Kingston Rowing Club is the supporting club for Kingston Regatta which is held above Kingston Bridge. Kingston organises Kingston Head of the River Race which is a warm-up for the national Head of the River Race on the Championship Course on the following weekend.
History
The club started at Messenger's Boathouse, Kingston and was housed there for three years before moving upstream. From 1861 to 1935 the club was based above the bridges on Raven's Ait in Surbiton to the south.[1][2] In 1935 the club moved downstream to premises known as the Albany Boathouse then moved to its purpose-built facilities in Canbury Gardens in 1968.
The club is the racing shell rowing club in Kingston upon Thames, but also provides training boats for less competitive rowing. It is on the Kingston Reach which runs between Molesey Lock by Hampton Court down to Teddington Lock ; The reach is a long 4.82 miles (7.76 km) V-shaped stretch of the Thames and is the final and second longest section of the River Thames — the longest reach being Wallingford reach at 6.5 miles (10.5 km) in Oxfordshire.[3]
Kingston Students Rowing Club (KSRC) was founded in 1972 as the Kingston Polytechnic Boat Club (KPBC). After 1992, Kingston Polytechnic was granted university status and the club changed its name to Kingston University Boat Club (KUBC).
In 2011, Kingston University Boat Club (KUBC) became Kingston Students Rowing Club (KSRC). KRC took over the training and coaching from Kingston University, maintain its fleet of boats and acquired its launches. University students receive automatic membership of KRC and still represent the university at the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Regatta and in the University Indoor Rowing Series.
Annual events
The club organises Kingston Head of the River Race which is a warm-up for the national Head of the River Race on the Championship Course on the following weekend. The organisation is associated with Kingston Regatta (formerly Kingston Amateur Regatta) since the club's founding – the regatta predates it by a year.
The club has a regular social calendar and Remenham Club rules entitle all established members to join to the social club which is at Henley on Thames, having one of its course-side venues, in the past having contributed to its funds in this case as a founder member.
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