The crowd has looked at twenty three events at Henley Women's Regatta and reached one firm conclusion: the Championship belongs to Leander, and the rest of the regatta belongs to whoever can grab it.
Leander Club tops four of the blue riband trophies, headlined by a 64.16% near coronation in the W Peer Cup, the Championship double sculls. No other crew at the whole regatta carries a number that emphatic.
But the moment you drop out of the championship sweep boats, the consensus evaporates.
Headline numbers
| Event | Boat | Top pick | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| W Peer Cup | Champ 2x | Leander A | 64.16 |
| Nina Padwick Trophy | Asp Academic 4x | Reading Univ A | 55.36 |
| Peabody Cup | Junior 8+ | Shiplake Coll | 54.25 |
| Chairman's Trophy | Asp Club 4x | Marlow RC A | 52.16 |
| Di Ellis Trophy | Junior 1x | Wycliffe Coll A | 50.00 |
| Bea Langridge Trophy | Junior 4x | Marlow RC A | 46.41 |
| Frank V Harry Cup | Development 4+ | Edinburgh Univ BC | 44.25 |
| Haslam Trophy | Champ Lwt 2x | Reading Univ A | 44.20 |
| Redgrave Challenge Vase | Champ 2- | Leander | 42.99 |
| Colgan Foundation Cup | Asp Academic 8+ | Oxford Brookes Univ | 42.51 |
| Lester Trophy | Asp Club 4- | Molesey BC A | 41.78 |
| George Innes Cup | Champ 1x | Leander | 39.37 |
| Ron Needs Challenge Cup | Champ 8+ | Leander A | 36.96 |
| Avril Vellacott Cup | Champ 4- | Thames A | 36.68 |
| Borne Cup | Champ 4x | Reading Univ A | 34.45 |
| Rayner Cup | Junior 2x | Marlow RC | 34.07 |
| Cathy Cruickshank Trophy | Asp Academic 4- | Oxford Brookes Univ | 33.78 |
| Copas Cup | Asp Club 8+ | London RC A | 32.00 |
| Groton School Challenge Cup | Junior 4+ | Wallingford RC A | 29.82 |
| Godfrey Rowsports Trophy | Champ Lwt 1x | Edinburgh Univ BC | 28.05 |
| Fiona Dennis Trophy | Asp Lwt 1x | Vesta RC A | 25.91 |
| Rosie Mayglothling Trophy | Asp 2x | Nottingham A | 19.20 |
| Bernard and Pauline Churcher Cup | Asp 1x | Mortlake A & A | 18.64 |
The coronations sit at the top, the coin flips sit at the bottom, and the 45 point drop from the W Peer Cup to the Bernard and Pauline Churcher Cup is the whole regatta in one column.
The Championship: Leander's coronation, and its gaps
This is the tier Leander is supposed to own, and the crowd agrees. Leander A takes the W Peer Cup (Championship double sculls) at 64.16%, with the composite Hartpury Univ & Coll/ Leander B a distant second at 8.41. In the Redgrave Challenge Vase (Championship coxless pairs), Leander leads at 42.99 over Oxford Univ BC at 28.05. In the George Innes Cup (Championship single sculls), Leander sits at 39.37 with St Andrew BC A next at 22.62. And in the Ron Needs Challenge Cup (Championship eights), Leander A holds 36.96, though Molesey BC/ Univ of London A at 23.74 and Thames A at 17.12 keep that one honest.
Four championship trophies, one favourite. But the sweep is not total, and the gaps are instructive. The Borne Cup (Championship quadruple sculls) goes to Reading Univ A at 34.45, with Leander A only third at 15.13. The Avril Vellacott Cup (Championship coxless fours) belongs to Thames A at 36.68. And the two lightweight titles escape entirely: Edinburgh Univ BC leads the Godfrey Rowsports Trophy (Championship lightweight single sculls) at 28.05, and Reading Univ A takes the Haslam Trophy (Championship lightweight double sculls) at 44.20 from a six boat field. Leander owns the heavyweight sweep boats. The quad, the coxless fours, and the lightweights answer to someone else.
