The Fantasy Rowing Guide to Henley Royal Regatta Events

When all the events have fancy names, it can be confusing trying to understand what’s going on, let alone make wise predictions about who is going to win.

So we’re breaking it down for you…

There are now 27 events on offer at HRR and each event follows the following pattern:

Sex-Based Category // Racing Category // Boat Class

Sex-Based Category: Women or Everyone (“Open” - formerly Men’s)
Racing Category: Junior >> Student >> Club >> Intermediate >> Premier.
Boat Class: e.g. Eights, Coxed Fours etc

So events are things like Women’s Student Coxless Fours or Open Junior Eights.

Racing Categories

Delving beneath the surface there are five categories of racing, each representing a different tier of the sport.

In theory they follow a hierarchy, but exceptionally fast crews have been known to post times that would frighten the ‘higher’ tier crews.

Click to learn more about each category:

- The highest category of racing for each boat class.
- Often contended by National Team crews (but sometimes they’ll race as a club).
- All boat classes except Coxed Fours have a Premier event.
- A tier below Premier, Intermediate events are often won by crews on the brink of the National Team or Under 23 National Team level.
- It’s not unusual for the Intermediate events to be faster than the Premier events depending on who turns up.
- Generally speaking this category is for the true amateurs, folks with jobs who row in their spare time.
- Often it’s fairly easy to know who the strong domestic crews are if you follow the build up but the overseas crews can be tricky in this category.
- This is a category for full time students only.
- While it’s mainly for Universities, schools are also eligibile and sometimes enter their second crews (putting their first eights into the prestigious junior events)
- This is for the Junior rowers.
- Is extremely competitive at the top end.

Boat Classes

Rowing and sculling boats are classified by the number of rowers and whether there is a coxswain.
Below is a guide to each boat class offered at Henley - ranging in size from the eight (8+) down to the single scull (1×).

Rowing Boats (Sweep Rowing)

In sweep rowing, each rower holds a single oar with both hands. Sweep boats are denoted by “+” if they include a coxswain (who steers and motivates) or “–” if coxless.

8+ (Eight with Coxswain)

The “eight” is the largest sweep boat. It seats eight rowers (each with one sweep oar) and a coxswain who steers and calls the pace. It is the fastest boat class and the only boat class that Henley offers in every category.

4+ (Coxed Four)

The “coxed four” has four rowers each handling one sweep oar, plus a coxswain. It offers a balance of stability and speed, often used for club and student-level competition.

4− (Coxless Four)

In the “coxless four,” four rowers manage one oar each, but without a coxswain. Steering is done by one rower via a foot-controlled rudder.

2− (Coxless Pair)

The “pair” seats two rowers, each with one sweep oar, and no coxswain. One athlete steers with a foot rudder. It requires exceptional technique and balance.

Sculling Boats

In sculling, each rower holds two oars (one in each hand). Boat classes are indicated with an “×” (times symbol) to distinguish them from sweep boats.

4× (Quadruple Scull)

The “quad” seats four scullers, each with two oars. It has no coxswain and steering is managed by one of the rowers. Quads combine speed and technical challenge, and are a staple at major regattas.

2× (Double Scull)

The “double” has two scullers, each with a pair of oars. There is no coxswain; steering is done either via a foot-operated rudder or using oar pressure.

1× (Single Scull)

The “single” is the smallest and most technical sculling boat. One athlete, two oars, no coxswain. It demands superb balance and precision as well as athleticism.

Events at Henley

So, we know there are 5 categories, 7 boat classes, and that events are either Open or Women’s.

But not all combinations are offered because there simply wouldn’t be enough time to include 70 different events. So the tables below show the selected events that are offered and includes the name of the trophy for each event.

Every category is offered in the eights boat class so there’s lots of eights racing.
Every boat class (except coxed fours) is offered in the premier category.
Only seven events fall outside of the eights boat class and/or Premier category and they are typically popular boat classes in that tier - e.g. Coxed fours are popular among student and club rowers and quad sculls are popular with juniors.

  Open Events
  
      Event
      Junior
      Student
      Club
      Intermediate
      Premier
    
      8+ Eights
      Princess Elizabeth
      Temple
      Thames
      Ladies Plate
      Grand
    
      4+ Coxed Fours
      
      Prince Albert
      Britannia
      
      4− Coxless Fours
      
      Wyfold
      Visitors
      Stewards
    
      2− Coxless Pairs
      
      Goblets
    
      4× Quad Sculls
      Fawley
      
      Prince of Wales
      Queen Mother
    
      2× Double Sculls
      
      Double Sculls
    
      1× Single Sculls
      
      Diamonds

  Women’s Events
  
      Event
      Junior
      Student
      Club
      Intermediate
      Premier
    
      8+ Eights
      Prince Philip
      Island
      Wargrave
      Bridge
      Remenham
    
      4+ Coxed Fours
      
      4− Coxless Fours
      
      Town
    
      2− Coxless Pairs
      
      Hambledon
    
      4× Quad Sculls
      Diamond Jubilee
      
      Princess Grace
    
      2× Double Sculls
      
      Stonor
    
      1× Single Sculls
      
      Princess Royal

Hopefully this quick guide has helped to take you beyond the jargon that comes as second nature to anyone that has been a part of the sport for more than a few years.

And more importantly, we hope it will help you to make better predictions in this year’s Fantasy Henley!

Good Luck!