CROWDS of people are expected to line the riverbank in Upton to cheer on competitors in the annual heads of the river race.

Upton Rowing Club, which is hosting the event tomorrow (Saturday), is expecting entries from about 25 rowing clubs including Monmouth, Bewdley, Stourport, Evesham, Worcester and Cheltenham.

Head races are are timed events where crews are started at intervals, unlike regattas where crews race side by side.

In the morning race, crews must row about four miles from Clevelode to the finish line in front of the King's Head in Upton. This usually takes about 20 minutes.

In the afternoon, there is a shorter race of about three miles.

Winners in both races will take away tankards known as pots.

The event has been cancelled for the past two years due to bad weather and club member Penny Stevenson said she hoped this would not be the case tomorrow.

She said the race offered clubs a rare opportunity to train and was very popular with local schools.

"Crews will be using it as a sort of training," said Penny.

"There's not much opportunity for it at this time of year, as very often the conditions aren't right.

"The race is great fun, people are always interested in boats going up and down and activity on the river and all the families usually come along to cheer them on."

The first race starts at about 11.30am, while the afternoon race begins at about 2.30pm.

Upton Rowing Club was launched in August 1995 and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

It is planning a series of events to celebrate. The first of these is a quiz night at Upton Sports Club on Friday, January 21.

Anyone interested in joining the club can meet up with members at the boathouse, at the back of Upton Marina, every Sunday at 10am.