# Rowing on the River Thames

The Thames is one of the main rowing rivers in Europe. Several annual competitions are held along its course, including the Henley Royal Regatta, The Boat Race and other long-distance events, called Head of the River races (Heads).
As well as the events held on the river itself, there are other, purpose-built rowing facilities along the course of the river, such as Dorney Lake between Slough and Windsor, Berkshire, which was a 2012 Summer Olympic venue and is now an international Cup, standard-distance rowing lake hosting the three main annual entry regattas for Henley: still named Marlow (International), Wallingford and Metropolitan. Other rowing lakes near the Thames are the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake between Reading and Henley used by the Great Britain squad and Royal Albert Dock near North Woolwich, London.

## History

Rowing races on the River Thames have been documented as early as 1725, and Henley-on-Thames was the venue for the 1908 London Olympics rowing races.

### Contemporary events, groups and modern history

The sport and recreational/touring rowing takes place on the Tideway and on the 45 separate lock reaches on the non-tidal section.
The river hosts a televised succession of races on which bets are placed – traditionally named The Boat Race and for some decades a men-only event – it is now the (Oxford and Cambridge) Men's and Women's Boat Race on the cusp of March and April. Further up-river, the Henley Royal Regatta, held over six days (Tuesday to Sunday) ending on the first weekend in July is one of several other rowing events held along approximately the same course on that same stretch of the Thames.
At least 12 head races are held every year on the long, tidal course of the Boat Race, known as the Championship Course – including the Head of the River Race which is the weekend before the Boat Race, attracting hundreds of racing shell eights. Head races are, by definition, long time trials. Twice as many heads are held on long, narrower reaches of the canalised inland river. Many clubs and a few schools and village fair committees as far inland as Oxford host shorter races – regattas – in warmer months.
Event-raced, self-propelled boats on the Thames chiefly comprise (Olympic) racing shells. Most events are for racing shells.

### Traditional rowing boats

A Thames, or English, punt is a long slender vessel. It sees very few and often intermittent or extremely local races. Its use is almost wholly recreational. Thames skiffs are the mainstay of several regattas and six extant clubs (see below). A large version with a canvas is called a camping skiff, featuring in major modern travelogues and historically in Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889, a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a two-week boating holiday on this river from Kingston upon Thames to Oxford and back to Kingston. Other rowing typically takes place in dragon boats, dongolas, dinghies, inflatable rafts and larger skiffs known as cutters.

## Regattas

Thames rowing regattas are almost all between April and the first week of September. All but the most prestigious are considered short. They are raced side-by-side. They are in categories for competitors and boat types: each consists of heats (mostly knock-out tournaments, that is, without repechages) and final. Many regatta days are split into two or more divisions so that competitors can enter two categories – such as a large and small boat, sweep-oar or sculling. Where category events have a cup it belongs to the regatta and is sometimes engraved with winners' club or composite clubs' name (or engraved on metal set around a plinth or set of plinths). Winners receive a medal – or tankard, called by rowers a "pot". A regatta in racing shell rowing has umpires/stewards who enforce preparedness (race registration, safety and marshalling time/location rules), false start and lane rules using a motor launch and the wearing of club kit.
| Event | Special | Month | Place or Reach above... | Approx. start point | Direction | Distance |
| Chertsey Regatta | Skiffing | 07 | Shepperton Lock | Dumsey Meadow | Down | 500 m |
| Egham Regatta | | 06 | Bell Weir Lock | Bell Weir | Up | 650 m |
| Hampton Court and Dittons Regatta | Skiffing | 07 | Teddington Lock | River Mole | Down | 650 m |
| Henley Royal Regatta | | 07 | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 2112 m |
| Henley Women's Regatta | Ladies | 06 | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 1500 m |
| Kingston Regatta | | 07 | Teddington Lock | Raven's Ait | Down | 1000 m |
| Maidenhead Regatta | | 08 | Bray Lock | Maidenhead Railway Bridge | Up | 500 m |
| Marlow Regatta | | 06 | Dorney Lake | | Still | 2000 m |
| Marlow Town Regatta | | 06 | Marlow Lock | Bisham Abbey | Down | 900 m |
| Metropolitan Regatta | | 05/06 | Dorney Lake | | Still | 2000 m |
| Reading Amateur Regatta | | 06 | Caversham Lock | St Mary's Island | Down | 1500 m |
| Reading Town Regatta | Thames Valley Park bank | 06 | Sonning Lock | | Up | 800 m |
| Skiff Championships Regatta | Skiffing | 08 | Hambleden Lock | Henley on Thames | Down | 750 m |
| Sonning Regatta | General (no racing shells) | 05, biennial | Sonning Lock | Sonning Eye bank above lock | Either | 300 m approx |
| Staines Regatta | | 07 | Penton Hook Lock | South of Saint Peter's Church | Down | 500 m |
| Sunbury Amateur Regatta | General (rarely has racing shell J1x) | 08 | Molesey Lock | Sunbury Court Island | Up | 650 m |
| Thames Ditton Regatta | | 05 | Teddington Lock | By Thames Ditton Island | Up | 920 m |
| Thames Valley Park Regatta | | 06 | Sonning Lock | | Up | 500 m |
| Wallingford Regatta | | 05 | Dorney Lake | | Still | 2000 m |
| Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta | General (no racing shells) | 08 | Marsh Lock | Shiplake Railway Bridge | Down | 400 m |
"General" refers to a mix of skiffing, cutters, dinghies and other rowed craft.

