Grey College Boat Club

Grey College Boat Club (GCBC) is the rowing club of Grey College at Durham University in North East England.

The club has over 70 active members and shares its boathouse with Josephine Butler College Boat Club. The club competes at a national, regional and college level.



Boathouse and Fleet
Grey College Boat House is located at Dunelm House on the River Wear between Kingsgate Bridge and Elvet Bridge, a ten-minute walk away from Grey College.

Grey College Boat Club owns two VIIIs, an Empacher called 'Eric Halladay' and a Vespoli called 'Tom James'.

The club also own a number of IVs, and other smaller boats including a double scull named 'Whip-ma-whop-ma-gate' after the street in York.

The Men's 1st IV is a Stampfli called 'Schilders, snel beter'. The Women's 1st IV is a Janousek called 'These Girls Can'. Another IV owned by the boat club is 'The Golden Phoenix', the unofficial symbol of the college which was adopted after a fire devastated the main accommodation block in March, 1959.

Racing Calendar & Results
Grey College Boat Club compete throughout the year in many head races and regattas in the North East of England. Over the last few years, events competed in include:

Head of the River Race
Grey College Boat Club routinely sends an M1 and M2 to the Head of the River Race, with notable success in recent years. The club's highest finish position is recorded below:

Women's Head of the River
The boat club also regularly sends a W1 to Women's Head, achieving a number of strong results over multiple decades. The club's highest finish position is recorded below:

Durham Regatta
Grey College Boat Club has seen notable success in recent years at Durham Regatta. In 1995 the Men's Novice IV won the Lady Hershall Plate for the first time in over twenty years (Tock, C., Owens, L., Moxey, D., Blake, B. and Kelly, R. [cox]). In 2009, the Women's first IV won the novice event, and in 2010, the Men's first VIII won both days of the regatta. There have since been a number of successes, most recently in 2024 when the club won three events. Awards won since 2009 are listed below:

Club structure
Any member of Grey College JCR, MCR or SCR is eligible to join Grey College Boat Club, alongside students from Ustinov College. Any other student of Durham University may join with the permission of the President. The club is run by an executive committee elected by club members throughout the year. The executive committee is composed of the President, Men's Captain, Women's Captain, Men's Novice Captain, Women's Novice Captain, Treasurer, Boatman, Welfare Officer and Alumni and Fundraising Officer.

Grey College Boat Club holds an annual Ball each year in Epiphany term which is the highlight of the boat club's social calendar. At this event, a formal thank you to out-going members of the executive committee is offered and results of the current and previous seasons are celebrated.