Rowing

St Mary's Boathouse

Rowing at St Mary’s is open to all girls in Year 7-13, regardless of experience.

We are keen to encourage girls to experience Cambridge's most iconic sport and offer state-of-the-art facilities and coaching in our Boathouse, located on the river Cam.

Over 100 girls in Senior School and at The Sixth enjoy regular opportunities to row, benefiting their fitness levels, communication and team-building skills.

Rowing at St Mary's

Our Head of Rowing explains about the exciting opportunities to experience rowing on the Cam with St Mary's School.

Our vision for rowing

We are developing a diverse rowing squad which facilitates talented and ambitious students to train at the highest level and compete at national championships.

At the same time, St Mary's rowing programme also provides students who are less committed to rowing with access to Cambridge’s rowing community where they can participate, enjoy and develop their sporting skills in a friendly, fun environment.

Our rowing programme focuses on long-term athlete development. It provides a broad range of training activities, introduced at the appropriate stage of each rower’s development to produce quality rowers and to lay an athletic foundation that will extend way beyond school years into adulthood.

Rowing timetable

Day Time Club/PE Level
Monday 2.10 - 4.00pm Yr 10 PE Open to all
Monday 4.30pm Club J1/J2 Squad
Tuesday 2.10 - 4.00pm Yr 9 PE Open to all
Wednesday

Week 1: 10:40am-12:30pm

Week 2: 2.10 - 4.00pm

Year 8 PE Open to all
Wednesday 4.30 - 6.00pm Club J1/J2 Squad
Thursday (fortnightly - week 2) 10.50 - 12.40pm Sixth Form PE Open to all
Thursday 2.10 - 4.00pm Year 11 PE Open to all
Thursday 4.30 - 6.00pm Club J1/J2 Squad
Friday No sessions    
Saturday 12.00 - 2.00pm Club J1/J2 Squad
Saturday 2:00 - 3:30 pm Club J3 Squad
Sunday 12.00 - 2.00pm Club J1/J2 Squad
Sunday 2:00 - 3:30pm Club

Learn to Row

Please note: for Club sessions pupils travel independently to and from the Boathouse

Our rowing squads

Learn to row squad

Girls new to rowing enter our Learn to Row course before joining a main squad. This course contains a mixture of indoor rowing and water sessions, covering basic rowing skills and water safety. The squad trains once a week over two terms.

Junior 3 squad - foundation racing level

Students who complete our Learn to Row course or who already have basic rowing skills join our Junior 3 squad. In this low-pressure, fun environment, students develop their physical foundation, improve rowing postures and boating skills. This squad trains twice a week and competes in two local events over the school year.

Junior 2 squad – performance rowing and racing

Girls who acquire the foundations of rowing and have suitable physical and technical skills progress to this higher-level performance squad, if desired. Athletes in this squad follow a training regime to improve technical skills, strength and fitness to prepare for competitive racing. Other factors, including academic progress, are considered before students can commit to higher training intensity. This squad trains three to four times a week and takes part in local races and regional

Junior 1 squad – higher performance rowing and racing

Talented girls will be invited to join this high-performance squad, based on physical and technical skills, training commitment and personal aspiration. Athletes in this squad prepare to compete at national level regattas. Students will be closely monitored to ensure higher levels of training commitments have no adverse effect on academic achievements. This squad trains six times a week.

Trialling to join the GB national squad

Exceptionally talented and committed St Mary's girls will have the opportunity to prepare to attend GB trials, where successful athletes race as part of the GB squad.

Annual race schedule

Provisional Rowing Race Schedule - this table is currently provisional and may change
Race Date Squad Location Organisers
Cambridge Small Boats Head Saturday, 9 October 2021 J1, J2 Cambridge Rob Roys RC
Christmas Head Saturday, 4 December 2021 J2, J3 Cambridge City of Cambridge RC
Hampton Small Boats Head Saturday, 4 December 2021 J1 London London Rowing Club
Winter League 1 Sunday, 16 January 2022 J1, J2 Cambridge Cambridge Rowing Assoc.
Winter League 2 Sunday, 20 February 2022 J1, J2 Cambridge Cambridge Rowing Assoc.
Junior Inter-Regional Regatta (Trial) TBA February 2022 J1, J2 East of England British Rowing
Winter League 3 Sunday, 13 March 2022 J1, J2 Cambridge Cambridge Rowing Assoc.
Junior Sculling Head Saturday, 19 March 2022 J1, J2 Cambridge Champ. of the Thames
Junior Inter-Regional Regatte (Race) Saturday, 23 April 2022 J1, J2 Nottingham British Rowing
City Sprints Sunday, 1 May 2022 J3 Cambridge City of Cambridge Rowing
Ball Cup Sunday, 8 May 2022 J1, J2 Dorney British Rowing
Junior Sculling Regatta TBA May 2022 J1 Dorney The Scullery
National Schools Regatta Friday 27 - Sunday 29 May 2022 J1 (selected) Dorney British Rowing
Henley Saturday 3 July 2022 J1 (selected) Henley British Rowing
British Rowing Junior Championships Friday 15 - Sunday 17 July 2022 J1 (selected) Nottingham British Rowing
Cambridge Town Bumps Monday 18 - Sunday 22 July 2022 J1, J2, 15yr+ Cambridge Cambridge Rowing Assoc.
Other events
Event Date Squad Location Organisers
Boat House Dinner TBA J1, J2, J3 St Mary's Boat Club St Mary's School
The Parents-Teachers Boat Race TBA Parents versus Teachers Cambridge St Mary's School
Easter Rowing Camp 1 Monday 4 - Friday 8 April 2022 (9.00-11.00am) J1, J2, J3 St Mary's Boat Club St Mary's School
Easter Rowing Camp 2 Monday 11 - Friday 15 April 2022 (9.00-11.00am) J1, J2, J3 Cambridge St Mary's School
Summer Rowing Camp Week 1 Monday 1 - Friday 5 August 2022 (9.00-11.00am) J1, J2, J3, LTR St Mary's Boat Club St Mary's School
Summer Rowing Camp Week 2 Monday 8 - Friday 12 August 2022 (9.00-11.00am) J1, J2, J3, LTR St Mary's Boat Club St Mary's School
Summer Rowing Camp Week 3 Monday 15 - Friday 19 August 2022 (9.00-11.00am) J1, J2, J3, LTR St Mary's Boat Club St Mary's School
Summer Rowing Camp Week 4 Monday 22 - Friday 26 August 2022 (9.00-11.00am) J1, J2, J3, LTR St Mary's Boat Club St Mary's School
Take a tour


Inside St Mary's School Boathouse


Getting to the boathouse

Cambridge City and St Mary's Rowing Club
Kimberley Rd
Cambridge
CB4 1HJ