Latest version, revised December 1995. Page posted May 1996, unaltered since then. This version is fully authorised by the Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta, from their printed copy. If there are any queries about information contained within this file, please contact R. S. Goddard, Secretary, Henley Royal Regatta, Henley-on-Thames.
For further information, go to the Henley Royal Regatta index, where information about the 1996 regatta is posted.
Return to The Rowing Service.
2. Where members of two or more clubs have combined to make an entry, the entry must be made in the names of not more than two clubs.
2. No one (coxswains excepted) shall compete both in this event and in any other eight-oared event at the same Regatta.
(a) No crew of a boat club of any university, college or secondary school shall be qualified to contend for this prize.
(b) No crew of any institute, association or similar body, whose objective is to develop international representative crews, shall be qualified to contend for this prize.
(c) No current international squad oarsman, heavyweight or lightweight, shall compete in this event.
(d) No crew shall be qualified to contend for this prize if more than two of the oarsmen have rowed or sculled in an Olympic Games or a FISA Senior World Championships, and any such oarsmen shall not have competed in these events within the four years prior to the closing date for entries.
2. No one (coxswains excepted) shall compete in this event and in any other eight-oared event at the same Regatta.
(a) Every member of a crew of a university or college boat club shall be, or shall within one month of the closing date for entries have been, a full-time internal student of the university or college.
(b) Every member of a crew of any secondary school shall be a genuine student of the school at the closing date for entries.
(c) No oarsman shall compete in this event if he has previously won an event at the Regatta, other than The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup or The Fawley Challenge Cup.
(d) No current international squad oarsman, heavyweight or lightweight, shall compete in this event.
(e) No oarsman shall compete in this event if he has represented his country in rowing or sculling in an Olympic Games, a FISA Senior World Championships, The Nations' Cup or the World Students' Games.
(f) No oarsman shall compete in this event if he is a ``Blue'' or a ``Purple'' or has rowed in an analogous crew outside the United Kingdom, including, in the United States of America, Heavyweight Varsity crews competing in the Eastern Sprints, in the Inter„collegiate Rowing Association Championships or in the Pac-10 Championships.
2. Either of the following may combine to make an entry:---
(a) Two college boat clubs of any one university,
or
(b) Two or more secondary schools, but such a combined entry of more than two schools shall be shown on the list of entries and programme under the names of only two of the schools.
3. No one (coxswains excepted) shall compete in this event
and in any other eight-oared event at the same Regatta.
(i) Each member of the crew shall at the closing date for entries be a bona fide member in statu pupillari of such school.
(ii) No one may enter who has attained his eighteenth birthday on the first day of September in the year preceding the year of entry.
(iii) No one (coxswains excepted) shall be entered for or compete both in this event and in any other eight-oared event at the same Regatta.
(iv) Two or more schools shall not combine to make an entry.
(a) Every member of a crew of a university or college boat club shall be, or shall within one month before the closing date entries have been, a full-time internal student of the university or college.
(b) Every member of a crew of any secondary school shall be a genuine student of the school at the closing date for entries.
2. Either of the following may combine to make an entry:---(a) Two or more college boat clubs of any one university,
or
(b) Two or more secondary schools;
but such combined entry may not be made under the names of more than two colleges or secondary schools.
3. No one shall compete both in this event and in any other four-oared event at the same Regatta.
2. No one shall compete both in this event and in any other four-oared event at the same Regatta.
(a) No crew of any institute, association or similar body, whose objective is to develop international representative crews, shall be qualified to contend for this prize.
(b) No oarsman shall compete in this event if he has previously won an event at the Regatta, other than The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup or The Fawley Challenge Cup.
(c) No current international squad oarsman, heavyweight or lightweight, shall compete in this event.
(d) No oarsman shall compete in this event if he has represented his country in rowing or sculling in an Olympic Games, a FISA Senior World Championships, The Nations' Cup or the World Students' Games.
