Last updated: Aug. 2, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Severe Weather Prompts Safety Measures
[St Catharines, Ontario] — August 2, 2026 — After extensive consultation with the Chief Umpire, Regatta Chair and safety committee and considering ongoing severe weather conditions affecting the area, the 2026 Henley Masters Regatta and Canadian Masters Championships has been cancelled. The Regatta Commission has implemented updated safety protocols and operation adjustments to protect the athletes, volunteers and infrastructure.
The severe weather event—including tornado warnings, left the joint commission no choice but to call an end to racing for the day. Please know we do not take these situations lightly and wish everyone safe travels upon their return.
2026 Henley Masters Overview
Following the major overhaul of the Masters program in 2025 — the introduction of new events and the implementation of recommendations from our Masters working group — the 2026 Canadian Henley Masters will retain the same events and the same event order as 2025. 2025 was the first year racing under the new event lineup, and holding the schedule consistent for 2026 gives the Regatta Committee, clubs, and competitors a stable framework to plan around. It also lets us build a multi-year dataset on the new format, so any future adjustments are based on real participation trends rather than a single year of entries.
Important: All competitors, coxswains, and account holders MUST read the full Regatta Package for a complete understanding of the rules, policies, and procedures governing the regatta. The information in this overview is a summary and does not replace the Regatta Package.
Looking Back at 2025
The 2025 changes broadened the regatta’s reach in ways the data clearly shows. Participating clubs grew from 41 to 50, with 22 clubs entering the Henley Masters for the first time. International participation expanded from 2 countries to 5, with first-time entries from Great Britain (Thames Rowing Club), New Zealand (Union Rowing Club Christchurch), and Mexico (Mexico Rowing Club and Club España) — the regatta is increasingly a destination event. The race schedule grew from 57 events to 81, giving masters athletes more category-appropriate options, particularly in women’s events (which grew from 24 to 39), quads (6 to 14), and eights (6 to 11). Several returning clubs also significantly increased their entries, including Georgian Bay, Rochester, Aviron Lachine, Ridley Graduate, South Niagara, and London Western.
In the interest of transparency, total entries dipped slightly from 333 to 314, and average entries per race were lower because the same pool of crews was spread across a wider event lineup. This is a normal pattern in the first year of any major program change — competitors and clubs need time to recognize themselves in new categories and plan crews accordingly. Holding the 2026 schedule steady gives the new format a proper second look, and gives the Committee a like-for-like comparison to evaluate trends rather than reacting to a single year of data.
Race Operations
Races will be scheduled based on the Preliminary Draw at 6-minute centres.
Every effort has been made to set the race schedule to allow for a minimum of 30-minute turnaround between races.
The warm-up bay was successful in 2025 and will remain unchanged. Once crews commit to enter the course at the gates, they will need to row down in their lane and there will be no looping.
The medals will not be engraved to allow for more racing as outlined below.
Returning Events
Some events on the 2025 schedule did not run last year. These events remain on the 2026 schedule, and we encourage clubs to consider them when planning their entries:
- Women’s Masters H-M Single (Event 3d)
- Men’s Masters B Four with Coxswain (Event 6b)
- Women’s Masters AA-A Four with Coxswain (Event 8a)
- Mixed Masters C-D Eight (Event 9a)
- Men’s Masters C-D Quad (Event 10b)
- Women’s Masters G-M Quad (Event 11d)
- Men’s Masters C-D 72.5kg Single (Event 18b)
- Women’s Masters AA-B 59kg Single (Event 20a)
- Women’s Masters E Eight (Event 39a)
- Men’s Masters C-D Eight (Event 40b)
A single year of light entries is not enough to draw conclusions about long-term demand, and these events deserve another opportunity to attract crews.
Coaches Meeting
There will be a mandatory Coaches Meeting that will take place at 7:00am. Coaches Meetings will take place in front of the Control Commission Booth, near the ramp to the docks.
ALL clubs are required to have at least one representative at the coaches meeting, for instructions from the Regatta Chair and Chief Umpire. As per Rule 8.6 in the RCA Rules of Racing, crews shall not race unless their club representative is present at the meeting or makes arrangements to receive equivalent information directly from the Organizing Committee representative. The club representative in attendance is responsible for conveying all information from the coaches meeting to all participating athletes and coaches. All participants, athletes and coaches, are expected to be familiar with the information conveyed at the coaches meeting.
Printed copies of the draw will not be distributed. The Preliminary Draw will be available online in Regatta Central 4 days prior to the first day of competition July 28, 2026. Real time, minor revisions to the Preliminary Draw will be posted on Regatta Master. Updates to the draw, progressions and results will be shared on Regatta Central & Regatta Master during the regatta, as they happen, make sure you are using the most up to date schedule.
Entries, Caps, and the Waitlist
Each Henley Masters Event has an Event Cap of 7 and a Club Cap of 1. Any additional entries will be placed on a Waitlist. See Waitlist Policy in the Regatta Package.
Registering for Henley Masters: account holders will enter race events, some of which have been combined into event groups.
For waitlisted events, once the entry deadline closes, those waitlisted events will be reviewed to determine if they can be split and create races.
