Head of the River Fours
The Head of the River Fours (HOR4s) is a processional rowing race held annually on the Thames in London on the 4¼ mile (6.8 km) Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.
The idea for a Tradesmen's Tideway Head Race for fours, was first mooted in the early 1950s by the Thames Amateur Rowing Association. The TARA, was the Thames branch of the National Amateur Rowing Association, the governing body who looked looked after manual workers who could not join the ARA as their amateur status was not recognised.
Despite picking a date for the new race, the TARA soon dropped their plans after learning that the Tradesmen's Rowing Clubs Association (the body who looked after real professionals - i.e. those who worked with boats for a living) had also started to organise a similar open fours race.
And so it was that the fledging "Head of the River 4os" was first raced in 1955. In the following years the race was known as the Tradesmen's Rowing Club's Association Head of the River Fours, though even at this stage ARA clubs were entering along with NARA and TRAC clubs.
In the late 1950s the ARA and NARA finally merged into the Amateur Rowing assoication of Great Britian. The event then became known simply as the Head of the River Fours, and was handed over to a new Committee in 1963 after the TRCA's eventual amalgamation.
Since that time many changes have taken place to the race, including the course length and alterations and additions to the status and boat classifications available. Of particular interest was the introduction of quadruple sculls in 1969 when there were 3 entries. A women's junior quadruple sculls event was added in 2005 and the current breakdown of events of offer is as follows:
Quadruple sculls (4x) (Seven Events) Open Elite; Women's Elite; Open Senior 1; Open Senior 2; Women's Senior 2; Open Junior; Women's junior
Coxless fours (4-) (Four Events) Open Elite; Women's Elite; Open Senior 1; Open Senior 2
Coxed fours (4+) (Nine Events) Open Elite; Women's Elite; Open Senior 1; Open Senior 2; Women's Senior 2; Open Senior 3 (Academic; Women's Senior 4 (Academic; Open Senior 3 (Club); Women's Senior 3 (Club)
In the first race 34 crews rowed over a 3 mile course from Chiswick Steps to Putney Pier. The entry has grown steadily over the years and in 1990 the race was extended to the full four and a quarter mile Championship course from Mortlake to Putney (ie. the Oxford/Cambridge boatrace course in reverse).
For many years the entry exceeded the 500 permitted maximum, but in 1997 the Port of London Authority agreed to a request for 50 more crews. Even with 550 places available (the largest number of crews entered in an one race in the UK) the race is still heavily oversubcribed.
Fuller, Smith and Turner began their sponsorship of the Race in 1979 and event winners are rewarded each year with excellent hospitality in the Hock Cellar at the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, where the prizes are presented.