The Head of the River rowing regatta in Western Australia is an annual rowing event held at the Champion Lakes Regatta Centre in Champion Lakes. There are two separate events. The boys regatta held in autumn, and the girls regatta held in winter.

Boys Regatta

The Head of the River regatta is the last rowing event of the Public Schools Association (PSA) calendar. The boys regatta held in early autumn is contested between the seven PSA boys schools: Aquinas College, Christ Church Grammar School, Guildford Grammar School, Hale School, Scotch College, Trinity College, and Wesley College.

The boys regatta for Head of the River was first held in 1899 between CBC Perth, The Church of England Grammar School (renamed Guildford Grammar School in 1906), The Alexander Scotch College (name shortened to Scotch College in 1908), and The High School (renamed Hale School in 1929).

Originally, the race for Head of the River was held between coxed fours from each school and the winning crew was awarded the Challenge Cup. When the PSA formed in 1905 rowing was one of the five inaugural sports of the competition and the Challenge Cup was awarded as a PSA trophy. In 1938 the Challenge Cup changed to the current race format between the first coxed eights from each school. Over the years the number of rowing events increased. In 1982 the Hamer Cup was introduced and awarded annually to the school which scored the most points for placings in each event at the regatta.

The course has changed many times. The regatta was originally held on the Swan River. When Perth won the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, the regatta moved to the 6 lane Canning River course. In 1969 the event returned to the wider course on the Swan River at the base of Kings Park near the Narrows Bridge. Since 2009 the event has been held at the purpose built rowing course at Champion Lakes, Kelmscott. Records have tumbled since the venue change with records set in 2009 and 2010. The current record time for the 2000m event is 5 minutes 48.2 seconds, set by Trinity College.

Challenge Cup

1st IV winners 1899-1937 & 1st VIII winners 1938–present

YearWinner 1899The High School 1900CBC Perth 1901The Alexander Scotch College 1902The Church of England Grammar School 1903The Alexander Scotch College 1904The Alexander Scotch College 1905The High School 1906The Alexander Scotch College 1907The Alexander Scotch College 1908Scotch 1909CBC Perth 1910CBC Perth 1911CBC Perth 1912CBC Perth 1913Scotch 1914The High School 1915CBC Perth 1916CBC Perth 1917CBC Perth 1918The High School 1919The High School 1920Scotch 1921CBC Perth 1922The High School 1923CBC Perth 1924Guildford 1925The High School 1926CBC Perth 1927CBC Perth 1928CBC Perth 1929CBC Perth 1930CBC Perth 1931CBC Perth 1932Scotch 1933Hale 1934Scotch 1935Scotch 1936Scotch 1937Scotch 1938Scotch 1939Hale 1940Scotch 1941Scotch 1942Aquinas (unofficial) 1943Aquinas 1944Hale 1945Hale 1946Aquinas 1947Hale 1948Aquinas 1949Aquinas 1950Hale 1951Hale 1952Hale 1953Hale 1954Hale 1955Hale 1956Hale 1957Scotch 1958Christ Church 1959Christ Church 1960Scotch 1961Christ Church 1962Guildford 1963Christ Church 1964Christ Church 1965Aquinas 1966Aquinas 1967Christ Church / Scotch 1968Scotch 1969Aquinas 1970Aquinas 1971Hale 1972Aquinas 1973Aquinas 1974Aquinas 1975Aquinas 1976Aquinas 1977Aquinas 1978Scotch 1979Christ Church 1980Aquinas 1981Christ Church 1982Aquinas 1983Hale 1984Scotch 1985Scotch 1986Christ Church 1987Aquinas 1988Guildford 1989Aquinas 1990Scotch 1991Hale 1992Christ Church 1993Guildford 1994Aquinas 1995Aquinas 1996Trinity 1997Aquinas 1998Aquinas 1999Trinity 2000Hale 2001Wesley 2002Christ Church 2003Christ Church 2004Trinity 2005Christ Church 2006Christ Church 2007Trinity 2008Christ Church 2009Trinity 2010Trinity 2011Christ Church 2012Christ Church 2013Trinity 2014Christ Church 2015Scotch 2016Trinity 2017Guildford2018Hale 2019Christ Church2020 †N/A 2021Scotch 2022Christ Church 2023Trinity 2024Hale 2025Christ Church2026Aquinas

NB: † Denotes no race

Challenge Cup tally

WinsSchool 39 Aquinas 26 Scotch 25 Hale 21 Christ Church 9 Trinity 6 Guildford 1 Wesley

Aquinas includes seventeen wins by CBC Perth during 1899-1937. Guildford includes one win by The Church of England Grammar School during 1899-1905. Hale includes seven wins by The High School during 1899-1928. Scotch includes five wins by The Alexander Scotch College during 1899-1907.

