After publishing my original Bucket List Head Races blog, a generous reader got in touch and shared a much more comprehensive list of Australian events. It quickly became obvious that Australia deserves its own bucket list, there’s a real mix of races on offer and some of these races are unique by world standards.
From classic river heads to marathon distances and even rowing through the outback, Australian head races combine travel, challenge, and a strong rowing community vibe. This list is aimed at anyone planning a rowing trip, looking for a new personal challenge, or simply keen to experience some of the best long-distance rowing Australia has to offer.
As always, this isn’t a fully checked or exhaustive list. Dates, distances, and formats can change, so please confirm details with the organisers before entering.
Head of the Yarra – Melbourne, VIC
Held on the Yarra River in Melbourne, this is the largest eights regatta in the Southern Hemisphere and regularly attracts crews from across Australia and New Zealand. For many rowers, this is the ultimate Australian bucket-list race.
Melbourne Head – Melbourne, VIC
Established in 2004, this event was created to be a major long-distance race on the Yarra and is often compared in ambition to the Head of the Charles. It continues to grow in profile each year.
Head of the Barwon – Geelong, VIC
A well-established singles time trial on the Barwon River in Geelong. A popular early-season hit-out that attracts scullers from across the state.
Distance: 4.5km
Head of the Mitchell – Mitchell River, Bairnsdale, VIC
Rowed on the scenic Mitchell River near the Gippsland coast, this event offers a choice of distances and a relaxed country regatta feel.
Distances: 3km and 5km
Usually held in October.
Foot of the Goulburn (River to Lake) – Nagambie, VIC
A point-to-point race starting on the upper Murray system and finishing on Lake Nagambie. A great mix of river skill and flatwater speed.
Distance: 5.2km
Typically held in October.
Melbourne Head of the Yarra (Schools Event) – VIC
Held one week prior to the main Head of the Yarra, this race is open to school-aged crews only and is a key fixture on the school rowing calendar.
Head of the River (AAGPS) – Sydney, NSW
A prestigious school rowing event that traditionally marks the end of the season for Great Public Schools in New South Wales. It is held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre and is a major fixture on the school rowing calendar.
Head of the Clarence – NSW
A river head race listed on the Rowing NSW calendar, typically held in December.
Nepean Head – Penrith, NSW
The Nepean Head is a series of head races on the Nepean River, popular with masters, club crews, and school-aged rowers.
Bill Beach Memorial Head – Lake Illawarra, NSW
Hosted by Shellharbour City Rowing Club, this long time trial is a favourite with endurance crews and masters rowers.
Distance: 10km
Usually held in September.
Head of the Shoalhaven – Shoalhaven River, NSW
A popular masters-focused event offering racing for eights, quads and fours on a fast-flowing river course.
Distance: 7km
Typically held in October.
Lower Clarence Time Trial – Grafton, NSW
A classic regional long-distance race hosted by Grafton Rowing Club on the Clarence River.
Usually held in September.
Head of the Manning / Wilkes Shield – NSW
One of the longer Australian head races, rowed on the Manning River and often used as a serious endurance test.
Distance: 16km
Usually held in late September.
Bentley’s Australian Outback Regatta – Thomson River, QLD
This is true bucket-list rowing. Held across two outback towns, crews race primarily in eights with sprint racing in Barcaldine followed by a long head race in Longreach. Equal parts rowing, travel and adventure.
Day 1: Short sprint races (Barcaldine)
Day 2: 6.5km head race (Longreach)
Usually held in early October.
Head of the Brisbane – Brisbane River, QLD
A long, winding course through the heart of Brisbane, offering challenging steering and varied conditions.
Distance: 9.5km
Typically held in October.
Head of the Tweed – Murwillumbah (NSW–QLD border)
One of the longest head races in Australia, this iconic event is rowed upstream on the Tweed River and is not for the faint-hearted.
Distance: 21km
Usually held in late June.
Round the Island Regatta (Alex Ramsay Regatta) – Delfin Island, Adelaide, SA
A distinctive long-distance race looping around Delfin Island, offering sheltered water and technical racing.
