The River Thames is one of the main rowing areas in England, with activity taking place on the Tideway and on the 45 separate lock reaches on the non tidal section. The river hosts two major rowing events The Boat Race and Henley Royal Regatta, and a large number of other regattas and long distance events take place on the river. Dorney Lake in Buckinghamshire was opened specifically as a rowing lake besides the Thames and has become the venue for a few events that formerly took place on the river. Other lakes adjacent to the Thames are the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake and Royal Albert Dock. Rowing, or sculling, includes skiffing, dinghy racing and cutter racing in which the boats are also propelled by blades.
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Rowing Regattas generally take place during the summer months and usually consist of short side-by-side sprint events, with heats and finals.
Event | Special | Month | Area or Lock Reach | Approx Start Point | Direction | Distance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barnes and Mortlake Regatta | June | Tideway | 1000M | |||
Borne at Chiswick Bridge | May | Tideway | 1000M | |||
Burway Junior Regatta | Junior | July | Chertsey Lock | Down | 600M | |
Chertsey Regatta | Skiffing | July | Shepperton Lock | Dumsey Meadow | Down | 500M |
Chiswick Regatta | April or May | Tideway | 1000M | |||
Egham Regatta | June | Bell Weir Lock | Bell Weir | Up | 650M | |
Goring and Streatley Regatta | July | Cleeve Lock | Down | 500M | ||
Hammersmith Regatta | April | Tideway (Crab Tree/Chiswick Reach) |
Fulham football ground (flood tide)/ Lep wharf (ebb tide) | 1400M | ||
Hampton Court and Dittons Regatta | Skiffing | July | Teddington Lock | River Mole | Down | 650M |
Henley Royal Regatta | July | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 2112M | |
Henley Town and Visitors Regatta | July or August | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 1000M | |
Henley Veterans Regatta | Veterans | July | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 1000M |
Henley Women's Regatta | Ladies | June | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 1500M |
Kingston Regatta | July | Teddington Lock | Raven's Ait | Down | 1000M | |
Maidenhead Regatta | August | Bray Lock | M'dnhead Rly Br | Up | 500M | |
Maidenhead Junior Regatta | Junior | May | Bray Lock | M'dnhead Rly Br | Up | 500M |
Marlow Regatta | June | Dorney Lake | Still | 2000M | ||
Marlow Spring Regatta | May | Marlow Lock | Down | 950 | ||
Marlow Town Regatta | June | Marlow Lock | Down | 900 | ||
Metropolitan Regatta | May/ June | Dorney Lake | Still | 2000M | ||
Molesey Regatta | July | Molesey Lock | Platts Eyot | Down | 850M | |
Molesey Junior Regatta | Junior | July | Molesey Lock | Platts Eyot | Down | 500M |
Oxford City Royal Regatta | August | Iffley Lock | Down | 1000M | ||
Oxford City Sprint Regatta | August | Iffley Lock | Down | 500M | ||
Putney Town Regatta | May | Tideway Fulham Reach |
1200M | |||
Reading Amateur Regatta | June | Caversham Lock | St Mary's Island | Down | 1500M | |
Reading Town Regatta | June | Sonning Lock | Up | 800M | ||
Richmond Regatta | June | Tideway (Horse Reach) |
Downstream end of Eel Pie Island | Down | 1250M | |
Skiff Championships Regatta | Skiffing | August | Hambleden Lock | Henley on Thames | Down | 750M |
Sonning Regatta | General | May | Sonning Lock | |||
Staines Regatta | July | Penton Hook Lock | Down | 500M | ||
Sunbury Amateur Regatta | General | August | Molesey Lock | Sunbury Court Island | Up | 650M |
Thames Ditton Regatta | May | Teddington Lock | River Mole | Up | 1050M | |
Thames Valley Park Regatta | June | Sonning Lock | Up | 500M | ||
Twickenham Regatta | May | Tideway (Horse Reach) |
Downstream end of Eel Pie Island | 1250M | ||
Wallingford Regatta | May | Dorney Lake | Still | 2000M | ||
Walton and Weybridge Regatta | June | Sunbury Lock | Walton Bridge | Down | 1000M | |
Walton Reach Regatta | Skiffing | August | Sunbury Lock | Walton on Thames | Down | 600M |
Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta | General | August | Marsh Lock | Shiplake Railway Bridge | Down | 400M |
Weybridge Ladies Regatta | Ladies | June | Sunbury Lock | Up | 900M | |
Wraysbury and Old Windsor Regatta | Skiffing | July | Bell Weir Lock | Hythe End | Down | 500M |
"General" refers to a mix of skiffing, cutters, dinghies and other rowed craft.
