7 May 2021: PRESS RELEASE
Plans and preparations for Henley Women’s Regatta are progressing well and we are working to stage a safe regatta which will comply, as far as we know currently, with government guidance on staging events. We are looking forward to opening for entries on BROE on 27 May 2021.
However, since 2019 the cost of staging the regatta has grown substantially and this year our entry fee per seat including coxes, will be £45. We are non-profit making and we do need to charge competitors what is costs to stage the regatta, otherwise we will be unable to run HWR in future years.
The entry fee covers the cost of staging the main elements of the regatta. All our infrastructure is brought in and the regatta is built from scratch in less than four days. The event is run by volunteers and no one is paid a salary or expenses for the work they do for the regatta. This excludes the professionals we employ to erect the site, deliver the caravans and so on. Despite the amazing work of all our volunteers we are an expensive regatta to run.
The livestream broadcast of the regatta is covered by our benefactors and supporters who have very kindly donated to make this possible. Huge thanks to Sean and Bibi Colgan and the Colgan Foundation, Tony Mallin and Youth Experience in Sport and Tim and Sarah Lohmann, for their support.
There are several reasons for the increase in entry fee this year:
- we are facing a big increase in costs in all areas and these are still rising. We have reviewed and examined how we can save costs and negotiated with our suppliers; however Brexit, Covid and inflation means that costs have gone up across the board.
- the new date in the calendar means that we are incurring additional costs in the build. We are working to share infrastructure on land and on the water with other events so to minimise these costs.
- we are expanding the footprint of the regatta to include a spectator area at the Barrier. This will enable us to spread out the boat racking area, the crew check-in areas and have a spectator area with more space, which will make social distancing easier and means we are less likely to have to limit numbers of competitors or spectators (government guidance permitting).
- we will have fewer entries this year, from both domestic and overseas crews. Although we have had some enquiries from foreign crews, overall the numbers travelling from overseas will be far lower than normal. This lower number of entries will impact our main source of income which is from entry fees.
Thank you all for supporting HWR and understanding why the event entry fee has increased. We look forward to staging what will be an amazing return to racing at Henley Women’s Regatta 2021.
If you have any concerns or questions, would like to make a donation, or if you have problems in entering HWR due to the higher cost, please contact me on chairman@hwr.org.uk
Best wishes
Miriam Luke
Chairman, HWR
Press Release for HWR new dates 17th March 2021 – pdf
Henley Women’s Regatta is the premier regatta for women in the United Kingdom. Each year more than 1,500 rowers travel from all over the UK and from across the world to compete in this prestigious event. Held on the rowing world’s most iconic stretch of the River Thames, HWR offers exciting side-by-side match racing for a wide range of competitors, from Juniors to University and Club to International level. Spectators are welcome to watch and enjoy the racing along the full length of the course – no tickets required!