Distance: 7.3km
Typically held in November.
Head of the Huon – Franklin, TAS
Rowed on Australia’s southernmost rowing course, this event is known for its scenery, variable conditions and welcoming local clubs.
Distance: 8km
Usually held in October.
NERC Long Distance Races Regatta – Tamar River, Launceston, TAS
A two-day regatta with a strong endurance focus, culminating in eights racing on the Sunday.
Distance: 11km
Typically held in November.
Col Panton Memorial Marathon Regatta – Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, ACT
A marathon-style rowing event with multiple boat classes, including mixed masters eights, held on Canberra’s iconic lake.
Distance: 7km
Traditionally held on the second Sunday of October.
Bridge to Bridge Mary River – Maryborough, QLD
A long-distance time trial on the Mary River, offering a true endurance challenge and a relaxed regional regatta atmosphere.
Distance: approximately 13–14km
Usually held in August.
RWA Perth to Fremantle Head Race – Swan River, WA
A classic long-distance head race rowed down the Swan River from Perth to Fremantle. This iconic event is a staple on the Western Australian rowing calendar and is known for its length, changing conditions, and strong club participation.
Distance: approximately 16km
Typically held: October or November
Australian head races offer something genuinely different - big rivers, long distances, strong club culture and the chance to turn a regatta into a proper trip away. If you know of other Australian head races that belong on this bucket list, I’d love to hear about them.
A rowing friend asked me if I had a list of all the head races in the world. I don't. There are a lot of head races - in the UK every club has a winter and a summer regatta and the winter ones are usually head races. She was looking for ideas of places where she could travel abroad to race.
So here's what I have gleaned from some web searching. Needless to say these are NOT all checked and information can go out of date fast.
Upcoming head races
Recent past head races
Major head races in the UK
Other notable events
Notable head races
Major head races
Key head races in Australia
Key Head Races and Long-Distance Events
Specific head races in Germany
Major Rowing Head Races in the Netherlands
Major head races in Italy
Other notable rowing events in Italy
Notable Argentine Head Races
When racing, it's important everyone knows what a call means. Whether it's 'sit up' or 'push' or 'sting and float'- there are depths of meaning behind that call.
I remember Mike Spraklen coaching my crew and in a debrief he asked what the coxswain called. She said what it was. Then he went round the circle of athletes asking each of us what those words meant to us. Every one of us gave a slightly different answer. A clear demonstration that we hadn't agreed what the call meant and what we did when we heard it.
In the anecdote below by Drew Ginn he explains that you have to set up the crew/boat to be ready to do the call as well as actually doing it. This shows the level of depth and clarity needed for really successful execution.
Set up the call first - everyone must have a common understanding. Then decide how to use that call. What purpose does it serve in your race plan? To answer this I copy below the words used by Australian legend Drew Ginn. He explains the race plan and how important it was that they got the race "set up" in the first half.
[Taken from his Facebook page.]
In 2006 the race plan was consistent with previous years in pairs and fours. This race was a good example of focusing on our process and staying with boat speed. First 250m set up and solid 2nd 250m and by focusing on length and breathing we established our rhythm early and held boat speed well.
Below were the focuses and reminders I would make sitting in the bow seat.
Once into the 2nd and 3rd 500ms the calls were simple and focused on front end, then back end of the stroke. And each call was made with this type of process: prep call, make the call and feedback on the call. This would be a few strokes before and after each call which was times with each 250m or 45sec.
In any boat having clarity is critical and in pairs its obvious that any inefficiencies and differences in mindset and application has a massive impact. Not straight away but 2 to 3min later the pair just gets heavy and you find out around 800m or so you lose speed and this is why so often pairs who can stay with the speed of the boat and be efficient stand out.
Sequence, length and power leads to rhythm and staying calm under pressure means the boat runs. I always loved the sensation of the Catches call at 500m and thinking 'slide my hips off the front and staying super long in the arms'.
Hips speed, handle speed is about athleticism and I often found you could keep boat speed up but not feel like it was working, verses moving with it and staying with it.
