West Orange High School, OARS alum rows at Henley Royal Regatta

The Masters Tournament at Augusta National, Wimbledon and the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix are a few examples of legendary sports events that produce spectacular moments within their respective lines of play. These types of competitions and venues fill the bucket lists of sports fanatics around the globe. And for athletes, competing in them is a fulfillment of a childhood dream and a validation of an athlete’s status — an “I made it” moment.

For the sport of rowing, that icon of an event is the Henley Royal Regatta. The annual six-day, 26-race event, held on the famed River Thames in England, began in 1839 in the small 13th-century market town of Henley-on-Thames. With more than 300,000 visitors each year, the Henley is the rowing world’s event of the year, and with its proximity to London — only an hour away from the capital city — combined with Britain’s love for the sport, it’s also one of the highlights of the U.K. social season. 

In the 2024 edition of the prestigious regatta, the West Orange and Southwest Orange communities were well-represented by West Orange High School alum, former Orlando Area Rowing Society athlete and Windermere native Victoria Grieder. 

“Competing at the Henley Royal Regatta was one of the coolest experiences of my life,” she said. “The regatta first started in the early 1800s and into 2024, they’ve kept a lot of the same tradition at the event — because of the love for the sport of rowing. To have been a part of an event where there were an insane number of spectators and athletes — who all just come together each year for the love and passion of rowing — was just so special and unique. … I’m going to cherish this opportunity for the rest of my life.”

Getting across the pond

The former OARS standout coxswain has spent the last three years leading various women’s 8 boats for the Rutgers University rowing team and racking up accolades in her post-high school rowing career. 

Grieder helped lead Team USA’s U23 Women’s 8+ boat to a win at the 2023 World Rowing Championship in Bulgaria. She also was named to the 2023-24 Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-America second team and earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Because of that success, she caught the attention of coaches in England and was given the chance to join one of the teams competing at the HRR. 

“There are some British rowing clubs that take in American athletes … looking to race at Henley Royal,” Grieder said. “Coaches for these teams have a pulse on how you’re doing throughout the spring season and will stay in contact with those top rowers, hoping to bring them over to compete with their club.” 

As the coxswain for the Molesey Boat Club women’s 8 boat, Grieder and her team of rowers competed in the Remenham Challenge Cup, the Henley’s top women’s event. 

“I’m really glad that Molesey brought me into the team,” she said. “It was such a good experience to be competing in that top event with championship-level crews from national teams or developmental squads. What was also really cool was the fact that a couple of the rowers in my boat, I actually raced against them during the college season.”

The Remenham Challenge Cup

Like any other iconic sporting event, the Henley carries such a heavy weight in the rowing community that it can be intimidating for participating athletes — especially those such as Grieder, who competed for the first time. 

But unlike those who couldn’t fight off the nerves in their maiden voyage at Henley, Grieder was too focused on feelings of excitement from being surrounded by and competing against the über-talented HRR field to feel the nerves. 

“The Henley was incredible, because the top junior athletes, the top collegiate athletes and even some athletes (who) will be competing in the Paris Olympics were rowing in the event,” Grieder said. “To have such a high level of rowing together in one place was superb and what makes Henley so unique.” 

Grieder wasn’t just excited to be around this group of world-class rowers and compete against them, she was eager to develop herself as an athlete and leader in and out of the boat. 

“Whenever you’re around that kind of level of talent and competition, it inspires you to want to grow and get to that next level,” she said. “I think that was one of the coolest parts of the whole experience, just being around so many high performers and being part of that group.”

One of the direct experiences she had with world-class rowers at the Henley was in the first official round of the Remenham Challenge Cup, which followed a top-10 finish in qualifying to punch the boat’s ticket to Day Two, as the Molesey crew faced off against the cup’s eventual winners: Oxford-Brookes University. 

“We were glad to be able to make it to the second day of racing,” Grieder said. “But in the next round, we ended up racing the boat that actually ended up winning the whole competition. (Although) we unfortunately got knocked out earlier than we’d hoped, looking at who we lost to and our times compared to the rest of the field, we were happy with our performance.”