Rowing on the River Thames
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 many other regattas and long-distance events take place on the river. Dorney Lake in Berkshire 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.
Regattas[]
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June | Tideway | 1000 m | ||||
May | Tideway | 1000 m | ||||
Junior | July | Chertsey Lock | Down | 600 m | ||
Chertsey Regatta | Skiffing | July | Shepperton Lock | Dumsey Meadow | Down | 500 m |
April or May | Tideway | 1000 m | ||||
Egham Regatta | June | Bell Weir Lock | Bell Weir | Up | 650 m | |
July | Cleeve Lock | Down | 500 m | |||
April | Tideway (Crab Tree/Chiswick Reach) |
Fulham football ground (flood tide)/ Lep wharf (ebb tide) | 1400 m | |||
Hampton Court and Dittons Regatta | Skiffing | July | Teddington Lock | River Mole | Down | 650 m |
Henley Royal Regatta | July | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 2112 m | |
July or August | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 1000 m | ||
Veterans | July | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 1000 m | |
Henley Women's Regatta | Ladies | June | Hambleden Lock | Temple Island | Up | 1500 m |
Kingston Regatta | July | Teddington Lock | Raven's Ait | Down | 1000 m | |
Maidenhead Regatta | August | Bray Lock | Maidenhead Railway Bridge | Up | 500 m | |
Junior | May | Bray Lock | Maidenhead Railway Bridge | Up | 500 m | |
Marlow Regatta | June | Dorney Lake | Still | 2000 m | ||
May | Marlow Lock | Down | 950 m | |||
Marlow Town Regatta | June | Marlow Lock | Down | 900 m | ||
Metropolitan Regatta | May/ June | Dorney Lake | Still | 2000 m | ||
Molesey Regatta | July | Molesey Lock | Platts Eyot | Down | 850 m | |
Junior | July | Molesey Lock | Platts Eyot | Down | 500 m | |
August | Iffley Lock | Down | 1000 m | |||
August | Iffley Lock | Down | 500 m | |||
May | Tideway Fulham Reach |
1200 m | ||||
Reading Amateur Regatta | June | Caversham Lock | St Mary's Island | Down | 1500 m | |
Reading Town Regatta | June | Thames Valley Park | Up | 800 m | ||
June | Tideway (Horse Reach) |
Downstream end of Eel Pie Island | Down | 1250 m | ||
Skiff Championships Regatta | Skiffing | August | Hambleden Lock | Henley on Thames | Down | 750 m |
Sonning Regatta | General | May | Sonning Lock | |||
Staines Regatta | July | Penton Hook Lock | Down | 500 m | ||
Sunbury Amateur Regatta | General | August | Molesey Lock | Sunbury Court Island | Up | 650 m |
Thames Ditton Regatta | May | Teddington Lock | River Mole | Up | 1050 m | |
Thames Valley Park Regatta | June | Sonning Lock | Up | 500 m | ||
May | Tideway (Horse Reach) |
Downstream end of Eel Pie Island | 1250 m | |||
Wallingford Regatta | May | Dorney Lake | Still | 2000 m | ||
June | Sunbury Lock | Walton Bridge | Down | 1000 m | ||
Skiffing | August | Sunbury Lock | Walton on Thames | Down | 600 m | |
Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta | General | August | Marsh Lock | Shiplake Railway Bridge | Down | 400 m |
Ladies | June | Sunbury Lock | Up | 900 m | ||
Skiffing | July | Bell Weir Lock | Hythe End | Down | 500 m |
"General" refers to a mix of skiffing, cutters, dinghies and other rowed craft.
