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 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.
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 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.
The Boat Race
Doggett's Coat and Badge
Great River Race
Rowing on the river is generally organised through clubs based on the Thames, which include the following.
Abingdon Rowing Club
Auriol Kensington Rowing Club
Barn Elms Rowing Club
Barnes Bridge Ladies Rowing Club
Burway Rowing Club
City of Oxford Rowing Club
Curlew Rowing Club
Cygnet Rowing Club
Eton Excelsior Rowing Club
Furnivall Sculling Club
Goring Gap Rowing Club
Henley Rowing Club
HSBC 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
Parr's Priory 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
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
Roehampton University Rowing Club
University of London Boat Club
London School of Economics Rowing Club
King's College London Boat Club
Queen Mary, University of London Boat Club
Royal Holloway, University of London Boat Club
Royal Free and University College Medical School Boat Club
Royal Veterinary College Boat Club
St Bartholomew's and the London Hospitals' Boat Club
St. George's Hospital Boat Club
University College London Boat Club
Westminster University Boat Club
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
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 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
St Edward's School, Oxford Boat Club
St George's College Boat Club
St Paul's School Boat Club
St Paul's Girls' School Boat Club
Strode's College Boat Club
Tiffin School Boat Club
Westminster School Boat Club
Windsor Boys' School Boat Club
