York St. John University Boat Club (YSJBC) has a history beginning in 1852, eleven years after the founding of the institution where it is based. YSJ BC is notable for being the longest standing club of the university and has an affiliation to

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 ...

. The club has Men's and Women's squads and is one of the many clubs of the York St John Students' Union. The majority of members learn to row on arrival at university. YSJBC welcomes students, alumni and staff to participate in the club. The boathouse is based beside the River Ouse, opposite

York City Rowing Club York City Rowing Club is a rowing club by the River Ouse in York, England. It has over 200 members, of all ages. The boathouse is on the west (here briefly south) bank of the river next to Lendal Bridge There are nine bridges across the R ...

between

Lendal Bridge There are nine bridges across the River Ouse within the city of York, England, and sixteen smaller bridges and passages across the narrower River Foss. Bridges over the Ouse The earliest bridge, built by the Romans, linked Stonegate (the ''vi ...

and the Scarborough Railway Bridge next to the

Museum Gardens The York Museum Gardens are botanic gardens in the centre of York, England, beside the River Ouse. They cover an area of of the former grounds of St Mary's Abbey, and were created in the 1830s by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society along with ...

Boathouse and facilities

The club's boathouse sits on 21 km of row-able water, on the River Ouse; it is approximately 12 km downstream from 'The Split' (where the Nidd and Ouse meet, but where on approaching from York the rivers 'split') and 9 km upstream from

Naburn Lock Naburn is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of the City of York in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the eastern side of the River Ouse about south of York. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of ...

. The stone and concrete boathouse nestles into land adjacent to the Museum Gardens. The building replaced the wooden boathouse at the bottom of Marygate in York during an early heyday for the club in the 1960s at the request of the then St John's College Principal, Canon Lamb, by the George Pace firm of architects, who also refurbished the College Chapel and built a new Chapel in 1966.

Racing

The club competes at a number of

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 and

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 throughout the academic year (September - August). Prior to Christmas the club's main focus is

BUCS British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

competition and the York Small Boats Head. These events provide developing crews with the academic year's first taste of inter-university competition and the beginner crews with the first chance to apply what they have learnt in race conditions. The club also sends its athletes to the National Indoor Rowing Championships. After Christmas, the club enters a number of events during the continuing head season. These include Durham Small Boats Head and a Varsity match against the University of York Boat Club. From 2010 the club has entered the women's and men's Head of the River Races too. Following further training in the Easter vacation the summer sees attendance at the York Spring Regatta, the BUCS Regatta and other regional regattas such as Doncaster, Durham, Bradford, Tees and York Summer.

Kit and blades

Club members race in a tri-colour kit. It is Royal Blue and Sky Blue and White side stripes. In addition to this, the vast majority of the club own numerous other items of kit including the ubiquitous splash jacket A rowing splash jacket is a wind and splash proof, ventilated, long-sleeved jacket that is designed for rowing and bankside activity. The Club crest is similar to the

York St John University , mottoeng = They may have life and have it more abundantly , established = , type = Public , administrative_staff = 618 , chancellor = Reeta Chakrabarti , vice_chancellor = Professor Karen Bryan , student ...

crest but includes two rowing blades with the blade colours. The current blades are Sky Blue with a Royal Blue 'Y" representing the geographical location of the club, York. The previous blades were white with three chevrons; bottle green, gold and black (green nearest the blade tip) on a white background.

References

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External links

York St John University RC
on the

website
York St John University Rowing Club
on the York St John Students' Union website Rowing clubs in England University and college rowing clubs in the United Kingdom Sport in York York St John University Sports clubs established in 1852 1852 establishments in England

Boathouse and facilities

Racing

Kit and blades

See also

References

External links