The rowing scene in Kingston
Kingston sits where Lake Ontario meets the St. Lawrence River and the Cataraqui River, giving rowers access to island-dotted open water that is unusual in Canadian rowing. The Kingston Rowing Club, formally inaugurated in 1977 out of a Queen's University student initiative in 1973, anchors the city's rowing scene alongside programmes at Queen's University and the Royal Military College. The annual Queen's-McGill boat race, inspired by the Oxford-Cambridge tradition, has been rowed every spring since 1997.
Key numbers
Kingston inner harbour provides sheltered sprint-race water. Beyond the harbour mouth, crews access Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands - one of the most scenic rowing environments in Canada. The Cataraqui River to the north offers calm freshwater training. The club regularly rows out into Lake Ontario during summer training.
All 3 rowing clubs in Kingston
Sorted by founding year. Every entry links to the club's own website; we verified all URLs in May 2026. If you spot an error or your club is missing, let us know.
| Club | Founded | Location | Reach | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Royal Military College of Canada Rowing
The Royal Military College of Canada opened in 1876 on the Point Frederick peninsula in Kingston Harbour. Rowing is one of the collegiate sports available to RMC cadets, who train alongside Kingston Rowing Club and Queen's University crews in the sheltered inner harbour. |
1876 | Point Frederick, Kingston, ON | Kingston Harbour and Lake Ontario | University (military college) |
|
Queen's University Rowing
Rowing at Queen's began in autumn 1973 under the initiative of student and 1972 Olympian Peter Barr. Competes in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference and annually races McGill in the spring Queen's-McGill Boat Race, inspired by the Oxford-Cambridge tradition, contested every year since 1997. |
1973 | Kingston Rowing Club Boathouse, Kingston inner harbour, Kingston, ON | Kingston Harbour and Lake Ontario | University |
|
Kingston Rowing Club
Formally inaugurated on 2 February 1977 at Kingston City Hall, growing out of a Queen's University student initiative begun in 1973 by Olympian Peter Barr and law student George Gage. Offers programs for all fitness and experience levels, with access to Kingston's inner harbour, Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands. |
1977 | Kingston inner harbour, Kingston, ON | Kingston Harbour and Lake Ontario | Senior community / competitive / masters |
Major regattas in or near Kingston
Late July / early August
Late October / early November
Spring (annual since 1997)
Software for Kingston rowing clubs
Most of the 3 clubs above still run their boat booking, member admin, session attendance and crew lineups on a combination of spreadsheets, WhatsApp groups and printed sheets on the boathouse wall. Row HQ is rowing-club management software built specifically for clubs like these.
If your committee is hitting the predictable problems - lineups in the wrong file, fees uncollected, attendance unrecorded, captain on holiday with the password - book a 30-minute demo. We've ported clubs from spreadsheets in a weekend.
See Row HQ for your club
Free forever for clubs of up to 20 active members. No card needed.
Other rowing-club cities
Looking at the wider regional scene? Here are the other cities we have full directories for.
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From the blog
If you're researching the rowing scene in Kingston as a club admin or captain, these are the most useful pieces we've written.