's birthday), though the first race actually went from the Red House, Battersea to Hammersmith.
The Wingfield Sculls, the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta and the London Cup in the Metropolitan Regatta made up the "Triple Crown" of the three premier amateur single sculling events in the United Kingdom.
Following the first Wingfield Sculls race, a separate Championship of the Thames for professional scullers was held for the first time in October 1831, which ceased in 1957 due to a decline in prize purses from betting in the sport and on the merger of the 'amateur' and 'professional'/'manual trade' former class-based categories of rowers.
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