It’s Sunday afternoon, 6th July. It’s sunny and warm; cheers are erupting from the enclosure. Two women’s eights barrel over the finish line, with one securing a brand new trophy for the very first time.
This week, the Henley Royal Regatta (HRR) Committee announced their changes to the 2025 Regatta, including a new intermediate women’s eight event and the appointment of two new committee members and five new stewards. These reflect an important step in the continuing effort to create equal opportunities for female athletes in a sport that historically excluded them.
I spoke with new Regatta chairman Richard Phelps about what these changes mean for the future of HRR, what we might expect in the coming years, and how the Regatta will continue to make change for the better.
“We need to take a good look at what is excellence today, what is excellence tomorrow, and what do we need to change to get there.” he says.
The Bridge Challenge Plate
Perhaps the most noticeable change following the committee’s annual general meeting this past week is the creation of a new event: The Bridge Challenge Plate.
The name draws inspiration from Anne Seymour Damer’s Tamesis and Isis sculptures on Henley Bridge, and the event serves as the women’s equivalent to “The Ladies’ Challenge Plate,” which was established exactly 180 years ago in 1845. It is the first women’s event in the intermediate category and, as the name suggests, serves as the much-needed ‘bridge’ for female crews between the premier and club/student categories.
As I see it, it also aims to bridge the gap between male and female participation at the Regatta. Phelps describes how gender parity has been a goal for the Committee for at least the past ten years, so “having a women’s event in the intermediate category was the obvious and clear next step.” The Bridge Challenge Plate joins the six other women’s events added across the four event categories since 2015.
Alongside the new event, the Committee also increased the number of entries across five existing women’s events. When asked why the eight boat type was chosen, Phelps highlights that eights are “a way in which you actually get more athletes to compete per boat rack.” With more seats available to fill, more female athletes can take part. Crucially, this event improves gender parity in both the number of events and the number of athletes participating.
In any case, the rest of the journey to gender parity will be an important discussion in the coming years. Phelps assured me that The Bridge Challenge Plate will be relatively easy to accommodate in 2025 (due to an expected decrease in entries to the Remenham), but “anyone who’s looked at the tea leaves and looked forward might just see that some of the men’s events won’t be as big as they have been in the future.”
For now, the event represents the Regatta’s continuing commitment to excellence in both the quality of rowing and the extent to which different athletes are allowed to partake.
Key leadership additions
In this vein of innovation and excellence, Phelps was keen to highlight how the new stewards and committee members bring something unique to the Regatta. Of the Committee, Tom James MBE brings a breadth of strategic expertise to the Committee and, of course, “rowing credentials that are second to none,” and Alison Faiers joins with a professional background in equality, diversity, and inclusion in sport across England. More gender-inclusive language was also introduced into the qualification rules. With the future of the Regatta in mind, perhaps these changes will facilitate inclusivity that could even extend to para events, something Sarah Orr argues is long overdue.
However, a key change in leadership going into the 2025 Regatta is, of course, Richard Phelps himself.
He brings a long and esteemed rowing pedigree, including a seat in the 1992 Barcelona British men’s eight and three Boat Race victories with Cambridge from 1993-1995. He takes the mantle from Sir Steve Redgrave, who stepped down as chairman at the end of the 2024 Regatta. Speaking about what this new position means to him, Phelps says:
“I like to think that I’ve got a good connection to the grassroots, and I will make sure that Henley Royal Regatta respects the importance that schools, universities, and clubs place upon it.”
What struck me most in our conversation was Phelps’ humble commitment to maintaining the standard of HRR excellence. He is quick to recognise the team supporting the entire Regatta, and “even if there was no chair and there was no committee, the course would get built, the tents would go up, the enclosure would be there, the boat tent would be there,” no matter what. He turns his attention to the future with a keen awareness of the place that HRR has in the hearts of competitors and spectators alike.
When I asked what his favourite part of the Regatta was, he told me a story that I believe speaks to the way that his leadership will shape the Regatta in a very positive way.
He said, “My favourite place is on an umpire’s launch. On the way down to the start, you’ve got guests from the crew at the front of the launch. You’ve got parents of athletes from overseas; their child took up the sport when it wasn’t in the family, but they found themselves competing at Henley Royal Regatta. These parents have just arrived and want to tell you how amazing it is—they just bombard you with all the amazing, quirky, positive bits about Henley Royal Regatta. And it’s wonderful to sit there and, you know, these are all the things that I cherish and all the things that the committee work hard to make sure are there, and here’s this parent who’s flown in from Australia, US, Netherlands, whatever, and they’re experiencing all the things that we want them to.”
With his feet firmly on the ground and vision set ahead, Phelps will lead the Regatta as it begins its next ten-year strategy—the details of which are yet to be revealed. I do not doubt that the coming editions will see positive change in the realm of gender parity, inclusivity, respect for Henley Royal Regatta tradition, and the continuing commitment to the excellence that is synonymous with the Regatta itself.
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