Sports
The Boat Race
You get two long, thin, canoe-type structures, stick nine people in them and then row along the River Thames in London for 15 minutes or so. Sounds pretty basic, yes? Well, it is, but then so is running on a track for 100 metres or hitting a ball with a bat. As with all great […]

You get two long, thin, canoe-type structures, stick nine people in them and then row along the River Thames in London for 15 minutes or so.
Sounds pretty basic, yes? Well, it is, but then so is running on a track for 100 metres or hitting a ball with a bat.
As with all great sporting events, the beauty of the Boat Race is in its simplicity, but there is so much more to this historic race.
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The prestigious, globally-renowned universities of Oxford and Cambridge have been doing battle for almost 200 years (their first race took place in 1829) and the race is littered with controversies, crashes and even a sinking.
This year the skulduggery began early and has been raging for week. So what’s the Boat Race all about? Let The Athletic be your guide.
It all began with a letter.
Two men — sorry, gentlemen — from Oxford and Cambridge universities went out rowing and decided to set up a race between their respective educational establishments.
Cambridge then sent a letter to Oxford stating: “The University of Cambridge hereby challenge the University of Oxford to row a match at or near London, each in an eight-oared boat during the ensuing Easter vacation.”
Oxford won the first race in June 1829 at Henley-on-Thames and in a way not a huge amount has changed in the ensuing 196 years. It’s still eight rowers in a boat on the Thames.

An illustration of the first ever Boat Race, in 1829 (Edward Gooch Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
What has endured and evolved, however, is a fierce rivalry in an event that is now huge business, watched by up to 250,000 in person, millions more on television (the races are being screened live on BBC One) and sponsored by French luxury brand Chanel, no less.
“You are talking about the ultimate level of sport with the purest values,” Chanel’s Frederic Grangie said.
Purest values? Well, about that…
For almost as long as the race has been running, controversies and freakish occurrences have been part of it.
No one won in 1877 because there was a dead heat. No VAR in those days, folks.

The dead heat of 1877 (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In 1987, a group of American rowers at Oxford tried to overthrow their coach, Dan Topolski, over training method disagreements. Topolski won, and so did Oxford, with a severely depleted crew.
Someone was even sent to prison after the 2012 race — no, not for getting over-eager with an oar, but for protesting against elitism and government cuts. Protester Trenton Oldfield swam in front of both boats and was jailed for six months for causing a public nuisance.
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This year, though, the rivalry has gone into overdrive with a huge row about which students are eligible to take part, which has been labelled as a ‘new low’ in relations between the two teams.
Students taking a PGCE (postgraduate certificate in education, i.e. teaching) course, which combines studying at university with practical experience in schools, have been banned from competing for the first time this year.
Three Cambridge rowers, including World Championship silver medallist Matt Heywood, were not allowed to take part after Oxford challenged their eligibility.
Heywood said: “It’s safe to say that this decision doesn’t align with any values of sportsmanship or race spirit that I have known in rowing, and that I feel disheartened by the wider implications of this decision on my future vocation.”
Former Cambridge rower and gold medallist from the 2024 Paris Olympics Imogen Grant used somewhat less polished language on social media, saying: “This is an insult to teachers everywhere and a desperate ploy from Oxford to gain an upper hand in the most slimy way.”
Melissa Wilson raced four times for Cambridge between 2013 and 2017.
She told The Athletic that the eligibility row will only heighten what is a very serious rivalry. It’s not like the crews go to the pub together when the race is done.

Melissa Wilson, on the left, at the 2014 weigh-in (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
“Nope, absolutely not,” she chuckles.
“I graduated nearly 10 years ago so it has settled for me, but honestly, when you’re at uni you’re almost at the stage of tattooing your allegiance into your skin.
“I’d never actually visited Oxford until my second year at Cambridge and I pictured it as a dark, shadowy place with grey thundery clouds. It surprised me to discover it’s really quite beautiful.
“That’s just the mindset you build up, you will have slogans around beating Oxford, and the same for them.
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“But one of the key determinants in the race is how much pain you’re willing to put yourself through to win — that pain requires a strong reason for winning, and that’s where the rivalry comes to the fore in your mind.”
Apart from a strong mindset, there are many factors that go into a successful boat race, not least navigating the 4.2 mile stretch of Thames from Putney to Mortlake, with its shifting currents.

