Dear Parents and Athletes,
The Women's Eights Head of the River Race (WEHORR) is run over approximately 6800m downstream and with the tide on the River Thames from the Universtiy Pole in Chiswick to the finish line at Putney Pier (a few hundred meters upstream of Putney Bridge.
WEHORR is one of the key events of the season for Headington and one of the few events where our girls compete on a national stage against elite and senior and university women's crews. HSOBC have entered three crews to race at this event.
Please note that all girls should use school transport to get to the event unless permission has been given via email from the Head of Rowing to meet us at the event, if dropping your daughter off please ensure that she is there no later than 12:30pm at the agreed meeting point. Athletes are responsible for finding out from their coaches where and when they need to meet on the day of the race if travelling separately from their team.
Location:
Headington have been given permission to boat from the Emanuel School boathouse for the race; which is just downstream of Barnes Bridge, the address is as follows:
Emanuel School Boat Club
The Promenade
Chiswick
W4 2SH
There is no access for parents to the boathouse and there is no parking in or around the boat house. Please refer to the 'spectators' section below for the best spectator viewing options.
The Draw:
The draw can be found on the event website.
The Headington crew lineups have been finalised with the girls this week. Any girls recovering from injury or illness will not race.
There will be no training for those J16-Senior rowers that are not racing at WEHORR.
Transport:
The bus will depart at 05:15 am at the latest. Please meet at the school gym at
05:00am before boarding the bus to London.
Transport is available back from London. No girls may depart the event until the trailer is fully loaded.
Itinerary: WEHORR – Saturday 8th March 2025
Please note that it is the rower's responsibility that they follow the coaches instructions and the timings below. Also, once the girls boat they may have to wait on the water before racing so they will need to make sure to have had a loo stop prior to racing and have warm rowing kit available.
0500: Meet at school gym.
0515: Bus departs from Headington.
0645: Bus arrives at Emmanuel Boat Club - begin rigging boats.
0715: Warm up and boat for pre race row.
0730 to 0830: Pre race row.
0930: Dressed and ready for pre-race chat at the trailer. Warm up then boat. Please note: rowers are responsible for ensuring that they have boated in good time, rowers need to have inspected the event website and made note of boating and marshalling times. Crews that are late may not be allowed to race. I have instructed coaches that under no circumstances are they to chase girls to get boated.
by 1050: In marshalling area (warm kit is needed as rowers may be there for a while)
1100: Approximate start time: it could be earlier or later so rowers are to row straight to the start.
After the race any breakages or other equipment issues should be reported to the coaches immediately.
from 1200: De-Rig and load trailer . No girl may depart before the trailer is fully loaded.
All competitors should read and familiarise themselves with the Competitor Instructions document
More safety and welfare information can also be found on the event website.
Kit and Food:
The girls will need:
- Water bottles with electrolyte replacement fluid.
- Food - appropriate for race day including a packed lunch and fuel for between the pre race row and the race iteself, if you are not sure what to pack please have the girls ask their coaches
- A good breakfast before departing (eg: Porridge, toast and a banana as well as a good source of protein).
- Make sure to have a meal for after the race, such as pasta and banana / fruit
- Kit: It will be cold and possibly wet so separate training and racing kit will be needed.
Make sure you have enough warm and waterproof kit for when you are sitting around. Coxes and athletes will not be allowed to boat if they are not properly attired for the weather conditions.
- Wellington boots (knee high) are required for boating
Spectating:
The best place to view this race is from Barnes Bridge which is about 2km from the start. Viewing is also possible from several other locations along the course in particular from Chiswick Bridge (start line) and on the southern bank near Barnes Rail Bridge, there is also limited viewing of the finishing stretch from the Putney embankment. There is some on street parking nearby these locations.
The crews are set off approximately every 10 seconds so you can work out a rough start time for the Headington crews based on their crew number as published in the race draw.
Headington Boats:
The 1st VIII is crew number 17
The 2nd VIII is crew number 37
The 3rd VIII is crew number 266