Reading University Boat Club


Reading University Boat Club is the rowing club for the University of Reading. It is based on the River Thames in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom. The club has a focus on sculling. It has been consistently one of the more successful university rowing clubs in Britain, including topping the medal table at the BUCS regatta in 2011 and at the BUCS small boats head in 2014 and 2015, as well as wins at Henley Royal Regatta in 1986, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013, and is considered one of the top six university rowing clubs in the UK. A number of former members have competed at the Olympics, including double gold-medallists James Cracknell and Helen Glover. The club has organised the Reading University Head of the River race since 1935.

History

The club was founded in 1892, when the University was established as an extension college of Oxford University. They originally shared a boathouse with other clubs, but got their own boathouse in the 1930s. The Reading Head of the River Race, organised by RUBC, has been held since 1935, attracting well over 100 crews in 2000. The boathouse burnt down in 1989, destroying a number of boats worth around £150,000. The current boathouse was built in 1992. The Ortner Boat Club is a club for alumni of RUBC, founded in 1997 and named after former Reading University coach Frank Ortner.

Notable alumni

Henley Royal Regatta

RUBC have been frequent competitors at the Henley Royal Regatta, which is held around 10 km downriver from Reading.
The Reading University Head of the River race has been run since 1935 and is the largest student-organised public sporting event in the country, drawing a record 237 crews in 2015. It is run over a 4.6 km course on the Thames between Mapledurham lock and Pangbourne lock. Major prizes are the Roe Challenge Cup for the fastest crew overall, the Coronation Cup for the fastest Senior III crew, the Bourne Cup for the fastest school, and the Mackintosh Trophy for the fastest British University crew.