Our Club

 

Belfast Rowing Club is one of Ireland's largest open clubs with over 200 members. It is situated at Hay Island, Stranmillis at the northern end to the Lagan Valley Regional Park. With the closure and filling in of the Lagan Navigation canal to form a car park, Hay Island is now "joined" to Lockview Road! 

BRC, as the club is more commonly known as, is open to people of all ages, abilities and ambitions, from 14 year old juniors to novices, intermediates, seniors and veteran/masters rowers, indeed some of whom are in their seventies. Coaching and training are provided by wide range of qualified coaches and support personnel, some with extensive international experience, which is reflected in the number of our athletes who have gone onto represent both the club and the country at international level competitions.

 

Squads which are currently training include: -

  • Senior/Intermediate men & women  
  • Novice men & women  
  • Junior men & women  
  • Veteran/Masters men & women

 

Each squad follows a training programme set by their coach and includes "on the water" training on the River Lagan, ergometer sessions on the rowing machine, circuit training, running, weights, etc. 


 

When crews are on the river they must follow the "rules of the river"

 

Rules of the River Lagan

 


The club competes at both "Head of the River" races & Regattas throughout Ireland and the UK, including Henley Royal Regatta, Henley Women's Regattas, and the Head of the River Race, London. Club crews also regularly venture abroad to compete at the Head of the River Races and Regattas in the USA, Germany, Holland and Belgium. Some of our Masters crews have also competed and taken gold medals at the FISA Masters Regatta. (FISA is the international governing body for Rowing www.worldrowing.com)

 

BRC is very proud of the many rowing events it organises throughout the rowing calendar, with a sub-committee responsible for running six annual competitions on the river Lagan. These include: -

 

  • 3 x Mini-Head of the River Races, from the Odyssey to Stranmillis, held in November, December & January.

 

  • The Lagan Head of the River Race, Laganhead, in February, which is one of largest heads in Ireland and regularly attracting clubs from Scotland, England and Holland. Laganhead offers two races: one shorter distance race for small boats (approx 3km) and the full head of the river course for eights and fours (approx 5km)

 

  • Belfast Sprint Regatta held each May, with races every three minutes over a two-lane, fully buoyed 500 metre course from the Governor's Bridge to the BRC's clubhouse.

 

On behalf of the other Lagan clubs, BRC also runs the Belfast Lough Championships one of the oldest competitions in Ireland for crews in coxed fours and quad sculls.

 

BRC also has seven licensed umpires who officiate at these events and others across Ireland and the UK, including the Irish Rowing Championships.

 

 

For more information please explore the other 'Our Club' tabs