Closed Regatta: entries 2019 to 2026
Turnout is steady, doubles dominate, and mixed doubles is the clear growth event. Our referee's look at eight years of entries.
Turnout is stable at 32 to 48 players a year, but each player now enters fewer events than before the move to all-ages events. Doubles formats make up about 84% of entries, and mixed doubles is the clear growth event.
The competition, at a glance
Averages across 2019 to 2026, and the standout event since 2023.
Grow, rethink, and one lever
Mixed doubles should be the priority, ladies' singles needs a rethink, and getting players to enter more than one event is the quickest way to lift total entries.
- Grow: mixed doubles (10 to 22 players, 2023 to 2026), men's doubles (4 to 10), and keep the partners draw.
- Rethink: ladies' singles, which has had 0 to 3 players a year.
- Lever: total entries track headcount closely since 2023, so recruitment and multi-event entry both matter.
2026 was a strong year, with men's doubles, ladies' doubles, mixed doubles and the partners draw all up on 2025.
Trend over time
Player numbers recovered from a low of 32 in 2021 and have held at 39 to 48 since. Event entries swing more, from 69 to 98.
Each player now enters fewer events: 2.45 per player in 2019, falling to 1.69 in 2025, then 1.98 in 2026. The drop coincides with the move to all-ages events, which likely removed extra age-group entries.
The events
Mixed doubles has been the largest event every year since 2023, and ladies' singles the smallest. Doubles formats (men's, ladies', mixed and the partners draw) account for about 84% of listed entries.
| Event | Players, 2023 to 2026 combined | Share of listed entries |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed doubles | 70 | 36% |
| Ladies' doubles | 36 | 18% |
| Partners draw | 34 | 17% |
| Men's singles | 24 | 12% |
| Men's doubles | 24 | 12% |
| Ladies' singles | 7 | 4% |
Which events to grow
Mixed doubles should be the priority: it is the largest event every year and more than doubled between 2023 and 2026.
- Mixed doubles: big enough to support a plate or consolation draw, or a second draw.
- Men's doubles: rose from 4 to 10 players in 2026, so worth promoting further.
- Ladies' doubles and partners draw: steady contributors; the partners draw also helps players without a partner take part.
- Men's singles: modest at 4 to 8 players; keep it, but it is not a growth area.
- Ladies' singles: 0 to 3 players is barely a draw. Options are merging into an open singles, running a round-robin, or dropping it and steering players into doubles.
What moves the numbers
Since events became all ages, total entries rise and fall with headcount, so recruitment is the main lever. With only 7 years of totals and 4 years of breakdowns, none of these results is statistically robust.
| Relationship | Years | Correlation (r) | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Players vs event entries | 2023 to 2026 | 0.84 | Strong positive |
| Players vs event entries | 2019 to 2026 | 0.49 | Moderate positive |
| Year vs events per player | 2019 to 2026 | Negative | Players enter fewer events over time |
- Encouraging players to enter more than one event, for example with a discounted second entry, could lift totals without new players.
- Four years of event breakdowns are too few to say whether events compete for players or grow together, though 2026 suggests they rise together when overall interest is up.
About the figures
The event breakdown does not add up to the recorded event totals, so the figures by event are a guide.
| Year | Sum of listed events | Recorded event entries |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 63 | 85 |
| 2025 | 38 | 76 |
| 2024 | 52 | 69 |
| 2023 | 42 | 95 |
- There is no data for 2020, which is the COVID year.
- Doubles figures are all even numbers, so they are read as players rather than pairs.
- Figures before 2023 predate all events becoming all ages, and have no event breakdown.
Building on a strong 2026
Turnout is steady and doubles are thriving. Growing mixed doubles and encouraging players into a second event are the clearest ways to make the Closed even bigger in 2027.