Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a knockout rowing regatta held each summer on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. It was first held in 1839 and has been “Royal” since 1851, when Prince Albert became its patron.
The 2027 regatta runs from Tuesday 29 June to Sunday 4 July.
How the racing works
Henley is match racing. Two crews race side by side, the winner goes through to the next round and the loser is out. Most regattas put six crews across a lake; Henley has room for two lanes only, and that shapes everything about it.
The draw decides who meets whom. A crew may need to win five races in six days to take a trophy. Finals are rowed on the Sunday.
The regatta is run by its own Stewards under its own rules. It is older than the national and international federations and has kept its own way of doing things, including the length of the course.
The course
The course is 1 mile 550 yards long, which is 2,112 metres. That is 112 metres further than the standard international distance.
Crews race upstream. The start is at Temple Island and the finish is close to the town, a short way below Henley Bridge. The two lanes are named after the counties on each bank: the Buckinghamshire station and the Berkshire station.
Two points on the course are used for intermediate times:
- the Barrier, a little under a third of the way along;
- Fawley, close to half way.
A crew that leads at Fawley usually wins, but the long finish past the enclosures has turned many races.
The main events
Each event has its own trophy, and rowers refer to the event by the trophy’s name.
| Trophy | Boat | Who enters |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Challenge Cup | Men’s eight | Open, the senior event of the regatta |
| Remenham Challenge Cup | Women’s eight | Open |
| Diamond Challenge Sculls | Men’s single scull | Open |
| Princess Royal Challenge Cup | Women’s single scull | Open |
| Thames Challenge Cup | Men’s eight | Club crews |
| Temple Challenge Cup | Men’s eight | Student crews |
| Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup | Men’s eight | Junior crews from schools |
The Grand Challenge Cup has been raced since the first regatta in 1839. National squads and leading clubs from overseas enter the open events, which is why a July afternoon at Henley can show an Olympic crew and a school eight within the same hour.
Watching the regatta
There are three ways to watch on the day.
- The Stewards’ Enclosure, next to the finish, is for members and their guests and has a dress code.
- Other enclosures along the course sell tickets or hospitality. Arrangements change from year to year, so check before you travel.
- The towpath on the Berkshire bank is a public footpath. You can walk the length of the course beside the racing without a ticket.
Racing goes on for most of the day, with races started a few minutes apart on the busier days. The quieter days early in the week give the best view from the towpath. Friday to Sunday draw the largest crowds.
The regatta has streamed its racing live on YouTube since 2015, with every race available free of charge.
Henley and the rest of the season
Henley closes the domestic regatta season. Club and student crews build towards it through the spring regattas, and qualifying races are held on the course the week before for events with more entries than places.
Henley Women’s Regatta and Henley Masters Regatta are separate events on the same stretch of river, held on different dates and run by their own committees.