Leander Athletes See in Christmas With Annual Turkey Sculls Contest

As training wraps up for Christmas, athletes at Leander Club celebrated their end-of-year break with a regatta like no other. On Saturday afternoon, spectators gathered on the Leander decking for the annual ‘Turkey Sculls’ contest. Nine scratch crews battled it out on the Thames for their chance to win the grand prize — a Copas turkey each!

This festive event is a much-loved Leander tradition, not least because Christmas dinner is up for grabs. The races are held over a short upstream course, this year from around the Henley Royal Regatta finish line up to Leander Club. A variety of athletes joined in with the fun, from Olympians and World Champions to Junior rowers. Many of them dressed up for the occasion in Santa hats, Christmas jumpers, and one particularly impressive Minion costume. Names were drawn from a hat to establish the nine quadruple sculls before the boats took to the water for the knock-out competition.

As the rowers fought the less-than-ideal conditions, with the stream posing a real challenge for steering, supporters enjoyed hot drinks as they watched from the decking. The races were agonisingly close, but in the end, it was Matthew Peters, Olivia Caesar, Callum Johnson and Harry Leask who came out victorious. Each was presented with a turkey by Tom Copas, Founder of Copas Turkeys. The tremendously merry event was fun for all involved, and a brilliant way to round out the winter training season.