Hampton School Boat Club (HSBC) is the

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

club of

Hampton School Hampton School (formerly Hampton Grammar School) is an independent boys' day school in Hampton, Greater London, England. It is regarded as one of the top independent schools in the country. Hampton School’s A-Level and GCSE results in 2021 ...

. Each year the club produces 1st VIIIs that compete at Championship level in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The club hosts two

Head race A head race is a time-trial competition in the sport of rowing. Head races are typically held in the fall, winter and spring seasons. These events draw many athletes as well as observers. In this form of racing, rowers race against the clock wh ...

events each year.

History

The club was founded in 1956 and for many years HSBC was based at

Molesey Boat Club Molesey Boat Club is a rowing club between Molesey Lock and Sunbury Lock on the River Thames in England. The club was founded in 1866 where its boathouse stands with hardstanding next to the Thames Path. Molesey has been the organising or sup ...

, on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

near

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

. In 2000 the club's

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

Boathouse was opened 2 km upstream from Molesey weir, close to the upstream end of

Platts Eyot Platt's Eyot or Platt's Ait is an island on the River Thames at Hampton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, on the reach between Molesey Lock and Sunbury Lock. Geography The island was a typical ait used for growing osie ...

. The land it was built on was originally owned by

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltshir ...

and construction of the boathouse was a joint project with the

Lady Eleanor Holles School Boat Club Lady Eleanor Holles Boat Club is a rowing club on the River Thames, based at the Millennium Boat House, Lower Sunbury Road, Hampton, London. The club belongs to Lady Eleanor Holles School. History In 2000 the club's Millennium Boathouse was ope ...

. In 2000 the boathouse was opened by Sir Steve Redgrave and

Ann Redgrave Ann, Lady Redgrave ( Elizabeth-Ann Callaway; born 8 February 1960) is a British surgeon and osteopath. She is the wife of British rower Sir Steve Redgrave. Rowing career Having taken up the sport in 1981, Redgrave rowed in the women's eight ...

Rowing at Hampton

Rowing at Hampton School is open to boys in the third year and above, and is split into three sections:

J14s

Third year rowers. Hampton schoolboys can join the boat club from the third year onwards. In the J14 year boys learn to scull and the emphasis is on training to improve technique, flexibility and fitness rather than competing. One week in Easter is spent as a training camp at the Millennium boathouse as well as Wimbleball Lake. During the year, the rowers showing the most promise are selected in crews for Hampton School's own rowing competition Hampton Head as well as various other events including Peterborough regatta and the

National rowing championships The British Rowing Championships usually take place every year. The event is held at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont Holme Pierrepont is a hamlet and civil parish located south-east of the city of Nottingham in Nottingham ...

J15s

Fourth year rowers. In the J15 year boys begin learning sweep-oar rowing and selection begins for J15 'A', 'B' and 'C' eights. This year is aimed as preparation for rowing in the senior squad, and the crews will compete at many of the same races as the senior squad, with the main competitions being the Schools' Head Of the River Race and the National Schools' Regatta. The J15 crew too spends a week in Hazewinkel rowing lake in Belgium.

The Senior squad

Fifth and sixth form rowers. The senior squad is made up of the oldest rowers in the school and is the squad from which the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th VIIIs are selected. The senior squad travel to many

head race A head race is a time-trial competition in the sport of rowing. Head races are typically held in the fall, winter and spring seasons. These events draw many athletes as well as observers. In this form of racing, rowers race against the clock wh ...

s and

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

s throughout the year including the Armada Cup in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, the

Schools' Head Of the River Race The Schools' Head of the River Race (SHORR) is the UK's largest school-age processional (head rowing) race and is organised by Westminster School for crews aged between 14 and 18 years old. It is held in Spring, the end of the head race season. ...

and

The National Schools Regatta National Schools' Regatta is the largest rowing regatta for junior rowers in Great Britain. Held annually in May, the three day regatta offers events for junior rowers between the categories J14 and J18. History The regatta was first raced in 1 ...

. The 1st VIII will also compete in the prestigious

Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup is a rowing event at Henley Royal Regatta open to school 1st VIIIs. History The event was instituted in 1946 for public schools in the United Kingdom. It was opened to entries from overseas in 1964, and th ...

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

, and the 2nd VIII will sometimes attempt to qualify for the

Temple Challenge Cup The Temple Challenge Cup is one of the eights races at Henley Royal Regatta at Henley-on-Thames on the River Thames in England. It is open to male crews from universities, colleges or schools. Combined entries from two colleges of the same un ...

International representations

In addition to racing in the school eights, the top 'A' squad rowers each year compete at

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

trials to try to represent their country at the following events: *

Munich International Regatta Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

* Home Countries International Regatta *

Coupe de la Jeunesse The Coupe de la Jeunesse is an international rowing regatta rowed over 2,000 m every year. It was founded in 1985 and is open to rowers who are 18 or under by the end of the current calendar year. It is a two-day team event, with points award ...

World Rowing Junior Championships The World Rowing Junior Championships is an international rowing regatta organized by FISA (the International Rowing Federation). A rower or coxswain shall be classified as a Junior until 31 December of the year in which he reaches the age of 1 ...

*GB vs FRANCE Hampton has been represented at most Junior World Rowing Championships since the event's creation.

Hampton Head

The boat club hosts two rowing events each year in the

season; Hampton Small Boats Head (the most popular head race of the year); and Hampton Fours and Eights Head. Each race is over the same distance of roughly 3 km, raced downstream from just below Sunbury Lock to the finish, roughly 50 metres downstream of

Successes

Hampton has produced three treble winning 1st VIIIs in its history: 1985, 1986 and 1988. In 2004 Hampton won 1st, 2nd and 3rd VIIIs at the Schools' Head of the River Race. In 2013, at the same race, they came first in the following categories; Championship VIII's, 2nd VIII's, 3rd VIII's, J16 Championship VIII's, J16 2nd VIII's, J15 2nd VIII's, and J15 3rd VIII's, winning a total of 63 gold medals. The J14 squad also claimed medals in all three octuple categories at the National Junior Sculling Head 2014, as well as gold medals in all 4 categories in 2017. Many rowers from Hampton have also gone on to compete at international levels and in recent years Hamptonians have consistently competed for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

the Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

; in 2003 two sets of Hamptonian brothers (James and David Livingston, Matthew and Ben Smith) competed. Two of Hampton's most successful rowers are undoubtedly brothers

Jonny Searle Jonathan "Jonny" William C. Searle (born 8 May 1969) is a British rower and business man. Along with his brother Gregory, and coxswain Garry Herbert, Searle won the gold medal in the coxed pair event at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Early ...

and

Greg Searle Gregory Mark Pascoe Searle (born 20 March 1972) is a British Olympic rower educated at Hampton School and London South Bank University. Career Greg Searle is an Olympic gold medalist, winning the coxed pairs event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic ...

who went on to win the gold medal (together with cox Garry Herbert) in the coxed pair in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.Sports Reference- Summer Olympics Rowing GBR
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Honours

Henley Royal Regatta

National Schools' Regatta

Schools' Head of the River Race

British champions

References

{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Sports clubs established in 1956 Rowing clubs of the River Thames Rowing clubs in England Scholastic rowing in the United Kingdom