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1927  –  2027

100 Years of Kent School at Henley

One hundred years since Kent first raced at Henley. We would love you to be part of marking it.

1927 to 2027

Why We Are Marking 2027

In 1927, Father Frederick Sill sent a crew of Kent schoolboys across the Atlantic, and Kent became the first school from outside Britain to race at Henley.

In the century since, Kent has won six titles on the Thames, five of them at Henley Royal Regatta and the sixth the girls’ Peabody Cup at Henley Women’s Regatta in 2002. July 2027 marks one hundred years since that first crossing. Rather than squeeze it into a single weekend, we are marking it across the whole year leading up to it. This is Kent’s anniversary rather than the regatta’s, and it belongs to everyone who has been part of the school.

The full story of the 1927 crossing

Between Now and Then

The Road to 2027

The centennial runs for a full year, not just one weekend. Two gatherings come before we travel, and both are a good excuse to get Kent rowers back in a room together.

Sat 17 October 2026
Head of the Charles gathering, Harvard Square, Cambridge. Registration is open.
Thu 25 February 2027
A New York gathering, The Racquet and Tennis Club. Please save the date.

We would also like to put on smaller, informal gatherings around the country. If you would be willing to host one, say so on the form below and we will be in touch.

July 2027

Two Ways to Be There

You can row in the Row-Past, come along for the weekend, or do both. Either way, the first step is just letting us know.

Row in the Row-Past

On Saturday 3 July, during the Tea Interval, two mixed alumni eights will row the lower part of the course. There are sixteen seats and two coxswains, and we would like the boats to span as many decades of Kent crews as we can manage.

If you rowed or coxed at Kent, you can apply. Any boat, any year, and it does not matter what you have done since. Let us know by 15 January 2027 and we will confirm the crews by 1 February 2027. Everyone covers their own costs.

The form opens in a new window.

Come for the weekend

No rowing required. The dinner on Friday evening and the picnic behind the Enclosure on Saturday are open to everyone in the Kent party.

We need rough numbers early for both. Dinner takes reservations and space is limited, and knowing how many to expect is what lets us sort out transport. Telling us now does not commit you to anything.

The form is on this page and takes about a minute.

July 2027

The Week at Henley

The dates are confirmed. Everything around them is still coming together, and we will add detail here through 2026 as each piece gets settled.

Friday, July 2, 2027

The Celebratory Dinner

We will gather at The Barn at the Bottle and Glass Inn on Bones Lane in Binfield Heath, roughly twelve minutes from Henley, for a dinner bringing together the whole Kent party from both programs.

Reservations are required and space is limited, so it really helps to hear from you early. Taxis are notoriously unreliable during regatta week, and we are looking into shuttle transportation for the evening.

See the venue
Saturday, July 3, 2027

Picnic in the Car Park

From one o’clock, Kent gathers in the parking area behind the Enclosure for an informal picnic. Guests bring their own refreshments, the Kent flag marks where we have settled, and Pimm’s is traditional.

At four o’clock, during the Tea Interval, the Henley Stewards have awarded Kent a row-past on the lower part of the course. Two mixed alumni eights of Kent men and women will row it, with as many decades of Kent crews as we can get into the boats, and the picnic carries on either side of it.

Further detail to follow.

A note on costs

These events are self-funded. We are working out what each one will cost and will post the figures as soon as we have them.

Getting there and staying there

We are not arranging accommodation centrally, so please book your own, and do it early. Henley fills up fast during regatta week. If you tell us on the form below roughly where you expect to stay, it helps us work out transport.

Henley Royal Regatta publishes travel and parking guidance at hrr.co.uk/travel-parking.

July 2027

Racing at Henley

Neither of these is settled yet, but both come up often enough to be worth explaining.

Alumni crews

Women’s and men’s alumni eights

We are looking at whether Kent might enter alumni crews in the regatta itself. It is early days. Any crew would have to be genuinely competitive and self-funded, so nothing is decided.

If it interests you, please note it on the form below or write to Marcus Decorato, who is organizing the effort alongside Hunter Southworth, Eric Houston, and Melissa Holcombe.

Kent school crews

The boys’ and girls’ eights

Whether Kent sends its own crews in 2027 remains an open question. The coaches and the committee agreed some time ago that the school would only send a crew to Henley if it were genuinely competitive, and that principle still holds.

