In 2017, three new women’s events were introduced into the racing schedule; these included races for Women’s Coxless Pairs, Women’s Coxless Fours, and Women’s Double Sculls. On Monday 18th June 2018, the new trophies for these events were showcased at the Henley Royal Regatta headquarters, positioned opposite Leander Club.
Sir Steve Redgrave, a retired British rower who’s won five Olympic gold medals and won Henley Royal Regatta seventeen times, unveiled the new trophies for these events which seemed suitable, considering his unprecedented rowing career.
The trophies were constructed in workshops in Kent, with Redgrave and the HRR committee making regular trips to oversee the process. They even helped work on the trophies, but as Redgrave stated, ‘when I say work, I really mean we gave it a little chisel’.
The addition of the new Women’s Coxless Fours event has been appointed as ‘The Town Challenge Cup’. Redgrave wanted to design the trophy to have three handles until it was remembered that the Remenham cup (the Women’s Eights event) has this design, and so fashioned the new cup to bear four handles in lieu of this. This ensures, that at the prize giving on the Sunday, the lucky winners will all be able to get a hold of the trophy and proclaim their win. This might be more useful as well, due to the trophy apparently being ‘very heavy’ according to Redgrave!
In 1919, The Henley Peace Regatta was introduced after World War I when it was deemed too early to resurrect the regatta. All the trophies in the Peace Regatta that were given out were named differently, as Redgrave told us; The Grand Cup being named as The King’s Cup is an example of this. With the Peace Regatta involving a Hambledon Pair’s Cup, it seemed appropriate to have the new Women’s Coxless Pairs event being christened with the same name nearing the upcoming anniversary of the Peace Regatta. Whilst the Men's Pair’s Event winners receive goblets with their trophy, it was decided that miniatures of the Hambledon Cup were to be made so the women who win the event will not receive a medal, and instead, obtain one of the miniatures.
Since the regatta was introduced 180 years ago, the Stonor family have participated from the start, and were a part of the families living in Henley involved in the town vote wanted more business in the town and more to focus on. It was thought the right thing to do was to have a Stonor trophy after having a Stonor in Henley Regatta’s history almost through to the present day. The winners of the Women’s Double Sculls will win medals with trophies on them.
Redgrave stated that there has been a lot of work on the new trophies since the new events were introduced in an AMG meeting. They have been designed to present a slightly different look to the trophies that Henley Regatta already have, but are uniquely stunning, especially when the light is reflected upon them.
- Yasmin Ryman-King