The Union Boat Club (also known as UBC), founded in 1851, is an athletic club in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. It is the longest continuously operating
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 in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. Located in the
Beacon Hill neighborhood along the
Charles River
The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...
, the Club has grown beyond rowing and now features squash and general fitness facilities for its 700 members. In 1914, UBC placed second in the prestigious
Grand Challenge Cup
The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing (sport), rowing competition for men's eight (rowing), eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male cr ...
.
The 1914 crew lost to
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
after beating a crew from Germany to enter the finals at the
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 ...
.
Union is the sister club of
University Barge Club
University Barge Club of Philadelphia (also known as UBC) is an amateur rowing club located at #7 in the historic Boathouse Row of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Hi ...
of Philadelphia. For more than 60 years, the two sister clubs have held an annual interclub "UBC" regatta.
In 2009,
Michelle Guerette, an eight-time senior US National Team member and two-time Olympian, joined Union Boat Club to serve as head coach.
[
]
Prominent members
*Francis Cuddy - 2006 & 2007 US National Team member (Men's 2X 06' & Spare 07'), 2007 Pan American Team
/ref>
See also
* List of American gentlemen's clubs
The following is a list of notable traditional gentlemen's clubs in the United States, including those that are now defunct. Historically, these clubs were exclusively for men, but most (though not all) now admit women.
On exclusivity and assim ...
* List of Charles River boathouses
The Charles River in Massachusetts has a significant number of boathouses on its banks, from its mouth at Boston Harbor to its source at Echo Lake in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton.
The boathouses are mostly situated along the Boston and Camb ...
References
Further reading
External links
*
*
{{Coord, 42.356, -71.073, display=title
Beacon Hill, Boston
Rowing clubs in the United States
Sports clubs and teams established in 1851
1851 establishments in Massachusetts