History

Worcester Rowing Club is steeped in history. It is 135 years old, having been formed in 1874. The Club's roots go much further back than this however.

At one time the City could boast of having at least eight separate rowing clubs. Membership of most of these clubs was confined to persons engaged in a particular occupation or from a particular walk of life. It is known, for instance, that the members of one club were mostly concerned with the haberdashery trade, another with the brewery business, while those who were artisans belonged to another Club.

Gradually however, this antiquated class conscious system, which was universal throughout most sports at the time, was eradicated, most of the Clubs disappeared and the two or three remaining combined to form the present Worcester Rowing Club.

Records show that organised rowing races occured at Worcester some 210 years ago. Only the sport of horse racing can boast to having been in existence in the City for a longer time. Idyllically situated on one of the best stretches of rowing water in the country and alongside the open expanse of common land, known as Pitchcroft, which is the home of Worcester Racecourse. Four major rowing events in the national calendar take place each year on the Severn at Worcester. Two Heads of the River Races, the popular Veteran and Junior Regatta, as well as the main City Regatta. Right up until the early part of the century the regatta attracted huge crowds of citizens, for it included all manner of other events.

Dirty tricks

The sportsmanship and chivalry of the present day regattas was not always evident however and betting was rife - for this was the heyday of the professional gambler and the rewards were worth a spot of corruption. Accounts of the earlier regattas indeed make interesting reading.

• A Club President sculled himself to a standstill only to lose to find that a board had been nailed to the bottom of his boat
• Coxswains were ditched overboard if crews looked like losing
• In order to lighten the boat: oars were hidden and inferior ones substituted, indeed, after one such incident and many letters of accusation and counter accusation to the local press, the Editor himself remarked that a more thorough piece of blackguardism and blacklogism never was perpetrated -not even upon the turf!

Today

Worcester Rowing Club has for many years been one of the foremost clubs in the country. Their active membership ranges from 12 year olds to the over 70's. In fact, they have particularly strong veteran and junior sections and gained an award as the most successful club in the promotion of junior rowing. They also have a strong "recreational rowing" section, for persons who do not wish to row competitively but only to keep fit or for the fun of it.

Worcester Rowing Club have members who have aspired to the National Rowing Squad and have represented their country and has seen one of their members rowing in the Olympic Games. Through the outstanding record of the Club, as well as them having the best stretch of rowing water in this part of the country, the City of Worcester has now been designated by the Sports Council as a Centre of Rowing Excellence.