(e) No oarsman shall compete in this event if he is a ``Blue'' or a ``Purple'' or has rowed in an analogous crew outside the United Kingdom, including, in the United States of America, Heavyweight Varsity crews competing in the Eastern Sprints, in the Inter„collegiate Rowing Association Championships or in the Pac-10 Championships.
2. No one (coxswains excepted) shall compete both in this event and in any other four-oared event at the same Regatta.
(a) No one may enter who has attained his eighteenth birthdayon the first day of September in the year preceding the year of entry.
(b) Every member of a crew of any secondary school shall be a genuine student of the school at the closing date for entries.
(c) No one shall be entered for or compete both in this event and in any other event at the same Regatta.
2. A club and a school, or two clubs or two schools, may combine to enter for this prize.
I.(a) An amateur is one who practises the sport of rowing without deriving, or having in the past derived, profit or material gain from so doing.
(b) An amateur shall not forfeit amateur status by receiving repayment of legitimate out-of-pocket expenses or loss of profits or salary, if they are specifically incurred in respect of training or of competition in regattas, and are received with the consent, and subject to the rules, of his national federation.
II. No one shall be eligible to compete for a club unless he is and has been a member of that club for at least two months preceding the closing date for entries.
III.(a) Entries for the Regatta close at two o'clock in the afternoon fifteen days before the Regatta, hereinafter called `the closing date'.
(b) All entries must be submitted on the prescribed Henley Royal Regatta entry form and must be received by the Secretary of the Regatta by the closing date complete in all respects including the appropriate entrance money. Late entries or entries by telephone, telegram or telex cannot be accepted. Entries by facsimile transmission can only be accepted from crews from outside the United Kingdom entering the following events: the Grand, the Stewards', the Prince Philip, the Queen Mother, the Silver Goblets and the Double Sculls Challenge Cups, the Diamond Challenge Sculls and the Women's Single Sculls. The facsimile trans„mission must be on the prescribed entry form.
(c) When an entry includes a crew in an event for eights, fours or quadruple sculls, the entry must be accompanied by a declaration signed by either the Captain or Secretary of the club, or of each club if more than one, that the club has been established and continuously affiliated to a national association for at least one year before the closing date, and that each competitor is an amateur in accordance with Rule I, and that he is and has been a member of that club for at least two months before the closing date.
(d) When an entry is in respect of a composite crew, the entry form must show the name of the club against the name of each competitor. The names of the clubs so declared may not be changed after the closing date.
IV. No entry shall be accepted of any competitor out of the United Kingdom unless he belongs to a club which has been continuously affiliated for at least one year before the closing date to an association or federation having an agreement with the Committee of Management of Henley Royal Regatta and unless the entry form is countersigned by the secretary or other responsible official of such association or federation and is received, together with the entrance fees, by the Secretary of the Regatta in accordance with Rule III.
V. No individual shall be entered more than once for the same event, nor for more than two events at the same Regatta. Nor shall anyone who has rowed in an event row in another crew for the same event at the same Regatta.
VI. It is a condition of entry that clubs and competitors must take out their own third-party insurance cover. Responsibility for loss or damage to their boats, equipment or other property on Regatta premises or elsewhere will not be accepted by the Regatta.
VII. Entrance money for each boat shall be paid to the Secretary at the time of entering, as follows:---
For the Grand Challenge Cup»50.00 Ladies' Challenge Plate»50.00 Thames Challenge Cup»50.00 Temple Challenge Cup»50.00 Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup»50.00 Stewards' Challenge Cup»30.00 Prince Philip Challenge Cup»30.00 Queen Mother Challenge Cup»30.00 Visitors' Challenge Cup»30.00 Wyfold Challenge Cup»30.00 Britannia Challenge Cup»30.00 Fawley Challenge Cup»30.00 Silver Goblets and Nickalls' Challenge Cup»25.00 Double Sculls Challenge Cup»25.00 Diamond Challenge Sculls»20.00 Women's Single Sculls»20.00
VIII. No official of the Regatta shall divulge any entry or report the state of the entrance lists until such lists be closed.
