Cantabrigian Rowing Club was founded in 1950 so the club is celebrating its 75th year in 2025.
All members and former members are invited to join the celebrations on Saturday 13th September. See https://cantabsrowing.org.uk/75th/ for details.
The club was founded, as the "Old Cantabrigian Rowing Club", by Arthur Beard, who had previously rowed in the top boats at Gonville and Caius College and Cambridge 99s.
The club was originally founded as part of the Old Cantabrigian Society, which was the organisation for former pupils of what was then the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys, affectionately known as the "County". The club was initially called the Old Cantabrigian Rowing Club, reflecting its intention to be a club for the former members of the Cambridgeshire High School, however pupils from the school joined from the first year, at least in part due to the enthusiasm of Frank Snow. Frank had been a student at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he rowed in their headship crews, and after graduating became a history teacher at the "County".
In 1957 the Old Cantabrigian Rowing Club was renamed to Cantabrigian Rowing Club, (informally known as "Cantabs"), reflecting the continued enthusiasm of school pupils for rowing, alongside the former pupils.
In 1974, the school became Hills Road Sixth Form College. By the early 1980s membership was open to anyone rather than just those connected to the school. The Cantabs membership at this time included a few women, mostly as coxwains, and by 1983 the first women's division in the CRA Town Bumps was introduced. Women's racing was in coxed fours and Cantabs entered two crews. Participation in the women's sport grew at Cantabs and elsewhere, and in 2001, when the CRA switched the women's bumps racing from fours to eights, there were three Cantabs women's crews and 11 men's crews racing in bumps. In the club's 75th year, there were 12 women's crews and 12 open crews taking part in bumps.
Cantabs maintains a strong connections with the Hills Road Sixth Form College as well as a number of other local schools, providing rowing classes during the school day. The club also offers rowing opportunities to other youngsters who can row in weekend sessions and train after school hours.
The club aims to promote rowing across the entire range of age and ability, and to provide the coaching and equipment to take rowing to a competitive level.
In the early 2000s, thanks to Andy Johnson, Cantabs secured its first permanent home, which the club has developed and extended from a single open room with boat racking and an electricity supply to a boathouse equipped with modern indoor training facilities, and ambitions for further development. The boathouse occupies an enviable position on the Cam, from which the club has gone from strength to strength.