HENLEY-ON-THAMES, England – With just a few weeks of rest following the IRA Championships, the Cal men's rowing team is back in action across the globe, preparing to compete at the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames. Racing begins Wednesday morning with the Temple Challenge Cup, as the Bears will face off against London's United Hospitals at 11:10 am PT.

All racing will be streamed live, with results and information also available by following @HenleyRegatta on Twitter.

"Racing at Henley is such a great experience for the guys and I'm thrilled to have this group over here racing in the Temple Cup," said associate head coach Scott Frandsen. "There is something unique about rowing at Henley with all of the history and match-style racing. It will be a fun week of racing; hopefully we can win a few races and progress through to the weekend."

The Henley Royal Regatta, which takes place over five days, features a unique style of racing with only two lanes. The knockout style races are held on a 2,112-meter course, slightly longer than the 2,000 meters generally seen in sprint races.

Cal's eight will be competing in the Temple Challenge Cup, open to male crews from universities, colleges, and schools. The Golden Bears won the Temple Challenge Cup in 2007 and 2011, and reached the semifinals in 2016.  Cal's lineup for the Temple Cup is a combination freshman, sophomores, and juniors from the Bears second and third varsity eight boats, both of which medaled at the 2017 IRA Championships.

The Golden Bears will also be represented at Henley by sophomore Jack Gosden-Kaye, who will be racing in the Ladies' Challenge Plate with the British U23 8+ under Molesey Boat Club and London Rowing Club. Channing Walker '16 will be racing in the Visitors' Challenge Cup with the California Rowing Club while Mike Bernerius '15 will race for Sydney Rowing Club in the Britannia Challenge Cup.

In preparation for Henley, the Bears competed at the Holland Beker Regatta in the Netherlands, where the eight took second in both finals to the Dutch U23 boat, featuring Cal rising junior Maarten Hurkmans. Niki van Sprang '16, who won silver and set a Dutch record in the quad at the World Cup II Regatta earlier this month, also competed at Holland Beker, winning the quad.

For more information on the Bears throughout the year, follow the team on Twitter (@CaliforniaCrew), Instagram (@CalCrew), and Facebook (Facebook.com/theFOCC).