Rowing on the River Thames

The Thames is one of the main rowing rivers in Europe. 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 inland the river hosts a tournament week of racing: Henley Royal Regatta which culminates the first weekend of July.

It is on the long, tidal course of the Boat Race, the Championship Course, that at least 12 head of the river races are held every year – 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.

Dorney Lake between Slough and Windsor, Berkshire is an international Cup, standard-distance rowing lake besides the Thames, and hosts 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.

Today punts are almost wholly recreational. Event-raced, self-propelled boats on the Thames chiefly comprise (Olympic) racing shells, (Thames) skiffs, dragon boats, dongolas, dinghies, inflatable rafts and larger skiffs known as cutters. Most events are for racing shells.

Rowing in winter on The Isis also known as Thames

Regatta at Molesey (1874) Alfred Sisley

Regattas[edit]

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
Barnes and Mortlake Regatta		06	Tideway			1000 m
Borne at Chiswick Bridge		05	Tideway			1000 m
Burway Junior Regatta	Junior	07	Chertsey Lock	Burway RC, Laleham	Down	600 m
Chertsey Regatta	Skiffing	07	Shepperton Lock	Dumsey Meadow	Down	500 m
Chiswick Regatta		04/05	Tideway			1000 m
Egham Regatta		06	Bell Weir Lock	Bell Weir	Up	650 m
Goring and Streatley Regatta	General (no racing shells)	07	Cleeve Lock	Lower Basildon	Down	500 m
Hammersmith Regatta		04	Tideway (Crab Tree/Chiswick Reach)	Fulham football ground (flood tide)/ Lep wharf (ebb tide)		1400 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 Town and Visitors Regatta		07/08	Hambleden Lock	Temple Island	Up	1000 m
Henley Veterans Regatta	Veterans	07	Hambleden Lock	Temple Island	Up	1000 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
Maidenhead Junior Regatta	Junior	05	Bray Lock	Maidenhead Railway Bridge	Up	500 m
Marlow Regatta		06	Dorney Lake		Still	2000 m
Marlow Spring Regatta		04/05	Marlow Lock	Bisham Abbey	Down	950 m
Marlow Town Regatta		06	Marlow Lock	Bisham Abbey	Down	900 m
Metropolitan Regatta		05/06	Dorney Lake		Still	2000 m
Molesey Regatta		07	Molesey Lock	Platts Eyot	Down	850 m
Molesey Junior Regatta	Junior	07	Molesey Lock	Platts Eyot	Down	500 m
Oxford City Royal Regatta		08	Iffley Lock		Down	1000 m
Oxford City Sprint Regatta		08	Iffley Lock		Down	500 m
Putney Town Regatta		05	Tideway Fulham Reach			1200 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
Richmond Regatta		06	Tideway (Horse Reach)	Downstream end of Eel Pie Island	Down	1250 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
Twickenham Regatta		05	Tideway (Horse Reach)	Downstream end of Eel Pie Island		1250 m
Wallingford Regatta		05	Dorney Lake		Still	2000 m
Walton and Weybridge Regatta		05/06	Sunbury Lock	Walton Bridge	Down	1000 m
Walton Reach Regatta	Skiffing	08	Sunbury Lock	Walton on Thames	Down	600 m
Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta	General (no racing shells)	08	Marsh Lock	Shiplake Railway Bridge	Down	400 m
Weybridge Ladies Regatta	Ladies	06	Sunbury Lock	End of Desborough Cut	Up	900 m
Wraysbury and Old Windsor Regatta	Skiffing	07	Bell Weir Lock	Hythe End	Down	500 m

"General" refers to a mix of skiffing, cutters, dinghies and other rowed craft.

Head of the River and long-distance events[edit]

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
Abingdon Head / Spring Head		04	Culham Lock	S.W. of Culham Cut's west end	Up	2000 m
Burway Head		02	Chertsey Lock	M3 Bridge	Up	3000 m
Burway Small Boats Head		12	Chertsey Lock	M3 Bridge	Up	3000 m
Eights Week	University of Oxford	05	Iffley Lock		Up
Greenwich Head		02	Tideway	Wapping Pier to P,B&D RC	Either, usu. down	5633 m
Hammersmith Head		03	Tideway	Chiswick Bridge	Down	4425 m
Hampton Fours and Eights Head	Junior	01	Molesey Lock	East of Sunbury Lock	Down	3000 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
Henley Fours and Eights Head		02	Hambleden Lock	Downstream of Temple Island	Up	3000 m
Henley Junior Head	Junior	02	Hambleden Lock	Downstream of Temple Island	Up	3000 m
Henley Sculls Head		11	Hambleden Lock	Downstream of Temple Island	Up	3000 m
Isis Sculls		09	Iffley Lock	Isis Boathouse	Up	1850 m (shorter for Div.4)
Kingston Head		03	Teddington Lock	River Mole	Down	5200 m
Kingston Small Boats Head		11	Teddington Lock	Dittons SPC	Down	5000 m
Marlow Long Distance Sculls		11	Cookham Lock	Cookham Bridge	Up	2400/4800 m
Molesey Veteran and Junior Head	Masters & Juniors	02	Molesey Lock	East of Sunbury Lock	Down	3000 m
Oxford City Bumping Races		04	Iffley Lock
Pangbourne Junior Sculls	Junior	11	Whitchurch Lock	Child Beale Park	Down	3000 m
Pairs Head (also for doubles)		10	Tideway	Championship Course	Either	6800 m
Quintin Head (eights only)		01/02	Tideway	Univ. stone/pole to Harrods Wharf	Either, usu. down	4600 m
Reading Small Boats Head		10	Caversham Lock	1000m downstream of Roebuck Hotel	Down	3300 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
Teddington Small Boats Head		11	Teddington Lock	Dittons Skiff and Punting Club	Down	5000 m
Thames Valley Trial Head		01	Dorney Lake
Torpids	University of Oxford	03	Iffley Lock		Up
Tiffin Small Boats Head		10	Teddington Lock	Garden gates of Hampton Court Palace	Down	5300 m
Upper Thames Small Boats Head		10	Hambleden Lock		Up	3500 m
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
Veteran Fours Head	Masters	11	Tideway	Championship Course	Either	6800 m
Wallingford LD Sculls		10	Cleeve Lock	Moulsford Railway Bridge	Up	4000 m
Walton Small Boats Head		12	Sunbury Lock	Elmbridge Canoe Club	Down	3000 m
Weybridge Silver Sculls		10	Sunbury Lock	Top end of E.A. barges upstream of Sunbury Weir	Up	3300 m
Weybridge Winter Head		01	Sunbury Lock	Top end of E.A. barges upstream of Sunbury Weir	Up	3000 m
Wingfield Sculls		10	Tideway	Putney	With the flood tide	6800 m
Women's Head	Ladies	03	Tideway	Championship Course	Either	6500 m