Rowing Head of the River and Long Distance events generally take place in the winter months and are usually processional races with competitors being set off at time intervals and judged on the basis of comparative timing or by bumping (catching up the boat in front). Many of the long distance events on the Tideway are raced over The Championship Course and apart from the Boat Race and Wingfield Sculls may begin from Mortlake or Putney depending on river conditions.
Event | Special | Month | Area or Lock Reach | Approx Start Point | Direction | Distance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abingdon Head | April | Culham Lock | Up | 2000M | |||
Burway Head | February | Chertsey Lock | M3 Bridge | Up | 3000M | ||
Burway Small Boats Head | December | Chertsey Lock | M3 Bridge | Up | 3000M | ||
Eights Week | O.U. | May | Iffley Lock | Up | |||
Greenwich Head | February | Tideway | Wapping Pier | Up | 3 miles | ||
Hammersmith Head | March | Tideway | |||||
Hammersmith Women's Head | Ladies | Tideway | |||||
Hampton Fours and Eights Head | Junior | January | Molesey Lock | Down | 3000M | ||
Head of the River Fours | November | Tideway | Champs Course | Either | 6800M | ||
Head of the River Race | March | Tideway | Champs Course | Either | 6800M | ||
Henley Fours and Eights Head | February | Hambleden Lock | Up | 3000M | |||
Henley Junior Head | Junior | February | Hambleden Lock | Up | 3000M | ||
Henley Sculls Head | November | Hambleden Lock | Up | 3000M | |||
Isis Sculls | September | Iffley Lock | Up | 1800M | |||
Kingston Head | March | Teddington Lock | River Mole | Down | 6000M | ||
Kingston Small Boats Head | November | Teddington Lock | Dittons Skiff and Punting Club | Down | 5000M | ||
Marlow LD Sculls | November | Cookham Lock | Cookham Bridge | Up | 2400/4800M | ||
Molesey Veteran Head | Veteran | February | Molesey Lock | Down | 3000M | ||
Oxford City Bumping Races | April | Iffley Lock | |||||
Pangbourne Junior Sculls | Junior | November | Whitchurch Lock | Child Beale Park | Down | 3000M | |
Pairs Head of River | October | Tideway | Champs C. | Either | 6800M | ||
Reading Small Boats Head | October | Caversham Lock | 1000m Downstream of Roebuck Hotel | Down | 3300M | ||
Reading University Head of the River | February/March | Caversham Lock | The Roebuck Hotel, Tilehurst | Down | 4500M | ||
Schools' Head of the River Race | Junior | March | Tideway | Champs C. | Either | 6800M | |
Teddington Head | November | Teddington Lock | Dittons Skiff and Punting Club | Down | 5000M | ||
Thames Valley Trial Head | January | Dorney Lake | |||||
Torpids | O. U. | March | Iffley Lock | Up | |||
Tideway Scullers Head | April | Tideway | |||||
Tiffin Small Boats Head | October | Teddington Lock | Down | 5300M | |||
Upper Thames Small Boats Head | October | Hambleden Lock | Up | 3500M | |||
Vesta Veterans International Eights Head of the River Race | Veteran | March | Tideway | Champs C. | Either | 6800M | |
Vesta Scullers Head of River Race | November/ December | Tideway | Champs C | Either | 6800M | ||
Veteran Fours Head | Veteran | November | Tideway | Champs C. | Either | 6800M | |
Wallingford LD Sculls | October | Cleeve Lock | Moulsford Railway Bridge | Up | 4000M | ||
Walton Small Boats Head | December | Sunbury Lock | Down | 3000M | |||
Weybridge Silver Sculls | October | Sunbury Lock | Up | 3300M | |||
Weybridge Veteran and Junior Head | Veteran | March | Sunbury Lock | Up | 3000M | ||
Wingfield Sculls | October | Tideway | Putney | Up | 6800M | ||
Women's Head | Ladies | March | Tideway | Champs C. | Either | 6500M |
Rowing on the river is generally organised through clubs based on the Thames, which include the following.
The Eton Boating Song may be too sophisticated for the average riverside heckler, and an oarsman or oarswoman is more likely to be treated to a rendition of the nursery rhyme Row, Row, Row Your Boat.