Rowing

For many the archetypal University sport, Rowing has both a long history and growing strength in Scottish Universities. From the late 1800s to the 1960s, only the Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities supported rowing clubs. However, there are now ten regularly competing University clubs, with about five hundred students taking part in the SUS Championships each year.

The SUS Championships are held over two days at Strathclyde Park in late April, over a distance of 2000m in all the usual categories and with special short course races (1000m) for novices. In addition, a SUS Winter League takes place between November and March with races in Inverness, Aberdeen and twice in Glasgow. These are long distance races of between 4000m and 5500m. At the sharp end, the overall standard of rowing is very high, with a number of students making it into the Scotland Team for the Home Countries International and Commonwealth Regatta.

It is hoped to introduce Indoor Rowing to the calendar in Spring 2007, in conjunction with the Scottish National Championships. This aspect of the sport is highly competitive and spectator friendly, with an intense atmosphere - and is also an early test of the affectivity of the winter's training.

In addition, the more familiar (and closed) Inter-University Boat Races take place annually between The University of Aberdeen and The Robert Gordon University, The Universities of Stirling and Dundee and, most traditionally, The Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Most recently, the (invitational) Edinburgh University Boat Club Regatta has been added to the calendar, promoting Scottish Rowing to many other Universities from the length and breadth of the UK.

In 2006, the first ever Scottish Universities team took part in the European Universities Rowing Championships in Cardiff. This was a highly successful and enjoyable event, with Scotland picking up two silver medals and finishing a creditable fourth in the medals table. It is hoped to send a team to future European Championships if at all possible.

SUC Constitution: CLICK HERE

SUC Entry: CLICK HERE