Military rowing is challenging, competitive and collaborative. Few sports engage both military men and women in such a combination of skills, strength, team work and mission focus.

The King’s Cup is an exemplar of the links between Allies, of the ability of sport to bridge civilian and military worlds, and the remarkable contribution that women make in our military and in our sport.

With the world teetering on the edge of multiple conflicts and engaging in shadow wars, this is more than recognising those who serve. We know that sport has the capacity to help heal wounds and de-escalate conflict. Oarsmen helped build the peace in 1919, perhaps our sport can once again play its part.

to race again…

Henley Royal Regatta is the highlight of the British summer, the finest river Regatta in the world and an event that ranks alongside Wimbledon and Royal Ascot. His Majesty the King is Patron and this 186 year old event is part Edwardian picnic, part elite sporting event. Over five days in front of 100,000 spectators and broadcast cameras, live streamed races include schools, universities and national crews. When military crews race, it is with their nation’s fittest and finest, servicemen and women rowing together with a three million audience in uniform, friends and family.

The 1919 Royal Henley Peace Regatta was a key milestone in the sport of rowing and was staged to help heal wounds and hasten the return to normality of the Allied nations and their troops recovering from the First World War. The highlight was The King’s Cup, presented by King George V for Allied military crews. Six nations competed with an Australian Army crew ultimately victorious.

The King’s Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 2019 was a race between eight military forces which honoured the past, cemented and contributed to the Alliances of today and built towards the future; The King’s Cup saw crews from the original six nations that raced in 1919, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, the UK and the USA, joined by Germany and the Netherlands. They competed in a knock-out format over the final three days of the 2019 Henley Royal Regatta with, for the first time at an elite rowing event, men and women rowing in the same boat.

In a stunning final against the Bundeswehr, the midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy crossed the line first.

They will race again for the magnificent King’s Cup.