For multi-category (handicap) events, the Regatta Committee may attempt to split a multi-category event. Example: Men C-D 2X with 14 entries, 7 Cs and 7 Ds, the Regatta Chair has the discretion to split the event into a C 2x and a D 2x.
For single category events, the event may be split into two races and the fastest time from the two races will be declared the winner (times Finals). Example: Women C 2X has 14 entries at close of entries, two 7 boat races will be created, and the fastest time will be the winner.
The Regatta Committee will work with account holders whose entries have been Waitlisted to provide additional options to race in other events. The main benefit of having Event Groups is that it allows Waitlisted account holders to enter different Events with a relatively small schedule change and reduces the need for handicaps.
Weigh-in Times
Weigh-ins will take place in the North Wing of the Neil Campbell Rowing Centre. Practice scales are located underneath the stairs between the two boathouses and are calibrated each day of competition.
- Masters Sunday: 7:00 am to 9:00 am
- Athletes will only be allowed to step on the scale once each day that they are competing.
- Maximum weight for males: 72.5 kg
- Maximum weight for females: 59 kg
- Coxswains’ weights for Masters: minimum 50 kg. An underweight coxswain shall carry sufficient deadweight to a maximum of 10 kg.
Athletes must weigh-in wearing their club’s racing uniform.
Athletes must have Henley Regatta approved ID with them to weigh-in.
Practice Schedule
The course is scheduled to be open for practice to ‘Active Competitors’ during the following times. Please visit the Daily Calendar for updated and revised practice times following the posting of the Preliminary Draw.
- Saturday, August 1, 2026 — Noon to 5:00 pm
- Sunday, August 2, 2026 — 6:00 am to 7:30 am (Short Course, Masters Only)
Course Maps
Please Note
- Out of Bounds is Out of Bounds.
- DO NOT under any circumstances cut the centre line of buoys in the warm-up area; you must go to either end and make the turn.
- At the finish, when exiting the course for both training (return to dock) or racing, do so outside of the course. Do not cross the finish line on return — use lane 0 closest to the grandstand.
Regatta Office
The Regatta Office is located in the South Wing of the Neil Campbell Rowing Centre.
Hours of Operation:
- Saturday, August 1, 2026 — 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (Masters Only)
- Sunday, August 2, 2026 — 7:30 am to 8:30 am (Masters Only)
Name changes and scratches deadline is 4:00pm Saturday. The Regatta Office will then reopen for scratches and medical name changes only. Please note that due to the introduction of the Henley Handicap System (HHS), in the event of a name change for a handicapped event entry, Sunday’s name changes will only be permitted accompanied by a medical certificate.
Name changes outside the Regatta Office are subject to approval at the sole discretion of the Regatta Chair, with a $50.00 administration fee per entry.
Finalized office hours will be published in the Daily Calendar and posted at the venue.
Hot Seating
Any crew or competitor requiring to Hot Seat either a boat or a crew must first notify the Control Commission at the dock and then the Dock Marshall. For crews to be permitted to Hot Seat, the following procedure must be followed:
- All crew members must present acceptable identification before being permitted to Hot Seat.
- All crew members will wait at the Control Commission, and one member will inform the Umpire when the crew on the water is approaching. Once the boat has landed, the crew may then go to the boat and prepare to launch under the supervision of the Umpire, who will then give the new bow number to the boat.
- In the event of a competitor only being hot seated, the coach needs to inform the Control Commission prior to their first race. The Umpire will supervise the exchange of athletes. Additional members from the club need to be present to remove the boat and oars if needed.
In all hot seating situations, on-water traffic patterns must be followed. Any violations will result in a Yellow Card and/or Exclusion. No race shall be delayed to accommodate a crew that is hot seating.
Late Entries
Late Event Entry fees are double the original Entry fee for that event. Late Event Entries will only be considered at the RCHR in cases where:
- The registration system will accept late entries for all events shortly after the posting of the Preliminary Draw.
- Late entries will not be processed until all Waitlist Entries have been exhausted.
- If an event has open lane(s), lanes will be filled on a first come first served basis upon completion of payment.
- Late Entries will not be accepted any later than 3:00pm on the day PRIOR to the first race in said event.
- Late Entries will NOT be accepted from a Masters single sculler or Masters crew which is entering an age category that is lower than their actual age category (e.g. No late entries accepted for crews rowing down a category).
Rowing Canada Aviron (RCA) Rules of Racing Exceptions
The Royal Canadian Henley Regatta will follow the 2026 Rowing Canada Aviron Rules of Racing, with the exceptions (per Rule 1.6) noted below.
2.5 Coxswains’ Weights:
Coxswains’ weights for Masters, U23, and Senior coxswains will be 50 kg. An underweight coxswain shall carry sufficient deadweight to a maximum of 10 kg.
2.7 Masters Competitors:
Any rower who competes in any event of the Henley Masters regatta is ineligible to compete in any non-Masters event in the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. A coxswain is exempt from the above statement. Coxswains are eligible to be a coxswain both in Masters Events and regular Henley Events.