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.
A bumps race is a form of rowing race in which a number of boats chase each other in single file, each crew attempting to catch and 'bump' the boat in front without being caught by the boat behind.
A varsity match is a fixture between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayfield stadium is claimed to be the oldest recurring varsity match in the world, having been played since the 1860s. It is predated by the University Match in Cricket between Oxford and Cambridge, which was first played in 1827.
University rowing in the United Kingdom began when it was introduced to Oxford in the late 18th century. The first known race at a university took place at Oxford in 1815 between Brasenose and Jesus and the first inter-university boat race, between Oxford and Cambridge, was rowed on 10 June 1829.
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.
Glasgow University Boat Club (GUBC) is the rowing club of the University of Glasgow, Scotland. The club is affiliated to Scottish Rowing.
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.
Kingston Rowing Club (KRC) is a rowing club in England founded in 1858 and a member club of British Rowing.
Newcastle University Boat Club (NUBC) is the rowing club of Newcastle University, UK. Established in March 1911 as the boat club for Armstrong College, it celebrated its centenary in 2011, when was also appointed High Performance Programme for heavyweight men and women by British Rowing. In the past 20 years current students and alumni won 60 international vests for GB.
Edinburgh University Boat Club (EUBC) is one of the oldest sports clubs of the University of Edinburgh, in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The University of Leeds Boat Club (UoLBC) is the rowing club for students at the University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The boat club is one of the Leeds Gryphons teams, working to develop top-class sports clubs at the University. The club races in green, burgundy and white colours representing those of the University of Leeds.
The Swansea University Rowing Club (SURC) is the rowing club of Swansea University, Wales, and is situated on the west bank of the River Tawe in Swansea. It is unknown when the club was founded, but was re-founded in 2004. Rowing with SURC is open to all members of Sport Swansea, who provide a nominal level of funding and insurance for all university clubs.
Lancaster University Boat Club (LUBC) is the rowing club of Lancaster University. The club was founded in 1964 with the inception of the university by Sir Harold Parkinson and is the oldest sports club at the university. The club is based in the old Halton railway station and trains on a 3 km stretch of the River Lune, 3 miles north of Lancaster.
The University of Warwick Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Warwick. It club was founded in 1967 and as of 2019 has over a hundred members. It rows out of a boathouse on a 3.5 km stretch of the River Avon, Warwickshire. It caters for all levels of rowers from novices to experienced oarsman. The club regularly attends races throughout the United Kingdom, including Pairs Head, Fours Head, Eights Head, BUCS fours and eights, BUCS Regatta, Marlow Regatta and Henley.
Strathclyde Park Rowing Club (SPRC) is a rowing club which was founded in 2000 by Iain Somerside, Karen & Peter Barton and Tom Hewitt. It is the only 'open' club based at the international rowing course at Strathclyde Country Park, Motherwell, North Lanarkshire.
The 2nd Boat Race took place on the River Thames on 17 June 1836. It was the first of the University Boat Races to be held in London, on a five-and-three-quarter-mile stretch between Westminster and Putney. For the first time, Cambridge sported light blue livery in the form of a ribbon on their boat while Oxford rowed in dark blue jerseys. In a race umpired by Lord Loftus and Mr Hiceson, Cambridge won the race by 20 lengths to level the overall record at 1–1.
St Andrew Boat Club is alongside Meggetland Sports Complex, at Meggetland, on the Union Canal, in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Tayforth Universities Officers' Training Corps is a Scottish University Officers' Training Corps formed of three sub-units: A Squadron, which draws its members from the University of St Andrews, B Squadron, which draws its members from the universities of Dundee and Abertay, and C Company, which draws its members from Stirling University.
The University of St Andrews Boat Club (UStABC), founded in 1962, is the rowing team affiliated to the University of St Andrews. Operating under the University of St Andrews Athletic Union, the club competes in head races and regattas across Scotland and England, including the Head of the River Race (London), British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. Its national governing body is Scottish Rowing and the registration code of 'SAU'.
The Boat Race 2020 was a side-by-side rowing race scheduled to take place on 29 March 2020. Held annually, The Boat Race is contested between crews from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge along a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) tidal stretch of the River Thames in south-west London. This would have been the 75th women's race and the 166th men's race, and for the fifth time in the history of the event, the men's, women's and both reserves' races would have been held on the Tideway on the same day. Cambridge led the longstanding rivalry 84–80 and 44–30 in the men's and women's races, respectively.
