Leeds Rowing Club is a

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews represent ...

affiliated club in the city of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, West Yorkshire, England. The club is based in two locations at Stourton by Thwaites Mill in the south of the city and

Roundhay Park Roundhay Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a large urban park situated on the north-east edge of the city, bordered by the suburb of Roundhay to the west, Oakwood, Leeds, Oakwood to the south and the A6120 road, A6120 outer ring road t ...

, to the north of the City centre. The club row in dark blue, with a vertical yellow stripe between two white stripes down both sides. Blades are dark blue with a lighter blue tip. The club races in all categories of boats and has a growing fleet of high performance boats and competes in regattas and head races across the UK, ranging from heads and regattas in the Yorkshire Region through to competing at the Tideway Heads as well as

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

and the

Henley Women's Regatta Henley Women's Regatta, often abbreviated to "HWR" or "Women's Henley", is a rowing regatta held at Henley-on-Thames, England. Chris Aistrop and Rosemary Mayglothling were jointly responsible for setting up the Regatta in June 1988 and Aistrop ...

History

For many years, Leeds’ representation in the rowing world only existed through the University Boat Club, who rowed in York. Despite suitable stretches of water being available in the city, rowing had not featured on the river or canal since the early eighties, when there was a boathouse at Swillington. Up until 2006, there were no clubs rowing in Leeds. Leeds Schools Boat Club were no longer in operation, and

Leeds University Boat Club The University of Leeds Boat Club (UOLBC) is the rowing club for students at the University of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club races in green, burgundy and white colours representing those of the University of Leeds and is affiliated t ...

rowed on the River Ouse in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. The Leeds Rowing Club was founded in 2006, the same year that the first boathouse was built. It was the first open membership rowing club in the city. The Waterloo Lake boathouse is set on the 800 metres Waterloo Lake, in

, and served as the main boathouse until 2014. Since 2014, the club bases all of its learn to row courses and recreational rowing at Waterloo Lake. In late 2014 the club, in conjunction with Leeds University, moved into a new club house built on the Leeds Canal. The club house provided the club with almost 4 km worth of water to train on, an improved gym and changing areas and a much larger boathouse, allowing both Leeds RC and Leeds University to increase the size of their fleets. The gym area in the club house, overlooking the canal included 12 rowing machines and aweights area. Leeds Rowing Club made the semi–final of the club coxed four event at Henley Women's Regatta as well as racing four consecutive years in a row at Henley Royal Regatta, twice in the

Wyfold Challenge Cup The Wyfold Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through so ...

and twice in the

Thames Challenge Cup The Thames Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's eights at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from a single rowing club A rowing club is a club for people intere ...

. In 2018, Leeds Rowing Club pre-qualified for the first time in the

. The Masters Squad have competed and won at the British Rowing Masters Championships as well as racing at the FISA World Masters Regatta.

References

{{United Kingdom rowing clubs

External links

Leeds Rowing Club Website
Rowing clubs in England Sport in Leeds 2006 establishments in England Sports clubs and teams established in 2006