Action from the 1962 edition of the boat race (Central Press/Getty Images)
Olympic rowing takes place on a tranquil, natural or purpose-built lakes. The Boat Race sees the crews thrown onto an unpredictable, challenging and very dirty river.
The Thames has high levels of the bacteria E. coli and environmental campaign group River Action has warned that it would be classified as ‘poor’ under environmental regulations if it were designated as a ‘bathing water’ site.
Not even E. coli can stop the Boat Race, though. Only wars and Covid-19 have prevented it from taking place every year since 1856, with the women’s race an annual fixture since 1964. Come rain or shine, this boat race endures. Sneaking a teacher into one of the boats is the only thing that might stop it this year.
But there is apprehension about the water. The tradition of throwing the winning cox into the river is now loaded with, well, disease.
“It’s a real worry that in 2025, unsafe water quality in the Thames is still a concern,” five-time Olympic gold medal-winning British rower Sir Steve Redgrave said in a news release. “Rowers, river users, and the public deserve better.”

Jumping in the River Thames: not advised these days (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Don’t sink, then, like both men’s crews did in 1912. But how else does the river play its part?
Wilson says: “It can be make or break and decide the outcome of the race.
“The most challenging conditions are when the streams are incredibly strong, because it’s a tidal river.
“Normally in rowing you just push on the start line and off you go…in the Boat Race if the stream starts pushing against your blade the whole boat is going to float away.
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“If you have strength of tide with a 40mph wind in the opposite direction you have whitecap waves. The boats are fairly good at combating that, but in 2016 the conditions were so challenging and the Cambridge women’s boat was minutes away from fully sinking.
“It can also be, from a coxing perspective, the toughest of any other race because of the stream. To know by instinct where the fastest water is going to be, can decide who wins.”
There are no lanes, meaning clashes between oars are common if the two boats get too close to each other. This is, after all, a private match between two clubs and not contested under normal rowing rules.
It can be brutal, and the build-up and training is extremely challenging, with 40 or 50 rowers whittled down to two crews of eight for the men and women, who have trained all through the winter while also combining their university studies.
“It’s very intense,” Wilson adds. “But it also gets people to race day in a prime mental and physical state — you’re all guns blazing on multiple fronts.
“There’s a strong cultural element to it, plus the rivalry, plus it’s an unusual setup of the two crews having never competed against each other.
“It might be a university race but the calibre of athletes is extremely high.
“Winning is everything. It’s not like you’re doing it all again next week, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime event and no one leaves anything out there, it’s absolutely full pelt for 20 minutes.”
(Top photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images)
Sports
Abington Heights, Valley West advance to 3A semifinals – Scranton Times-Tribune
Shawn Theodore had 16 kills and Shane Brower had 11 kills as second-seeded Abington Heights defeated No. 7 Hazleton Area, 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20) in the District 2 Class 3A boys volleyball quarterfinals on Wednesday. Abington Heights (13-4), the Lackawanna League champions, advanced and will play the winner of Thursday night’s 6-Scranton (4-6) at […]

Shawn Theodore had 16 kills and Shane Brower had 11 kills as second-seeded Abington Heights defeated No. 7 Hazleton Area, 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 25-17, 25-20) in the District 2 Class 3A boys volleyball quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Abington Heights (13-4), the Lackawanna League champions, advanced and will play the winner of Thursday night’s 6-Scranton (4-6) at 3-Wilkes-Barre Area (10-4) match. The semifinals are May 27 and will be a doubleheader at top-seeded Delaware Valley.
Ryan Horutz had 38 assists, four blocks, and four kills, and Ben Reese contributed nine kills for the Comets.
Hazleton Area finished the season with a 2-13 record.
Wyoming Valley West 3, West Scranton 1: The fourth-seeded Spartans defeated the Invaders, 25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19 in the quarterfinals.
Emanuel Benitez had 22 digs and 17 kills to lead West Scranton (5-6), while Emilio Moya added eight kills, Antonio Cordero had 27 assists, and Conner Sessions had nine kills and four blocks.
Wyoming Valley West (6-7) will play at No. 1 seed Delaware Valley in the second game of a semifinal doubleheader that will start 30 minutes after the first semifinal match May 27.
Delaware Valley is the defending two-time District 2 champion. The Warriors defeated Wyoming Valley West, 3-0, on May 1 as part of the regular season in the Wyoming Valley Conference.
Originally Published:
Sports
Score of Mt. Hope at Portsmouth boys volleyball game on Wednesday May 21, 2025
Watch: Portsmouth boys volleball slides past Mt. Hope in four sets Watch as Portsmouth boys volleyball wins the fourth set and the match against Mt. Hope on Wednesday May 21, 2025. Portsmouth’s boys volleyball team is poised to win the Division III championship in their third season. The team is undefeated against league opponents and […]

