Abingdon School Boat Club is the rowing club for Abingdon School. The club has a strong tradition of providing rowers for the Oxford University Boat Club, Cambridge University Boat Club and international teams.

History The boat club has a long history with the first documentary evidence of rowing as a school activity in 1830.Abingdon School: Boat Club. abingdon.org.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2013. Roysse's School Rowing Club (1840) became Abingdon School Boat Club.

Originally the club rowed in the Abingdon Town Regatta before creating the School Regatta in the 1890s following the discontinuation of the former. The principal event was the race between the first four and an Old Abingdonians (OAs) crew. Although the school had raced informally against Radley College the first official race with another school was on 5 July 1902 when the first four competed against St. Mark's School of Windsor. In 1936 the school entered the Marlow Regatta for the first time and won their first event at the Wallingford Regatta in 1952.

In 1953 a new boathouse was built before a maiden win at the Marlow Regatta in 1955 and a first appearance at the Henley Royal Regatta in 1960. In 1982 the club won 25 trophies followed by 31 in 1984 and in 1985 was listed as the most successful school rowing club in the country. In 1991 both the coxed fours and coxless fours became National Champions with the coxed four later representing England. Since 1991 Abingdon School has been represented at English or British junior international level every season.

The 1st VIII won the "triple" in 2002 and again in 2012: the Schools' Head of the River Race, the Queen Mother's Cup at the National Schools' Regatta and the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. 2006's J14's A and B squads both became National School Champions, whilst the 2007 J16's won the junior Inter-Regionals 8+ event, and a J16 4+ crew went to form half the winning GB 8+ in the GB-France match. In 2009 the 1st VIII reached the final of the Henley Royal Regatta before losing to a "triple" winning Eton College crew.

In 2011 the 1st VIII achieved victory again at the Schools Head of the River.Rowing: It's a thriller as Abingdon win Schools Head. The Oxford Times. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2013 They backed this up by winning the Princess Elizabeth Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, on the way setting a new record of 6:19 for the course in the semi-final against Radley College, beating the long-standing record set by Pangbourne College in 1992 of 6:22. The 1st VIII won the Princess Elizabeth Cup in 2012 and 2013 too, setting a new course record in the 2013 final of 6:17. The last time a school won the cup for three consecutive years was Bedford School in 1948.

From 2002 to 2013 the school won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup four times. In 2016 and 2017 the school provided a total of six members for the University boat race, (four for Oxford and two for Cambridge).

Notable rowers

Junior internationals Below is a list of Junior Internationals capped by either Great Britain at the Coupe de la Jeunesse or England.

Coaches The school has a history of top-level coaches who have been instrumental in the continued success of the Boat Club and its athletes, to the tune of multiple national and Henley Royal Regatta titles, including "the triple" in 2002 and 2012 – an achievement which comprises winning the Schools' Head of the River Race, Championship eights at the National Schools' Regatta and finally the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, all in the same year.

Year Director of Rowing 1st VIII Coach National Championships / Major honours 1991 Mike Martin Mike Martin 1991 British Rowing Championships (x2), J18 4-, J18 4+ 1992 Mike Martin Mike Martin 1992 British Rowing Championships (x2), J18 8+, J16 8+ 1993 Mike Martin Mike Martin 1994 Mike Martin Mike Martin 1995 Mike Martin Mike Martin 1996 Mike Martin Mike Martin 1996 British Rowing Championships J16 4+ 1997 Mike Martin Mike Martin 1998 Mike Martin Mike Martin 1999 Mike Martin Mike Martin 2000 Mike Martin Mike Martin 2000 British Rowing Championships (x3), J18 4+c, J16 4-, J16 4+ 2001 Mike Martin Mike Martin 2002 Mike Martin Mike Martin The Triple - Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup J18 8+ / Queen Mother Challenge Cup J18 8+ / Schools' Head of the River Race J18 8+ 2003 Mike Martin Mike Martin 2004 Mike Martin Mike Martin Queen Mother Challenge Cup J18 8+ / 2004 British Rowing Championships (x2), J18 4+, J16 4- 2005 Mike Martin Mike Martin Queen Mother Challenge Cup J18 8+ 2006 Athol Hundermark Mike Martin 2007 Athol Hundermark Mike Martin 2008 Athol Hundermark Mike Martin 2009 Athol Hundermark Athol Hundermark 2010 Athol Hundermark Athol Hundermark 2011 Athol Hundermark Athol Hundermark Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup J18 8+ / Schools' Head of the River Race J18 8+ / 2011 British Rowing Championships, J18 4-c 2012 Athol Hundermark Athol Hundermark The Triple - Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup J18 8+ / Queen Mother Challenge Cup J18 8+ / Schools' Head of the River Race J18 8+ 2013 James Fox Dave Currie Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup J18 8+ / Queen Mother Challenge Cup J18 8+ 2014 Mark Earnshaw Dave Currie Queen Mother Challenge Cup J18 8+ 2015 Mark Earnshaw Mark Earnshaw 2015 British Rowing Junior Championships, J16 2- 2016 Mark Earnshaw Ali Brown 2017 Mark Earnshaw Ali Brown 2018 Mark Earnshaw Mark Earnshaw 2019 Mark Earnshaw Rory Copus 2020 Mark Earnshaw Rory Copus 2021 Mark Earnshaw Rory Copus 2022 Mark Earnshaw Rory Copus 2023 Mark Earnshaw Mike Webb 2024 Mark Earnshaw Phil Gray 2025 Mark Earnshaw Phil Gray

Key +Symbolmeaning 1, 2, 4, 8 crew size + coxed - coxless x sculls c part of a composite 16, 18 Under-16/18 J Junior

See also List of Old Abingdonians

References