The Rest of the Year

Tell Us What You Would Come To

This is the same form both of those buttons point to, and it covers everything else as well. A lot of the year is still being planned, and what we end up doing depends on what people tell us they want.

Tick whatever appeals. It takes about a minute and nothing here commits you to anything. It is also how we know who to keep updated.

We will be in touch as each of these comes together.

Which of these would you come to? Tick as many as you like

Your details will not be shared outside Kent. If you have a question, add it in the box above and we will come back to you.

Why 2027 Matters

The 1927 Crossing

In 1927, Father Frederick Sill sent a crew of Kent schoolboys across the Atlantic to England, and Kent became the first school from outside Britain to race at Henley.

Sill had coxed the Columbia varsity crew that won the first Intercollegiate Rowing Association regatta in 1895, so he understood what the trip would mean for the boys. Kent entered the Thames Challenge Cup, which was an open event rather than a schools event, and lost its only heat by a quarter of a length to Thames Rowing Club, who went on to win the trophy that year.

That entry is also the reason the program is called a Boat Club rather than a school team. Kent had to enter as a club to race the events it wanted, and the name has stayed with us ever since.

Kent returned six years later to win the Thames Challenge Cup in 1933, and won it again in 1938, 1947, and 1950. The boys’ eight took the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 1972, and the girls won the Peabody Cup at Henley Women’s Regatta in 2002. That makes six titles at Henley in all, five of them at Henley Royal Regatta, and no American school has won there more often.

One thing worth being clear about: 2027 is the centennial of Kent’s first trip to Henley, not an anniversary of the regatta itself.

Kent at Henley

1927   First school from outside Britain to race at Henley. Thames Challenge Cup.
1933   Thames Challenge Cup. The first win.
1938, 1947, 1950   Thames Challenge Cup, three more times.
1972   Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup.
2002   Peabody Cup, Henley Women's Regatta.
2010   Princess Elizabeth final.
2022   The 1972 and 2002 crews row the course side by side.
2027   One hundred years.
A Centennial Gift

The Queen Victoria Challenge Cup

Kent’s gift of a new trophy for women student quad scullers is funded, and the money has gone to Henley Royal Regatta.

As part of the centennial, Kent is giving Henley Royal Regatta a new trophy for women student quad scullers. The fundraising is complete and the funds are with the Regatta.

There is a symmetry to it that we like. Kent went to Henley in 1927 as the first school from outside Britain to race there, and a hundred years later the school is marking that by funding a women’s trophy at the same regatta. The first hundred years of Kent rowing saw a real gap between what the boys had and what the girls had, and we intend the next hundred to be about closing it.

We are grateful to two lead donors. Charlie Lippencott ’58, a member of the 1958 Henley crew, got us off the starting line. The Naylor family, with members in both the boys’ and girls’ Henley crews and a daughter who last raced a quad at Henley, got us across the finish line. Eighteen other donors took us the rest of the way, and the goal was met very quickly. Thank you. The spirit of KSBC continues to shine.

Details of the gift, including its recognition of Hart Perry, Kent’s long-time coach and the first American elected a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta, are still being settled with the Regatta. We will share more here once everything is confirmed.

The Cup is Funded

Twenty donors, nearly all of them alumnae and alumni who rowed for Kent on the Thames, met the goal and the gift has gone to the Regatta. We are no longer raising money for the Cup.

Gifts are still very welcome, and from here they go to the rowing endowment, which is what pays for coaching, boats and travel year after year.

Give to the KSBC Endowment

Qualified charitable distributions, gifts of stock, and similar arrangements are handled by Bill Kissick.

The Committee

The Celebration Committee

Everyone on the committee is a volunteer, and between them they span six decades of Kent crews.

Fred Schoch ’69
Thaddeus Bennett ’71  Co-Chair
John Rooney ’73
Melissa Holcombe ’87
Andrew Mills ’89
Elizabeth Guernsey ’02
Vashti Chandler ’06  Co-Chair
Alexis Mills ’17
Gabby Sullivan ’21
Marcus Decorato ’25
Christine Roper ’07  Ex officio

If you would be willing to host a gathering of Kent rowers where you live, please tell us on the interest form and we will be in touch.

The Next Hundred Years

The Next Hundred Years

Kent is committed to full equity between the girls' and boys' programs, in athletics and in how they are run. The Rowing Endowment is what funds that, year after year, long after the centennial is over.

About the Endowment Give to the KSBC Endowment