Always loved sitting behind guys like Duncan Free, James Tomkins, Mike McKay, Josh Dunkley Smith as they we great at leading the drive and being connected in the first foot. Which meant in the bow it was about supporting them but being in and on at the catch, and then just hang for as long as possible to let them work. And this was the trick. Accelerating through them to add value while not making it heavy.
The magic of a pair of synchronicity with a little syncopation.
Meet Margot Zalkind as she shares her views on how many Head of the Charles Medals are enough to satisfy your competitive instincts.
Timestamps
00:45 Welcome Margot Zalkind a competitive masters rower and US Rowing administrator This question started with a team mate who's a psychologist who asked "We stress out and work hard - how many times is enough to win at the Head of the Charles Regatta?" This first time was our easiest row in the event as there were only 5 crews, now there are 87 crews!
04:00 For Judy Greer of Concept2 it was often sweeter if she won in the single scull because it was only her effort compared with the team effort of a crew boat. Does winning translate to your confidence off the water? Compare with another crew who enjoy the experience more than winning - we passed someone and we didn't flip - it was a fabulous race.
Rubini Jewellers will make your Charles medal into a belt.
When I show my credibility it's important to show your medals. But a colleague who wore her medals around the boathouse was seen as bragging. Could I race the Charles in a non-competitive crew?
Coaches look for "the pull gene" for winning crews. Often it's from people who are ferocious and competitive who think they aren't quite good enough - it's more than erg scores and seat racing. The Charles has a special niche - you have pride in it. It's a rowing destination for your bucket list. Does this translate to your life - do you feel more confident having won a gold medal? Hook people on rowing, not the podium. You have to enjoy the process of learning (and improving) your rowing.
Does it matter? Could I come in last and still feel I had a good race? And what if you're the only crew in the event? This often happens when you're older. Handicaps help adjust for times. It's not as sweet if there's nobody next to me who's my age. I don't rule out racing again - but you have to decide for yourself.
When you get to race with people who are less good than yourself. What are the motivations here? Giving back to the sport when you enable someone else to achieve their rowing goals. Can you both enjoy the competitive race and also the team vibe of helping someone else achieve their goals?
A friend who raced in a "rolodex" crew for a couple of years - they won races but missed the community feeling and went back to racing with their club. Giving to the universe. Women are more inclined to do this than men - what is the psychology?
A regatta asked people to recycle their medals a year later - by switching the ribbon it was repurposed. Some folks did this. Masters rowing is a broad church of people with different motivations - we accept anyone, we try not to be judgemental about people who do not race.
As we age, one year can be very different from the prior year for injury or health reasons or life commitments. So your decisions are different from year to year. This has to be our motivation - ask others how they see things and how they make choices (and are allowed to change your mind).
They are type A and ferocious strivers. Mark de Rond did a study about rowers - it's a balance of individualism and team motivations. These situations can be advantageous for business as they are complementary as well as competitive.
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Turn by turn video guide to steering the Head of the Charles by Jim Dietz
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How to get to the head race start line at the optimal boat speed.
Timestamps
Feel confident at the beginning because you've done a good start - get into the zone and enjoy the process. A rolling or flying start means your boat is already moving - the start gets you up to race speed so you're close to race pace as your bows go over the start line.
The precise details matter a little less than in sprint races. Guy Pooley is a very skilled head racer - he never wasted energy on excess strokes before the start line. Learn how quickly your boat gets up to race speed. Practice this in your warm up each time you row.
Approaching the start line at half pressure and then increase the pressure first (keep rate controlled) and when 5 strokes away from the timing point begin your start sequence. I like to do three 3/4 length strokes. This allows a short, punchy stroke with good leg drive power. Then go to full slide on the 4th stroke.
Keep the punchy power and start to increase the stroke rate. Get this to well above your mid-race rate - go between 2-6 points higher. This allows you to step down to race pace and to get a good contrast and rhythm. It should feel easy to achieve race rate.
