Reading University Boat Club

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have to have rowed before to join the Boat Club?
NO, nearly all our new members have never rowed before. Our novice squads have been designed to cater for people who have never rowed before.

What are Novices?
Officially a novice is someone who has not won a regatta. Generally, we refer to "novices" as members of the club who have rowed for less than 1 year.

Don't you need to be big and strong to row?
Not at all. You can go much faster through developing a good technique than just being big and strong. As an example our men's captain is 5'10 tall and just over 11 stone.

But you do need to be fit?
Rowing is one of the best cardiovascular sports around, you get fit from rowing, you don't need to be fit when you start.

Is it very time consuming?
Although the senior squads train 6 days a week, that is because they want to compete with the best Universities and clubs in the country, that is the choice they make. When you first begin, all we ask you attend is the water sessions 2 or 3 times a week.

How often do you compete?
Rowing is a sport where you don't get to compete very often, usually between 3 and 4 times a term. But when you do compete you get to race everybody, and by that I mean from novices of the local club through to Olympic champions. As an example, each year we enter a race called "The Eights Head of the River", it is run over the boat race course as a time trial and 450 crews enter including the National squad and the Reading University Novices. Rowing is one of the very few sports where you can compete against the best on level terms.

What is the difference between a "Head Race" and a "Regatta"
The rowing year is split into 2 seasons, the winter season and the summer season. During the winter we race "Head Races", these are time trials where everyone races over a set distance with the crew with the fastest time winning. In the summer we race "Regattas", these are side-by-side races, where the winner of each race progresses through each round.

Who will I be racing?
There are 5 different categories of events, and they all depend on how many races you have won. So when you first race you will be a novice and racing against other novices for a novice category win. As you win, you will progress through the different categories. Most of the events we enter are "open" events, that means that anyone can enter, so you will be racing clubs and schools as well as other universities. If this seems a bit confusing look at the results page for Reading University Head of the River.

What is Reading University Head of the River?
This is a "Head Race" that the club organizes every year. It is one of the oldest and most important Head races in the rowing calendar. Last year the Oxford University boat race crew won, it was the only open Head they entered last year. There were also entries from the top universities, clubs, and schools from across the country.

It's half way through the year, am I to late to join?
The main intake of the year is during the first few weeks of the year, but if you are keen to join then e-mail the club.

Do you get the chance to travel?
This year we will have a training camp in Banyoles, Spain. This is the site of the 1992 Olympic Regatta, and offers fantastic training facilities. Look in the picture gallery for photos from last years trip. Most of our races are held in the Thames Valley or in London, however, we do travel around the country to some regattas in the summer.