A boat club is a sports club serving boat owners, particularly those interested in rowing and yachting, but also kayaking, canoeing, motor boats and other small boats. [1]
Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is divided into two disciplines: sculling and sweep rowing. In sculling, each rower holds two oars—one in each hand, while in sweep rowing each rower holds one oar with both hands. There are several boat classes in which athletes may compete, ranging from single sculls, occupied by one person, to shells with eight rowers and a coxswain, called eights. There are a wide variety of course types and formats of racing, but most elite and championship level racing is conducted on calm water courses 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) long with several lanes marked using buoys.
Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to Leander: Brasenose College Boat Club and Jesus College Boat Club and Westminster School Boat Club, founded in 1813.
British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing. It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representing Great Britain and England, and for participation in and the development of rowing in England. Scottish Rowing and Welsh Rowing oversee governance in their respective countries, organise their own teams for the Home International Regatta and input to the GB team organisation.
The Championship Course is a stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England. It is a well-established course for rowing races, particularly the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course is on the tidal reaches of the river often referred to as the Tideway. Due to the iconic shape of the Championship Course, in orthopaedic surgery, an "S" shaped incision along the crease of the elbow is commonly referred to as "a boat-race incision resembling the River Thames from Putney to Mortlake."
Imperial College Boat Club is the rowing club for Imperial College and has its boat house on the River Thames on the Putney embankment, London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1919. The alumni also run a boat club which is known as the Queen's Tower Boat Club and both crews occasionally row together as a composite in competition.
Scottish Rowing (SR), formerly the Scottish Amateur Rowing Association, is the governing body for the sport of rowing in Scotland. It is responsible for promoting the sport in Scotland and also for selecting crews to send to the Home International Regatta and the Commonwealth Rowing Championships. In addition, Scottish Rowing also runs three of the major regattas of the year, Strathclyde Park Regatta, the Scottish Rowing Championships and the Scottish Indoor Rowing Championships.
The Madras Boat Club is one of the oldest rowing centres in India, located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The area adjoining it is the most expensive locality in South India.
Pengwern Boat Club is the community rowing club in Shrewsbury, UK. It was founded in 1871.
Cambridge University Women's Boat Club (CUWBC) was the rowing club for women at the University of Cambridge. CUWBC fielded both a lightweight eight that races against Oxford at the Henley Boat Races, and two openweight eights that race at the Women's Boat Race. In April 2020 it was agreed that the club would be combined with the men's club CUBC and the lightweight men's club CULRC.
Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC) was the University rowing club for lightweight male oarsmen at the University of Cambridge, principally to race against Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC) annually in the Lightweight Men's Boat Race.
Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century.
The Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England. The club was founded in 1828 and has been located at the Goldie Boathouse on the River Cam, Cambridge since 1882. Nowadays, training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely.
Oxford University Rowing Clubs (OURCs) is a federation of the Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC), the Oxford University Women's Boat Club (OUWBC), the Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC), and the Oxford University Women's Lightweight Rowing Club (OUWLRC), as well as all college boat clubs. OURCs is a purely administrative organisation with no training or crews. It was created in 1986 in order to remove the organisational burden from the university squad and is responsible for organising inter-collegiate competitions and overseeing the conduct of college rowing. The student-led organisation of OURCs is supported by senior members of the university, the Council for Oxford University Rowing, which issues advice and deals with aspects of rowing safety. A similar function is fulfilled by the Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs for rowing clubs of the University of Cambridge.
University of London Boat Club is the rowing club for the University of London and its member institutions, many of which also have their own boat clubs. The club has its boathouse on the Thames in Chiswick, London, UK. It is a designated High-Performance Programme funded by British Rowing.
Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club (OULRC) is the university rowing club for lightweight men at the University of Oxford which selects crews to race against Cambridge University Boat Club in the Lightweight Boat Races at the end of Hilary term. These races are usually held in late March each year.
Stirling University Boat Club is one of the sports clubs who are part of University of Stirling, in the city of Stirling, Scotland.
St Andrew Boat Club is alongside Meggetland Sports Complex, at Meggetland, on the Union Canal, in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The Oxford University Women's Lightweight Rowing Club was established in 1984 to represent the University of Oxford in the race against the Cambridge University Boat Club at the Lightweight Boat Races. Throughout the season, the Club races as Tethys Boat Club.
Mortlake Anglian & Alpha Boat Club (MAABC) is a rowing club based on the River Thames, close to Chiswick Bridge in Chiswick, West London and has produced multiple national champions.
Aberdeen Boat Club is a rowing club on the River Dee, based at 29 S Esplanade W, Aberdeen. The club is affiliated to Scottish Rowing.