Create more rhythm as you take the rate down while continuing the long, accelerated strokes. Let the stroke feel elastic and long in the water. Move towards this type of stroke and your rate will naturally drop a few points. Hold this step down for 40 seconds to a minutes - allowing the rate to fall a little more. Use making a rhythm as the method to step down towards race rate.
Rhythm is the contrast between the power and recovery phases - a big contrast gives you rhythm.
Do this by having a strong second half of the power phase. Do a confident swing-and-draw to end the power phase. This adds a little more boat speed. As you move to the recovery separate the arms from the body on the recovery - get them fully straight while still leaning back towards the bow. Pivot after your arms are straight. A clear sequence of arms and body.
This separation of hands and body helps to bring the rate down. On the next stroke make a strong second half of the power phase and again, separate the arms and body. The handle speed in towards your body is the same as the handle speed away from your body. Keep it proportional. Make the rhythm over three strokes so it's very strong. It establishes the race rate you will use through the rest of the race (except the sprint finish).
As you row towards the start - don't rush those first three strokes. Be powerful at the lower rates to increase the hull speed. The stroke coach averages over three strokes so it won't show race splits immediately. You must have leg power on these first three strokes. As the boat moves faster on the second stroke so your rate will be a little higher than the first and the same for the third stroke.
When practicing in training hold the rate down in these first three strokes and see what happens on strokes 4-5-6-7 with your 500m split compared to what happens if you let the rate rise on the first three strokes. Let your speed coach measure meters per second because it's more sensitive to boat speed changes. Use this in practice to find out how quickly you can get the boat hull up to race speeds.
Be confident working hard at the start - you won't exhaust yourself with a hard start.
When racing, how much space do you have in a buoyed boat lane?
Timestamps
How can you fit a wide boat like an eight into a lane and why is it that you still find yourself rowing near the buoy line?
An eight is nearly 12 meters long and the rules of racing state that a standard rowing lane is 13.5 meters (44 feet) wide, with a minimum requirement of 13.5 meters for Olympic and international races, though 12.5 meters may be used in special circumstances. The lanes are marked by buoys and must remain a consistent width along the entire straight course.
The outboard from your rigger is 2 plus meters at either side. Your boat is about 6-7 meters wide with the oars. This perception problem is aggravated when you think you're closer to one buoy line.
Boat position within the lane matters.
A toe-steered boat has more control over the alignment but you have to keep the boat straight through the race - there's a tendency to over-steer in buoyed lanes. You have to know where the middle of the lane is. Some people forget that when you steer in one direction, you have to correct the steering to go straight after the boat is re-positioned. When the boat is straight. the middle of the hull is in the middle of the lane, you have to correct the foot steering so the boat stays in the middle after completing a manoeuvre. This relies on using your perception of the mid-point of the lane as your guide. But if you're in the bow seat, the boat doesn't pivot under where you're sitting.
This is where parallel lines appear to converge in the far distance. This is useful for rowers on a buoyed course. The only time you don't have a vanishing point to refer to is at the start.
The human eye is sensitive to width - using the horizon vanishing point you can tell if you're in the middle of the lane. But confusion comes when you use the buoys near to your boat to align with. Buoys are every 10 meters down a rowing course, and if you think your hull is parallel to one of the buoy lines this probably means you are actually steering towards that buoy line. You need the vanishing point to correctly position the boat.
When looking around during the race (to left or right) we tend to use the buoys nearest us as a steering guide. This is a mistake. You have to adjust your width perception to take account of the tips of your blades and also to acknowledge the vanishing point to position your hull centrally. Learn to ignore the buoys close to your boat. The vanishing point is the skill to develop to help you stay in your lane.
Further resources
He writes...
I rummaged in my photo archives and found a nice picture which may be of interest. It shows the oldest crew (J4x) at the WRMR 2008 in Trakai, Lithuania, after the award ceremony.
See from left to right:
The average age of the crew was 82.5 years. I felt honored amongst these gentlemen.
Greetings, Otto Schäfer
THE ANCIENT ORDER OF OAR FOUNDATION.
