George Watson's College Rowing Club

George Watson's College Rowing Club

George Watson's boathouse is the flat roof building in the foreground.
Location	Edinburgh, Scotland
Home water	Union Canal, Edinburgh
Founded	1958
Key people	Hamish Burrell (Head Coach) Adam Johnston (Assistant Head) Caroline McPherson (Coach) Nigel Muir (Coach)
Colours	Maroon, White, Navy
Affiliations	Scottish Rowing British Rowing

George Watson's College Boat Club (GWCBC), formerly known as George Watson's College Rowing Club, is the official rowing club of George Watson's College, located in Edinburgh, Scotland.

GWCBC is affiliated with Scottish Rowing and has produced multiple British champions.

History

The club has been competing at the British Rowing Championships since its inception in 1972 and has won multiple titles with the most recent being at the 2025 British Rowing Club Championships. ^[1]

Honours

British champions

Year	Winning crew/s
1972	Women J18 4+ [2]
1989	Women J16 4+, Women J16 8+ [3]
1990	Women J18 4+, Women J18 8+, Women J16 8+ [4]
1991	Women J18 4+, Women J18 8+ [5]
1993	Men J16 2-, Women J16 8+, Women J15 1x, Women J14 4x [6]
1994	Women J18 2-, Women J16 8+ [7]
1996	Women J15 2x [8]
1997	Women J18 2x, Women J18 8+, Women J16 2x [9]
1998	Women J16 1x [10]
1999	Women J18 2x [11]
2001	Men L4x [12]
2002	Men J16 2x [13]
2003	Men U23 1x, Men J18 1x [14]
2006	Women J18 2x [15]
2007	Open J15 2x [16]
2008	Open J16 2, Open J16 2x [17]
2012	Women J14 2x [18]
2023	Open J18 2-
2024	Open J14 2x, Open J14 1x [19]
2025	Open J16 4x- [1]

Notable alumni

• Callum McBrierty graduated from the club in 2010 after coming 2nd in the u19 world rowing championship men's four. McBrierty went on to win gold in the coxed pair in the 2016 world rowing championships. ^[20]
• Harry Leask Started his rowing at George Watson’s College before representing Scotland and Great Britain; made his Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 winning silver in the men's quadruple sculls and finished fourth in the Men’s Single Sculls at the 2018 World Championships.

Head coaches

• George Hunter (†2023)

  Founded the George Watson’s College Boat Club in 1958 and ran it as an unpaid volunteer until 1994. Under his stewardship the club established its junior pathway and produced multiple national champions. He was awarded an OBE in 1980 for services to sport and served on the Scottish Amateur Rowing Association executive for over five decades. ^{[21] [22]}

• Jim Ferguson

  Served as Head Coach through the 2000s and early‑2010s. During his tenure the club provided athletes for Scotland Home International teams and saw numerous junior selections for the World Rowing Junior and U23 Championships (e.g. Andrew Holmes). The programme also achieved annual victories at the British Rowing Junior Championships, holding the J16 4+ and WJ18 8+ records. ^{[23] [24]}

• Evelyn Ferguson

  Assistant Head Coach during Jim Ferguson’s tenure. Evelyn played a crucial role in athlete development and logistical support, contributing to the club’s consistent performances at domestic and international level. ^[23]

• Jason Foster

  Succeeded Jim Ferguson and led the club until 2019. Under his guidance, the club qualified its first junior eight for Henley Royal Regatta, being eliminated by Radley College by a large margin. ^{[24] [25]}

• Matthew Mole

  Appointed Head Coach in 2019, Mole led George Watson’s College Boat Club to significant achievements. In 2021, the club's junior quad qualified for the Fawley Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, defeating Hereford Cathedral School in the first round. ^[26] They were subsequently eliminated by Windsor Boys' School, ^[27] who progressed to the finals. In 2022, the club's quad once again qualified for the Fawley Challenge Cup, securing a victory over York City Rowing Club in the first round ^[28] before being knocked out by Kingston Rowing Club. ^[29]

• Adam Johnston (Acting)

  A former Watsonian rower, Johnston has long served as a coach at George Watson’s College Boat Club and temporarily stepped up as Acting Head Coach in 2022. During his time as a student, he competed in various events, including the Open Junior Under 16 Single Scull at the 2009 Strathclyde Park Regatta, finishing with a time of 9:34.96. ^[30] While not achieving top podium finishes, Johnston's dedication and understanding of the sport led him to make a significant impact as a coach, focusing on developing the technical skills and discipline of young rowers during his tenure.

