The Calcutta Rowing Club (CRC), located in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, India, was founded in 1858
and is one of the oldest rowing clubs of its kind outside 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
History
The club's early history was lost in the great cyclone which hit
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1864,
[L.H., Macklin ''A Summary of the Records of the Calcutta Rowing Club, 1858 to 1932''. For Calcutta Rowing Club, 1932, p. 1.] during which the boat house and the boats, together with the minute books and records, disappeared. The only things preserved were the accounts of 1858-59 signed by John Cowle, as the Honorary Secretary and Treasurer, and he goes down in history as the first officer on record. In these records it is noted that a six oared boat was purchased for
Rs.
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
300 and the following year a ‘Four’ was imported from Hong Kong for a sum of Rs. 448. After the cyclone, a temporary thatched roof boat house was built in 1861, on the banks of the Hooghly near
Chand pal Ghat, the Regatta course was 1 mile from Fort Point to
Shalimar or from Shalimar to Botanical Gardens. In 1864 the Club colours of Blue and White were adopted.
The club competed at the Head of the Lake Regatta, an annual rowing competition that began in 1933.
At the 1950 All-India Regatta, the CRC won trophies in all three events —
sculls, pairs and fours. The feat was previously achieved only by the
Royal Connaught Boat Club in 1936.
Present location
With the construction of the
Dhakuria Lake in 1928, the club moved to its present location- 15 Rabindra Sarobar, Calcutta-700029. CRC has maintained its outstanding position in the rowing scene and from 1979 won the ARAE, the WBRA and the Head of Lake trophies - a stream of unique successes which no rowing club in the East has yet been able to achieve.
Reciprocal clubs
The club has reciprocal arrangements with more than 100 clubs throughout the world. Members can use the facilities of overseas reciprocal clubs with a card or letter of introduction issued by the Calcutta Rowing Club.
*
Madras Boat Club
The Madras Boat Club is one of the oldest rowing centres in India, located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The area adjoining it is the most expensive locality in South India.
Background
A small group of Englishmen in Madras (now called Chennai) found ...
, Chennai, India
*
The Durban Club,Durban, South Africa
*
National Liberal Club
The National Liberal Club (NLC) is a London private members' club, open to both men and women. It was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 to provide club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate ...
, London, UK
*
The Clifton Club
The Clifton Club is a traditional private members club in Bristol, England, founded in 1818 as a meeting place for the gentlemen of the prosperous port of Bristol.
History
The club was founded in Clifton, an exclusive suburb of Bristol, in 1818 ...
, Bristol, UK
* Ceylon Sports Club, Singapore
* Terminal City Club, Vancouver, Canada
*
The British Club, Bangkok, Thailand
See also
*
Rowing Federation of India
The Rowing Federation of India (RFI) is the central body for the game of rowing in India. It was formed on 30 August 1976 with a view to make the sport of Rowing popular in India. It is affiliated with the Indian Olympic Association and Fédér ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Calcutta Rowing Club homepage
Rowing clubs in India
Sports clubs in Kolkata
1858 establishments in British India
Sports venues in Kolkata