In 2007 the J category (80 and over) was included in the FISA World Rowing Masters Regatta in Zagreb, Croatia following efforts initiated by Burk Ketcham of Tacoma, Washington, USA. He and others collected 200 signed petitions from older rowers around the world to the FISA Masters Commission requesting the new category.
As an inducement to get octo rowers (those 80 and over) to the annual FISA World Masters regattas, Burk established The Ancient Order of OAR with OAR standing for Octogenarian Active Rower. To receive a medal a rower had to have a rowing age of 80 years or over and had to start at least one race in a FISA World Masters regatta.
How to train in the week before the regatta race.
Timestamps
00:40 A taper is a reduction in training volume so you're ready to race on the regatta day. You should feel you are super-energetic, enthusiastic, you should feel ready for anything. You should find your adrenaline is up in anticipation for the event - this can also be due to nerves.
When we train it puts our bodies under stress. The taper removes those stresses.
In rowing we have one or two big events in the year - winter long distance and summer sprint racing. You can do more than one sprint peak in the year, remember after every peak you have to rest, reduce training volume as a reset before you go back into hard training again.
The taper reduces volume, frequency and intensity of your training. Generally it starts one week before your event, if you're at a multi-day regatta, choose the day of your main event race as the peak day. Count back one week from that event. Depending on your normal training frequency, the taper varies. The workouts in the taper include shorter practices - less time on the water, workouts at higher intensities at or above race pace. Duration of the outing is less but intensity is high. If you train 6 times a week the days of the week you train should be continued in the taper week.
You have to load a boat trailer, fly or drive to the regatta venue and this can disrupt your normal training days. You often cannot train after the boat trailer is loaded.
In the Faster Masters Program we recommend you train 3 days a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If you follow this pattern you get a rest day in between each workout. So your taper doesn't need to change from this pattern because you are already getting a lot of rest. Athletes who train 6 days a week do a different taper - the program has an asterisk on the 3 key days.
Each workout during the taper, you must practice your start sequence. If you are doing many different crews this is good because you get to do starts in your single, pair, quad etc. We also do race pace pieces which mimic different parts of the race. Some from the first half, some mid-race and some in the sprint for the line.
Additionally it's great if you can do at least one of these practices on the race course you will be racing on. Familiarise yourself with the course, the warm up area, the start pontoons and rowing in between buoys. Practice backing into the start too.
Do every push you have planned in the race plan at race pace and row at firm pressure, SR 24-26 in between the race pace pushes. This gives bursts of intensity, practice on the course, keeps your blood going and makes you familiar with the race course.
Your taper has to cover off your recovery - more rest than normal. Also optimising your psychological and physiological performance like race visualisations.
Injury prevention is also part of the purpose of a taper because you're doing less and resting so you're less likely to get injured. Mental and physical freshness brings good energy levels to the event - overcome anxiety and nerves. Hormonal balance is also a benefit.
As athletes taper they can succumb to viruses or allergies as the training pressure comes off your body. Do take extra care over personal hygiene, hand washing and face masks on a plane. Be protective of your own body - you've worked hard for this race event.
Don't undermine your performance by succumbing to something which is preventable. Control the things which can be controlled.
Pre-race nerves diary week 5 Casey McKenna
Head race taper versus rest article
Travel, tapering and using borrowed boats podcast
Mark Mussared is an experienced Australian umpire (referee) and former member of the Masters Rowing committee for Rowing Australia. He sent me this email in January 2023.
I recently retired as South Australia’s rep on the RA Masters Commission, having served since late 2012. One job I did in my tenure, in 2013, was to review and revise RA’s masters handicap tables.
The tables existing at that time dated from the 1990s, were fairly arbitrary, and were unfair.
The revision I recommended, and which was adopted, was derived from a detailed statistical analysis of the results from the World Masters regattas of 2011, 2012 and 2013.
From that I was able to derive prognostic speeds and times over 1000m for every boat class, in every age grade, men women and mixed.
These prognostics form the basis of the handicap tables, and are effectively “the limit” that masters should aspire to.
For example, medal winners at Australian Masters Rowing Championships events typically have to achieve at least 97% of prognostic speed.