Head of River and Long Distance Events[]
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 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
April | Culham Lock | Up | 2000 m | ||||
February | Chertsey Lock | M3 Bridge | Up | 3000 m | |||
December | Chertsey Lock | M3 Bridge | Up | 3000 m | |||
Eights Week | University of Oxford | May | Iffley Lock | Up | |||
February | Tideway | Up | 3 miles | ||||
Hammersmith Head | March | Tideway | Chiswick Bridge | Down | 2¾ miles | ||
Ladies | Tideway | ||||||
Junior | January | Molesey Lock | Down | 3000 m | |||
Head of the River Fours | November | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m | ||
Head of the River Race | March | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m | ||
February | Hambleden Lock | Up | 3000 m | ||||
Junior | February | Hambleden Lock | Up | 3000 m | |||
November | Hambleden Lock | Up | 3000 m | ||||
September | Iffley Lock | Up | 1800 m | ||||
March | Teddington Lock | River Mole | Down | 5200 m | |||
November | Teddington Lock | Dittons Skiff and Punting Club | Down | 5000 m | |||
November | Cookham Lock | Cookham Bridge | Up | 2400/4800 m | |||
Veteran | February | Molesey Lock | Down | 3000 m | |||
April | Iffley Lock | ||||||
Junior | November | Whitchurch Lock | Child Beale Park | Down | 3000 m | ||
October | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m | |||
October | Caversham Lock | 1000m downstream of Roebuck Hotel | Down | 3300 m | |||
Reading University Head of the River | February/March | Caversham Lock | The Roebuck Hotel, Tilehurst | Down | 4500 m | ||
Schools' Head of the River Race | Junior | March | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m | |
November | Teddington Lock | Dittons Skiff and Punting Club | Down | 5000 m | |||
January | Dorney Lake | ||||||
Torpids | University of Oxford | March | Iffley Lock | Up | |||
April | Tideway | ||||||
October | Teddington Lock | Down | 5300 m | ||||
October | Hambleden Lock | Up | 3500 m | ||||
Vesta Veterans International Eights Head of the River Race | Veteran | March | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m | |
Vesta Scullers Head of River Race | November/ December | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m | ||
Veteran | November | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6800 m | ||
October | Cleeve Lock | Moulsford Railway Bridge | Up | 4000 m | |||
December | Sunbury Lock | Down | 3000 m | ||||
October | Sunbury Lock | Up | 3300 m | ||||
January | Sunbury Lock | Up | 3000 m | ||||
Wingfield Sculls | October | Tideway | Putney | Up | 6800 m | ||
Women's Head | Ladies | March | Tideway | Championship Course | Either | 6500 m |
Other events[]
Clubs[]
Rowing on the river is generally organised through clubs based on the Thames, which include the following.
Major clubs[]
- Abingdon Rowing Club
- Auriol Kensington Rowing Club
- Barnes Bridge Ladies Rowing Club
- Burway Rowing Club
- City of Oxford Rowing Club
- Curlew Rowing Club
- Cygnet Rowing Club
- East India Club Rowing Section
- Eton Excelsior Rowing Club
- Furnivall Sculling Club
- Globe Rowing Club
- Henley Rowing Club
- Kingston Rowing Club
- Leander Club
- London Rowing Club
- Maidenhead Rowing Club
- Marlow Rowing Club
- Molesey Boat Club
- Mortlake Anglian & Alpha Boat Club
- Nautilus Rowing Club
- Poplar Blackwall and District Rowing Club
- Putney Town Rowing Club
- Quintin Boat Club
- Reading Rowing Club
- Sons of the Thames
- Sport Imperial Boat Club
- Staines Boat Club
- Thames Rowing Club
- Thames Tradesmen's Rowing Club
- Tideway Scullers School
- Twickenham Rowing Club
- Tyrian Club
- Upper Thames Rowing Club
- Vesta Rowing Club
- Walbrook Rowing Club
- Wallingford Rowing Club
- Walton Rowing Club
- Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club
- Weybridge Rowing Club
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
- Royal Free and University College Medical School Boat Club
- University College London Boat Club
Schools[]
- Abingdon School Boat Club
- Charterhouse School Boat Club
- Chiswick School Boat Club
- Dulwich College Boat Club
- Emanuel School Boat Club
- Eton College Boat Club
- Godolphin and Latymer School 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
- London Oratory School Boat Club
- The Oratory School Boat Club
- Pangbourne College Boat Club
- Putney High School Boat Club
- Radley College Boat Club
- Reading Blue Coat School Boat Club
- Shiplake College Boat Club
- Sir William Borlase's Grammar School Boat Club
- St Edward's School Boat Club
- St George's College
- St Paul's School Boat Club
- St Paul's Girls' School Boat Club
- Sir William Perkins's School Boat Club
- Strode's College Boat Club
- Tiffin School Boat Club
- Westminster School Boat Club
- Windsor Boys' School Boat Club
References[]
- British Rowing Almanack (2006)
External links[]
- Thames Regional Rowing Council
- David Biddulph's rowing pages
- The Port of London Rowing Chart includes a map of the Tideway showing detailed rules for rowers, the deep water channel, local rowing clubs and other landmarks.
- Rowing on the River Thames
- Rowing competitions
- Sport on the River Thames