Learning to row at Clare

Be part of Clare's biggest sports club... and the sport for which Cambridge is best known. Rowing in Michaelmas Term is about learning to row in eights. You'll be competing in novice races throughout the term, including our very own Clare Novices' Regatta, the top knockout event for all Cambridge novice rowers. Off the water, there are formal swaps with other colleges for the socialites among you, as well as the infamous Boat Club Dinner in November. The focus in Lent Term turns to the Lent Bumps, a highly exciting form of racing in which boats race one behind the other and move up the rankings by "bumping out", i.e. hitting the boat in front. The rankings carry over from year to year: both our men and our women are currently 8th out of all Cambridge colleges in their respective divisions.

Getting started

Novicing is organised by the Lower Boats' Captains. This year the Men's LBCs are Dirk Simon and Rob Norton, and you can get in touch at ds502[at]cam.ac.uk. The Women's LBCs are Jess Palmer and Georgie Plunkett, who you can get hold of at jp445[at]cam.ac.uk.

Getting to the boathouse

Click here to see directions to the boathouse from Mem Court, Old Court and the Colony, along with a map (PDF).

Find out more about the sport

First and Third Trinity Boat Club (of Trinity College) have put together a pretty good guide to rowing in Cambridge. You can find it here.

But I've never rowed before...

No problem! Almost nobody has rowed when they get to Cambridge, but even the top Clare boats are made up mostly of people who learned to row here, and people who've learned to row at Clare often go on to row for the University. Most of the races are organised so that you're racing boats of a similar standard, i.e. novices in Michaelmas term, ex-novices in Lent Term and so on.

Can't I be the one giving the orders?

We're always on the lookout for potential coxes - that's the one who sits at the back, steering the boat and telling the crew what to do. It's not just a matter of sitting there: races are won and lost through good coxing. Race tactics, good steering and knowing how to motivate the crew are crucial, and are something we'll teach you and you'll pick up with experience.

But I have rowed before...

If you've rowed or coxed at school or at a rowing club at home, you can't compete in the novice races, but instead you go straight into the Senior squad. Get in touch with the Men's Captain, Dan Weatherill (dpw30[at]cam.ac.uk) or the Women's Captain, Christina Pettit (cp397[at]cam.ac.uk) and we can keep you posted with what's going on.