Bath University Boat Club is hosted by Minerva Bath Rowing Club, situated at Newbridge on the western end of Bath. This stretch of the River Avon is shared between these two clubs, Avon County RC, University of Bristol BC, and Monkton Combe School BC who boat at the other end of the 4km stretch at Saltford. The river itself is relatively narrow and windy, although this provides sheltered conditions when other rivers are unrowable, and has a handy 1250m stretch for racing pieces.
BUBC make use of the world-class land training facilities at the £30 million Sports Training Village at the University of Bath campus. The club uses the two large gyms for S&C and cross-training while having a set of ergs nearby on the indoor sprint track which is also used for circuit training. As the home to the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Team, British Swimming, Pentathlon GB, and branches of the Southampton FC and Bath Rugby academies, the sporting culture at the University of Bath is second to none.
While not being a supported performance sport at Bath – meaning BUBC does not benefit from full-time coaching – the club benefits from being partnered with British Rowing as a World Class Start centre. Under coach Dan Harris, athletes are scouted and many being students row for BUBC at BUCS, Henley, and internationally. Dan’s squad is well integrated with the main club squads, allowing seamless integration ahead of these events each year. Some notable alumni of the Bath WCS centre include double Olympic gold medallists Heather Stanning and Helen Glover (Minerva Bath), former GB lightweight Adam Freeman-Pask, and current GB Rowing Team members Sam Courty and Sara Parfett.
Because of this and the student committee’s efforts, Bath University is probably the UK’s highest performing university club that does not have a full-time coach. This is also a testament to the members’ efforts, who take on leadership roles within the club and are kept accountable for maintaining standards and culture within the club.
If you would like to hear more about Bath University Boat Club or the University in general, please contact the club via email. Relevant details can be found on the club’s Instagram CrewBath.
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