The Swansea University Rowing Club (SURC) is the rowing club of

Swansea University , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

, Wales, and is situated on the west bank of the

River Tawe The River Tawe (; cy, Afon Tawe ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Pa ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. It is unknown when the club was founded, but was re-founded in 2004. Rowing with SURC is open to all members of Sport Swansea, who provide a nominal level of funding and insurance for all university clubs. Along with Cardiff University Boat Club, it is considered one of the biggest and most active rowing clubs in Wales.

Location

The club trains on the River Tawe and enjoys almost exclusive use of the 3 km of rowable water, with two long straight sections. Land-based training takes place at the University Sports Centre, along the seafront and sometimes on the beach in

Swansea Bay Swansea Bay ( cy, Bae Abertawe) is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal ...

itself. Although the club has few of its own facilities due to the extensive redevelopment along the river by Swansea City Council, the members use the facilities kindly provided by Swansea Yacht and Sub Aqua Club to launch and change. The Sail Bridge, with its 40m high mast, is one of the recent additions to the river, having been opened in 2003.

Competition

The club competes at a number of regattas and head races throughout the academic year (September – August). Before Christmas, the club sends its senior crews to Cardiff Small Boats Head and thereafter tries to send all crews to the Welsh Indoor Championships and Bristol Head Race. These events provide the 'fresher' crews with some initial race experience. Senior crews will sometimes compete at the

Fours head The Fuller's Head of the River Fours (HOR4s) is a processional rowing race held annually on the Tideway of the River Thames in London on the Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney. History The idea for a Tradesmen's Tideway Head Race for ...

of the River Race, held on the

Tideway The Tideway is a part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending on ...

in November. After Christmas, the club enters a number of events during the season for

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. These include Cardiff Head of the Taff, BUCS Head Race (often on the Trent),

Women's Eights Head of the River Race The Women's Eights Head of the River Race (WEHoRR) is a processional rowing race held annually on the Tideway of the River Thames in London on the Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney. A mirror of the Eights Head of the River for mal ...

and the

Head of the River Race The Head of the River Race (HORR) is an against-the-clock ('processional') sport rowing, rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England between eights, other such races being the Schools' Head of the River Race, Women's Head of ...

, the last two of these being held on the

The Welsh Boat Race The Welsh Boat Race, also known as the Welsh University Boat Race and The Welsh Varsity Boat Race, is an annual rowing race in Wales between the Swansea University Rowing Club and the Cardiff University Rowing Club, rowed between competing e ...

is the main training focus before the BUCS Regatta, the start of the "regatta season", where Swansea University Rowing Club race Cardiff University Boat Club side-by-side along a set distance on either the

River Taff The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the R ...

or the

History

The club was started in the 1970s and closed in the early 1980s. Since then Will Edmondson and his sister Anne-Marie restarted the club by breaking into the shed and getting out the old boats in 1989. They were helped by Andrew Williams (of

Mumbles Mumbles ( cy, Mwmbwls) is a headland sited on the western edge of Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales. Toponym Mumbles has been noted for its unusual place name. The headland is thought by some to have been named by French sailors, ...

ARC). Rob Jones joined the club at the end of 1989 and the club set about buying some kit. Will Garnier was President, Rob Jones was secretary and after a bit of work, they got an eight out for the

and raced at various events including Reading Town where they reached the final of the Senior 2 event. At this stage there were about 25 racing members and had a huge social section with parties at their boathouse on the Cwm Lleidi ( Swiss Valley reservoir) reservoir near

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

. The President and Secretary looked into moving the club to the River Tawe by the

Morfa Stadium Morfa Stadium was an athletics stadium in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. Constructed and in use since 1980, it was officially opened as Morfa Stadium on 20 April 1989 by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. The stadium was subsequently ...

and secured a small space to keep boats there. The club dissolved around 1995 and didn't start again until 2004. In that time, the stadium had been demolished, with a number of university boats going with it. The club was revived in 2004 by Tim Stickley, who found just one river-worthy boat in a shed by the university playing fields. An area was organised in the car park next to the River Tawe on which to put the club trailer and permission obtained from Swansea Yacht and Sub Aqua Club to use their slipway to launch. Membership has increased dramatically and the club's fleet of boats has grown over subsequent years, with different captains bringing new things to the club, notably a training camp and

under Henry Hilsdon, a new trailer under Sophie Clarke-Hackston (club captain for 2 years) and a first boat race win under Jenny Staight. Club captains since then have been Steven Gray and Ania Negele. In more recent years the club has gone from strength to strength. Moving from a social club to a performance based club. With help from Welsh Rowing and the university, SURC has purchased a number of new racing shells for the fleet, allowing the expanding membership to perform at the highest level they can. Membership numbers from the 2014/15 season are around 80 – 100 members, both performance and social.

Alumni and members

The club has produced Paralympic and World Championship finalist rowers such as James Roberts. Also from SURC have been Welsh International rowers Daniel John, Kate Evans and Edward Hares. Dan John won the coxless four event at the 2009 Home International Regatta. Kate Evans also placed 2nd at 2009 BUCS regatta in the women's lightweight singles event, and represented British Universities at the European Universities regatta.

The Tawe Phoenix Boat Club for Alumni

In 2010 the

Tawe Phoenix Boat Club The Tawe Phoenix Boat Club is the alumni rowing club of Swansea University Rowing Club, and currently does not have a permanent boating base. The club was founded in 2010 and aims to support the interests of Swansea University Rowing Club, to e ...

was set up as an alumni club. It is affiliated with

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representin ...

and hopes to provide a name to race under for members who are continuing the Swansea spirit. The club aims to support the interests of Swansea University Rowing Club, to enter some races and to meet up socially at various points throughout each year.

References

External links

Swansea Uni RC WebsiteSwansea University Athletic UnionBritish Universities & Colleges Sport
{{United Kingdom rowing clubs Sport in Swansea Swansea University Rowing clubs in Wales University and college rowing clubs in the United Kingdom University and college sports clubs in Wales