Get Involved

Want to get involved with rowing? You’re in the right place!

Whether you’ve just arriving at Caius or are a current student wanting in on the action, this is the page for you. At Caius almost half of the freshers intake try out rowing – whether it’s to keep fit, be involved with the College’s biggest, most active and most successful sports club or simply to meet loads of people and enjoy the social side.

Every year, we run a Freshers’ Barbeque during Freshers’ which gives everyone a chance to give rowing a try and speak to current members of the club about rowing at Caius. We also have a stall at the college Freshers’ Fair each year.

Don’t worry if you haven’t set foot in a boat before. Very few people arrive with prior experience and Michaelmas Term is the time that the majority of people learn to row.  The aim is to compete against all the other novice College crews in the Fairbairn Cup at the end of term. We regularly have novices making it all the way to the First Boats in both the Lent and May Bumps, and some even go on to trial for the University.

Alternatively, you can learn to cox – a rewarding, responsible position offering unique leadership opportunities

Rowed before?

If you have rowed/coxed before, whether at school, university or elsewhere, we’d love to have you join our program! If you’re keen to get involved, just email our men’s (email) or women’s (email) captains who will be glad to to get you on board.

Why Row?

• Enjoyment: Rowing combines technical expertise with fitness and crew spirit to produce the ultimate team sport
• Social Scene: From swaps with other Colleges to the end of term Boat Club Dinners, which are always a highlight of term, you’ll never be short of opportunities to drink, eat (how does 5000 calories a day sound…) and be merry!
• Academic Benefits: Rowing can add both structure and a breath of fresh air to your day whether you’re a science or arts student. Believe it or not, rowers tend to be pretty smart people, and do well above average in Tripos exams
• Health Benefits: Rowing will improve both your fitness and strength.
• CV Points: Putting “rowing” and “Cambridge” near each other on a CV gives the impression of being well organised, motivated, a good team player…
• Excitement: Competing in the annual inter-College events as well as travelling to national head races and regional regattas is great fun.

Myths

• You Need to be Huge: Determination and technical skill are always the deciding factor. Lightweight rowing is a huge part of rowing around the country; some of the fastest boats in the UK have guys who have to weigh less than 72kg to compete!
• I’ll Be Too Busy: Rowing is organised around lectures, labs and supervisions at times to suit you. At the end of the day we are all here to study for a degree, so there shouldn’t be a massive conflict.