The Championship Course The Championship Course The stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England is a well-established course for rowing races, most famously the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. It is often referred to as The Championship Course. The course is on the tidal reaches of the river often referred to as the Tideway. In 1845 it was agreed to stage the Boat Race (which had on five previous occasions been contested from Westminster Bridge to Putney) on a course from 'Putney Bridge to Mortlake Church tower'. The aim was to reduce the interference from heavy river traffic
Head of the River Fours Head of the River Fours The Fuller's Head of the River Fours (HOR4s) is a processional rowing race held annually on the Tideway of the River Thames in London on the 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). On picking a date for the new race the TARA dropped their plans after learning that the Tradesmen's Rowing Clubs Association had also started to organise a similar open fours race. Thus the fledging "Head of the River