St Hugh's Boat Club - Oxford | UK Rowing Clubs | Row HQ

St Hugh's Boat Club is the rowing club for members of St Hugh's College at the University of Oxford. Founded in 1891, it rows from Boathouse Island on the River Isis and also uses the Godstow stretch for senior training.

The first record is a club boat stored on the River Cherwell in 1891. St Hugh's acquired its first boathouse almost 20 years later, experienced a period of financial difficulty, and was re-founded in 1973 with 16 members and coaching support from Brasenose College Boat Club.

In 1975 the women's first eight bumped Magdalen's fourth men's crew, the first recorded Oxford women's crew to bump a men's boat. This helped prompt the creation of women's Summer Eights divisions in 1976; St Hugh's women first became Head of the River in 1979 and held the Summer Eights Headship again from 1982 to 1984.

Most club rowing is in eights, with fours, a pair or double and a single also available. New members join novice crews coached by senior rowers, and the normal racing programme includes Christ Church or Tamesis Regatta, Isis Winter League, Torpids and Summer Eights.

British Rowing reported in 2024 that the club regularly fielded three men's and two women's boats in the major bumps competitions. Training was split between the Isis and Godstow, with the first boats and senior crews using Godstow most often.

The men's first boat won blades and reached the club's highest men's river position during the 2021 Summer Torpids. In 2025 the novice women won Tamesis Regatta, the club's first victory there in 41 years.