Bradford Amateur Rowing Club make their Henley Royal Regatta debut tomorrow when they compete in the Wyfold Challenge Cup.

The draw for the first round of the coxless fours has pitched them against West Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rowing Club, also making their debut in the competition.

The 12.15pm showdown will be the first time two clubs from Yorkshire have raced against each other over the historic 2,112-metre course, in what is the highlight of the British rowing calendar.

Thirty two crews will compete for the Wyfold Challenge Cup, travelling from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.

The victorious Yorkshire crew will race either Thames Rowing Club or Henley Rowing Club in the next round.

Bradford coach Mark Edwards said: “I’m really over the moon to see the crew racing at Henley as they’ve been training exceptionally hard to reach this standard of rowing.

“This isn’t just the result of one year’s training, we’ve been to the Henley qualifiers for the last seven years and the guys really deserve the chance to race in the competition.

“To be drawn against Leeds is unbelievable. It should be a close race but I’m confident Bradford can do the city proud.”

The crew is made up of Tom Heaton (stroke), Pete Talboys (three), Richard Gledhill (two) and Will Hall (bow).

The Henley course is totally unique with side-by-side racing, as all other events of this standard take place on multi-lane courses.

The coxless four boat class is synonymous with the 2000 Olympic crew of Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell who won gold, with Redgrave winning his fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.