Reading University Boat Club (RUBC, boat code RDU) is the

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

club for the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

in the United Kingdom. It is based at a boat house in Christchurch Meadows on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in the

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

suburb of Caversham. The club has a focus on

sculling Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, its ...

History

The club was founded in 1892, when the university was established as an extension college of

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. They originally shared a boathouse with other clubs, but got their own boathouse in the 1930s. The club originally had a close association with the Clifton,

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

and Cheltenham Schools. The Reading Head of the River Race, originally organised by Reading Rowing Club but now organised by RUBC, has been held since 1935 (with a break for the second world war), attracting well over 100 crews in 2000. In 1954, the club purchased the Dreadnought public house that has closed in 1952, and subsequently built a river studies laboratory in the garden behind the pub. The ground floor was converted into the clubhouse and used by the Reading University Sailing Club until 1996. The club topped the medal table at the

BUCS British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS; ) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2008, BUCS is responsible for organising 54 inter-university sports in the United Kingdom, as well as represe ...

regatta in 2011 and at the BUCS small boats head in 2014 and 2015, as well as wins at

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 ...

in 1986, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013. A number of former members have competed at the Olympics, including double gold-medallists James Cracknell and Helen Glover. 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

Cath Bishop Catherine Bishop (born 22 November 1971) is a former British rower. In partnership with Katherine Grainger she was World Champion in the coxless pair in 2003, and in 2004 they won a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Following a career as a di ...

won silver at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. * James Cracknell won gold at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games. * Adrian Ellison won gold at the

Los Angeles 1984 The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Olympic Games. * Debbie Flood won silver at the Athens 2004 and

Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

Olympic Games. * Helen Glover won gold at the

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and

Rio 2016 The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Olympic Games. * Alex Gregory rowed at the

and

Olympic Games. * Garry Herbert won gold at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. * Stewart Innes rowed at the

Olympic Games. * Sam Townsend rowed at the

and

Olympic Games. * Joshua Lyon won the Wingfield Sculls in 2023 in commanding fashion and went on to represent Great Britain in the mens quad at the Under 23 European Championships

Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

RUBC have been frequent competitors at the

, which is held around 10 km downriver from Reading. *Queen Mother Challenge Cup - winner 2010 (with

Leander Club 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 ...

), 2011 (with Leander Club), 2013 (with Leander Club) *The Stewards' Challenge Cup - 2009 (with Leander Club); Coxless Fours - winner 1986 *The Princess Grace Challenge Cup - winner 2008 (with Wallingford Rowing Club) *Visitors Challenge Cup - finals 1984; semi-finals 1974, 1977, 1994, 1996 *Prince of Wales Challenge Cup - semi-finals 2010, finals 2022 *Thames Challenge Cup - semi-finals 1948 *Ladies Plate - semi-finals 1970, 1979 *Wyfolds Challenge Cup - semi-finals 1987

British Championships

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, Ltw Men 4- *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, Open 4-, Women 1x *

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Open 2x, Open Ltw 2x, Open U23 1x *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Open U23 1x *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Women 8+ *

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, Open 4x *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Women 2x *

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Open 2x

University Sport

Small Boats Head - Top of Medal Table 2014, 2015 *BUCS Regatta - Top of medal table, 2011 *BUSA Regatta - Second in Victor Ludorum, 2006 *BUCS Regatta - Won both Championship Quads and Doubles, 2023 *BUCS Regatta - Won the Championship Quads,Doubles and Single, 2024

Reading Head of the River Rac e

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 Caversham 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.

References

{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Rowing clubs in England University and college rowing clubs in the United Kingdom Sports clubs and teams established in 1892 Sport in Reading, Berkshire Rowing clubs of the River Thames