The Great British Duck Race heads down the Thames once more this summer as thousands of yellow ducks race against each other to the winning line. Kicking off from Molesey Lock and heading down stream to the Sheriff Boat Club at Albany Reach, this year's race will enter the Guinness Book of Records if it manages to break the world record with the number of ducks!

Quacking good fun
Starting at 1.30pm and taking between two and three hours to get to the finish line, the Great British Duck Race is a fabulously fun day out for kids and family, and a brilliant way to contribute to various different charities. With a huge cash prize for the owner of the first duck across the winning line, you could also be going home with a seriously large cheque in your pocket.

The rules
Each duck that takes part in the duck race has a number and this corresponds to numbers given out to people when they sponsor a duck. At only £2.00 each, and with a chance of winning £10,000 and loads of other fabulous prizes, the Great British Duck Race is one of the most entertaining ways of raising money for charity. The NSPCC is the main charity supported by the event, but when you register to adopt a duck, you can include a donation to one of the hundreds of other charities who have signed up for the Great British Duck Race in 2009.

World record bid
Hundreds of thousands of ducks will set off in the Great British Duck Race this year and as they go, you can follow them downstream along the 1 kilometre course. From the moment the ducks are loaded into the lock to the point where the first little yellow bird crosses the finish line, you can be with the crowds and urging on your ducks to victory. Better yet, if the total number of ducks exceeds 175,000, the the race will have earned its spot in the Guinness Book of World Records! Across the finishing line, there will be more entertainment in the form of kids' entertainers, charity stalls and plenty of refreshment stands to quench your thirst after all the excitement.

Eco friendly ducks
Worried about the implications of hundreds of thousands of plastic ducks in the Thames? You needn't. The duck race works with the Environment Agency and the River Thames Alliance every year to ensure that all the yellow ducks are collected at the end of the race and that no damage is done to the wildlife of river environment. The organisers behind the Great British Duck Race are also working with various different countries to ensure that everything used in this year's race is fully recyclable.

The Great British Duck Race takes place with the ducks leaving Molesey Lock, Hampton Court Bridge at 1.30pm. The finishing line is located at Sheriff Boat Club at Albany Reach.

For more information about the race and how to sponsor a duck, click on the link below.

Great British Duck Race Official Site

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