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Punts used for these races are called "best boats" or "best-and-best" punts; the name comes from the "best" boat that you can find and the "best" boat that your opponent can. The narrowest of these boats are no more than 15 inches (40 cm) wide. All racing punts generally have a till at both ends, and may have canvas covers to reduce the amount of water splashing into the boat.
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must still be in the boat at the finish. The turn at the upstream ryepecks is done by "stopping-up"; that is the competitor passes the ryepeck on the outside, stops his or her punt with the pole just upstream of the ryepeck, turns to face the stern of the boat and punts back in the other direction, passing the ryepeck on the inside.
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Races are normally held in standard "2 foot punts", that is punts that are 2 ft (60 cm) wide in the middle and about 18 inches (45 cm) wide at each end and these are subject to handicap rules. There are also non-handicap races for punts which have no restrictions on width or length.
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Punting as a means of water travel has a long history in the United
Kingdom and is now practiced recreationally on a number of rivers, being most obviously associated with Oxford and Cambridge universities. Punt racing, as a sport developed in the 1880s. Thames Punting Club was formed in 1885 as a
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The competitors usually start with their punts' sterns level with the line between the downstream ryepecks, punt to the upstream ryepecks, and then punt back. The winner is the first to pass the line of the starting ryepecks or the first one to hit his or her own ryepeck. In doubles, both punters
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The Thames
Punting Club maintains lists of umpires and publishes a handbook containing rules and bye-laws for those organizing punt races on the Thames. Punting uses a complex system of
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Races are normally held over a distance of up to 880 yards (800 m) along the bank on a straight reach of the river. Each end of the course is marked by a pair of poles called "
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racing club. It is now no longer a racing club but functions as the sport's governing body.
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All clubs also include participation in the partner traditional river sport –
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There are several
English skiff and punting clubs on the Thames.
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Best and Best punting event at the Thames
Punting Championships
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The TPA organises the annual Thames
Punting Championships.
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and the TPC sets the handicaps of individual punters.
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English governing body for the sport of punt racing
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91:"Stopping up" at the rye-peck turn
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