With arguably the best stretch of river for rowing in the country, it is not surprising that King’s Ely has been a strong force in UK rowing for many years. As one of the major sports available to students from Year 8, rowing is enormously popular at King’s Ely. The King’s Ely Boat Club is located on the river just a short walk from the school, providing an uninterrupted stretch of water that runs for over 15 miles in each direction, including a 5 kilometre straight, making it the perfect place to train.
The Boat Club is run by full time Head of Rowing, Craig Ward, former Head Coach of Bedford Girls School. He is assisted by a team of six rowing coaches, all of whom are qualified British Rowing coaches, including a former Great Britain World medalist and a former President of Oxford University Boat club.
Our boathouse is well stocked with Singles, Doubles, Quads and Octuples and can cater for a wide range of abilities. Our fleet is continually updated to provide the best equipment to perform in. As well as this we have access to impressive land-based facilities including a free weights gym, sports hall and dedicated rowing fitness suite. Rowing sessions are offered in games periods on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons, as well as numerous after school sessions.
The Boat Club competes at a large number of local and national events throughout the year, including the National Schools’ Regatta, Henley Royal Regatta, Schools’ Sculling Head, The Ball Cup, Junior Inter-Regional Regatta, Hampton Head, Pair’s Head, Four’s Head, and many other competitions.
If you have any questions regarding the rowing programme please contact Head of Rowing, Mr Craig Ward.