News Exciting Racing at Henley Women’s Regatta: 1st Eight Pre-Qualify for Henley Royal Regatta 23.06.2026

Despite the rising temperatures, three boats from G&L Boat Club headed out of London to compete at Henley Women’s Regatta. Henley is a special place, where the world’s best compete in the traditional format of two-lane racing, where one crew is knocked out after every race. This can seem brutal but can bring out the best side of a rower’s character. And is definitely great for the spectators!

The squad consisted of a 1st and 2nd Eight, plus a composite Coxed Four teaming up with girls from another school. The first task was to qualify for the knockout rounds by finishing in the top sixteen in a time trial. Sadly, our 2nd Eight didn’t quite make it, but the other two boats progressed through to the side-by-side racing.

Round 1: The 1st Eight neatly dispatched Great Marlow School, rowing confidently away from the start and securing a slot in Sunday’s quarter final. The coxed four had a greater challenge, facing the might of Headington. This race was much closer, but victory was ours and another G&L crew had successfully made it through to Sunday (a first in our rowing history!). As in any competition, the opposition gets tougher the further you progress. Sadly, the quarter final stages were the last races for our two crews, but the Eight lost to the overall winners and got closer than the losing semi-final and finalists. An outstanding performance from the crew.

As a result of their efforts this weekend, the 1st Eight have pre-qualified for Henley Royal Regatta and are now back on the river for some fine tuning ahead of their first race on 30 June. Go Dolphins!