Kontxako Bandera


The Kontxako Bandera or Bandera de la Concha is one of the oldest and most famous estropada race along the Bay of Biscay, held annually in the Kontxa, the main bay of San Sebastián, Spain. It takes place on the first two weekends in September and regularly draws crowds of more than 100,000 people and around 20 rowing teams. It was first held in 1879 and has been held most years since with the main exception of the war years.
In Galician it's called Bandeira da Cuncha and Drapeau de La Concha in French.

Background

Estropadak is a very popular form of rowing competition common all along the coast of the Northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.
A crew is made up of thirteen oarsmen and the cox, who faces them at the stern. The boats are called traineru and are derived from 19th century fishing boats.
This is the most important competition in the Bay of Biscay and takes place the first two Sundays in September, within the framework of the Basque Week, with the best teams from all along the Northern coast competing against each other.
The teams must row three nautical miles to a buoy, turn around and return to the starting line. So instead of the normal four lengths, teams only do two lengths in this race.
The final always consists of two races between the eight finalists. To qualify, all teams bar one must take part in a race against the clock on the first weekend, the seven best of which go forward to the finals the following weekend. The eighth team is always from the host town and does not have to qualify. In the finals, the eight teams race in two groups of four across the same distance again.
For example, in the 2007 race there were 21 teams taking part:
TeamTime to buoyTime to finish
Hondarribia11:1220:56
Urdaibai11:1520:58
Zarautz11:1521:00
Orio11:0421:02
Castro11:1821:09
Pedreña11:1521:09
Tirán11:1621:10
Pasai San Pedro11:2521:19
Zumaia11:3121:20
Laredo11:1621:26
Getaria11:3221:43
Pasai Donibane11:4021:50
Arkote11:3421:54
Isuntza11:4221:54
Mecos11:4321:55
Cabo da Cruz11:4321:56
Sestao11:4321:57
Ondarroa11:5622:08
Camargo11:5122:17
Hernani12:4623:44
Urki12:4823:49

Of these, the top seven went into the final which Orio won with a time of 19:16.68.

Statistics

Listed here after their town with the name of the team given in brackets:

1879-1900

  1. 1879 San Sebastián
  2. 1880 Pasai San Pedro
  3. 1881 Hondarribia
  4. 1882 -
  5. 1883 San Sebastián
  6. 1884 -
  7. 1885 -
  8. 1886 -
  9. 1887 San Sebastián
  10. 1888 -
  11. 1889 San Sebastián
  12. 1890 San Sebastián
  13. 1891 San Sebastián
  14. 1892 San Sebastián
  15. 1893 -
  16. 1894 San Sebastián
  17. 1895 Getaria
  18. 1896 Getaria
  19. 1897 San Sebastián
  20. 1898 Ondarroa
  21. 1899 Pasai San Pedro
  22. 1900 Getaria

    1901-1950

  23. 1901 Orio
  24. 1902 -
  25. 1903 Getaria
  26. 1904 -
  27. 1905 -
  28. 1906 Pasai San Pedro
  29. 1907 -
  30. 1908 -
  31. 1909 Orio
  32. 1910 Orio
  33. 1911 Getaria
  34. 1912 -
  35. 1913 -
  36. 1914 -
  37. 1915 San Sebastián
  38. 1916 Orio
  39. 1917 Pasai San Pedro
  40. 1918 San Sebastián
  41. 1919 Orio
  42. 1920 San Sebastián
  43. 1921 Pasaia
  44. 1922 San Sebastián
  45. 1923 Orio
  46. 1924 Pasai Donibane
  47. 1925 Orio
  48. 1926 Ondarroa
  49. 1927 Pasai San Pedro
  50. 1928 Pasai San Pedro
  51. 1929 Pasai San Pedro
  52. 1930 Pasai San Pedro
  53. 1931 Pasai San Pedro
  54. 1932 Pasai San Pedro
  55. 1933 Orio
  56. 1934 Orio
  57. 1935 Pasai San Pedro
  58. 1936 -
  59. 1937 -
  60. 1938 -
  61. 1939 Orio
  62. 1940 Orio
  63. 1941 Hondarribia
  64. 1942 Orio
  65. 1943 Hondarribia
  66. 1944 Orio
  67. 1945 Pedreña
  68. 1946 Pedreña
  69. 1947 Hondarribia
  70. 1948 Hondarribia
  71. 1949 Pedreña
  72. 1950 San Sebastián

    1951-2000

  73. 1951 Orio
  74. 1952 Orio
  75. 1953 Orio
  76. 1954 Sestao
  77. 1955 Orio
  78. 1956 Pasai Donibane
  79. 1957 Aginaga
  80. 1958 Orio
  81. 1959 Sestao
  82. 1960 Aginaga
  83. 1961 Pasai Donibane
  84. 1962 Pasai Donibane
  85. 1963 Pasai Donibane
  86. 1964 Orio
  87. 1965 Hondarribia
  88. 1966 Hondarribia
  89. 1967 Hondarribia
  90. 1968 Hondarribia
  91. 1969 Lasarte
  92. 1970 Orio
  93. 1971 Orio
  94. 1972 Orio
  95. 1973 Lasarte
  96. 1974 Orio
  97. 1975 Orio
  98. 1976 Pedreña
  99. 1977 Santurtzi
  100. 1978 Sestao
  101. 1979 Santurtzi
  102. 1980 Sestao
  103. 1981 Sestao
  104. 1982 Sestao
  105. 1983 Orio
  106. 1984 Zumaia
  107. 1985 Santurtzi
  108. 1986 Pasai Donibane
  109. 1987 Zumaia
  110. 1988 Pasai Donibane
  111. 1989 Pasai San Pedro
  112. 1990 Pasai Donibane
  113. 1991 Pasai San Pedro
  114. 1992 Orio
  115. 1993 Pasai San Pedro
  116. 1994 Pasai San Pedro
  117. 1995 Pasai Donibane
  118. 1996 Orio
  119. 1997 Orio
  120. 1998 Orio
  121. 1999 Pasai Donibane
  122. 2000 Orio

    2001-date

  123. 2001 Castro Urdiales
  124. 2002 Castro Urdiales
  125. 2003 El Astillero
  126. 2004 El Astillero
  127. 2005 Hondarribia
  128. 2006 Castro Urdiales
  129. 2007 Orio
  130. 2008 Castro Urdiales
  131. 2009 Sestao
  132. 2010 Bermeo
  133. 2011 Bermeo
  134. 2012 Sestao
  135. 2013 Hondarribia
  136. 2014 Bermeo
  137. 2015 Bermeo
  138. 2016 Bermeo
  139. 2017 Orio
  140. 2018 Hondarribia
  141. 2019 Hondarribia