Watch: Portsmouth boys volleball slides past Mt. Hope in four sets
Watch as Portsmouth boys volleyball wins the fourth set and the match against Mt. Hope on Wednesday May 21, 2025.
- Portsmouth’s boys volleyball team is poised to win the Division III championship in their third season.
- The team is undefeated against league opponents and anticipates promotion to Division II next season.
- Senior Sean Wilkey led Portsmouth to victory against rival Mt. Hope with 26 kills, while Jack Loper contributed 44 assists.
PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth boys volleyball is eyeing both a championship and promotion in short order.
The upstart program, in just its third season, is the favorite to win the Division III championship. They should enter the playoffs as the top seed after finishing perfect against league foes. After Wednesday’s 25-23, 24-26, 25-18, 25-22 win vs. Mt. Hope, there’s little reason to think Portsmouth shouldn’t win its first title.
The Patriots were amongst a group of D-III teams last year that could’ve been promoted to the state’s second league. They would’ve held their own in that league with the group of seniors playing in their final regular-season home game of the year against the Huskies.
Sean Wilkey willed Portsmouth to a win in the third set with back-to-back kills for a 20-16 lead that forced a Huskies’ timeout. The senior managed one more kill and won the set with an ace to hand Portsmouth a 2-1 advantage in the match. He finished with 26 kills, four blocks and 35 digs and Jack Loper, another senior, handed out 44 assists with three kills and six digs.
“I feel like playing against [Mt. Hope] is like a fun rivalry,” Wilkey said. “There’s no beef between us, but I feel like it’s a preview of the final. We still have some ways to go, but I think that’s what it is going to be.”
Portsmouth wasn’t promoted after Pawtucket, Central Falls, Juanita Sanchez, Toll Gate and Johnston all found a new home in D-II. The Patriots will likely be moved up next spring and that’s a testament to the program.
“I think returning players is a huge thing because all the guys on the starting line played for their full three years since the program started,” Portsmouth’s Jack Casey said. “I would have loved to be in D-II, hopefully that move comes.”
Said Wilkey: “I feel like coach [Lisa Zabel] is amazing. She does such a good job of bringing up new players. Teaching the freshmen passing and setting, it’s exciting to see.”
The Huskies are the only D-III team that’s given Portsmouth fits this season. Portsmouth lost in five sets to South Kingstown and Westerly, a top program in D-II, in four frames. Mt. Hope pushed them to five frames in the first meeting in Bristol. And had Portsmouth on the ropes in the first frame on Wednesday before the Patriots rattled off three straight points to take the set.
“It’s fun playing against Portsmouth,” Mt. Hope’s Nate Fisher said. “Two of their starters I played in the club season, so that’s really fun to play with them again. It’s just two good teams going at it. It’s just about who has a better mental game at the end of the day.”
The Huskies are currently ranked first in the RPI standings with a win over D-I’s North Smithfield boosting their record. Mt. Hope’s future promotion is equally as deserved with only three set losses to league teams other than Portsmouth.
If the playoffs play to chalk, the June matchup between Portsmouth and Mt. Hope might be the best championship of the three divisions at Rhode Island College.
“I feel like sometimes we dig ourselves into a hole, but we’re one of the teams that can get out of it pretty fast,”Fisher said.
“There’s a lot to work on [before the playoffs], but I think we can figure it out.”
Sports
10 Florida Gators Track and Field Athletes named to All-SEC teams
Following their strong showings at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Lexington, Kentucky, ten Florida Gator Student-Athletes have been named to All-SEC teams. The Gators walk away with eight medals combined between the men’s and women’s teams. Selections were made based on finishes in their respective events. Selectees also cannot be named to […]

