Dartmouth Regatta Waiters’ and Barrel Races and International Trolley Grand Prix

Other races take place for waiters around the globe but perhaps the best known in the UK is the event at Dartmouth in Devon, held each August since the mid-1980s as part of the annual Dartmouth Royal Regatta. The Regatta naturally has a whole host of maritime activities throughout the week but also stages a number of alternative fringe events on the Friday Funday. In the Waiters’ Races competitors must sprint up and down the street with a tray and glass , pouring a can of beer at the halfway point to take back with them – the winner is the contestant with the most beer in their glass at the finishing line.The Barrel races are team events, with competitors rolling their awkwardly shaped kegs up the street and around a marker to the finish-fastest wins. The International Trolley Grand Prix is so-called in honour of the long gone International supermarket rather than to reflect the origins of the participants, and involves pairs of athletes steering their decorated contraption up and  down the road whilst ensuring that the leaking bucket on board doesn’t run out of water.

Helpful Hints

Only genuine waiters can take part in the adults’ classes but anyone can watch. A variety of other events take place throughout the week but the races are part of the Friday Funday , and the Regatta itself runs over several days.

In 2025 it should be on Friday August 29th with the Regatta from 28th to 30th August (to be confirmed)- check links below for exact times. 

Programmes are available in Dartmouth, or to order online from the event website. Limited pre-paid parking was available in 2022 at Coronation Park, again to order online, and a park-and-ride bus service operates in the town.

Click here for the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dartmouthregatta/

Click here for the event website : http://www.dartmouthregatta.co.uk/

Click here to find out more: http://www.southhamsevents.co.uk/