WITH RECORD ENTRIES OVERALL, MORE FOREIGN CREWS THAN EVER BEFORE AND THE FIRST AUSTRALIAN CREWS COMPETING - HENLEY WOMEN'S REGATTA GOES FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, JUNE 19 & 20 1999
The twelfth Henley Women's Regatta, to be held on the Regatta course at Henley-on-Thames all day on Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20, will feature the first Australian crews to take part in this premier event. With a larger than ever number of 30 foreign crews competing, a record-equalling number of 245 entries overall, and with the UK's Sue Appelboom going for her record breaking 10th Henley Women's sculling title, this highlight of the women's regatta calendar promises to live up to its reputation as the international showcase for women's rowing. Heats will be on Saturday, with most finals run on Sunday, in a weekend which will see over 200 races being competed for, by over 1100 athletes.
The foreign entries this year come from four continents Australasia, North America, Africa and Europe. Australian crews from Sydney University will be competing in College Coxed Fours and the Lightweight Single Sculls, while the visiting South Africans, from Trident and the University of South Africa, will be seen in the College Coxed Fours and the Club Coxed Fours. The European contingent is made up of Germany's Hansa Dortmund in the Club Coxed Fours, Holland's Nautilus and Okeanos in the Club Eights and the Open Eights respectively, Queen's University, Belfast from Northern Ireland and Carlow, University of Ireland Galway, University College Dublin and Neptune from the Republic of Ireland. By far the largest foreign contingent comes from the USA with entries which include the California State University, Tufts University, Sacramento State University, Boston University, Batchelor's Barge and Holy Cross. It is a tribute to the status of the Henley Women's Regatta that crews like this will travel thousand of miles to take part.
In the College Coxed Fours, the University of Cape Town is drawn against Salford University and the University of Sydney takes on Barts and London. The battle between Oxford Brookes University and Newcastle University should prove a lively one.
The College Eights has a definite boat race flavour about it when Oxford's Christ Church College will take on Cambridge's St.Catherine's College. The Oxford University Lightweights will also be in action against Kings College, London and a lot of the American crews will be competing in this category with Colgate University drawn against Exeter University, Holy Cross drawn against Newcastle, Tufts College drawn against University College London and Wesley University drawn against Caius College, Cambridge. There is also a David and Goliath struggle when Bournemouth University race against Imperial College.
A four from the strong Marlow women's squad will be competing against Furnival in the Club Coxed Fours and in other interesting clashes, Nottingham Boat Club take on Durham and Molesey take on Vesta. Trident, the South African club who have competed successfully at Henley in previous years, race against Loughborough College, and US visitors Boston University compete against Broxbourne.
In the Club Eights Competition, Neptune against Thames will be a hard fought draw, while Boston University will take on a Tideway Scullers crew and University College Dublin race against Bedford. In the Open Eights on Sunday foreign crews from the USA's University of Wisconsin and Holland's Okeanos are racing a Kingston/London University composite and an Upper Thames/Twickenham composite respectively.
In the sculling events, all eyes will be on Sue Appelboom (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha) in the Lightweight Sculls when she begins her effort for that 10th Henley Women's Regatta title in her race against C.Jones of Wallingford. In the same event, Sydney University's Z. van de Walle takes on J.McCulloch from Marlow. In the Open Sculls competition A.Williams from Wisconsin University will race against K.Saunders from Midland Bank, and R.Romero (Kingston) has drawn S.Kyte (Mortlake Anglian & Alpha). In the Lightweight Quadruple Sculls the race between Queen's Tower and Thames Tradesman is one to watch.
There is a feast of competition in the Lightweight Double Sculls: Thames versus a Thames/Tideway Scullers composite, a Queen's Tower/Star composite versus Tideway Scullers and Upper Thames versus Rob Roy.
Among the Junior/Schools events, in the Schools/Junior Eights Lady Eleanor Holles is drawn against Gloucester, Kingston is drawn against Tabor Academy from the USA and St.Andrews School, also from the USA, is drawn against Haberdashers Monmouth. Lady Eleanor Holles also compete in the Schools/Junior Double Sculls where they compete against a crew from York City. In the same event, Batchelor's Barge (USA) races against Dame Alice Harper School. Batchelor's Barge is also in action against Kingston Grammar School in the Schools/Junior Coxed Fours, while in the Junior Quadruple Sculls, Wycliffe College against Headington School is a race to highlight.