IX. The Secretary of the Regatta shall make available a copy of the list of entries to the Captain or Secretary of each club or crew entered, and to each competitor entered in the pairs, double sculls or sculls. He shall also disclose the names of competitors nominated to compose crews entered in any event for eights, fours or quadruple sculls upon being requested to do so.
X. The Committee shall investigate any questionable entry irrespective of protest and shall have power to return any entry up to the time of its first race in the Regatta without being bound to assign a reason.
XI. Substitution of competitors is subject to the following:---
(a) The substitute shall be a member of the club (or, in the case of a composite crew, any one of the clubs declared in accordance with subparagraph III (d) above) under which the entry was made, and
(b) The substitute shall be qualified under Rule II, and
(c) The name of the substitute and his qualifications and racing weight, duly certified in writing by an accredited officer of the club, shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Regatta in accordance with the following:---
(i) for eight days after the closing date for entries a crew shall be entitled to substitute its coxswain and up to half the number of its oarsmen,
(ii) from the ninth day after the closing date for entries no person shall be substituted without the consent of the Committee, which consent will only be granted on medical grounds (see Rule XII) or in exceptional circumstances, in which case the request shall be made at least two hours before the next race of the crew in the event concerned.
(d) No substitution is permitted in the following events:---
The Silver Goblets and Nickalls' Challenge Cup
The Double Sculls Challenge Cup
The Diamond Challenge Sculls
Women's Single Sculls
(e) No one, including substitutes where applicable, shall compete for any prize unless his name has been delivered to the Secretary of the Regatta in accordance with this Rule.
XII. Substitution of competitors on medical grounds is subject to the following:---
(a) No person shall be substituted for another who has already rowed or steered in a heat, without the consent of the Committee.
(b) Any application for the Committee's consent to allow a substitute to compete must be made to the Secretary of the Regatta not less than two hours before the race, and be accompanied by a doctor's certificate that the original competitor is unfit to compete.
(c) A competitor for whom a substitute has been introduced under this Rule shall not compete in any other race at the same Regatta.
XIII. Entries for each event shall be limited to the following numbers:---
Grand Challenge Cup 16Ladies' Challenge Plate 16Thames Challenge Cup 32Temple Challenge Cup 48Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup 32Stewards' Challenge Cup 16Prince Philip Challenge Cup 16Queen Mother Challenge Cup 16Visitors' Challenge Cup 16Wyfold Challenge Cup 32Britannia Challenge Cup 32Fawley Challenge Cup 8Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup16Double Sculls Challenge Cup 16Diamond Challenge Sculls 16Women's Single Sculls 16
XIV. If more entries are received for any event than the number shown in Rule XIII, the Committee shall arrange qualifying races in accordance with the following rules:---
(a) The Committee shall, in its absolute discretion, select which of the entrants shall compete.
(b) The races shall take place prior to the Regatta and shall be held in whatever form the Committee may determine.
(c) No member of a losing crew of a qualifying race for any prize shall compete for that prize at the Regatta.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule XII, the Committee shall have power to allow a person to be substituted for another who has rowed or steered in a qualifying race.
XV. Objections to the entry of any club or crew must be made in writing to the Secretary at least four clear days before the Regatta, when the Committee shall investigate the grounds of objection and decide thereon without delay. Objections to the qualification of a competitor must be made in writing to the Secretary at the earliest moment practicable. No protest shall be entertained unless lodged before the prizes are distributed.
XVI. The races shall commence below the Island, and terminate near the upper end of Phyllis Court. Length of Course: 1 mile and 550 yards.
XVII. Stations shall be drawn by the Committee.
XVIII.(a) If at any time after the Draw a crew or sculler should be unable to compete, then the opponent of that crew or sculler must row over the Course at the appointed time.
(b) In the event of there being but one competitor entered for any prize, or if more enter and all but one are unable to compete, the remaining competitor must row over the Course to be entitled to such prize.