Following their strong showings at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Lexington, Kentucky, ten Florida Gator Student-Athletes have been named to All-SEC teams.
The Gators walk away with eight medals combined between the men’s and women’s teams. Selections were made based on finishes in their respective events. Selectees also cannot be named to multiple teams.
Meet The Winners
Women’s Team
Anthaya Charlton
Anthaya Charlton was looking to improve upon her fourth-place finish at last year’s tournament run, Charlton did just that as she secured her first SEC Outdoor title for Women’s Long Jump.
After securing her Long Jump title, Charlton continued to aid in the Gators’ victory by adding a bronze medal, after her finish in the 100m. Additionally, helping the Gators score in the 4×100 m at sixth.
Habiba Harris
After joining the Gators as recent as January 2025, Harris made a quick impact for this team. She had her outdoor debut this season at the Pepsi Florida Relays in Gainesville and set the collegiate lead in the 100m hurdles. Continuing on in her success, Harris took home the SEC title for her 100m hurdle performance with a time of 12.75. Walking away from her first collegiate championship tournament, with a gold medal, already makes her a favorite for the National Title.
Habiba Harris (Florida)
wins the SEC women's 100mH title in a time of 12.75s (1.8)! pic.twitter.com/HTOPEIwl6s
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) May 17, 2025
Alida Van Daalen
Van Daalen came into the tournament as reigning Outdoor Champion for Discus Throwing. Though she suffered injuries that held her back from performing in the Fall, Van Daalen came into the meet ready to defend her crown. She did just that as her first place finish was 65.24m, a post-season best, and still 26-feet from silver-medal mark.
Charlton, Harris and Van Daalen make the SEC First-Team.
Hilda Olemomoi
Hilda Olemomoi makes the Gators only selectee for SEC Second team. Olemomoi performed in the Women’s Outdoor 10,000m, claiming her second SEC silver medal of the 2025 season. Her time of 33:15.52 brings her to No.4 in Florida Program’s History and No.35 this NCAA Season.
Also, Olemomoi was runner-up in the 3000m at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Men’s Team
All Men’s Players are Third Team All-SEC selections.
Jacob Lemmon
Prior to his time at Florida, Lemmon secured three-time All American in discus at Virginia. Lemmon claimed bronze this past weekend, after performing a personal best of 61.80m. Walking away from the tournament, Lemmons also now holds the No. 2 throw mark for Discus for the Florida Gators’ Program, and No. 12 overall in the Nation for the 2025 season.
Malcom Clemons
Malcom Clemons performed a post-season best of 7.91m [25′ 11.5″] mark, in Outdoor Long Jump, and secured a bronze medal in the process. After failing to qualify for SEC Indoor Track and Field, his strong return makes for a hopeful NCAA Championship run.
Redemption for Malcolm Clemons!
Clemons takes SEC Bronze in the Long Jump with his season-best 7.91m [25' 11.5"] mark!#GoGators
pic.twitter.com/jYIXbvAHI4
— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) May 16, 2025
Ashton Schwartzman, Rios Prude Jr, Reheem Hayles and Jenoah Mckiver
This Gator’s 4×400 relay team combined for a time of 3:03.27 , securing a third-place bronze finish. The Gators will be a No.1 seed in the event heading into the NCAA Outdoor Championship Meets.
Sports
Recap of Day One of the 2025 NAIA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship
MARION, Ind. [RESULTS] – The first day of the 2025 NAIA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship saw four individual champions crowned. Twelve preliminary events took place on day one, including: 4x100m relay, 1500m, 400m hurdles, 200m, 4x800m relay and 3000m steeplechase. HEPTATHLON The outdoor track and field heptathlon event concluded on day one with Mya […]

