Thames prepares for feast of women’s rowing
More than 2,600 competitors will make their way to the River Thames on Saturday, for the 72nd Women’s Eights Head of the River Race (WEHoRR).
Close to 300 crews have entered this year’s event, which will be started at 11am tomorrow by British Rowing Chairman Di Ellis.
Despite the absence of reigning champions Leander and a GB composite crew, there will still be plenty of fiercely competitive racing on display – with Oxford and Cambridge set to do battle on the Championship Course for the first time since the announcement that the Women’s Boat Race will move to the Tideway in 2015.
As well as a sizeable contingent from Thames-based clubs, crews from Agecroft (Manchester) and Nottingham will start Saturday’s WEHoRR in the top 10 and an SC Tucano Urbano crew from Italy are set to start third.
“Women’s rowing in the UK is in rude health because crews want to just get out there and race,” said Guin Batten, chair of the race committee. “In this Olympic year as usual we are missing some of our best athletes to national team trials; this year’s race will see the best of the club and university crews fight it out for the title.”
The 2012 WEHoRR is supporting Cardiac Risk in the Young – a charity aiming to raise awareness of conditions that can cause sudden death in young people.
For more information about the 72nd WEHoRR, visit www.wehorr.org.