XIX. If there shall be more than two competitors, they shall row a trial heat or heats; but no more than two boats shall contend in any heat for any of the prizes.
XX. The Committee shall ensure that medical and life-saving services are provided throughout the hours of racing.
XXI. Every competitor's clothing must consist of a vest and shorts as a minimum.
XXII. The racing weights of all competitors, including coxswains, must be registered on the entry form. In addition all competitors must attend at the time and place appointed by the Committee for the verification of weight. Any crew whose coxswain fails to comply with this Rule shall be liable to disqualification.
XXIII. Coxswains may only compete subject to the following rules and restrictions:---
(a) Coxswains may not steer for more than one crew for the same prize.
(b) Except for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup, the minimum weight to be carried shall be 55 kg. (8st. 9lb.), of which the weight of the coxswain must not be less than 45 kg. (7st. 1lb.).
(c) For the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup the minimum weight to be carried shall be 50 kg. (7st. 12lb.), of which the weight of the coxswain must not be less than 40 kg. (6st. 4lb.).
(d) Coxswains may wear only a vest and shorts when being weighed. The weight of additional clothing and of any equipment which a coxswain shall carry during a race may not be included in calculating any deadweight that a coxswain shall carry to achieve the minimum weight.
(e) To make up the minimum weight, a coxswain shall have with him throughout the race deadweight provided by the Committee. A Regatta official appointed for the purpose shall ensure that such deadweight is placed in the boat as close as possible to the coxswain before the race, and that it is removed afterwards.
XXIV. (a) Every boat shall carry securely affixed to the bow a white protective ball, 4cm. in diameter, of hardened rubber or similar material unless the bow is so constructed as to afford equivalent protection and visibility.
(b) In order to avoid accidents arising from capsizing, all boats must be equipped with stretchers or shoes which allow the competitors to get clear of the boat without using their hands and with the least possible delay.
(c) The opening of an enclosed coxswain's seat must be at least 70cm. long and it must be as wide as the boat for at least 50cm. The inner surface of the enclosed part must be smooth and no structure of any sort may restrict the inner width of the coxswain's section.
(d) Every boat shall carry a number plate to be provided by the Committee.
(e) No boat with a sliding rigger mechanism may be used.XXV. No competitor shall make use of any substance capable of modifying the natural properties of water nor employ any substance such as prefabricated plastic film on the outer skin of his boat to improve his performance.
XXVI. No competitor shall knowingly make use of any drug to improve his performance. The Committee shall be empowered by any means, including random tests on competitors, to satisfy itself that this Rule is obeyed and any competitor found infringing it shall be disqualified.
XXVII. The Committee shall appoint the following officials to act under Rule XXX:---
(a) Umpires.
(b) Judges at the finish.
(c) Judges at the start.
XXVIII. The prizes shall be presented at the conclusion of the Regatta to the respective winners who, on receipt of any Challenge Trophy (in any form whatsoever) which is to be removed temporarily from the custody of the Regatta, shall sign a document in the form prescribed by the Committee guaranteeing to provide insurance to cover its full value and agreeing to return it on or before June 1st in the following year in as good order and condition as when presented. No Challenge Trophies shall be permitted to leave the United Kingdom.
XXIX. In cases of exceptional emergency the Committee shall have power to abrogate, alter or suspend any Rule at the instance of any competitor, provided it is satisfied that no other competitior is thereby placed in a less favourable position than he would have been in if such an emergency had not occurred. All questions of eligibility, qualificiations, interpretation of the Rules or other matters not specially provided for, shall be referred to the Committee, whose decision shall be final.
XXX. Races at the Regatta shall be conducted as follows:---
(a) Each competitor must have his boat in position at the start and ready for the bow to be aligned by the Judge at the start two minutes before the advertised time of the race. A competitor whose boat is not so positioned may be disqualified or warned by the Umpire. Such a warning shall penalise the crew as if it had caused a false start.
