University College Boat Club

University College Boat Club: The largest and the oldest club in Durham, rowing since 1834.

UCBC is Castle’s biggest and oldest sports club, and one of its most successful. We welcome rowers and coxes of all athletic abilities and have a fantastic learn to row programme to teach complete beginners. Both men and women’s squads compete to a high level, with our top boats entering a variety of collegiate, regional and national competitions. We also have numerous members who train more casually to help maintain some sort of fitness, whilst having fun with friends.

The highlight of first term rowing is definitely Novice Cup, an inter-collegiate race for Freshers, which is always guaranteed to be a lot of fun and a great weekend!

Our successful novice programme is one of the biggest in the region with the club having a history, old and new, of strong Novice Cup performance, which we intend as ever to uphold. Whether you have years of experience in a boat or have never been in one before, UCBC provides the opportunity to train on our beautiful River Wear and eventually see yourself racing at a regional and national level! Every year we take in a large cohort of freshers, most of whom haven’t rowed before, and spend the year training until they are ready to progress into the senior squads.

Not the sporty type? Maybe coxing is your calling! Coxing is a way to get involved with rowing and take on a unique leadership role without the physical training.

At UCBC, you’ll very quickly see that we are a very close-knit and welcoming society, and with regular socials in Durham as well as our annual London dinner, it’s easy to get to meet new people and build long-lasting friendships.

We have several different crews at varying levels, catering to everyone from experienced rowers wanting to compete at a high standard to complete newcomers wanting to see what rowing is all about.

Your time as a part of UCBC doesn’t end when you graduate. Our large and active alumni club, FCBC, continues to strengthen the friendships and connections you make during your time at Castle with annual events and dinners, as well as socials with the current members of UCBC.