City of Oxford Royal Regatta
The City of Oxford Royal Regatta is a two-day regatta held each August on the Isis, the name given to the Thames at Oxford. It has been held since 1841, with breaks only in wartime, and is run by City of Oxford Rowing Club.
The course
| Day | Distance | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 1,000 m | Christ Church Meadow, below Folly Bridge | Long Bridges |
| Sunday | 500 m sprint | Opposite the university boat club | Long Bridges |
Both courses are rowed downstream. There are two lanes, and a line of buoys keeps the racing clear of the navigation channel.
A narrow river
The Isis is only about 2,000 metres long between Folly Bridge and Iffley Lock, and it is narrow in places. Crews going up to the start share the river with crews racing down, so a strict circulation pattern is enforced.
The same water is used for the university’s bumps races, Torpids and Summer Eights, in which college crews chase one another in line.
Who races
The regatta offers events for men, women, juniors, masters and mixed crews. It is one of the last river regattas of the summer.
Watching
The towpath runs the full length of the course, with Christ Church Meadow on the opposite bank.
Other events
City of Oxford Rowing Club also runs the Isis Sculls, a head race for sculling boats, in the autumn.