This table is accurate for both the 2019 and 2020 season. Due to COVID-19 we will not be updating the table until a full summer season has next been completed.
With UCAS season fast approaching, many sixth form students will be looking at which universities to apply to. It's a great thing that sport plays such a big role in student experience and provides motivation for many to pursue higher education. We've decided to compare UK universities that offer rowing to help junior rowers consider their options with ease.
The scores below are calculated by combining academic and rowing performance using the data points described below. It is by no means a one size fits all calculator. Each student will have different priorities when it comes to their university experience and it's hard to compare rowing programmes based on available race results alone. Particularly at the top end, there's very little in it, which only speaks to the number of fantastic options to combine study and rowing in the UK.
Further detailed summaries of each university boat club will follow in due course to help see which programme is the right match for you.
Nonetheless, we hope that the table below can be helpful- just take the overall with a pinch of salt! Our top 30 UK rowing universities are listed below, please click on the image for the full ranking.
TOP 30 UK ROWING UNIVERSITIES
KEY:
| HEADER | DESCRIPTION |
| Acad. Rank | Academic ranking taken from the Complete University Guide |
| U23s | The number of student athletes who have represented GB at U23 level since 2015. Numbers may vary for clubs with athletes competing for different nations and a student racing at multiple championships is counted again each year that they compete. Athletes are counted if they race under their university as their primary club and non-students are not included since the ranking is combined using academic factors. We encourage universities to include details of non-students and athletes not trialling under the university in their individual profiles. |
| HRR Wins | The number of wins in the Temple Challenge Cup, Prince Albert Challenge Cup and Prince of Wales since 2015. Composites not included. |
| HWR Wins | The number of wins at Henley Women's Regatta since 2015. Composites not included. |
| BUCS Points | Total points scored at BUCS regatta 2019. |
| HORR | Top ranked crew at HORR. May include alumni/ non students. |
| WEHORR | Top ranked crew at WEHORR. May include alumni/ non students. |
| Dist./ mi | The distance from campus to the boathouse in miles. Most universities have indoor facilities very close to campus. |
| HPC | Y denotes a club considered a GB High Performance Centre. |
| * | The athletes represented here were racing as part of a unique joint partnership between the University of Surrey and Molesey BC. |
Universities ranked equally are listed alphabetically.
It is worth noting that given the racing timetable, Oxford and Cambridge may not participate in as many domestic events (e.g BUCS) with the Boat Race taking priority and thus are difficult to rank amongst other university programmes. Nottingham University also have a strong overall programme demonstrated well in their BUCS and (WE)HORR results, but may rank lower without U23 representation or Henley wins.
Each student will have different priorities. While not as well ranked academically as some other universities, Oxford Brookes have an absolutely outstanding rowing programme, sending a massive 32 athletes to U23s in the last five years. Similarly, student event options at Henley Royal Regatta favour programmes with strength in sweep more than sculling, disadvantaging some clubs such as Hartpury and Queen's Belfast that would suit sculling athletes. In particular, Reading University have an excellent sculling programme and consistently qualify multiple crews for the Prince of Wales, but without a student sculling event at HRR, this is difficult to reflect with the available metrics.
Please click here for the full comparison table.
We'd like to invite universities to submit summaries for standardised individual university boat club guides included on our website. Please follow the guidelines below. We will link from our article to as many relevant university pages with details of how to apply, accommodation etc as possible. We will also input the dates of each university's upcoming open day- if you have boat club events please include details/ links for us to input. Please see other universities' profiles for reference on the format.
Leave a comment