THE HENLEY CLASSIC is a 2.1 km endurance upstream River Thames swimming event, held over the Henley Royal Regatta course, very early on the Sunday morning before the Wednesday start of Henley Royal Regatta.
Download your Henley Classic Information Pack here 
Event Details
Features
This event is a celebration of mid-summer. It provides a unique opportunity to swim one of the most famous and beautiful stretches of open water in the world, at what we believe is the most beautiful time of the day, dawn. A key feature of the event is that you arrive in darkness and walk half a mile to the start into the sunrise, up to the start following a bloke with a flaming torch. Once the safety briefing is completed getting into the inky black water at that time is a slightly surreal experience.
The swim is like no other open water swim you will have ever experienced and the feeling of having done it before most people have even woken up is very satisfying.
Saturday Evening Pasta Party
This popular evening event will once again be held on the Saturday evening prior to the Henley Classic, between 5 and 8pm. The evening will be in the style of an “all you can eat” Italian Pasta evening, including a choice of 3 sauces and a soft drink.
Click here to view the confirmed menu
The cost will be £10 per head when pre booked or £12 per head on the evening.
Sleep & Eat Special Offer
For those who will be camping, we can also offer an early bird “Sleep & Eat Pass” for £18 per person, once again bookable on line, at the following link:-
Henley Classic Pasta Party & Camping Bookings
A cash bar and general cafe with snacks will also be available within the Food Court and Barn Bar Garden area.
Saturday Evening Registrations
The venue will be open from 4pm to 6pm for anyone who would like to register for the event early, to save time on the Sunday morning.
Course
The course is unique in that it is a straight line point to point swim (ie: no turns) and takes advantage of the boomed course of the Henley Royal Regatta.
Click on the course map to enlarge
Categories
Elite – details to be confirmed
Open – Men & Women
Traditional – Men & Women (Speedos or swimsuits only)
Masters 45-54 – Men & Women (on the day of the race)
Masters 55 and above – Men & Women (on the day of the race)
Junior – Men & Women aged 14 to 18 (on the day of the race)
Sporting category – A single (non-competitive) category for both Men and Women
The Sporting category will start shortly after the main event, and you then have a choice of just enjoying the swim or aiming to achieve a Gold, Silver or Bronze standard based on your time. We will still need you to wear a timing chip and to adhere to all the other rules of the race, but other than that, you are free to go off at your own pace. Having said that, as with the race, you need to look at the conditions of entry and you still need to be a strong swimmer.
Eligibility
Due to a combination of factors (time of day, potential water/air temperature, and the fact that this is a 2.1km upstream swim) you need to be a strong experienced swimmer, capable of swimming continuously over 3km.
Entry Process
Following the success of our inaugural lottery ballot, which took place at the end of December and attracted entrants from as far afield as the USA, South Africa and Australia, entries will open at the beginning of April, on a first come first served basis. Details will be published here shortly.
Entry Ballot
The result of the Lottery Ballot will was announced on Friday 6th January, after which the successful candidates and pre-qualified swimmers were contacted by email with a Unique Pin, enabling them to confirm and pay for your entry. All unsuccessful candidates were contacted by email to inform them of the result.
Click here to view the list of 2012 Pre-qualified Swimmers
Other Event Information
Location
The Henley Classic is hosted at the Temple Island Meadows, which is just ¾ mile from Henley town centre.
Click here for details http://www.henleyregatta.com/picnics-event-map.asp
Parking
Free parking is available at the venue
Facilities
Toilets and showers will be provided
Hot & cold drinks/ food will be available at the Food Court
Camping – bookable in advance here Henley Classic Campsite Bookings.
Advance booking prices are £10 per person per night. Campervans £15 per night.
Our Official Retail Partner Mailsports, a local Bourne End company which has traded as a Swim Specialist for over 30 years, will be present with an extensive range of swimwear, goggles, hats, towels and accessories, to cater for any needs you may have on the day.
They have enhanced their range to include both Wetsuits and Triathlon suits, and offer an unrivalled range of swimwear and accessories from established brands such as Maru, Speedo, Tyr, Blue Seventy, 2XU, Orca, Zoggs and Aquasphere.
For purchases of swimwear, wetsuits or accessories in advance of the event, please visit www.mailsports.co.uk
Post race massages will be provided by SB Sports Massage.
Sessions are £10 for 15 minutes, bookable in advance by emailing info@sbsportsmassage.co.uk
Wetsuit hire and other event memorabilia will be available on the day
Mementos
Medals are presented to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd for each category, men & women.
Event History
This event originated as a swim in 2004, when two of the organisers, Tom Kean and Jeremy Laming, decided their backs had finally had enough of rowing and that it might be nice to swim the Henley Regatta course. So they could do this safely and without disrupting the rowing community at a busy time of the year, dawn was decided as the best time of day to do it, and that Jeremy’s old rowing club (Upper Thames) was the best place to meet.
Once they got over the shock of first light being 0400, the swim was unlike any they had done before. Thanks partly to some amazing photos and lots of talking, the following year a group of approximately 20 people assembled to do the swim at the same time. Since then the swim continued to grow until the numbers became so great that in 2008 it was run as an ‘official’ event, and has now evolved into the Henley Classic.