The university events
Below the Championship, the academic boats are a Reading and Oxford Brookes story. Reading Univ A is the most backed crew at the entire regatta after Leander, on 55.36% in the Nina Padwick Trophy (Aspirational academic quadruple sculls), almost three times the Univ of London on 19.31. Oxford Brookes Univ takes the Colgan Foundation Cup (Aspirational academic eights) at 42.51 over Edinburgh Univ BC at 20.65 and Newcastle Univ A at 16.19.
Then comes the closest call on the board. In the Cathy Cruickshank Trophy (Aspirational academic coxless fours), Oxford Brookes Univ leads on 33.78 and Univ of London sits on 33.33. That is 0.45 of a point. Imperial Coll lurks at 19.11. This is the one academic final the crowd genuinely cannot call, and it will be decided on Sunday by lengths, not by reputation. Edinburgh Univ BC rounds out the cluster, leading the Frank V Harry Cup (Development coxed fours) at 44.25.
The club events
The Aspirational club trophies go three ways. Marlow RC A owns the Chairman's Trophy (Aspirational club quadruple sculls) at 52.16. Molesey BC A takes the Lester Trophy (Aspirational club coxless fours) at 41.78.
The Copas Cup (Aspirational club eights) is the prize, and it is a tie. London RC A sits on 32.00, Thames on 31.20, Molesey BC on 23.60. Three clubs inside nine points, with the top two separated by eight tenths. Whoever wins the Copas wins the bragging rights of the tideway, and the crowd has refused to choose.
The genuinely open water is at the bottom of the sculling events. The Rosie Mayglothling Trophy (Aspirational double sculls) has the lowest leader on the board, Nottingham A at just 19.20, Reading Univ A at 17.86, across a 46 boat field where fourteen crews drew no support at all. The Bernard and Pauline Churcher Cup (Aspirational single sculls) is a four way scrap: Mortlake A & A 18.64, A S R Nereus A 16.82, Nottingham 15.91, Cambridge Univ 11.36. These are not predictions. They are guesses with the serial numbers filed off.
The juniors
The school events carry some of the sharpest favourites of all. Shiplake Coll holds 54.25% in the Peabody Cup (Junior eights), with Headington Sch the only other crew the crowd rates, on 27.94. Wycliffe Coll A takes the Di Ellis Trophy (Junior single sculls) at an even 50.00. But the junior sculling quads belong to a club: Marlow RC A leads the Bea Langridge Trophy (Junior quadruple sculls) at 46.41 from a 47 boat field, the deepest event of the regatta, and tops the Rayner Cup (Junior double sculls) at 34.07. The Groton School Challenge Cup (Junior coxed fours) is the one junior event still live, Wallingford RC A on 29.82 just ahead of Headington Sch A on 25.88.
Three things to watch
- The W Peer Cup (Championship double sculls), Leander A, 64.16%. The most committed pick of the regatta. Win and it confirms the obvious; lose and it is the upset of the weekend before the weekend is half over.
- The Copas Cup (Aspirational club eights), 32.00 to 31.20. London RC A and Thames eight tenths of a point apart, with Molesey BC right behind on 23.60. The club final the tideway actually cares about, and the crowd has called it a coin flip.
- The bottom of the board. When the leader cannot clear twenty percent, as in the Rosie Mayglothling (Aspirational double sculls; Nottingham A, 19.20) and the Bernard and Pauline Churcher (Aspirational single sculls; Mortlake A & A, 18.64), the field is wide open and the points go to whoever backed the right longshot.
Racing runs Friday through Sunday, time trials and heats into the weekend, every final decided on Sunday. Leander holds the Championship and the headlines. Everyone else is still fighting over the rest of Henley.