MARION, Ind. [RESULTS] – The first day of the 2025 NAIA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship saw four individual champions crowned.
Twelve preliminary events took place on day one, including: 4x100m relay, 1500m, 400m hurdles, 200m, 4x800m relay and 3000m steeplechase.
HEPTATHLON
The outdoor track and field heptathlon event concluded on day one with Mya Hines from Cumberlands emerging as the leader. Hines, a sophomore, accumulated a total of 3084 points, demonstrating consistent performance across all events. Her standout performances included a 14.89-second finish in the 100m hurdles, earning her 856 points, and a strong 25.71-second run in the 200m, which added 823 points to her tally.
Kerrigan Myers, a senior from Midland, closely followed Hines with a total of 3067 points, securing second place. Myers excelled in the 100m hurdles, clocking the fastest time of 13.88 seconds, which was the highest-scoring individual event of the competition with 995 points. Despite a lower performance in the shot put, Myers’ speed in the 200m (25.43 seconds) helped her maintain a competitive edge.
TRACK
The only track event that crowned a champion on day one was the 10,000m, where Jaynie Halterman won her first outdoor title with a time of 34:10.10. Heather Murphy followed closely behind, finishing off Halterman by just 25.39 seconds. The last time the 10k was run in 34 minutes was when Emily Kearney of Milligan (Tenn.) won in 2021 with a time of 34:07.91.
HAMMER THROW
The women’s hammer throw competition was one of three field competitions that took place on the first day of competition. Victoria Lotz from MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) emerged victorious with a remarkable throw of 57.97 meters (190-2.00), securing her first-place finish. Lotz’s fourth attempt was enough to clinch the win.
Madison Sutton from Doane claimed the second spot with a best throw of 57.71 meters (189-4.00). Sutton’s final attempt was where she achieved her best mark of the day.
LONG JUMP
The top four finishers in the long jump finished within .02 of each other. Rosjai Curtis from Park (Mo.) emerged victorious in the long jump with a winning leap of 5.84 meters (19-2.00) in her second attempt.
Linnearia Richards from Siena Heights (Mich.) closely followed in second place with a jump of 5.83 meters (19-1.50), achieved in her first attempt.
Kiana Siefert from Taylor (Ind.) followed with 5.82 meters (19-1.25) and Erica Xayarath from Huntington (Ind.) finished in fourth place with a jump of 5.80 meters (19-0.25).
JAVELIN
In a competitive javelin event, Maddy Wolf from Kansas Wesleyan emerged victorious with a top throw of 44.65 meters (146-6.00), securing first place. Wolf hit her highest mark on her first throw. Kendra Odegard from Valley City State (N.D.) closely followed in second place with a best throw of 44.55 meters (146-2.00). Odegard’s consistent performance across her attempts kept her in contention throughout the event. Mary Lorang from Benedictine (Kan.) followed closely behind, taking third place with a throw of 44.07 meters (144-7.00).
The top eight finishers in each event are NAIA All-Americans.
The second day of the championship will open with the remainder of the heptathlon events at 10 a.m. CT/11 a.m. ET and starting with the long jump.
Sports
Film Room
In this week’s Film Room, we break down newly reported detail on third-party NIL clearinghouse procedures. Actionable Information Regarding Clearinghouse Last week, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports reported on a memo detailing NIL clearinghouse information. Regarding the third-party NIL deal review process, the memo provided that: Institutions will determine whether the payor (third party) is […]


In this week’s Film Room, we break down newly reported detail on third-party NIL clearinghouse procedures.
Actionable Information Regarding Clearinghouse
Last week, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports reported on a memo detailing NIL clearinghouse information. Regarding the third-party NIL deal review process, the memo provided that:
- Institutions will determine whether the payor (third party) is an Associated Entity/Individual
- Submitted deals will be reviewed to determine whether they “legitimately advance business objectives”
- A 12-point “Range of Compensation” analysis will be applied to deals to determine if “compensation aligns with similarly situated individuals in comparable deals”
The memo noted that the Range of Compensation uses “historical deal data as benchmarks” and its factors “include athletic performance, social media presence, local and institutional market size, and brand influence.”
The clearinghouse will adjudicate submitted deals as (1) cleared, (2) not cleared, (3) in review or (4) information needed. For those deals “not cleared,” student-athlete options are to (i) renegotiate and submit, (ii) proceed at risk of eligibility consequences, (iii) cancel the deal or (iv) request neutral arbitration. Obviously, it would be best for all involved to avoid such consequences.
What to Do?
The settlement provides that third-party deals involving Associated Entities/Individuals may be analyzed for a valid business purpose—that placeholder is being filled by the clearinghouse. Deals that do not involve Associated Entities/Individuals are not subject to the same scrutiny. We’ve spoken at length on the major implications of this settlement construct in past editions of Film Room.
Now with increased clarity on third-party NIL enforcement, institutions can do two things to best position themselves and reduce regulatory friction for their student-athletes:
- Actively facilitate deals with non-Associated Entities/Individuals. Institutions have great access to businesses that value the promotional opportunities available through joint sponsorship deals involving both the institution and its student-athletes. Yesterday, NIL excellence meant funding the collective. Tomorrow, NIL excellence will be measured by an institution’s ability to strike these sophisticated arrangements.
- Dig into the Range of Compensation factors and ensure student-athletes and Associated Entities/Individuals are tracking so that deals subject to the clearinghouse are best positioned to meet standards.
Sports
Endangered Newcastle baths named among UK’s top ten at-risk buildings
Gibson Street bath building in Newcastle. Credit: Graham Tyrrell A listed “time capsule” building which offers an insight into Tyneside life more than a century ago has been placed on a national endangered Top Ten list. The Gibson Street baths in Newcastle was opened in 1907. It included a swimming pool and, at a time […]


