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As I sat on one of JRN’s podcast recordings yesterday evening, speaking with some of our sport’s leading athletes about the prospect of a second successive year without meaningful racing, the question raised was around whether these titans of rowing would be happy competing in front of empty stands. The unanimous answer was that they would. The constipation of training without purpose, improving without reward, grinding without release has led to a desperation for any form of competition, in any format, in any location.
And that makes sense for the Olympics. They are undoubtedly greater and more magnificent than a standard regatta – but their ultimate purpose is to crown the elite in sport and bestow upon them eternal, gold-plated glory. So how does Henley fit into this equation?
As I write, the committee of management for HRR have released a statement saying that they have ‘reluctantly concluded that the 2021 Regatta cannot now be held from 29 June to 4 July at Henley-on-Thames as originally planned‘. Such a decision was unfathomable a year ago – to face the grim prospect that not one but two successive Regattas would fall by the wayside in our bitter struggle against COVID-19. There is some consolation in the note – the committee go on to say that they have ‘decided against outright cancellation at this stage, and is instead exploring the potential to stage the Regatta in August, in Henley should conditions allow, or if not, at Dorney Lake‘.
Henley Royal Regatta? At Dorney Lake? In August?
For perhaps any other event on the rowing calendar, such pragmatic thinking would be welcomed if not applauded by the wider community. The sport is suffocating, like all other recreational activity, as our society slides in and out of dystopia.
But if you understand the significance of HRR, you know that a replacement regatta staged anywhere aside from that sun-kissed valley of the Thames is a pale imitation of what we live and train for. To understand this, you need to think broadly about what HRR represents.
To any of you who have walked the banks, paddled the course, climbed those grandstand steps, you know that the competition is only one small part of what makes the event utterly, absurdly, brilliantly unique. The cocktail of smells that assault your nose as you pass Olympians in the thick heat of the boat tents. The roar of the enclosures as your crew ticks up a notch to hold off the advances of a plucky upstart. The silence and ensuing din as the flag falls on finals day. A sunrise walk along the banks, mist creeping up towards the glimmering hue of Temple Island. The steady rhythm of a thousand feet pushing on to fill the banks, metres from where that day’s entertainment sit in quiet contemplation.
The past 12 months have rendered such memories almost inconceivable – but I remember the breathless excitement of opening day, the invisible rolling wave of noise through Stewards’ as a close race rolls into its final stages and the pure, unbridled ecstasy of victory.
Clearly, this article is not meant to in any way criticise the committee of management. They’ve worked exceptionally hard to mitigate impossible circumstances and are striving to put on an event that appeases as many people as possible – a thankless task. But the question I ask is whether HRR at Dorney, in August, or even a reduced event in Henley, is something our community can pin their hopes on.
COVID has accelerated change in our society to the point that a decade of digital, scientific and technological progress has happened in a year. Questions remain around whether events like HRR will still be relevant when we step blinking into a brand new world.
But we will meet again. Aspects of our daily lives may change forever, but the fundamental human instinct to be together, doing the things we love, will not disappear. There will be fresh appetite for innovation and inclusivity, new ideas to drive sport forward. But the traditions that have raised rowing high will not die with this dreadful disease.
One day, in the not-so-distant future, we will sit amongst friends in the tranquility of a summer’s evening, enjoying the sinking sun on our face and the sounds, smells and fervour of an English river regatta washing over us. It may not be this year and it may not be exactly how we remembered it – but I believe we stand ready to carve out the new world by protecting the most important pieces of the old.
That’s all for now. If you’re hungry for more, check out any of our other pieces from The Catch, listen to the latest podcast episode, or flick through our race previews.
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