Race Information - Race Rules

Race Rules | Navigation & Marshalling | Notes for Visiting Crews | Clubs along the Course

Criteria for the Awarding of Pennants

Head		Takes precedence overall

Club		Awarded only if Head won by composite crew Takes precedence over status Only British club crews are eligible (NB N. Ireland crews are deemed to be overseas crews.)

University		Takes precedence over status If the Head is won by a University crew then no University pennant is awarded. NB A University is not a Club

Overseas		Takes precedence over University Takes precedence over status If the Head is won by an Overseas crew then no Overseas pennant is awarded.

School/Junior & Veteran		These are regarded as status events

School		A school is not a club (as far as the awarding of the 'Club' pennant is concerned.)

NOTE THE EVENT IS OPEN TO WOMEN ONLY CREWS (male coxes are permitted.) No competitor, including coxes, may take part if they are under the age of 15 on race day In the event of a tie, the higher numbered crew takes precedence. Four to enter three to row for a pennant to be awarded. However, this may be waived at the Committee's discretion. Each case will be taken on its merits. Draw Crews who rowed the previous year will take their finishing position from that year. Novice (Club) and Novice (Academic/University) are regarded equally as novice, therefore new entries should be drawn in alphabetic order. Novice composite University/College should be entered as Novice University; Novice composite University or College/Club should be entered as Novice(A). New entries will be drawn alphabetically in the following order:- Elite, S1, S2, V, S3, S4, S/J, N (Club & Academic)

Pennant Qualification

CLUB PENNANT (Only issued if Head won by Composite crew)		The 'Club' pennant is open to crews representing a single British Club, (excluding universities, colleges or schools, National and similar associations.) All crew members, other than the cox, are to have been fully paid up members of the club which they are representing since the 1st January in race year.

PROVINCIAL CLUB PENNANT		Open to any single British Club, (excluding, universities, colleges or schools, National and regional racing names and similar associations) outside the M25 and not on the Thames.

UNIVERSITY PENNANT		Only bona fide students of the College or University may compete for the 'University' pennant.

OVERSEAS CREWS		Overseas crews are only eligible to enter 'Elite', 'Veteran' (A veteran is someone who has attained the age of 31 years or will attain this age during the current year) or 'School/Junior'. Overseas university crews are eligible to compete for the 'University' pennant. Irish crews shall be deemed to be overseas crews. Overseas crews are required to have an appropriate level of public liability insurance, suggested level to be £5million.

NOVICE ACADEMIC (A) previously Novice University (U)		“Academic” includes both University & School crews. Novice university crews with non-student members must enter as Novice (A), but are not eligible for the 'University' pennant and should therefore not tick column 3 on the entry form. Novice crews representing any of the collegiate universities - Oxford, Cambridge, London and Durham and composite crews of colleges within those universities, may not enter novice events, but a crew representing a single college at one of these universities is permitted to enter. Composites of non-collegiate universities, non-collegiate universities with clubs and/or schools, and schools with clubs if entering novice, must enter as 'Novice (A)'. Composites of a single college of a collegiate university together with a non-collegiate university and/or school/club may enter this event. (Note Winners of a qualifying novice event are NO LONGER entitled to row as novice)

NOVICE (C) (Note Winners of a qualifying novice event are NO LONGER entitled to row as novice)		Club crews, club composites and junior club crews are eligible to enter this event.

SCHOOL/JUNIOR		School/Junior extends a J18 event to permit pupils in full time secondary education to continue to participate at a junior level representing their school up to the date of their nineteenth birthday. This does not permit the inclusion of old girls in a school crew. School/Junior competitors representing a club rather than a school must not have reached the age of 18 on 1 September of the preceeding year. Composite crews whose members satisfy the criteria above may enter this event.

VETERANS		Veteran handicap times will be based on the Head winner's time on the day. A veteran is someone who has attained the age of 31 years or will attain this age during race year.

COMPOSITE CREWS where eligible		The crew will be entered in alphabetically order of clubs e.g. BBLRC/Thames not Thames/BBLRC.

SARA and WARA Competitors		Competitors representing SARA or WARA clubs must be registered with their respective governing body (Note any Overseas competitor rowing for an English/Scottish or Welsh Club must ARA registered.)

HM Forces Pennant (Provided by the Joint Services Rowing Committee)		Only crews entered in the WEHoRR & who also satisfy the JSRC rules are eligible. The JSRC awards for this event are separate to the WEHoRR awards and are administered under rules laid down by the JSRC. The HM Forces Pennant will be awarded to the fastest Services' crew regardless of ARA status. All queries must be taken up with JSRC directly.

The Committee reserves the right to change any of the above at its discretion.

Bad weather?
Prior to race day - please contact Simon Blackburn on Friday evening on 07811 459462 to check if the race will take place.

On race day - please take note of any announcements made by the Control Commission personnel in your area. We will aim to advise crews 2hrs before the Race start time (i.e before crews go afloat) if the start of the race is in question and will also give a time (likely to be within the hour) whether the race will proceed or be cancelled. If you are in any doubt about going afloat please ask.