• Hamish Burrell (Current)

  Appointed Head Coach (listed in club’s key people) and former GB ‘Start’ lead coach. He talent‑identified and coached Katherine Grainger to U23 World Championship gold in 1997 and subsequent Olympic medals, and served as a GB Rowing Team coach (Women’s Pair) at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. ^{[31] [32]}

Club captains

George Watson’s College Boat Club captains

Year	Captain(s)
2021	Seb Ansell and Honey Hughes
2022	Kate Skirving and James Martin
2023	Lachlan Uttley and Emma Steele
2024	Scarlett Conn and Finlay Ellis
2025 (current)	Harris Skirving and Rebecca Millar

See also

• Scottish Rowing
• British Rowing

References

1. "All results". Row results. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
2. Railton, Jim (21 July 1972). "Railton, Jim. "Nottingham in their Olympic stride." Times, 21 July 1972, p. 10". The Times. p. 10.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
3. "a Special Correspondent. "Chuter to resolve selection dispute." Times, 17 July 1989, p. 32". The Times. 17 July 1989. p. 32.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
4. Rosewell, Mike (21 July 1990). "Rosewell, Mike. "Duckings and diving are not permitted." Times, 21 July 1990, p. 32". The Times. p. 32.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
5. ""For the Record." Times, 22 July 1991, p. 32". The Times. 22 July 1991. p. 32.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. ""For the Record." Times, 19 July 1993, p. 20". The Times. 19 July 1993. p. 20.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
7. ""For the Record." Times, 18 July 1994, p. 22". The Times. 18 July 1994. p. 22.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
8. ""For the Record." Times, 22 July 1996, p. 39". The Times. 22 July 1996. p. 39.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
9. "Full archive of results". Web Archive. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017.
10. ""For the Record." Times, 20 July 1998, p. 36". The Times. 20 July 1998. p. 36.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
11. ""For the Record." Times, 19 July 1999, p. 40". The Times. 19 July 1999. p. 40.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
12. ""The Daily results service." Times, 23 July 2001, p. 10". The Times. 23 July 2001. pp. 10[S].^{[ permanent dead link ]}
13. ""The results service." Times, 22 July 2002, p. 26". The Times. 22 July 2002. p. 26.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
14. ""Today's fixtures." Times, 21 July 2003, p. 32". The Times. 21 July 2003. p. 32.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
15. ""Rowing." Times, 17 July 2006, p. 57". The Times. 17 July 2006. p. 57.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
16. "2007 archive of results". Web Archive. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016.
17. "2008 archive of results". Web Archive. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016.
18. "2012 results". Web Archive. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016.
19. "2024 British Rowing Junior and Senior Club Championships Results". British Rowing. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
20. "Callum McBrierty". British Rowing. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
21. "George Hunter OBE - Scottish Rowing". scottish-rowing.org.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
22. "SABC mourns the death of George Hunter OBE | St Andrew Boat Club". standrewboatclub.com. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
23. Fraser, Alexandra (4 April 2023). "New horizons for Harry Leask". British Rowing. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
24. "George Watson's College Boat Club". JRN. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
25. "Henley Royal Regatta - Junior Eight Race". YouTube. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
26. HenleyRoyalRegatta (11 August 2021). George Watson's College v Hereford Cathedral School - Fawley | Henley 2021 Day 1 . Retrieved 8 May 2025– via YouTube.
27. HenleyRoyalRegatta (12 August 2021). Windsor Boys' A v George Watson's College - Fawley | Henley 2021 Day . Retrieved 8 May 2025– via YouTube.
28. HenleyRoyalRegatta (28 June 2022). York City RC v George Watson's College - Fawley | Henley 2022 Day 1 . Retrieved 8 May 2025– via YouTube.
29. HenleyRoyalRegatta (30 June 2022). George Watson's College v Kingston RC - Fawley | Henley 2022 Day 3 . Retrieved 8 May 2025– via YouTube.
30. "Strathclyde Park Regatta – Results, Sunday 26 April 2009" (PDF). Scottish Rowing. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
31. "World Class Start". Agecroft Rowing Club. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
32. "Record Nine Rowers Selected for Team GB at Tokyo Olympics - Scottish Rowing". www.scottish-rowing.org.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2025.

External links

• Scottish Rowing | The National Governing Body for rowing in Scotland
• British Rowing | The National Governing Body for rowing in the United Kingdom
• George Watson's College