Jiajun, dons a boater and tells us all about Henley Regatta, a truly British occasion:

Henley Regatta which is a kind of boat racing was first held in 1839 in London and has been held annually since then, except during the two disastrous World Wars – First World War and Second World War. Henley Regatta was originally staged by the Mayor and people of Henley as a public attraction with other entertainments, the emphasis dramatically changed into competitive amateur rowing.

In 1839, Regatta took place on a single afternoon, but it was proved so popular that the racing lasted for two days since 1840. In 1886, the Regatta was extended to three days and to four days in 1906. Since then, Henley Regatta became more and more popular which means more and more people joined this game. Since 1928, entries exceeded the permitted numbers in several events, and so qualifying races are now required in the week before the Regatta to reduce the number of entries to the permitted maximum. In 1986 the Regatta was extended to five days, with an increase in the maximum entry for certain events.

The length of the Course is 1 mile 550 yards, which is slightly longer than the standard international distance of 2,000 metres. It takes approximately seven minutes to cover, so that there are often two races at once.

During the course of its history, the Regatta has often been honoured by visits of members of the Royal Family. In 1993, women joined the competition which made the race more interesting.

During recent years, there are also entries from other countries - Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Poland, the Netherlands, the U.S.A., Germany, the Czech Republic, the Ukraine, South Africa and Great Britain etc. Every year Henley is visited by many crews from abroad and last year 78 crews were from overseas.

These are the interesting story about Henley Royal Regatta, if you would like to come to London to have a real experience of how this game looks like, then contact James either by email: james@answerenglish.com or call him on: 020 7402 8651.