end. Eton rowing, on the other hand, has continued to prosper,
and for many years it has been the greatest “nursery” of first class oarsmen. Since 1861 the Eton College Boat Club has
never failed to enter a crew at Henley Regatta.
At Oxford the records of periodical races between college
boats begin as early as 1815, and those of Cambridge a few
years later. The first contest between eight-oared crews
representing the two universities took place at Henley-on-Thames
in June 1829. The second contest was not until 1836,
and was rowed from Westminster to Putney. In 1837 and
1838 the universities were unable to make a match, and in
each of those years a race was rowed between Cambridge and
the Leander Club, which had thus early become the premier
club of the tideway. It was not always easy in the early days
of boat-racing for the university boat clubs to agree as to the
conditions and time of the match, but on several occasions
when the universities had been unable to meet on the tideway
they fought their battle whilst competing for the Grand
Challenge Cup at Henley Regatta. Since 1856 the Oxford and
Cambridge boat race has been an annual event. It is rowed
about a week or ten days 'before Easter from Putney to Mortlake
over what is known as the championship course, a distance
of 414 m. The race is rowed with the flood-tide, and occupies
as a rule a time varying between 19 and 22 min. The
time occupied by a crew in covering this course depends a
great deal more upon the conditions of wind and tide than
upon the excellence, or the reverse, of the crew. The crew
of each university is selected by a president, usually one of the
senior members of the last crew, who is elected at the first
meeting in the summer term and holds office for a year. Thus
the university race comes at the end of his term of office, and
he has every opportunity during the summer and autumn of
studying the material which will be at his disposal for the formation
of a crew in the ensuing spring. The aquatic arrangements
at the two universities are very much alike. The university
year begins in October. During the winter term the freshmen
are instructed in the elements of rowing, while the senior men
are engaged in practising for the University (inter-collegiate)
Fours, a race which takes place early in November. During
the latter portion of the term the president of the University
Boat Club is engaged in selecting and coaching the trial eights,
two picked crews comprising the bulk of the material available
for the formation of the university crew. The trial eight races
are rowed in the beginning of December, that of Cambridge
on the Ouse at Ely, and that of Oxford on the Thames at
Moulsford, neither the Cam nor the Isis being wide enough
for two crews to race abreast. During the whole of the Easter
term the university crews are engaged in practice and training
for the University Boat Race. The attention of the remainder
of the rowing men at the universities is devoted to training for
the bumping races known at Oxford and Cambridge respectively
as the Torpids and Lent Races. Each college is represented in
these races, and no oarsman who has rowed in the first boat of
his college during the previous summer is qualified to compete.
The boats start at fixed distances apart, and each boat endeavours
to bump the boat in front of it, and to avoid being bumped
by the boat behind. When a bump is effected, the two boats
involved draw to the side, and the next night the successful
boat starts in front of its victim. Each spring the boats start
in the order in which they finished the previous year. The
races last for six nights at Oxford and four at Cambridge. In
the summer term the important bumping races between the
best crews of each college take place. They are known as
“The Eights” at Oxford and “The May Races” at Cambridge.
To attain the position of “Head of the River” in these races
is the summit of a college boat club’s ambition.
The great arena of rowing contests is Henley Royal Regatta. It was founded in 1839 at a public meeting held in the town hall at Henley-on-Thames, at which it was decided to raise a subscription and purchase two challenge cups, the Grand Challenge Cup to be rowed for annually in eight-oared boats open to all amateur crews, and the Town Challenge Cup for four-oared crews residing within 5 m. of Henley. The first regatta was held on the 14th of June 1839, and was a most successful affair, the Grand Challenge Cup being won by the Trinity Boat Club, Cambridge. In 1840 another district race was added, and in 1841 the Stewards Challenge Cup for four oars was added to the programme, open to competition upon the same conditions as the Grand Challenge Cup. There have now for many years been eight events at the regatta, four of which are open to all amateurs, viz. the Grand Challenge Cup for eight oars, the Stewards Challenge Cup for fours, the Silver Goblets for pair oars founded in 1845, and the Diamond Sculls for single scullers founded in 1844. The races for which the entry is restricted are the Ladies Challenge Plate for eight oars (founded 1845) and the Visitors Challenge Cup for four oars (founded 1847), which are open to crews from schools and colleges in the United Kingdom; also the Thames Challenge Cup for eight oars (founded 1868) and Wyfold Challenge Cup for four oars (founded 1855). The rule as to entry for the Thames Cup is that no one who has won the Grand Challenge or Stewards Cup may compete, nor may any one enter for this race and for the Grand or Stewards Cups in the same year. The rule for the Wyfold Cup is the same, except that a competitor may also enter for the Grand Challenge Cup.
The original regatta course was from the upper end of the Temple Island to Henley Bridge, but a change was made in 1886 so as to avoid the corner at the finish. The races now start at the lower end of the island and finish at the upper end of the grounds of Phyllis Court. The course is 1 m. 550 yds. in length and about 110 ft. in width. The races are rowed against the stream, and the time usually occupied by the winning crew of the Grand Challenge Cup is within a few seconds of 7 min. In 1843 took place the famous “seven-oar” victory of Oxford. At the eleventh hour one of the Oxford crew was incapacitated by illness. Their opponents, the Cambridge Subscription Rooms Club, refused to allow them to introduce a substitute, and the Oxford men gained undying fame by winning the Grand Challenge Cup with seven oars. Ten years later (1853) there was a magnificent race between Oxford and Cambridge in the Grand Challenge Cup, the former winning by 18 in. only. In 1862 there was a dead heat in the final heat of the Diamond Sculls between Mr E. D. Brickwood and Mr W. B. Woodgate. In 1878 occurred the memorable contest between Mr T. C. Edwards-Moss and Mr G. W. Lee (U.S.A.) in a heat for the Diamond Sculls which was won on the post by the former. In 1891 the Leander Club, after a dead heat with the Thames R.C., began a series of victories in the Grand Challenge Cup, winning the cup on seven occasions in the next ten years. In 1892 the Diamond Sculls left England for the first time, having been won by Mr J. J. K. Ooms of Holland. In 1895 a crew representing Cornell University, U.S.A., entered for the Grand Challenge Cup and were drawn in their heat against the Leander Club. Owing to a misunderstanding between the starter and the Leander crew, the latter failed to start, and the Cornell crew rowed on to the finish without offering to return to the start, a proceeding which caused no little comment at the time. On the following day they were defeated by Trinity Hall, Cambridge, the ultimate winners. In 1897 the Grand Challenge Cup was won by 2 ft. by New College, Oxford, in the record time of 6 min. 51 secs., after a desperate race with Leander. The feature of the next ten years was the persistency with which colonial and foreign crews endeavoured to carry off the principal prizes of the regatta, and the invasion culminated in 1906 by the capture of the Grand Challenge Cup by a crew from the Club Nautique de Gand, Belgium. On this occasion the Leander Club was not represented, but in 1907 the Belgians repeated their victory after defeating a strong Leander crew in one of the heats. In 1903 Mr Herbert Steward, the chairman of the regatta committee, published a detailed record of the regatta from its commencement, which gives a complete history of the meeting and an account of every race.
Henley regatta is rowed “in accordance with” the rules of
