The WEHoRR is rowed under the rules of British Rowing, specific local rules, and in accordance with all BR related policies.
Entries, and payment, must be made via BROE2. Scottish/Irish and other overseas clubs/crews not registered to use BROE2 should follow this guidance from British Rowing.

  • The entry fee is £136 per crew per crew.
  • There will be a maximum of 320 entries accepted. Entries will close either at 11.59pm on Thursday 15th February 2024 or when 320 fully paid entries are received. If entries close on 15th February 2024 before 320 are received, only fully paid entries will be accepted.
  • Late entries will not be accepted. We do not operate a waiting list.
  • All events require a minimum of 4 entries, with 3 crews racing, for any award to be presented. In exceptional circumstances, the Committee has the discretion to waive this requirement.
  • In the event of a tie, all crews with the same time will be presented with the award.
  • Names of participants in crews may be displayed both in results, on our website, or as part of a press release. If there is a problem with this for any crews you are entering, please contact the Entries Secretary.

Guidance on Events available and eligibility to compete

  • All competitors (rowers and coxes) are expected to have raced at a BR competition prior to competing at WEHoRR.
  • All competitors (rowers and coxes) are expected to have experience of racing and training on tidal rivers prior to competing at WEHoRR.
  • Crews must be sufficiently experienced to race on the Tideway. This is not just for their own safety but for the safety of everyone out there on race day, competitors, and volunteers.
  • We therefore require ALL CREWS to have experience of rowing on large/tidal rivers before competing in WEHoRR. The BROE entry form this year has additional mandatory questions regarding experience, and any entries submitted without providing this information in sufficient detail will NOT be accepted.
  • The WEHoRR Entries Secretary will follow up by email any entries requiring more evidence of crew competence, but please note that if the requested information is not received promptly and BEFORE entries close, the entry will not be accepted.
  • Particular attention will be paid to rowers with fewer than 5 sweep PRI points and coxes with fewer than 5 coxing PRI points.

Full criteria of events, awards and eligibility is found here. A summary is below.

WEHoRR offers 7 racing categories with optional additional pennants.

The 7 racing categories are:

  • Open (Elite)
  • Senior
  • Challenge
  • Beginner
  • Masters
  • School/Junior
  • Overseas

The optional pennants are:

  • Club (for non-academic entries)
  • University (in Open and Senior) or Academic (Challenge and Beginner)

Composite crews are NOT eligible for the Club or University pennants.

Crews who have entered for the CLUB pennant will be allocated into Medium/Small/Provincial pennants as appropriate.

Crew Experience

  • All crews (rowers and coxes) must have raced in BR events prior to racing at WEHoRR. The only exception will be Scottish/Irish/Overseas crews.
  • All rowers should meet the 5 sweep PRI point recommendation.
  • WEHoRR encourages crews to use experienced coxes for the race.

The PLA expect the WEHoRR Committee to respect their Ebb Tide Yellow Flag Warning and advice not to allow beginner and inexperienced crews to row on an Ebb Tide if there is a Yellow Flag on race day. Clubs need to consider this when making entries.

Coxes

  • Can be any gender and should be J16 as a minimum.
  • The age restrictions for masters or school/junior crews do not apply to coxes of these crews. An adult may cox school/junior crews.
  • All coxes should have a minimum of 5 coxing PRI points. Any rowing or sculling PRI points they hold will not be relevant for considering coxes and their experience.
  • All coxes should be J16 as a minimum and with more than a year’s experience, preferably more.
  • Coxes of beginner crews do not need to fulfil the time restrictions for the beginner classification.

Junior Athletes

  • Entries will be accepted from J15 crews (minimum age 14 on 1st September 2023).
  • However, any member of the crew who is under 15 on the day of the race must have raced in a Tideway HORR or other tidal head in 2025 before competing in the WEHoRR on 8th March 2025, thereby showing experience of competing on the Tideway.
  • No competitors who are under 15 on race day will be allowed to compete unless they have fulfilled this requirement for safety reasons. Coaches must inform the Entries Secretary which tidal head race the crew will be competing in prior to the WEHoRR.
  • The dates of birth of all J15 competitors will be checked and confirmation sought that the crew has raced in the head stated by the coach.

The PLA expect the WEHoRR Committee to respect their Ebb Tide Yellow Flag Warning and advice not to allow J15 crews to row on an ebb tide if there is a Yellow Flag on race day. Clubs need to consider this when making entries.

The Draw and Substitutions

  • The start order will be published shortly after entries close. There will be a short period up to a maximum of 48 hours during which crews will be able to notify the Entries Secretary of any errors. During this time the Online Entries system will be frozen so that no substitutions can be made. Only errors regarding WEHoRR Pennants (Club, University, etc.) can be corrected during this time.
  • It is the responsibility of the crew to ensure that they have been entered into the correct Pennant category. Any Pennant-related errors or omissions notified to the organisers after the 48-hour period will not be changed.
  • After the 48-hour period, the Online Entries system will be opened again so that changes to crew order and substitutions under the British Rowing Rules of Racing can be made. Any substitutions which would change more than half of the crew will only be permitted on the basis of medical evidence produced by the crew or its club and must be agreed with the Entries Secretary.
  • If substitutions are made after the draw which mean the crew must compete in a higher status event, or is no longer eligible for a particular pennant, then the crew will be moved to Elite/Open status.

Conditions of Entry

  • The Women’s Head accepts women’s crews only, albeit coxes can be any gender.
  • Juniors: All crews containing juniors, including junior coxes, are required to provide a contact number for a responsible adult who is contactable on race day and can make decisions regarding the crew. This information can be submitted at the time of entry by expanding the ‘Notes/Special Notes’ section under the crew’s information. If you need to amend your contact information within 48 hours of race day, please send any changes directly to the Entries Secretary, on the e-mail address listed below.
  • Front-loader (bow-coxed) boats are not allowed.
  • Crews are reminded that ALL substitutions MUST be made before the race via BROE or, on the day of the race and no later than one hour before the scheduled start of the race, by informing the Entries Secretary IN PERSON. Any crew who makes a substitution without informing the event will be disqualified. The committee reserves the right to review the entries of crews who have substituted athletes to ensure that all competitors are accredited members of the clubs for which they are competing.

Reducing the number of crews after the close of entries or the draw has been made

If the number of entries needs to be reduced after the close of entries, or after the draw has been made, whether due to forecast conditions (weather/stream) or for any other reason, the following factors will be considered by the Committee:

  • Any recommendations/advice arising from the PLA Ebb Tide Flag Warning
  • Crew CRI as at close of entries starting with the lowest ranked crews. The Race Committee may, at its discretion, consider sculling CRI in addition to sweep CRI. Coxing PRI points in exceptional circumstances may be relevant.

Further questions

We have more answers to common queries on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Enquiries

Enquiries about entries for the Women’s Eights Head should directed to: Entries Secretary Lesley Baguley, Email: entrysec@wehorr.org

Enquiries about British Rowing Online services should be directed to: British Rowing, Email: broe2help@britishrowing.org