Henley Royal Regatta the Women's Fours, the Women's Pairs and the Women's Double Sculls. These were raced for the first time at the 2017 Regatta. Henley hosted the rowing events of the London Olympic Games in mid-July 1908, two weeks after the Royal Regatta. The course was extended downstream and upstream, making it and . Events for single sculls, coxless pairs, coxless fours and eights were offered but only the eights produced an international final. A meeting arranged by Leander Club in January 1919 concluded that it was too soon to revive the regatta but asked the Stewards to arrange a “Peace Regatta”
Head of the Charles Regatta the captain of the University of Pennsylvania's lightweight varsity three seasons earlier. They initially had little hope the regatta would be a success, it was the wrong time of year and it wasn't expected to draw any spectators. Harvard University sculling instructor Ernest Arlett provided the idea for the head race. George Ernest Arlett came to the US because in England only "gentlemen" could race. Even when Arlett brought Northeastern University's rowing team to Henley Royal Regatta and the team members were invited, the team entered by the front door and Mr. Arlett still had to enter by the rear