- Rowing on the River Thames
The
River Thames is one of the main rowing areas in England, with activity taking place on theTideway and on the 45 separate lock reaches on the non tidal section. The river hosts two major rowing eventsThe Boat Race andHenley Royal Regatta , and a large number of other regattas and long distance events take place on the river.Dorney Lake inBuckinghamshire 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 theRedgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake andRoyal Albert Dock . Rowing, orsculling , includesskiffing , 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."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 theTideway are raced overThe Championship Course and apart from the Boat Race and Wingfield Sculls may begin from Mortlake or Putney depending on river conditions.Other Events
*
The Boat Race
*Doggett's Coat and Badge
*Great River Race Clubs
Rowing on the river is generally organised through clubs, which include the following.
Major Clubs
*Abingdon Rowing Club
*Auriol Kensington Rowing Club
*Barn Elms Rowing Club
*Barnes Bridge Ladies Rowing Club
*Burway Rowing Club
*City of Oxford Rowing Club
*Cygnet Rowing Club
*Curlew Rowing Club
*Furnivall Sculling Club
*Henley Rowing Club
*HSBC Rowing Club
*Kingston Rowing Club
*Leander Club
*London Rowing Club
*Maidenhead Rowing Club
*Marlow Rowing Club
*Molesey Boat Club
*Nautilus Rowing Club
*Poplar Blackwall and District Rowing Club
*Putney Town Rowing Club
*Reading Rowing Club
*Sons of the Thames
*Staines Boat Club
*Thames Rowing Club
*Thames Tradesmen Rowing Club
*Tideway Scullers School
*Twickenham Rowing 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
*University of London Boat Club :*Queen Mary, University of London Boat Club
*Oxford Brookes University Boat Club
*Oxford University Boat Club :*Brasenose College Boat Club (Oxford) :*Hertford College Boat Club :*Jesus College Boat Club (Oxford) :*Pembroke College Boat Club (Oxford)
*Reading University Boat Club chools
*
Abingdon School Boat Club
*Dulwich College Boat Club
*Emanuel School Boat Club
*Eton College Boat Club
*Hampton School Boat Club
*Headington School 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 Boat Club
*Pangbourne College Boat Club
*Putney High School Boat Club
*Radley College Boat Club
*Reading Bluecoat School Boat Club
*Shiplake College Boat Club
*St George's College Boat Club
*St Paul's School Boat Club
*Tiffin School Boat Club
*Westminster School Boat Club
*Windsor Boys School Boat ClubPoetry of Rowing
:"Jolly boating weather,":"And a hay harvest breeze,":"Blade on the feather,":"Shade off the trees,":"Swing swing together,":"With your bodies between your knees,":"Swing swing together,":"With your bodies between your knees."
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 rhymeRow, Row, Row Your Boat .:"Row, row, row your boat,":"Gently down the stream.":"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,":"Life is like a dream."
References
*British Rowing Almanack (2006)
External links
* [http://www.thames-rrc.org/rowing-on-the-thames Thames Regional Rowing Council]
* [http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/david_biddulph/ David Biddulph's rowing pages]
* [http://www.portoflondon.co.uk/pdfs/maritime/Rowing_Chart_270906.pdf 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.
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