Draws Released for Lightweight Rowing at 2024 Henley Rowing Regatta
HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England — The draws for the pair of Cornell men’s lightweight rowing entries at the 2024 Henley Royal Regatta were announced on Saturday afternoon.
Cornell’s 8+ crew will race against the University of London on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. BST (1:35 p.m. EDT) in the first day of racing for the Temple Challenge Cup. The Big Red’s 4+ crew received a bye in the Prince Albert Challenge Cup and will race on Thursday against the winner of Tuesday’s race between Cambridge University and Edinburgh University’s ‘B’ crew.
Time for Cornell’s 4+ race on Thursday has yet to be announced. All events for the six-day regatta will be streamed live on the Henley Royal Regatta’s YouTube page.
Those representing the Big Red in next week’s Henley Royal Regatta arrived in England on Wednesday and faced a quick turnaround with having to qualify for their spots in the respective Challenge Cup races on Friday afternoon.
“I am not going to lie, I was nervous,” said Tyler Nase, the Henry E. Bartels ’48 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Lightweight Rowing. “Not because we hadn’t prepared well, but because there were so many variables the guys had to manage in terms of travel, time zone adjustment, boat rigging, adjusting to a new course, and race preparation. I am very proud of how the guys handled it all.”
Both Cornell crews raced a 2000-meter time trial on Friday, with both crews meeting the criteria to qualify for next week’s slate of races. The 4+ crew needed to place within the top four of nine crews and the 8+ needed to finish within the top 16 of 60 entries.
“The 4+ and 8+ crews pushed into the crew in front of them and pushed away from the crew behind them,” Nase said. “Henley does not publish times for the crews that qualify so we will never know exactly how we did. I can share that the 4+ was given a bye. I don’t know exactly how selected crews work, but I assume we did well in the time trial to warrant the bye.
“The conditions yesterday were slow. You row against the current here and the wind was blowing pretty hard down the course. I think conditions all next week will be fairly similar. In a way, it’s a blessing that we were forced to do a run down the course yesterday. I think it gave the guys a confidence boost.”
All races next week will be the Henley Royal Regatta’s standard of 2112 meters (1 mile and 550 yards), which has remained the same since the inception of the yearly event in 1839, despite having four different courses over time. The current course, which is named the “Straight Course” has been used since 1924.
The winner of Tuesday’s race in the Temple Challenge Cup will race the winner between Oxford Brookes University’s ‘A’ crew and the Bedford School on Wednesday. Time of the race is also to be determined.
TEMPLE CHALLENGE CUP DRAW
Imperial College London vs. Newcastle University
Durham University ‘B’ vs. Princeton University ‘A’, U.S.A.
Oxford Brookes University ‘C’ vs. Hampton School
Edinburgh University ‘A’ vs. A.S.R. Nereus ‘B’, Netherlands
Oxford Brookes University ‘D’ vs. Durham University ‘A’
Exeter University vs. Princeton University ‘B’, U.S.A.
Orange Coast College, U.S.A. vs. D.S.R. Laga ‘B’, Netherlands
Nottingham University vs. Oxford Brookes University ‘B’
D.S.R. Laga ‘A’, Netherlands vs. Southampton University
University of Bristol vs. K.S.R.V. Njord, Netherlands
Oxford Brookes University ‘A’ vs. Bedford School
University of London vs. Cornell University, U.S.A.
A.S.R. Nereus ‘A’, Netherlands vs. Edinburgh University ‘B’
Groninger Studenten Roeivereniging, Netherlands vs. St. Paul’s School
Harvard University, U.S.A. vs. St. Edwards’ School
University of Birmingham vs. La Salle University, U.S.A.
PRINCE ALBERT CHALLENGE CUP DRAW
La Salle University, U.S.A. vs. Edinburgh University ‘A’
Winner races Oxford Brookes University ‘A’ on Thursday
Imperial College London vs. University of London ‘A’
Winner races A.S.R. Nereus, Netherlands on Thursday
Cambridge University vs. Edinburgh University ‘B’
Winner races Cornell University, U.S.A., on Thursday
Oxford Brookes University ‘B’ vs. University of London ‘B’
Winner races Harvard University, U.S.A., on Thursday
