Four’s head has come and gone for another year. But what can we learn from the results of the first tideway head of the year. Leander regain their status as the country’s most elite rowing club, Cambridge edge Oxford in the first show down between boat race squads, and conditions are fast, with 10 out of 12 records broken. However what stood out most to me was the geography of the results: Only 2 winners (Cambridge University Academic Open and Women’s 4+) came from clubs not based on the river Thames. Additionally these Cambridge wins were both the furthest from London as the crow flies and the most northern by latitude. Indeed, only 4 non-Thames clubs even made it into the top 3 of any event (Cambridge, Nottingham, Worcester and Royal Chester). To an uninformed onlooker, it might well seem that rowing doesn’t exist outside of the south of England, and specifically, the Thames valley. But why is this the case?*
It is important to acknowledge that rowing has it’s spiritual ‘home’ on the River Thames. After all the two most traditional rowing races in the world (Henley, and the Boat Races) both take place on this river. So it is natural that this area becomes a pilgrimage site for those wanting to experience the highest quality rowing.
It is also important to consider rowing’s status as a sport of the elite. Rowing requires wealth, and in a country where the geographical distribution of wealth is skewed towards the south of England, it is fair to expect most of the rowers to be there as well.
But it is also important for Thames rowers to understand why it can be much harder to be competitive in rowing if you aren’t from the right part of the country.
For a regional club, going to a Tideway head or a Dorney Lake regatta to ‘prove themselves’ is not a small undertaking. The costs of travelling to, and staying in, London or Berkshire are themselves a disadvantage. The time taken to trailer to and from the event is not inconsiderable. But why are all the events which ‘matter’ concentrated in such a small part of the country? And why are they so popular?
Tideway heads are nearly always over-subscribed. Why? Because we are told to believe (by the organisers, and by our coaches) that these are the heads that matter. These are the heads on The Championship Course, where for nearly two centuries Oxford and Cambridge have fought titanic contests (Facing the other way, side by side, in the spring, and not for women or lightweights for most of those two centuries).
But without this Oxbridge sheen, what do you have left? Water. Not even good water at that; often too choppy to row safely, full of sewage (raw sewage was indeed pumped into the Thames prior to Pair’s Head this year), and with some of the worst river traffic problems this country has to offer. Not to mention various non-rowing hazards, with even more seeking planning permission. Better stretches of water exist. But the Tideway retains its special status, largely because of the status quo; everyone who matters in rowing has spent their career racing on the Thames, or training on a lake just off of it.
Not every major rowing event used to be held in the Thames Valley. After all, depending upon who you believe, the oldest regatta in this country is either in Chester or Durham. In the present day, BUCS manages regionalisation well, consistency holding its head race in the North of England, and its regatta at Nottingham, with a high class field at both proving that London clubs will travel like the rest of us if required. However, BUCS is one of the only big events left at Nottingham, following the scrapping of British Rowing Senior Championships, and National Schools having moved to Dorney Lake in 2016. For school clubs in particular, this means the highlight of their season (unless going to Henley) is now also at Dorney, creating a natural advantage with regards to travel for those located in the Thames Valley, let alone making it much easier for London-based parents to come and support, and leaving many from further afield without crucial parental support.
So how can we solve this problem?
How can rowing ‘level up’? Firstly, there needs to be changes to the status quo regarding significant races. Perhaps National Schools should consider a return to the midlands? As always, a tremendous amount of power rests in the hands of the Henley Stewards. By replacing some southern ‘qualifying’ regattas with events elsewhere in the country, they could shift the balance regarding what events are considered the ‘must-enters’ of the summer season, and give home advantage to a different set of clubs for a change.
The regions of this country are home to not just a vast breadth of both actual and potential rowing talent, but also some of the UK’s cleanest, most scenic, and interesting waterways, each with a storied history to rival that of the Thames. Some long, some short, some tidal, some still, some rivers, some lakes, but many would host an equally good head race as the Tideway, or as good a regatta as Dorney, and if the powers that be would take the plunge and try extricating themselves from the Thames bubble for once, they might just see that.
*The author also acknowledges this year’s Four’s head results contain fewer regional crews than tried to enter due to the controversial entries policy adopted by the organisers, which specifically favoured high performance centres and Tideway clubs over other entries.
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