About this club
Bournemouth Rowing Club is a current British Rowing-affiliated coastal club and a member of the Hants and Dorset Amateur Rowing Association. It operates from a shared boathouse at Iford on the River Stour, while racing in the association's South Coast coastal regattas.
The club traces its foundation to 1865, when a small foreshore lease was secured in Bournemouth and a boathouse erected. A four-oared racing galley arrived in 1870, a second was bought by public subscription in 1871, and the first recorded races between club crews took place that May.
The organisation was formerly Westover and Bournemouth Rowing Club. Hants and Dorset ARA minutes record that it formally adopted the shorter Bournemouth Rowing Club name for the 2017 season.
The club left its long-standing West Beach boathouse in 2010 when the council required the site for redevelopment. A Scout charity annual report records Bournemouth Rowing Club using Iford Boathouse without charge as a temporary base in 2019, and the association's 2024-25 handbook continues to list the active club.
After the move, the club began working with local state schools to attract young rowers. A 2017 charitable-trust report said the initiative produced a waiting list, that all club staff were volunteers, and that a grant contributed to a new safety boat.
Bournemouth also has a place in the wider history of South Coast racing. Club member Archie Fraser proposed a championship bringing together the Hants and Dorset, Coast and West of England associations; the first South Coast Rowing Championships followed at Poole in 1957.
Upcoming competitions hosted by Bournemouth Rowing Club
No upcoming competitions listed. They might still be confirming dates - check back soon.
