The rowing scene in St. Catharines
St. Catharines is the historic centre of Canadian rowing. Martindale Pond - the sheltered former Welland Canal cut on Henley Island - has hosted the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta since 1903, making it the spiritual home of the sport in this country. The city has also staged two World Rowing Championships (1970 and 1999) and hosts the CSSRA national high school championships each June, drawing crews from across Canada and the United States.
Key numbers
Martindale Pond - a calm, sheltered body of water formed from the old Welland Canal cut at Port Dalhousie - provides a 2,000 m Olympic-standard straight course largely unaffected by wind and current. Henley Island bisects the pond and houses the permanent Royal Canadian Henley Rowing Course grandstand and boathouses. The course was upgraded for the 1999 World Rowing Championships and again for the 2024 World Rowing Senior, Under-23 and Under-19 Championships.
All 2 rowing clubs in St. Catharines
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ridley College Boat Club
Ridley College was established in 1889; its rowing programme, coached to prominence from the late 1960s by Neil Campbell, has produced numerous CSSRA and American Schoolboy Rowing Association champions. One of the most decorated school rowing programmes in Canada. |
1889 | Henley Island, Martindale Pond, St. Catharines, ON | Martindale Pond (Henley Course) | School |
|
St. Catharines Rowing Club
Founded in 1903 when the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta - run since 1880 - moved permanently to Martindale Pond. The club hosts both the Henley and the CSSRA national high school championships annually, and organised the 1970 and 1999 World Rowing Championships on Martindale Pond. |
1903 | Henley Island, Martindale Pond, Port Dalhousie, St. Catharines, ON | Martindale Pond (Henley Course) | Senior community / junior / masters |
Major regattas in or near St. Catharines
Late July / early August
First weekend of June
Software for St. Catharines rowing clubs
Most of the 2 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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Hamilton Harbour has been a competitive rowing venue since the early twentieth century. The Leander...
From the blog
If you're researching the rowing scene in St. Catharines as a club admin or captain, these are the most useful pieces we've written.