Hamer Cup

Overall points YearWinner 1982Scotch 1983Aquinas 1984Scotch 1985Aquinas 1986Aquinas 1987Aquinas 1988Aquinas 1989Aquinas 1990Aquinas 1991Aquinas 1992Guildford 1993Aquinas 1994Aquinas 1995Aquinas 1996Aquinas 1997Aquinas 1998Aquinas 1999Aquinas 2000Hale 2001Guildford/Hale 2002Trinity 2003Trinity 2004Trinity 2005Christ Church 2006Scotch 2007Trinity 2008Trinity 2009Scotch 2010Trinity 2011Trinity 2012Trinity 2013Guildford 2014Scotch 2015Trinity 2016Trinity 2017Trinity2018Christ Church 2019Trinity 2020 †N/A 2021Trinity 2022Trinity 2023Trinity 2024Trinity 2025 Trinity/Christ Church2026Trinity

NB: † Denotes no racing

Hamer Cup tally

WinsSchool 18 Trinity 15 Aquinas 5 Scotch 3 Guildford 3 Christ Church 2 Hale 0 Wesley

Girls Regatta

In the winter season several private Perth girls schools in the Independent Girls Schools Sports Association (IGSSA) race for the title.

1st VIII winners

Year Winner 1988 St Hilda's 1989 Perth College 1990 Penrhos 1991 Penrhos 1992 Penrhos 1993 Penrhos 1994 MLC 1995 MLC 1996 MLC 1997 MLC 1998 Penrhos 1999 St Hilda's 2000 St Hilda's 2001 MLC 2002 MLC 2003 MLC 2004 MLC 2005 Penrhos 2006 MLC 2007 Perth College2008 Perth College2009 MLC2010 MLC 2011 MLC2012 PLC2013 PLC2014 MLC2015PLC2016PLC2017PLC2018PLC2019PLC2020N/A2021PLC2022PLC2023PLC2024PLC2025PLC

1st VIII Trophy Tally

WinsSchool 13 MLC 12 PLC 6 Penrhos 3 St Hilda's 3 Perth College 0 Iona

Overall points score

Year Premiers Zuideveld Trophy 1988 Perth College 1989 Perth College 1990 Penrhos 1991 Penrhos 1992 Penrhos 1993 Penrhos 1994 Penrhos 1995 Penrhos 1996 PLC PLC 1997 Penrhos St Hilda's 1998 St Hilda's Penrhos 1999 Penrhos St Hilda's 2000 St Hilda's St Hilda's 2001 Penrhos Perth College 2002 Perth College Perth College 2003 Perth College Perth College 2004 PLC St Hilda's 2005 Penrhos Penrhos 2006 Perth College/Penrhos Penrhos 2007 Penrhos Penrhos 2008 Perth College Perth College 2009 Penrhos Penrhos 2010 Penrhos PLC 2011 Perth College Perth College 2012 PLC PLC 2013 PLC PLC 2014 PLC PLC 2015 PLC PLC 2016 PLC PLC 2017 PLC PLC 2018 PLC PLC 2019 PLC PLC 2020 N/A N/A 2021 PLC PLC 2022 PLC PLC 2023 PLC PLC 2024 PLC PLC 2025 PLC PLC

Premiers Tally

WinsSchool 15 PLC 14 Penrhos 7 Perth College 2 St Hilda's 0 Iona 0 MLC

Zuideveld Trophy Tally

WinsSchool 15 PLC 5 Penrhos 5 Perth College 4 St Hilda's 0 Iona 0 MLC

See also Head of the River (Australia) Public Schools Association Independent Girls Schools Sports Association (Perth)

References

External links Rowing Australia