(b) Races will be started as follows:---The Umpire, when satisfied that the competitors are ready, will hold up a red flag and will then give the warning command: `SET'. After a clear pause he will drop the flag and at the same time say: `GO'.
(c) A false start will be signalled by the ringing of a bell, and the Umpire will recall the competitors to the start by waving a red flag. A competitor who refuses to start again or who makes or causes two false starts shall be disqualified by the Umpire.
(d) If the Umpire wishes to stop a race after the word ``Go'', he will raise a red flag and give the order: ``Stop''. If he wishes to stop one of the crews but not the race, he will raise a white flag, name the crew and give it the order: ``Stop''.
(e) A competitor's proper course is such course as will enable him to reach the winning post in the shortest possible time provided that he allows ample water for his opponent to steer his own proper course on the side on which that opponent started. A competitor who leaves his proper course does so at his peril and may be disqualified by the Umpire if he thereby interferes with his opponent or in the event of a foul.
(f) It shall be considered a foul if, after a race has been started, a competitor shall come into contact by his oar, scull, boat or person with the oar, scull, boat or person of his opponent.
(g) The Umpire shall be the sole judge of a competitor's proper course and shall decide all questions of interference with an opponent or of a foul.
(h) The Umpire may warn a competitor if he considers that there is the probability of a foul or that the competitor is out of his proper course and in danger of interfering with his opponent. The Umpire may also warn a competitor of an obstruction in his course. The Umpire shall not in any other circumstances direct a competitor's course.
(i) In the event of a foul, a competitor may claim that his opponent be disqualified. Such a claim must be made to the Umpire or Judge by the competitor himself before getting out of his boat.
(j) If the competitor making the claim was in his proper course and his opponent was out of his proper course, the latter shall be disqualified unless, in the opinion of the Umpire, the foul was so slight as not to influence the race. The Umpire may reserve his decision but will give it as soon as possible after the race.(k) In either of the following circumstances the Umpire may himself disqualify a competitor out of his proper course who is involved in a foul or in interference with his opponent, provided that he does so immediately:---(i) If the competitor has, in the opinion of the Umpire, wilfully encroached on the proper course of his opponent.(ii) If the foul or interference is of such a nature as clearly to influence the race.(l) In the event of a foul, the Umpire shall have power, if he has not disqualified either of the competitors, to re-start the race according to his discretion, or to order a re-row.(m) A competitor shall abide by his own accidents except that, if during a race a competitor shall be interfered with by some outside agency, the Umpire shall have power to stop and re-start the race according to his discretion, or to order a re-row.(n) No boat shall follow any race for the purpose of directing the course of a competitor, nor shall a competitor be given any advice, assistance or steering aid during a race. No radio equipment shall be used in a boat during a race. A competitor who receives any extraneous assistance during a race may be disqualified by the Umpire. In particular, the use of any form of megaphone by supporters is forbidden.
(o) Crews must start the race with the full complement of competitors specified in the Qualification Rules for that event. A crew is judged to have completed the Course when the bow of its boat reaches the finishing line unless prevented from doing so by damage caused by a foul. A crew shall not be debarred from winning a race if a competitor other than a coxswain leaves the boat during the race. If a coxswain leaves the boat during a race, the crew shall be deemed not to have completed the Course.
(p) The Judge at the finish shall decide the order in which the competing boats reach the finishing line, and his decision shall be final and without appeal. If the boats reach the finishing line simultaneously, the race shall be rowed again at a time to be arranged by the Committee. If a crew refuses to re-row, it shall be disqualified.
(q) The Umpire's jurisdiction shall extend over the whole race from the time that it is specified to start until its end, and his decisions shall be final and without appeal.
(r) A competitor who refuses to abide by the decisions of the Umpire or the Judge, or fails to follow directions given to him by the Umpire, may be disqualified.
XXXI. Except in the Women's Single Sculls women may only compete as coxswains.
XXXII. In these Rules where the context so admits the singular shall include the plural and vice versa and the masculine shall include the feminine.