City of Oxford Rowing Club is a strikingly inclusive community. It offers one of the largest rowing experiences in the country, with over 300 active members across junior, senior and masters groups, all of which range from beginner to elite – the club is very much ‘open to all’. City of Oxford was founded in 1968, following the amalgamation of Neptune Boat Club 1863 and Hannington club 1904, so therefore demonstrating the rich history of the club (something you can read about in the “City of Oxford Rowing Club, a History in Boats”, published in 2018 to celebrate the club’s 50th anniversary.
The club is located on the Isis stretch of the river Thames, by Donnington bridge in the centre of Oxford city, where the boathouse boats extensive facilities. To enhance the immersive social side of the club, at the boathouse is the ‘Rowing Club’ bar and café, which specialises in wood fired pizzas. In addition to this, fitness amenities include a fully equipped weights suite, erg room and indoor and outdoor boat racks.
The club hosts 4 big events each regular year, which attract both regional and national competition to the Isis stretch. The Oxford City Bumps Regatta pays homage to the historical bump events held by the local Oxford University each term, alongside the Oxford City Royal Regatta and Isis Sculls every summer season. As well as this, the club hosts a Corporate Eight’s event each year, which encourages local business to come and compete in the name of team bonding, so further demonstrating the active role played by the club in the local community.
Whilst catering to an adaptive and non-competitive group, the club has vast amounts of national Competition success and has even taken their athletes abroad. Every year, City of Oxford is successful in getting men’s crews into both the Thames and Wyfold, so with the introduction of more intermediate women’s events in the future, I’m sure this pattern will be mirrored. The junior girls 8, which placed an impressive 12th in the National Schools Championship Eights, raced across the pond at the Head of the Charles Regatta where they placed 74th in the Junior Womens Eights, amongst an exceptionally strong international field. It is clear that the inclusivity of the club works to its advantage, helping lay the foundations for a strong competitive group irrespective of age.
So, no matter ability, age or adaptivity, you can find a home at City of Oxford RC.
Want to find out more about City of Oxford? Check out their website.
Interested in joining? Contact them here.
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