## Head of the River and long-distance events

Head of the River races (Heads) and other long-distance events dominate the winter months, and are usually processional (time trials): competitors set off at time intervals, and results are on the basis of comparative timing or by bumping (catching up the boat in front). Many of them on the Tideway are raced over The Championship Course, and apart from the Boat Race and Wingfield Sculls, may begin from Mortlake (west) or Putney (east) whichever tide matches the middle of the day or other central racing hours.
| Event | Special | Month | Area or Lock Reach | Approx. start point | Direction | Distance |
| Eights Week | University of Oxford | 05 | Iffley Lock | | Up | |
| Hammersmith Head | | 03 | Tideway | Chiswick Bridge | Down | 4425 m |
| Head of the River Fours (the Fours Head) | | 11 | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m |
| Head of the River Race (the) | | 03 | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m |
| Reading University Head of the River | | 02/03 | Caversham Lock | The Roebuck Hotel, Tilehurst | Down | 4500 m |
| Schools' Head of the River Race | Junior | 03 | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m |
| Torpids | University of Oxford | 03 | Iffley Lock | | Up | |
| Vesta Veterans International VIIIs Head of River | Masters | 03 | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m |
| (Vesta/the) Scullers Head of River | | 09 | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m |
| Wingfield Sculls | | 10 | Tideway | Putney | With the flood tide | 6800 m |
| Women's Head | Ladies | 03 | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6500 m |

## Other events

* The Boat Race
* Women's Boat Race
* Henley Boat Races
* Doggett's Coat and Badge
* Great River Race

## Clubs

Rowing on the river is generally organised through clubs based on the Thames, which include the following.

### Competing many times per year

* Abingdon Rowing Club
* Auriol Kensington Rowing Club$^H$
* Barn Elms Rowing Club
* Barnes Bridge Ladies Rowing Club$^{Ch}$
* Burway Rowing Club, (Laleham)
* City of Oxford Rowing Club
* Curlew Rowing Club$^G$
* Cygnet Rowing Club$^{Ch}$
* East India Club Rowing Section$^{Ch}$
* Eton Excelsior Rowing Club
* Falcon Boat Club (Oxford)
* Fulham Reach Boat Club
* Furnivall Sculling Club$^H$
* Globe Rowing Club$^G$
* Goring Gap Rowing Club
* Henley Rowing Club
* HSBC Rowing Club
* Kingston Rowing Club
* Leander Club
* London Rowing Club
* Maidenhead Rowing Club
* Marlow Rowing Club
* Molesey Boat Club
* Mortlake Anglian & Alpha Boat Club$^{Ch}$
* Parr's Priory Rowing Club
* Poplar Blackwall and District Rowing Club
* Putney Town Rowing Club$^M$
* Quintin Boat Club$^{Ch}$
* Reading Rowing Club
* Sons of the Thames$^H$
* Staines Boat Club
* Thames Rowing Club
* Thames Tradesmen's Rowing Club$^{Ch}$
* Tideway Scullers School$^{Ch}$
* Twickenham Rowing Club
* Upper Thames Rowing Club
* Vesta Rowing Club
* Walbrook Rowing Club, (Teddington)
* Wallingford Rowing Club
* Walton Rowing Club
* Weybridge Ladies ARC
* Weybridge Rowing Club
Superscript key:
* $^G$: in Greenwich
* $^H$: in Hammersmith
* $^M$: in Mortlake
* $^{Ch}$: in Chiswick (Note: Cygnet & BBL share premises)

### Universities

* Imperial College Boat Club
** Imperial College School of Medicine Boat Club
* Kingston Student Rowing Club (formerly Kingston University Boat Club )
* Oxford Brookes University Boat Club
* Oxford University Boat Club
* Reading University Boat Club
* University of London Boat Club
** King's College London Boat Club
** Queen Mary, University of London Boat Club
** University College London Boat Club

### Schools

* Abingdon School Boat Club
* Emanuel School Boat Club
* Eton College Boat Club
* Great Marlow School Boat Club
* Hampton School Boat Club
* Headington School Oxford Boat Club
* King's College School Boat Club
* Kingston Grammar School Boat Club
* Lady Eleanor Holles School Boat Club
* Latymer Upper School Boat Club
* Pangbourne College Boat Club
* Radley College Boat Club
* Shiplake College Boat Club
* St Edward's School Boat Club
* St George's College
* St Paul's and St Paul's Girls' School Boat Clubs
* Sir William Borlase's Grammar School Boat Club
* Sir William Perkins's School Boat Club
* Tiffin School Boat Club
* Westminster School Boat Club
* Windsor Boys' School Boat Club