Three Rivers Festivals & TTAA Open Shows

Tyne Tees Area Association (TTAA) of the FBAS was formed in 1971 and went on to hold its first Open Show in 1973. The venue was Longscar Hall, Seaton Carew, Hartlepool an excellent choice because of its seaside location and perfect lighting conditions for judging. Hartlepool AS continued to use this venue right up to the late 80s. As part of the show was the fledgling Three Rivers Championship, known then as the North East Best of Best. Plans were laid to hold a local festival along the lines of the FBAS's Fishkeeping Festival. Clubs from anywhere in the country would be able to show at the festival, but all of their exhibits had to be contained in a tableaux or stand - no individual entries (except Three Rivers) were permitted.
Lambton Castle, Chester-le-street, in the grounds of the Lion Park was the prestigious location chose for the three day of the first festival in 1976. Running from Saturday, 28th August to Bank Holiday Monday, 30th August it was a huge success with public who were visitors to the Lion Park. Tableauxs and stands were set up on the Friday, necessitating stewards to spend 4 nights in the spooky confines of the Castle. Fortunately they were on hand to deal with a large tank which burst in the middle of the night pouring its contents down the staircase into the main hall. The Three Rivers Competition was won by George Liddle; Best Fish in Show went to Ron Atherton with a Labeotropheus fuellborni; Best furnished aquaria went to Stanley AS; Best Society to Hartlepool AS & Best Tableaux to Half Moon AS's oil rig. The following year (1977) the Festival was at the same venue over the August Bank Holiday. I n 1978, the Festival moved to Eldon Square in Newcastle for one year. A disagreement over spilled water made the Festival unwelcome in future years.  Nineteen seventy-nine saw a move to two-days events at Sunderland's Crowtree Leisure Centre; this association lasting for 5 years. The large, ground level hall made transporting tanks much easier than the first flour arrangements of the previous two venues. Parking was a problem as there was none near which meant cars had to be parked illegally at the hall's outside door, the contents of the car quickly transferred to the hall and the car taken to the nearby multi-story car park before getting a ticket. Setting-up took place on Fridays and early Saturday morning; Judging to place on Saturday morning in time for visitors in the afternoon. Sunday was for visitors until around 5 o'clock when the prizes were given out by a celebrity, and then the exhibits were dismantled and taken home. In 1979, an influx of Scottish clubs enhanced the competition, and in that year Dalkeith won best Aquarium & best tableaux. The last TTAA Festival was held in 1982 at Crowtree, by this time the expense of hiring the show hall and low visitor rates made the show no longer viable. Three year's later, an Open Show format was tried at Peterlee Leisure Centre. This seemed popular, as lots of exhibitors were wary of leaving their fish on display for 3 or 4 days. The Name of Three Rivers Championship was dropped in favour of Champion of Champion. The entries for this class were good with as many as 20 fish turning up on the day. The one-day Open Show format continued until the late 90s when a more ambitious show was organised. This show had an open show on the Sunday but other attraction the day before. These were held at the park Hotel in Whitley Bay. Initial response by exhibitors and visitors was good, and the show continued for a couple of years before sponsor and therefore finance, ran out. Back to the one-day open show. From 1999 these have been held in a variety of venues, settling recently in the Redby Community, Sunderland.

Birth of the Three Rivers      History of the TTAA      History of the Three Rivers      Past Winners