About Us

Rowing in Warrington may well have been taking place for nearly 200 years. It is known that Warrington Regatta is well over 150 years old attracting large crowds on the riverbank.

The picture on the left is the first indication of rowing on the Mersey in Warrington. This was located close to the suspension bridge at Howley where vistors could hire boats for use on the River. The present clubhouse is located 500 metres upstream.

The modern era of rowing on the Mersey started in the mid 80’s with a single scull creeping up the river, in 1985 to see what was up there! In 1986 a local branch of the Rotary Club decided to stage an event on the river to promote its existence and possibilities to the good people of Warrington. A committee was put together to stage the aquatic extravaganza but this was quickly changed to be a full blown rowing event. The organising committee was also quickly hi-jacked by the then President of The Amateur Rowing Association who pushed a few local rowers into forming Warrington Rowing Club.

The Club took shape, in the early days it was based at The Old Quay in Howley; rent being paid by way of trade over the bar! Boats slowly began to appear, mainly on loan from neighbouring clubs and as fund raising would allow some very basic second hand equipment was put in place. The club wanted to be a competitive outfit from day one and as such the first Warrington crews took part in The North of England Head in 1986.

The Old Quay Tavern changed hands and in the late 80’s the new owners gave notice to move on. This was a blow but it gave the committee a chance to get to the next step, its own boathouse. A site next to Kingsway Bridge was earmarked and later a lease from Warrington Borough Council was entered into. Buildings were the next problem, how do you build a building big and strong enough to hold a fleet of long thin boats with very little money? Well, you buy 3 pre fabricated cottages in Hull for £250 each, move them to Warrington and rebuild them in a long thin shape! This building project was finished in 1989 on the morning of The Regatta, as the first crews arrived for the event there was no electricity, water or sewerage. By the time the first race had started all three services were in place and working!

In 1990 the boat situation improved dramatically, 2 brand new coxed fours arrived and took pride of place in the boathouse. One of these boats was even built to be rowed by women! The lightweight boat was a first in the area and gave notice that the club was going to get competitive. The club now also had several qualified coaches and the standard of rowing improved. A very strong Women’s squad emerged and even competed at Women’s Henley.

From within this group a young lady emerged who would progress to win many National Sculling Titles and gain selection for The Great Britain Junior and Under 23 Rowing Teams. What was remarkable about this feat was that she was the only junior at the club and at the time the club did not own any sculling boats. This was then followed by a group of young lads that performed at the highest level as juniors. They have since won many National Titles and have represented Great Britain at the highest level. Other notable members in the 90’s included one of the best coxes Oxford ever had in a Boat Race, the President of Cambridge Women’s Rowing Club and a young man who would progress to coach Australia at the World under 23 Championships.

During the 90’s a well deserved Lottery Grant was awarded to the club and this helped fill the recently extended boathouse and gym. The club now had a good stock of boats and access to plenty of sculling boats, ideal for junior development. The club had by now developed a large base of qualified coaches and this was to be rewarded by the Amateur Rowing Association. They asked the club to be a pilot scheme for Project Oarsome. This was a scheme that linked rowing clubs to secondary schools and the governing body provided help to get a large base of junior equipment. The club adopted Bridgewater High School and the project initially ran well but soon ran into problems.

The new century brought with it a new partner for Project Oarsome and junior rowing exploded into the heart of Warrington Rowing Club. Lymm High School were the new link and they delivered strong staff links and an ever increasing pool of willing parents to help with the day to day running of the club. The school is able to offer large numbers of athletes to the club; they are able to train both at the club and in the school during lunch breaks. Some of these athletes are now winning National Standard events and will be pulling on international vests. The club is now bigger than ever with a large number of juniors, seniors and veterans and is just about to embark on its next project - a new boathouse with state of the art facilities for both the club and local community.