Molesey Boat Club is a rowing

Sport rowing

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 club on the river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 Thames in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Location

The Club is situated on a stretch of the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 between Molesey Lock

Molesey Lock

Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey. It is near Hampton Court Palace to the west of London.The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1815 and is the second longest on the river at over 268 ft . Beside the lock there are rollers for the...

 and Sunbury Lock

Sunbury Lock

Sunbury Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey. The lock adjoins the southern bank about half a mile downstream of the Weir Hotel....

. The stretch is roughly 4 km long from weir

Weir

A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...

 to weir and is considered one of the best stretches for rowing on the Thames.

History

The club was founded in 1866, just upstream of Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...

 where the current boathouse

Boathouse

A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats...

 was built. Molesey had been the support club for Molesey Regatta

Molesey Regatta

Molesey Regatta is a rowing regatta, on the River Thames in England which takes place at East Molesey, Surrey on the reach above Molesey Lock....

 since its inception in 1867.

National Racing

The club has been well represented at the two of the major races on the rowing calendar:

The Head of the River Race

Head of the River Race

The Head of the River Race is a processional rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the 4.25 mile Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney.-History:...

:

2011: 2nd Overall

2010: 1st Overall

2009: 4th

2008: 8th (No international members present)

2007: 3rd (Unofficially as race was abandoned after several crews sank)

2006: 3rd

2005: 4th

2004: Race Cancelled

2003: 2nd

2002: 4th

2001: 4th

2000: 5th

Henley Royal Regatta

Henley Royal Regatta

Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...

Recent Wins:

Ladies' Challenge Plate

Ladies' Challenge Plate

The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standard heavyweight crews are not permitted to row in the...

: 1991

Thames Challenge Cup: 1999, 2000, 2009

Stewards' Challenge Cup: 1991

Wyfold Challenge Cup: 1997

Men's Quadruple Sculls: 2004

Prince Philip Challenge Cup: 2002

Britannia Challenge Cup: 1999, 2004, 2008

Silver Goblets & Nickalls Challenge Cup: 2000

Diamond Challenge Sculls: 1997

Rowing at Molesey Boat Club

The Club currently consists of approximately 700 members, consisting of juniors, novices, seniors, veterans and Great Britain internationals of both genders.

The Senior squad consists of approximately 40 Members. Molesey has been designated a "High Performance Club" for Senior Heavyweight Men by the Amateur Rowing Association

Amateur Rowing Association

British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association , is the governing body in England for the sport of rowing. It is also responsible for the development and organisation of international rowing teams representing Great Britain...

 due to the high standard of the Athletes and Coaching available. With around 100 other members in this is the clubs main rowing group.

The Junior squad is up to 80 athletes strong and closely linked to a number of local schools. The junior system offers rowing from the age of 13. The Junior programme's objective is to build towards success at J18 level domestically and internationally.

Molesey also has an active Adult Development section with over 50 members, there to offer rowing for people who want to take up the sport later in life.

And last but not least, the Veterans at Molesey make sure life at the club is well balanced, not content to settle into old age, their representing the club at local, national and some international events.

The club is run by a committee of 16 elected members, including the 5 officers of the club, Captain, Deputy Captain, Vice Captain, Secretary and Treasurer.

Members

Some current racing members of note include:

Richard Knight:

Martin Cross

Martin Cross

Martin Patrick Cross is an Olympic gold medal-winning oarsman. He won the gold medal in the coxed four at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics with Steve Redgrave, Richard Budgett, Andy Holmes, and Adrian Ellison....

: Olympic Bronze and Gold: 4- 1980, 4+ 1984

Ian McNuff

Ian McNuff

Ian T. McNuff is a British rower who competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics.In 1980 he was a crew member of the British boat which won the bronze medal in the coxless fours event.-External links:*...

: Olympic Bronze: 4- 1980

Richard Stanhope: Olympic Silver: 8+ 1980,

Greg Searle

Greg Searle

Gregory Mark Pascoe Searle MBE is a British Olympic rower educated at Hampton School and London South Bank University....

: Olympic Gold and Bronze: 2+ 1992, 4- 1996

Jonny Searle

Jonny Searle

Jonathan William C. Searle MBE is a British rower. Along with his brother Gregory, and coxswain Garry Herbert, Searle won the gold medal in the coxed pair event at the Olympic Games in Barcelona....

: Olympic Gold and Bronze: 2+ 1992, 4- 1996

Philip Simmons: Olympian GBR 8+ 2004

Simon Fieldhouse: World Championships GBR 4+ 2006, 4x 2007

Henry Pelly: Cambridge University Blue 2008, 2009, 2010

Fred Gill: Cambridge University Blue 2010

Dan Ouseley: Olympian 8+ 2004

Peter Marsland: Cambridge University Blue 2008, 2009.

Ben Smith: Oxford University Blue 2008

Acer Nethercott

Acer Nethercott

Acer Gary Nethercott is a British coxwain, Olympic silver medallist and double Boat Race winner.-Education:...

: Olympic Silver Medallist: 8+ 2008

Rowley Douglas

Rowley Douglas

Rowley Douglas is a competition rower and Olympic champion for Great Britain.Douglas won a gold medal in coxed eights at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, as a member of the British rowing team.-References:...

: Monkton Combe 2nd 8+, Olympic Gold Medallist: 8+ 2000




Current Members of the GB Rowing Team:

Andrew Triggs-Hodge

Andrew Triggs-Hodge

Andrew Triggs Hodge MBE is a British rower and an Olympic and double World Champion.- Education :...

: Olympic Gold Medallist: 4- 2008

Tom James

Tom James

Thomas James MBE is a Welsh rower, Olympic Champion, and victorious Cambridge Blue.-Education:James was educated at The King's School, Chester, where he took up the sport of rowing...

: Olympic Gold Medallist: 4- 2008

Tom Solesbury: World Championships GBR 8+ 2006, 2007, Olympian 2- 2008

Tom Ransley: Cambridge University Blue 2008, 2009.

Cameron Nichol:

Mohammed Sbihi: U23 World Championships 2009

James Foad: U23 World Championships 2009

Andrew Holmes: Junior World Champion GBR 4- 2009

Sources

http://www.moleseyboatclub.org/

http://www.britishrowing.org

http://www.gbrathletics.com/olympic/rowing.htm