University of Bath Boat Club - Bath | UK Rowing Clubs | Row HQ

University of Bath Boat Club is the student rowing club of the University of Bath. Its on-water training base is at Newbridge on the River Avon, where the university describes a 4km stretch of water near the Sports Training Village and a shared training location with Minerva Bath Rowing Club.

The club was founded in 1966, the year the university received its Royal Charter. Its first members borrowed skiffs from Bath Boating Station, and in 1968 the club raised £400 for its first restricted four. A mid-1990s partnership brought new boats and a dedicated boathouse below Bathampton Weir; the club later moved its training base to Newbridge.

More than 200 members now follow four named pathways: senior men, senior women, novices and the British Rowing Performance Development Academy. Trials are open to Bath students and include an ergometer test, swim test and interview, with intakes advertised for September and January.

The boathouse provides water access, boat storage, an ergometer deck and changing facilities. University support also includes strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and sport science, while indoor training uses Concept2 machines and the Sports Training Village gym.

Bath recorded its strongest BUCS Regatta performance in 2025, winning 11 medals including four golds and qualifying five boats for the European Universities Rowing Championships. Later that year, 13 Bath athletes won one gold, three silver and two bronze medals as the club secured its first Victor Ludorum at the British Rowing Club Championships.

The university has hosted the South West performance-development programme since 2003. Rowing alumni include Olympic champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, Rio silver medallist Vicky Thornley and Paris bronze medallist Becky Wilde.