I announced to the team two days ago after the Frostbite regatta, TRCJ’s early planning to send two crews to England next summer for a three-week tour of various regattas. At this time, the trip is in an early planning stage and we are still looking for funding to subsidize the cost of the trip. I can say that while this trip is far from a done deal at this time, we are making significant progress to making it a reality.
The tentative trip itinerary is as follows:
| June 11th | Arrival into London, Heathrow Airport |
| June 16th -17th | Marlow Regatta (boys crews) |
| June 15th – 17th | Women’s Henley (girls crews) |
| FRI June 22nd | Henley Royal Regatta Qualifiers (boys and girls crews) |
| SAT June 23rd | Reading Town Regatta (boys and girls crews) |
| WED – SUN June 27th – July 1st | Henley Royal Regatta (boys and girls crews) |
| Monday July 2nd | Depart London, Heathrow Airport |
The club is looking to fundraise $45K to help subsidize the trip and has already raised $20K towards this goal. If we can hit our fundraising target, then the cost per athlete for the trip will be in the region of $2500. This includes airfare, accommodation, boat rental, boat trailering fees, the cost of meals, a trip to the rowing museum in Henley and a trip for sightseeing in London.
Any athlete wishing to be a part of the trip must participate in the following to be in contention for selection:
1) Winter training
2) The spring break trip in OKC. Details can be found here
The coaching staff will be selecting the top eight boys + cox and top eight girls + cox to be a part of this.
In addition, the budget also allows for (and we need) two parent chaperones for the duration of the trip. You must be prepared to drive the vans and drive on the left side of the road. 😉
There is no guarantee that our athletes will be participating in the Henley Royal Regatta as we must first qualify on Friday, June 22nd and beat out numerous crews for a chance to compete in the main event. Having said this, I am confident that our athletes will rise to the challenge and make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity for an athletic and cultural experience. At the very least, our athletes will be involved in two English regattas with the chance to compete at Henley Royal Regatta and therefore experience the event first hand as an athlete and spectator.
I will be in touch with more details about the trip as they become available. I have included a few youtube.com video clips below to give you a sense of the regatta and some of the tradition involved.
Yours in Rowing,
Coach Neil Bergenroth
5 Time Olympic Gold Medal Winner Sir Steven Redgrave talks about Henley Royal Regatta
The following video is footage of the docks that sit in front of the boat tents at Henley Royal Regatta.
The following video is footage from The Social Network featuring the sequence in the movie that features the Harvard crew against a team of Dutch rowers.