Head Racing in Rowing

There are two main ways in which this form of competition takes place

A head race in rowing is in effect a time trial rather than a race to see who is first to cross the finish line. It is the sort of race that is more suitable for a narrow stretch of river, and it requires different skills from those of sprint racing. Basically, in a head race the crews start the course at different times and race against the clock rather than each other.

There are different types of head race, so the rules and procedures are not always the same. A good example of one kind is the Head of the River Race for eights that is held annually every March on the River Thames in London, UK (there are separate races, on different days, for men and for women). The course is the same as that used for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, but in reverse, so that the crews go downstream from Mortlake to Putney on an ebb tide, instead of upstream on a flood tide. The other major difference is that, instead of two crews racing, the river is full of boats, maybe with hundreds of crews taking part. There is a limit of 420 entries, for safety reasons.

The crews start at about 10 second intervals, so there can be around 100 boats on the water at the same time. Crews are given a number, which is displayed on the boat, and they are called to the…