First all women's regatta held in Birmingham
Birmingham has held its first-ever bell boat race tournament exclusively for women and young children to mark Women’s History Month.
The city’s first Women’s Regatta took place on the canals beside the StarCity family leisure complex in Nechells.
Hosting 17 teams, each made up of eight paddlers, the community tournament was held to inspire and empower women who don’t usually get the opportunity to enjoy a traditionally male dominated sport and to encourage local residents to make use of outdoor spaces in the city.
Contenders who joined the event included first-time rowers as well as seasoned professionals, all of whom were given training by organisers. The vast majority of the teams were led by women, with mixed-gender teams for young children.
Amongst those who entered the regatta were an all-female Peaky Blinders team, teams from Aston social empowerment hub Saathi House, Legacy WM in Lozells, West Midlands Police, Swift Cruisers, New Hope Global, Baby Bengal Tigers, Ninja Warriors, the ‘Unsinkables’ and Squid Squad.
Money was raised by participants for The Gift of Vision, a charity which works to help people with sight disabilities in Bangladesh.
Supported by the West Midlands Canal and River Trust, the competition was organised by local women following a suggestion by Aliur Rahman, a co-founder of the Nowka Bais boat race which is held annually at Edgbaston Reservoir.
Naseem Akhtar, leader of Saheli Hub, a group that promotes health and wellbeing among South Asian women in the region, said: "I think there’s been many regattas across the country but this is the one where it’s women from inner city communities, diverse communities, and it’s to show that women from all communities; if they’re given the right opportunities, supported in the right way, they can take part in any kind of sport or physical activity.
"Organisations like ours are supporting today, we haven’t entered an official team but we’ve entered a team with some of the participants who have been bell boating with us over the last year, and been on the canals with us kayaking so they’ve managed to get a team together and they’re racing here today. So hopefully it will just grow."
