Big Field for Head of the Rivers Fours

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Olympic rowers to compete alongside local clubs

With 2484 people competing in 550 crews, the Fuller’s Head of the River Fours is one of the largest one day rowing races in the world. This year it takes place at 12:30 on Saturday 12 November over the famous 4 ¼ mile championship course on the river Thames, from Chiswick Bridge to Putney Bridge.

The Fuller’s HOR4s is one of the few races where members of the GB rowing squad can compete for their home clubs and the event continues to attract many Senior and Under-23 internationals in the top level events.

Taking part are all four oarsmen from the GB coxless four who won gold at the World Championships in Japan earlier this year. Pete Reed and Steve Williams race together as Leander in Elite 4+ while Alex Partridge and Andy Triggs-Hodge will be swapping their sweep oars for sculling blades (for Leander and Molesey respectively).

Oxford (who race as Isis) and Cambridge Universities also have a number of crews entered, containing many foreign rowing internationals and Olympians.

There are 20 different events being raced on the day, with everything from women’s junior quadruple sculls to men’s elite coxless fours, so as well as attracting international level rowers, the event also caters for many club level rowers from across the UK and Europe, attracting entries from as far a field as Norway and Germany.

The race will last a couple of hours; spectating is free and there are plenty of good vantage points from which to watch along the river. Refreshments and stalls selling rowing related goods will be available from outside many of the local Tideway clubs, especially on Putney embankment and at Hammersmith.

November 7, 2005