While the prognostics are derived for 1000m, they also have application for longer distance events where, naturally, crews are not operating at their 1000m prognostic speeds.
For example, at the Head of the Yarra (8.6km) you typically have to achieve 85 to 87% of their 1000m prognostic speed to be on the podium. For the Head of the Charles, (3 miles or ~5km), winning average speeds are around 91-92% of 1000m prognostic.
I attach a set of prognostic tables for your information.
There have been minor revisions since 2013, including the addition of the 3-year age grades for those 81 and over (which was done by World Rowing after we showed them our work back in 2017), but the prognostics and the resulting handicaps have proved to work very well since their introduction in 2013.
If you would like any further information please let me know.
Regards,
Mark Mussared
Prognostic Times and Prognostic Speed charts
The Head of the Yarra people use the 1000m handicaps simply scaled up by a factor of 8.6.
This is actually not correct because boats are travelling at slower speed that they would over just 1000m.
Because of this, the time allowance for an older boat should be greater than they use in events for mixed grades. That is, younger boats have an advantage in such a mixed grade.
What they should do is to compare each boat’s average speed with its 1000m prognostic speed, determine what percentage of that prognostic they are operating at, and award the event to the boat with the highest percentage.
I don’t think we’ve shared our prognostics with World Rowing since we saw them in 2017, so they wouldn’t have the numbers for the revised age categories – unless they’ve looked at the Rowing Australia website.
Since publishing this article I received feedback from Anthony Wilson
The published prognostic times apply only in neutral conditions. If used in all conditions they unfairly benefit the older crew(s) when these are fast – wind or current- and the reverse when they are slow. The British Rowing with variable and the Irish with 2 tables take these into account.
Handling varying levels of dedication to the sport in masters clubs. How do you give the both the person who wants to practice once a week and the person who trains daily a meaningful race situation?
01:00 This is normal for masters rowing. Training and practice commitment isn't an issue usually until it comes to racing. When going to a regatta you want to be in a crew where where you're the 'worst' in the crew. Competitive people want the best possible crew.
In most youth rowing clubs the coaches do selection - this takes the emotion out of the lineups. Types of race - in your calendar there are local events and bigger events like the masters national championships. Each year you will have 2 or 3 peaks which help you manage your training load. Typically most masters will do 3 + races in a single day.
In local regattas your racing priorities may be different. The more experienced people can race both with less experienced (mixed ability crews) as well as their own regular training group. To get the racing priorities accurate, the single scull is the best measure. The outcome is up to you alone.
Regatta organisers can enable a pathway into racing for masters - novice - new masters - age group. Differentiate based on rowing experience, not age for the first 5 years of racing.
Aligning can be challenging. Fitness matters a lot in racing; bladework skills are also important. Enabling compromise as part of your lineup selection can help give a meaningful experience. The fitter athletes find compromise less palatable rowing when with less experienced people.
There is satisfaction to be had from a mixed ability crew. Skill judging stroke rate and technical calls through the race is a worthwhile endeavour. "That was harder than childbirth". Achieving the best possible outcome for this crew.
Can you mentally set yourself up to see satisfaction from both types of races with experienced people and less experienced people?
Folks who always train together means there is no way in for a newcomer. Club priorities can enable coaches to make selections and validate their choices with the Captain (who's independent). A goal could be to enable your groups (elite, intermediate, new masters, novices) to all have at least one event in which they stand a chance of being competitive. I've found this is a method which helps to bring on less experienced people so that in future years they advance faster than if you just leave them to race in their skill group.
17:00 The art of compromise is discussion without emotion. Rebecca invites people to choose a priority crew which she tries to guarantee that race. Everything else is secondary. This means some events are "sub-optimal. The competitive spirit drives racers to selfish outcomes. This is an attribute of successful racers. It can be hard for athletes to accept their perception of being put in sub-optimal crew lineups. Independent lineup confirmation and discussion of compromises helps to frame these decisions. Balance our priority against the opportunity of this one regatta.
The club is the entity which should set the goals (3-5 years) and how this impacts regatta entry choices. Tell us how your club manages their crews for regattas.
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