Temple Challenge Cup

Two crews racing in the Temple Challenge Cup at Henley in 2003

The Temple Challenge Cup is one of the eights races at Henley Royal Regatta at Henley-on-Thames on the River Thames in England. It is open to male crews from universities, colleges or schools. Combined entries from two colleges of the same university, or from different schools, are allowed. There are restrictions on individuals rowers to ensure that the faster crews row in the Ladies' Challenge Plate. A rower cannot take part in this race if he has previously won an event at Henley, except The Princess Elizabeth or The Fawley Challenge Cups.

The event was first staged in 1990, and, after a successful first year, the Regatta Stewards decided to make it a permanent fixture. The cup, awarded to the winning crew on finals day, was made in 1835 by Charles Fox, and has been engraved with a sketch of the Temple on Temple Island at the start of the regatta course.

There was no foreign winner until 1996, when the United States' Yale University won the final. Since then, foreign crews have dominated the event with 7 of the last 8 winners being overseas crews. Only Oxford Brookes University have broken the foreign stranglehold on the trophy, winning the event in 2006 and again in 2014.

Winners

1990-1999

• 1990 Imperial College, London, UK †
• 1991 University of Bristol, UK †
• 1992 Imperial College, London, UK
• 1993 Oxford Brookes University, UK
• 1994 Imperial College, London "A", UK
• 1995 Oxford Brookes University, UK
• 1996 Yale University, USA
• 1997 Goldie Boat Club, UK
• 1998 Imperial College, London, UK
• 1999 Cambridge University Boat Club, UK

† The trophy was originally called the Henley Prize in 1990 and 1991. It was renamed to the Temple Challenge Cup in 1992.

2000 onwards

• 2000 Yale University, USA
• 2001 Harvard University "A", USA
• 2002 Harvard University "A", USA
• 2003 Princeton University "A", USA
• 2004 ASR Nereus, The Netherlands
• 2005 Trinity College, Hartford, USA
• 2006 Oxford Brookes University, UK
• 2007 University of California, Berkeley, USA
• 2008 University of Western Ontario, Canada
• 2009 Princeton University, USA
• 2010 University of Washington, USA
• 2011 University of California, Berkeley, USA
• 2012 University of Washington, USA
• 2013 DSRV Laga, The Netherlands
• 2014 Oxford Brookes University, UK
• 2015 ASR Nereus, The Netherlands

Sources

• Henley Royal Regatta
• Historic Henley results