Henley Royal Regatta
The Henley Royal Regatta is a traditional rowing event that takes place every year in England on the Thames near Temple Island near Henley-on-Thames . It takes place in the first week of July from Wednesday to Sunday. The rowing races are each one mile and 550 yards (2.112 km) in length . Because of the small width of the regatta course, only two boats can compete against each other. The most prestigious race, the Grand Challenge Cup for eight of the men.
As the Henley Royal Regatta is older than any national or international rowing association, it has its own set of rules, which are recognized by the Amateur Rowing Association and the FISA (world association). The regatta is organized by the so-called stewards, who are in most cases former rowers. The Regatta statutes served Pierre de Coubertin as the basis for the organization of the International Olympic Committee .
history
The regatta first took place on June 14, 1839 and proved so successful that it was extended from one to two days the following year. With the growing importance of the regatta, the duration of the event became longer and longer; At the end of the 19th century it was three days, from 1906 four days and from 1986 five days. Adding "Royal" the race was in 1851, when Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha was the first patron of the English royal family. One of the most famous winners is the later polar explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard , who won the prestigious Grand Challenge Cup in 1908 in a team from Christ Church College .
Until 1938, only "gentlemen" were allowed to participate in the races who met the very special criteria as amateur rowers. They were explicitly written down in 1879. Anyone who has ever competed in a (rowing) competition for money, compensation, against professional rowers or for prize money, or who has ever made a living by exercising, training or supporting physical or manual activities was excluded, or who has ever worked on or on a ship for money or wages or who has ever exercised a manual or physical occupation or - from 1886 - a "minor job". This strict admission requirement served Pierre de Coubertin as a template for the first definition of the Olympic amateur status, which was, however, changed in such a way that no participant may accept any kind of benefits for the exercise of his sport or a related activity. The interpretation of the amateur rowing statute led to some sensational decisions. So the favorites and later Olympic champion John B. Kelly sr. (a building contractor but a skilled bricklayer) in 1920 and Henry Pearce (a skilled carpenter) in 1928 refused to participate. Both wanted to use the Henley Royal Regatta as preparation and prelude to the Olympic Games in Antwerp and Paris, where they then defeated the English winners of the Henley Royal Regatta. In addition, Kelly was generally excluded from being a member of the Vesper Boat Club because its club team received the travel money for the regatta participation in 1905 after a public appeal for donations. The exclusion of the Australian figure eight, who was traveling to Berlin for the 1936 Olympic Games, caused a particular scandal. The crew consisted of police officers who were classified as "physical labor". From 1938 onwards, political influence led to the eligibility of craftsmen and physically or less employed workers. The other rules remained in effect until 1998.
In 1937 a German boat won the Grand Challenge Cup for the first time with the eighth of the rowing company Wiking (Berlin) .
With the exception of an experiment in the early 1980s, only men could take part until 1993 (exceptions were occasionally only granted for tax women). The women's singles were later joined by four and eight. Due to the increased popularity of rowing among women in Great Britain, the Henley Women's Regatta was held for the first time in 1988 . Due to the subsequent involvement of top athletes in the Henley Royal Regatta, the number of participants in this event, which took place two weeks before, has decreased again.
During the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1948 Summer Olympics , when London was hosting, the Henley Olympic rowing races were held on the Henley Regatta course. However , this was no longer the case at the 2012 Summer Olympics ; Dorney Lake near Eton was chosen as the venue .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ John Murray : A handbook for travelers in Berks, Bucks, and Oxfordshire . London 1860, p. 76 ( online in Google Book Search [accessed January 15, 2014]).