Rowing is one of the 11 performance programmes at the University of Edinburgh, and the club consistently places within the top 10 at BUCS events and other national rowing events, including the Head of the River race held in London. In addition to their strong senior program, Edinburgh University Boat Club (EUBC) has an established beginner program. It is widely regarded as one of the best beginner programmes in the UK, consistently winning beginner events whilst nurturing new talent for the senior squads.
However, membership entails a considerable financial commitment, with a suggested standing order of £210 or another amount mutually agreed upon between the club and the member, which amounts to £2,100 annually. The Student met with two EUBC committee members, President Charley Faint and Treasurer Murray Bone, to discuss the cost of rowing at EUBC.
The club suggests a monthly standing order of £210 per calendar month. Standing orders are the most popular payment method, with 60% of the club’s members electing to pay this way. Other members can pay in different instalments that align with student finance payments, wages, or a combination of the two. However, Murray emphasised that members “[can] work over the summer and repay us when they’re able.”
The standing order covers many things, including transport between Edinburgh and EUBC’s training base at Strathclyde Country Park (SCP) in Motherwell. It also includes the hire of the lake at SCP, entry fees for racing and competitions, and accommodation for racing. Both the president and treasurer highlighted the geographical challenges of being based in Edinburgh, particularly surrounding the cost of staying in hotels and hostels while racing across the UK.
In this vein, the fact that Edinburgh is far from London, in and around which so many of the key events take place, means that costs imposed are heightened. Other, closer universities, which represent the majority of the leading Rowing programmes, do not have to deal with these issues.
Additionally, EUBC’s Henley Royal Regatta campaign accounts for 25% of the club’s annual costs – partly down to EUBC’s “broader catchment,” which encourages Scottish athletes as opposed to English athletes with connections to houses in the Henley on Thames and surrounding areas.
The club offers some funding through the alumni fund, although the qualifications for this funding are not clearly defined. Nevertheless, many EUBC athletes qualify for external financing from the sport’s governing bodies and agencies, including Winning Students, which provides up to £3,000 per year.
Other rowing options are available for Edinburgh students. Recreational rowing incurs far smaller costs, and the beginner Rowing programme mostly trains on the Union Canal, meaning the costs involved in transport are greatly reduced.
Regardless, the headline figure of the membership fee is very high. The Club acknowledges the exclusivity of Rowing and emphasises that they do everything in their power to ensure that rowing is available to the athletes who want to do it.
However, the Treasurer, Murray, outlined the role of EUBC’s director of rowing, who is responsible for the budget but highlights that from this perspective, “performance comes first and then cost comes second […] [there is] a trade-off between performing well and making it [Rowing] accessible.”
Although the club has come some way to make rowing more accessible to a broader range of students through external assistance and flexibility in payment date, they seem resigned to the sport’s exclusivity, with the President, Charley, stating, “It is expensive […] unfortunately that is just the culture.”
The origins of the sport are aristocratic, with a largely amateur set-up geared towards people who could afford to finance themselves. Many sports share similar origins, however, rowing has made insufficient progress towards a more egalitarian system. Cricket, for instance, still has crippling class problems, but professionalisation during the 20th Century alleviated these issues to a certain extent.
Rowing at Edinburgh is certainly a costly endeavour. However, the context in which rowing exists at the University, and the nature of the sport itself, means there is little room to manoeuvre regarding finances.
Photo by Sean Robertson on Unsplash