The Temple Challenge Cup is one of the
eights races at
Henley Royal Regatta at
Henley-on-Thames on the
River Thames in England. It is open to male crews from universities, colleges or schools. Combined entries from two colleges of the same university, or from different schools, are allowed.[1]
The event was first staged in 1990, and, after a successful first year, the Regatta Stewards decided to make it a permanent fixture. The cup, awarded to the winning crew on finals day, was made in 1835 by Charles Fox, and has been engraved with a sketch of the Temple on
Temple Island at the start of the regatta course.
There was no foreign winner until 1996, when the United States' Yale University won the final. Since 2000, foreign crews have dominated the event winning 14 times in 18 years with 10 of the winners hailing from the United States. Only
Oxford Brookes University Boat Club have broken the foreign stranglehold on the trophy, winning the event a record seven times in 2006, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023.