A listed “time capsule” building which offers an insight into Tyneside life more than a century ago has been placed on a national endangered Top Ten list.
The Gibson Street baths in Newcastle was opened in 1907. It included a swimming pool and, at a time when many homes lacked the provisions taken for granted today, it also provided individual slipper baths and laundry facilities.
Men and women entered through separate doors. The men’s entrance hall features four remarkable panels – two signed by the celebrated Dorset tile-makers Carter & Co depicting mermaids, and two others showing a water polo match and a diver in striped swimwear.
These have been praised by architectural historian Lynn Pearson as without parallel, even in Britain’s grandest historic baths. A fifth panel lists the 15 members of the Baths & Wash Houses Committee, as well as the architect and builders, beneath Newcastle’s coat of arms.
But the building has been disused and deteriorating for the last nine years.

REVIEW: Mother Courage and her Children, Horden, County Durham
This has prompted the Victorian Society to include the baths in its 2025 Top Ten league of endangered buildings.
Society president Griff Rhys Jones said: “I have lost count of the number of public bath houses that we see in decline, but people truly love these local amenities.”
The Victorian Society is urging Newcastle City Council to seek a sensitive new use for the building. Given the absence of a buyer, the Society recommends renewed collaboration with the community – offering support and extended time to develop a viable reuse proposal that preserves this valuable part of the city’s social and architectural heritage.

They issued a fundraising appeal to “find a good new integrated use for what was once a prime example of public concern and welfare and an illustration of Victorian-Edwardian values at their best.”
The rapid growth of towns and cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries left little provision for public hygiene. With disease widespread, the 1846 Public Baths and Wash-houses Act empowered local authorities to build public bathing facilities, funded via the Poor Rate.
In Newcastle, an 1845 report highlighted how working-class people were left without suitable or private places to bathe.

Costing £28,000 the baths were lavishly fitted out, with stained glass windows and green glazed brick walls. There were 23 slipper baths, and a pool measuring 75ft x 28ft.
Designed by city surveyor F H Halford, it was the first baths in Newcastle to incorporate electricity and water filtration, allowing the water to be cleaned and circulated rather than the pool being filled at the start of the week and emptied at the end.
The city’s Alderman Holmes described it as “the most complete set of baths for their size in England”. The opening ceremony was marked by a performance from Olympic swimmer Arthur ‘Jack’ Jarvis.
The interior pool-hall featured an arched and plastered ceiling, plus amphitheatre seating on both sides, while inside the former men’s entrance, the original turnstile and ticket windows survive.
The building has been marketed by the city council but without success. The baths were closed in 1965 and the swimming pool was boarded over, with the main hall being used for badminton courts until 2016, when the council put the building up for sale.

Campaigners Save Gibson Street Baths for People not Developers succeeded in having the building listed as an Asset of Community Value, and explored the possibility of a business and funding plan for uses such as a social enterprise hotel, cafe, bar and community space.
But the project did not come to fruition and the group posted on its Facebook page: “There is no doubt that it is an amazing building worthy or regeneration and development and that as a long serving public building it would be wonderful to see it kept in the public domain.
“However renovation costs look likely to be in the region of £2.7-3 million and this was not an achievable sum.”
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “Gibson Street Baths became vacant in 2016 after it ceased as a badminton club. As we lacked the significant funding required and the expertise to refurbish it, we put it on the market a year later.

“We received several bids, and a preferred bidder was chosen but unfortunately was unable to access the funds needed to bring it back into use. It is currently wind and watertight albeit in poor condition.
“We have had numerous discussions over the years to bring the property back into use particularly with the Tyne & Wear Building Preservation Trust however due to funding issues none of these have come to fruition yet.
“We recognise this is an historically important building and want to see it saved and brought back into use and so will look to market it again in the near future.”
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