Henley Royal Regatta has added The Bridge Challenge Plate, an additional women’s race, as the regatta works towards gender parity on the Thames.
“The Bridge Challenge Plate is a significant step forward in broadening opportunities for female competitors at Henley Royal Regatta,” remarked Richard Phelps, Chair of Henley Royal Regatta. “It fills a vital gap in our competition structure, providing a platform for Intermediate Women’s crews to compete at the highest level for their category. This new event complements our efforts to increase entries in five existing Women’s events and reflects the Regatta’s commitment to inclusivity, gender parity, and maintaining the highest competitive standards.”
The Bridge Challenge Plate is the first event in the history of HRR in the intermediate category. It’s designed for crews below the top level, Premier category, but above the Club and Student categories.
“This event addresses a specific gap in our offering for female competitors,” said Phelps. “Since 2017, we’ve introduced six new women’s events, creating opportunities for growth across all levels. Adding this Intermediate event is the next logical step in ensuring sustainable and balanced progression for female rowers. Our approach to gender parity focuses on thoughtful, incremental changes to ensure quality competition and lasting progress.”
The Bridge Challenge Plate will see its inaugural race in 2025, and the regatta staff don’t expect to see major changes to the racing schedule.
“We expect the introduction of The Bridge Challenge Plate to be easily accommodated within the 2025 schedule, especially with a projected decrease in entries to The Remenham Challenge Cup [open women’s eights],” stated Phelps. “This addition responds to a remarkable growth in demand and talent within women’s rowing – we saw twice the number of female entries in 2023 than 2019.”
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